2008 World Superbike Championship Round 6 - U.S.A.

More:  Race Preview (Below)

Race Results
Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) proves that he has taken a liking to America and the Miller Motorsports Park circuit, scoring two third place finishes here today in impressive style on board his Ducati 1098 F08 machine.

A less than perfect start in both of this afternoon's races failed to deter the young Italian rider and he powered his way through the field in Race 1 and again in Race 2 to eventually earn third place finishes in both.

Unfortunately the day was not so lucky for fellow Ducati Xerox rider Troy Bayliss who failed to finish Race 1 and completed Race 2 in 22nd position after a technical problem.

Troy Bayliss still leads the championship with 194 points while Michel Fabrizio gains 32 points at Miller today, moving him up to eighth place in the riders classification with 87 points.

Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 - 3rd, Race 2 - 3rd):  In Race 1 Michel found himself going from fourth place on the grid down to fourteenth place before making an exceptional comeback to finish the race on the podium, in third place. Race 2 was almost an exact replica, as Michel once again dropped back to twelfth position before battling back to take an impressive third place on the podium for the second time today.

"Obviously I am extremely happy with today's results.  In Race 1 I had a gear problem on the start-line which caused a race restart but thanks to the great work of my team I was able to start (the restarted Race 1) without incident.  On the first lap I went right down to fourteenth position but worked my way up the field, stayed calm and was very satisfied to take third.  In Race 2 I again had to make up a lot of positions and although I'm happy with third, I was hoping to be able to give Carlos more of a run for his money.  It was hard work today, the heat and altitude here makes it a really physical challenge, and the last laps of both races were a struggle."

Troy Bayliss (Race 1 - DNF, Race 2 - 22nd):  Having made a blistering start to both Race 1 and Race 2, Bayliss unfortunately came off during lap four of the first race and then suffered a technical problem with his 1098 F08's gear lever during the second.

"I am really disappointed with today's results of course.  In race 1 I crashed in a similar way to how I went down yesterday, which was a bit strange.  Having said that, my weekend had been going ok until Race 1 and I was feeling pretty positive ahead of Race 2.  Although I got a good start, after a few laps something came loose with the gear shifter so I had to come in.  We sorted it quickly enough that I thought I might as well go out and ride, even if it was impossible to get points.  I was going well out there but I was too far behind to make up any places.  It goes without saying that after all our hard work this weekend I'm really disappointed that we've given away 50 championship points in one weekend."

Race Preview

After two gutsy rides at his team's home circuit of Monza, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team rider Noriyuki Haga has now moved into overall third in the championship table.

At the previous round in Italy Haga only just lost the battle in race one by 0.058 seconds, before going on to win race two by 0.009 seconds.

This coming weekend the 33-year-old Japanese star is ready for more podium success at the all-new American World Superbike venue of Miller Motorsports Park, near Salt Lake City, in the state of Utah.  Haga arrived in the USA early to catch up with friends and got the chance to play some golf with legendary racer Kenny Roberts and his family.  Find out more in his column on the Yamaha Racing website.

Miller Motorsports Park, some 50 kilometers from Salt Lake City itself, is as well appointed as any brand new circuit could be, and is currently gearing up for it's first major international bike sport event.  Miller Motorsports Park will be an eagerly awaited return to America for the World Superbike Championship, which last raced there, at Laguna Seca, in 2004.  Haga won two races at Laguna (in 1998 and 2000) while Corser can count three wins in the previous US rounds of WSB at Laguna, in 1995, 1998 and 2000.

Haga looks to America as a chance of pegging back the lead of championship leader Troy Bayliss.  "I am very focused now, and I am determined to close the gap on Troy from now on.  It will be a real learning weekend for all the teams and riders, as it is a new track for us all.  I don't know that much about it but that's the same for everyone.  But after Monza my confidence is high, because we were competitive in each race."

