Race Report
Troy Bayliss took the double at Misano today,
while Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga each took a second
podium position in today's World Superbike races at
Misano after starting in pole and third
respectively.
Haga got a good start in race one
and maintained his second with his team mate right
behind him in third and Bayliss leading the pack.
Together with Biaggi in fourth, the
pack created some distance from the rest of the
field with all four riders battling throughout the
race.
Haga and Bayliss had an exciting
fight for the lead on lap 16 but it was Bayliss who
came out on top with Haga second, Biaggi third and
Corser fourth. Then, on the penultimate lap
Biaggi tried to overtake Haga the second curvone
corner but crashed, taking both riders out. As
a result of this Corser grabbed second place and his
111th Superbike podium.
Race two saw the Yamaha Motor Italia
team mates challenge each other for second place in
the first couple of laps before Haga won the battle.
Haga then turned his attention to front man Bayliss
whom he diced with for first place.
Unfortunately, he started to feel sick due to
painkilling injections he had been given following
injuries received in the race one incident. He
was forced to relax his challenge on Bayliss and
settle for second as his condition worsened.
Following his battle with Haga early
on in the second race, Corser found himself battling
with Biaggi and Kagayama for the rest of the race.
Despite a last lap charge to overtake Kagayama
Corser had to accept fifth place and eleven points.
Corser has now scored over 300
points at the same circuit - 325 to be precise.
This has only been achieved three times before and
by only two riders. Carl Fogarty achieved this
record at Assen (350 points) and Donington Park (308
points), while Corser first achieved it in Phillip
Island (330 points).
Shinichi Nakatomi had a mixed day
today but finished 14th in race two to take two
points away. He was forced to retire from the
first race on lap seven with engine problems.
Today's results have reduced
Yamaha's championship points deficit to just seven
behind Ducati. Haga sits in third five points
behind Bayliss and an accessible 26 behind Toseland.
Corser remains fifth in the championship standings
with the next race in a month's time. The team has
two tests before the next round, which is at Brno.
Troy Corser (2nd and 5th -
Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team): "Today has been
unbelievably disappointing after such a good day
yesterday. In race one I had a rear grip
problem and didn't get a good start either.
Those two factors together just made for a tough
race. I changed bikes between the two races
and the engine in the second bike felt better but
the set-up wasn't quite right, giving me all sorts
of problems. I kept losing the front
throughout the second race. I was actually crashing
at one point but I landed back on the bike, hit the
screen and managed to keep going. It is such a
disappointment after getting my fortieth pole
yesterday - a sorry end to an otherwise good
weekend."
Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 2nd -
Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team): "I was unlucky
in race one. Mistakes can happen to anyone;
I'm not angry about the incident in race one but I'm
very disappointed that there has been no
acknowledgement or apology for what happened.
That isn't professional in my book.
I hurt my right elbow and wrist in
the race one incident and so had to have some
painkillers for the second race. The race was
going well when, about halfway through, I started to
feel sick, which was caused by the painkillers.
I had to slow down. Also, only a few laps into
the race my rear brake pedal broke leaving me
without any rear brake. All in all I am quite
happy with second. But today was an unlucky
day for me."
|
2007 World Superbike -
Misano - June 17, 2007 |
|
Weather: Dry. Temp: 27.
Circuit Length: 4060. Crowd: 68,000 |
| |
|
Race 1 - 24 Laps |
|
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total
Time |
|
1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS
38'52.856 |
|
2 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS
0'2.374 |
|
3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN
0'8.965 |
|
4 James Toseland Honda GBR
0'11.110 |
|
5 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA
0'18.709 |
|
6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA
0'20.467 |
|
7 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA
0'2.072 |
|
8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP
0'25.424 |
|
9 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER
0'30.891 |
|
10 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE
0'37.724 |
|
11 Marco Borciani Ducati ITA
0'44.898 |
|
12 Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki
ITA 1'1.538 |
|
13 Luca Morelli Ducati ITA
1'37.781 |
|
14 Dean Ellison Ducati GBR
-1 Laps |
|
15 Christian Zaiser MV
Agusta AUT -1 Laps |
| |
|
Race 2 - 24 Laps |
|
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total
Time |
|
1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS
38'43.506 |
|
2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN
0'2.537 |
|
3 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA
0'6.386 |
|
4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN
0'8.905 |
|
5 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS
0'9.130 |
|
6 James Toseland Honda GBR
0'13.967 |
|
7 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP
0'16.708 |
|
8 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA
0'16.781 |
|
9 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA
0'17.312 |
|
10 Max Neukirchner Suzuki
GER 0'33.065 |
|
11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA
0'33.605 |
|
12 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP
0'41.251 |
|
13 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE
0'42.723 |
|
14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha
JPN 0'56.644 |
|
15 Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki
ITA 1'0.739 |
|
|
|
Best Lap |
|
Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
|
|
Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN
1'36.356 |
|
|
|
Rider Standings as of
June 17, 2007 |
|
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
|
|
1. James Toseland Honda GBR
260 |
|
2. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS
239 |
|
3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN
234 |
|
4. Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 217
|
|
5. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS
182 |
|
6. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA
133 |
|
7. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 130
|
|
8. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA
109 |
|
9. Max Neukirchner Suzuki
GER 100 |
|
10. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki
JPN 89 |
|
11. Regis Laconi Kawasaki
FRA 76 |
|
12. Michel Fabrizio Honda
ITA 59 |
|
13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 53
|
|
14. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP
50 |
|
15. Joshua Brookes Honda AUS
40 |
|
17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha
JPN 24 |
|
|
|
Manufacturer Standings as
of June 17, 2007 |
|
Pos. Manufacturer Points
|
|
1. Ducati 284 |
|
2. Yamaha 277 |
|
3. Honda 274 |
|
4. Suzuki 233 |
|
5. Kawasaki 102 |
|
6. MV Agusta 1 |
Qualifying
Troy Corser put in an excellent performance in
today's Superpole to take the 40th pole of his WSB
career, and Yamaha's third of the season, while his
team mate Noriyuki Haga will start third on the grid
in tomorrow's races.
