Max Leads the Pack. Photo Courtesy Suzuki Racing

Text and Photos Courtesy Kawasaki  Racing, Suzuki Racing, Yamaha Racing and World Superbike.  Edited by webBikeWorld.

Race Results - HAGA!
A moment Haga had been working towards came today when he took race wins in both races at the home round of the Yamaha Motor Italia Team.

Haga went down to sixth at the start of race one behind Corser but quickly started to work his way up through the grid setting the fastest lap three times .  By lap five Haga was battling with Toseland for the lead while Corser fought with Biaggi for sixth place.  Haga won the fight for first and went on to complete a textbook race and take his first win at Monza in front of a record breaking 108,000 strong crowd.

Corser had less fortune than Haga in race one, running wide at Lesmo on two consecutive laps and struggling to make up any time on fifth place until errors by Bayliss and Biaggi on lap 14 significantly reduced the gap.  The retirement of Rolfo right at the end of the race gave Corser a fifth place finish.

Haga got another bad start in race two but once again made his way up to second place by lap three.  On lap seven Haga made his move to pass Toseland who he had been tailing and then set about putting some space between him and the rest of the field.  From there on it was just up to Haga to bring the bike home safely to take his second win of the day.  This completed a good weekend for the rider with him taking Superpole, both race wins and setting the fastest lap of the race in race one on the 2007 R1.

Corser got a good start and moved up from fifth to fourth and then fought hard in a battle between Biaggi and Rolfo for four laps with the riders swapping positions frequently.  As the race progressed Corser struggled to keep pace with the pack and had to settle for sixth and ten points.

Today's excellent results puts Haga back in fierce contention for the championship as he now stands in second place and only 35 points behind lead man Toseland.  Corser is in fifth having taken 21 points away from this weekend. Yamaha also lies second in the manufacturer standings with first place within reach.

Noriyuki Haga (1st and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia):  "Today was perfect - the perfect end to a perfect weekend.  I have taken Superpole, won both races and got the fastest lap in the second race.  This weekend the bike was feeling good and we didn't make any big changes to the set-up which is unusual for me.  We focused on the engine because this is such a fast track and the results speak for themselves."

"I would like to say thank you to the Team, Yamaha, Santander and all the other sponsors and people who have worked hard to make this possible.  Taking the double win at the team's home round feels good and it is made all the sweeter as I have never won here before."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia):  "This has been a fantastic day - a double win at our home round where we have had over 800 guests today.  Haga is now second in the championship and Yamaha are second in the manufacturer championship also.  Haga rode very well, made no mistakes and really pushed hard.  We had lots of fans here today because it is our home round and we are based very close to here.  The atmosphere was exciting and I am sure we gave the fans some good racing."

"I am really sorry for Troy (Corser) - the positions he finished in today are not a true reflection of his capability and the effort he is putting in.  We have a two-day test at Misano next week and we are going to work really hard to sort out the problem."

"I would like to thank everyone involved in the team for all their hard work - today has been a good reward for us all."

2007 World Superbike - Monza - May 13, 2007

Temp: 26. Crowd: 108,000. Weather: Dry.

Race 1 - 18 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 32'4.428

2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'8.403

3 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 0'9.703

4 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'13.587

5 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'14.898

6 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'14.954

7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'19.517

8 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'24.120

9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'24.682

10 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'29.197

11 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 0'32.654

12 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'34.054

13 Marco Borciani Ducati ITA 0'37.386

14 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'37.704

15 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'41.377

Race 2 - 18 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 32'5.318

2 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'2.691

3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'2.841

4 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'3.188

5 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 0'3.551

6 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'13.034

7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'17.246

8 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'18.410

9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'29.017

10 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'29.686

11 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'30.371

12 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'31.982

13 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'32.165

14 Robertino Pietri Yamaha VEN 1'32.292

15 Dean Ellison Ducati GBR 1'41.840

Best Lap

Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 1'46.172

Rider Standings as of May 13, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. James Toseland Honda GBR 229

2. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 194

3. Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 191

4. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 164

5. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 135

6. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 107

7. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 106

8. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 81

9. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 77

10. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 60

11. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 60

12. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 51

13. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 46

14. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 44

15. Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 40

17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 19

Manufacturer Standings as of May 13, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Honda 238

2. Yamaha 217

3. Ducati 209

4. Suzuki 191

5. Kawasaki 77

 

Race Preview and Qualifying
The World Superbike Championship's next stop this coming weekend is the historic circuit of Monza in Italy for the sixth round in the 2007 series.