Troy Corser is keen to get back to podium form, having scored three top three finishes earlier in the season.  "It's always nice to go back to the USA, I've got some really good old friends there as well so it's great to make some time to catch up.

I think it's great for the WSB Championship to be coming here.  I haven't heard too much about the track to be honest, the layout looks good and the safety is supposed to be great.  I've spoken to a few guys who've done track days there on bikes and in cars and they give it the thumbs up, so I'm looking forward to racing there.  We've had some tough races this year but the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team is ready to race and win in the US."

Technically Speaking - Miller according to Massimo Meregalli ( Yamaha Motor Italia WSBTeam Manager)
"The only information we have about Miller Motorports Park comes from Yamaha Motor US, because we have a good relationship with them.

They had a test at the beginning of May and they have supplied us with some data, but the WSB class will only be sharing some parts of the track that they use.  We will be running on the entire perimeter circuit, the longer one.  It's a new track for everyone, but we have two top riders who will be able to learn the track quickly and be competitive.  The track layout seems very similar to Qatar, so we can be optimistic as both our riders are fast there."

The World Superbike races at Miller Motorports Park get underway at the same local time as any European round - 12 noon and 15.30 - which translates to 8pm and 11.30pm in most of Europe

Suzuki Team Preview Report
The sixth round of the 2008 Superbike World Championship takes place for the first time at Miller Motorsports Park, near Salt Lake City in Utah, USA this weekend - the first time the new, purpose-built facility has hosted a World Superbike and AMA Superbike Championship at the same time.

None of the current WSBK teams or riders have raced at Miller before, so it will be a new experience for everybody.  As the AMA Superbike series uses a different course layout to World Superbikes, there are no lap times to compare, making it a unique occasion for the WSBK regulars.

Instead of the paint-scheme seen in the first five rounds of the championship so far, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 bikes of Fonsi Nieto, Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner will feature an all-new, one-off design featuring Globasol.

Globasol is a company involved in the development and implementation of all kinds of renewable energy, such as photovoltaic energy, biomass and biofuel and recently presented a project for the construction on a plant in the Dominican Republic for the production of 60,000 tons of biodiesel per annum.

They are part of the Globalia group, which also includes Pepephone - the sponsor featured on the Suzuki Alstare bikes in the championship so far. The new livery at Miller will just be for USA only, but is Alstare's way of giving race fans something a little different.

Fonsi Nieto:  "We are all going somewhere we've never been before and have no knowledge about so I guess a lot will be down to who can learn the track quickly, get a good bike set-up, do a good Superpole and then two good races.  It is the same situation for everybody and it's going to be a very different experience to racing in Europe for sure. I wanted to do a lot better at Monza than I did, so I am hoping that I get on with Miller and finish with two good results - podiums hopefully."

Yukio Kagayama:  "New track, new experience and I am happy because nobody will have any advantages over me.  Normally, I learn tracks quite fast, so I am hoping that Miller will be the same.  Of course, Suzuki USA is very strong and has much information on Miller, but this time they cannot help us because we are racing a different design track to the one they use!  My season has been a bit up and down but I am going to Miller determined to challenge for the top places in both races."

Max Neukirchner:  "I am really looking forward to Miller because nobody will have any advantage over me and that is a bit of a rare experience.  The layout we are using doesn't look so hard but I want to do some laps before I talk about how it could be.  After my first ever race win, I am now eager for more. Before this season started, I felt that I could win a race and now that I have done it, I want a lot more."

Rider Standings as of May 11, 2008

1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 194

2. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 116

3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 112

4. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 111

5. Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 107

6. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 101

7. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 90

8. Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 65

9. Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 65

10. Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 59

11. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 55

12. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 54

13. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 49

14. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 41

15. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 35

20. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 16

23. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 6

24. David Checa Yamaha ESP 5

Manufacturer Standings as of May 11, 2008

1. Ducati 217

2. Yamaha 171

3. Suzuki 158

4. Honda 135

5. Kawasaki 44

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