The championship first came to the circuit in 1990 and this year will be its 14th visit.

The Monza circuit is located northeast of Milan and was built in 1922 by 3,500 workers with funding from the Milan Automobile Club.  Monza is the fastest track to appear on the World Superbike calendar with riders often reaching speeds of over 300kph on the start/finish straight.  As well as hosting the World Superbike Championship, the circuit features on the Formula 1 calendar.

The circuit actually consists of three tracks - GP, Junior and the Speed track which includes the oval banking for which the circuit is famous - though World Superbike uses the GP circuit.  The track has been modified many times over the years to increase safety and provide better facilities for race teams and spectators.  The last modification was in 2000 when amendments were made to the two chicanes to improve safety.  Grandstand seating was also increased in 1997 to 51,000.

Monza is the home circuit for the Yamaha Motor Italia Team, who will be hoping for better luck than at Assen.  In a weekend of mixed fortune at the last round Haga took second in race one but failed to finish race two.  Corser had an equally turbulent time crashing out of third on the penultimate lap when fluid was sprayed on the rear tire.  Despite pain from the injuries he received in the accident Corser went on to finish fourth in race two and take away some much needed points.

Qualifying
Noriyuki Haga put in an exceptionally fast lap in today's Superpole at Monza to take his first pole of the season.

This success at the team's home circuit was made even better by Troy Corser completing the front row of tomorrow's grid in fourth.  The team now goes into tomorrow's race ready to fight for the World Superbike Championship.

The day started well with both riders making good progress in this morning's qualifying session. Haga put in several long runs during the qualifying session to check his set-up and took third qualifying position going into Superpole. 

Corser and his team worked on improving the braking and front end set-up of his bike with the results quickly showing as he moved up from 12th to finish in sixth, with only 0.3 seconds gap up to second.

Corser was the first rider in the team to do his Superpole lap and comfortably beat the Superpole lap record he had set last year.  He just missed the top of the leader board by under 0.09 seconds. Haga was one of the final riders to complete his lap and took the pole position as well as setting a new Superpole lap record of 1'44.941 - taking off almost 2 seconds from the standing record.

Today's track action puts both Yamaha Motor Italia riders on the front row which will be important as they go into the first tight chicane.  Both riders will need to be in front when they reach this corner if they are to contend for the lead. The front row grid is completed by Bayliss in second and Biaggi in third.

Noriyuki Haga (1st - Yamaha Motor Italia):  "I am very happy with pole but tomorrow is the most important day - that is when it all counts.  The weekend so far has gone very well for myself and the team and I am confident for tomorrow.  We have already fixed a race setting and tire and have only a few minor suspension changes to do before the race."

Troy Corser (4th - Yamaha Motor Italia):  "Today has gone well.  We got a good set-up in practice this morning and put in some good lap times.  Then Superpole went well, I was just a bit cautious going into the first chicane as I have overshot there twice already this weekend.  It feels good to be on the front row at the team's home round.  The bike feels really good and I am looking forward to tomorrow a lot."

Monza Race Circuit

Suzuki Team Report - Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi will start tomorrow's pair of 18-lap World Superbike races at Monza from the front row of the grid.

Throughout the season, Biaggi has increased his feeling for the Pirelli qualifiers and in today's Superpole he took over half a second off his previous best lap time and finished with the third fastest lap in the 16-rider shoot-out.

Team mate Yukio Kagayama had been struggling a little in regular qualifying, but he too put in a good Superpole lap to bag a place on the second row of the grid.

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) posted the fastest lap, smashing the lap record by almost two seconds. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) is second with Biaggi third and Troy Corser (Yamaha) fourth.

Max Biaggi - 3rd, 1:45.415: "This is only my sixth Superpole and I think I am becoming more and more used to it.  It doesn't stress me and, because I understand the qualifying tires a lot better, I am confident when I go out and do the flying lap.  I am surprised and happy how well the sticky tires are working; the grip is good and it makes these kind of laps easier to deal with."

"Monza is a track where tactics are important.  It's also a place where slipstreaming and drafting is part of the game.  I didn't really have any problems today except in some high-speed corners when the front feeling was not so good.  That's when it's difficult to find the limit, but it's something that we are working on and I'm sure we can improve it.

"Here, it's so important to have a bike that accelerates well and to know exactly where and when to brake.  It's easy to lose a 10th of a second here and there and that can be the difference between a good result and an average one.  I don't think anybody is going to make a break tomorrow and I think it could be four or five riders all fighting until the end in both races.  But I'm looking forward to that kind of battle and enjoying myself at the same time."