In this morning's qualifying session
Corser and Bayliss fought an entertaining battle
with the duo swapping between first and second place
throughout. Corser was the first rider to
break into the 1'35 lap times this weekend, matching
his best time from last months test here, but
Bayliss quickly followed suit to retain first place.
Haga spent qualifying searching for his best race
setting and took a second off his best time from
yesterday to finish in seventh.
Haga was the first of the Yamaha
Motor Italia team mates to go out in the Superpole
session and he posted a 1'35.458 to go top of the
leader board in front of Toseland. It was when
Corser came out and achieved the first 1'34 lap time
at the new Misano circuit that Haga was knocked down
into second place. Bayliss, the last rider
out, was unable to beat Corser's time and slid into
second between the two Yamaha riders.
Corser goes into tomorrow's race
with 13 podiums to his name at Misano. If he climbs
the podium twice more tomorrow he will match the
all-time record of the highest number of podiums
achieved at a single circuit. The current holder of
this record is Carl Fogarty with 15 podiums at Assen.
Shinichi Nakatomi made good progress
in this morning's qualifying session to improve his
time by almost two seconds. He qualified in 15th
position, giving him his second chance of the season
at Superpole. He was second out and put in a solid
ride to move up a place on the starting grid to
14th.
Troy Corser (1st - 1'34.948 -
Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team): "It is good to
finally get my fortieth pole; I haven't been
consciously chasing it but we've been so close over
so many race weekends that it was starting to seem a
bit elusive. I'm really happy with the bike;
we've got it working well and we've also found a
good race tire for this circuit."
"Because I had concerns yesterday
with tire life in this heat I did a long run in this
morning's session to reassure myself and it seems
fine. Tomorrow is going to be a tough race.
It's going to be tough on the tyres because of the
heat. I like the track with the new direction
though. It's technically more challenging but
that's good. I'm just really pleased with how
the day has gone, from practice to Superpole."
| 2007 World
Superbike - Misano, Italy - June 16, 2007 |
|
Circuit Length: 4060 |
|
Temp: 31 |
|
Weather: Dry |
|
Superpole |
|
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total
Time |
|
1 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS
1'34.948 |
|
2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS
1'35.104 |
|
3 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN
1'35.458 |
|
4 James Toseland Honda GBR
1'35.572 |
|
5 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA
1'35.578 |
|
6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA
1'36.026 |
|
7 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP
1'36.131 |
|
8 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN
1'36.206 |
|
9 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA
1'36.489 |
|
10 Max Neukirchner Suzuki
GER 1'36.548 |
|
11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA
1'36.661 |
|
12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA
1'37.141 |
|
13 Marco Borciani Ducati ITA
1'37.535 |
|
14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha
JPN 1'37.646 |
|
15 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP
1'37.914 |
2007 World Supersport - Misano
Race Report
Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR)
is a name that will probably become more widely
known; he's taken the World Supersport Championship
by storm and you'll probably see him in World
Superbike or MotoGP sometime soon.
He rode one of the hardest races of
the year in temperatures over 30°c during the
two-part WSS race at Misano. He recorded a
hard fought third place finish and extend his
overall championship lead to 61 points.
Sofuoglu’s closest championship
rival Fabien Foret crashed out after a collision on
lap four of the first leg, and Sofuoglu’s 16 points
for third put him on a total of 161 points to
Foret’s unchanged 100.
The race was stopped after four laps
when a blown engine on a local competitor’s machine
dropped oil onto the track. The 18-lap restart
saw Sofuoglu fight to the end with Broc Parkes in a
dispute over the aggregate second place finish
behind winner Anthony West. Sofuoglu had been fourth
in qualifying, the top Honda rider pre-race.
Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team
CBR600RR) finished his day on the ‘reverse
direction’ Misano in eighth place, having been as
high as third at one point. He had qualified
seventh, and given all that went on around him in
the Misano race, he scored well to keep his overall
third in the championship fight.
Reigning Supersport World Champion
Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR600RR) had another tough weekend in WSS, scoring
ninth in qualifying, tenth in the race then jumping
up to 15th in the championship.
Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team
CBR600RR) experienced problems with clutch slip
towards the end of the race and finished 16th, one
place out of the points.
Sofuoglu was only mildly
disappointed with third, but knows that the
championship is the long-term aim.
|
|
|
2007 World Supersport
Championship |
|
Round 8 - Misano, San Marino
|
|
1 A. WEST (Yamaha World SSP
Racing) |
|
2 B. PARKES (Yamaha World
SSP Racing) |
|
3 K. SOFUOGLU (Hannspree Ten
Kate Honda) |
|
4 M.ROCCOLI (Yamaha
Lorenzini by Leoni) |
|
5 R.HARMS (Stiggy Motorsport
Honda) |
|
6 S. SANNA (Racing Team
Parkalgar) |
|
7 J. FORES (HP Racing) |
|
8 K. FUJIWARA (Althea Honda
Team) |
|
9 G.VIZZIELLO (RG Team) |
|
10 S. CHARPENTIER (Hannspree
Ten Kate Honda) |
|
11 Y. TIBERIO (Stiggy
Motorsport Honda) |
|
12 M.LAGRIVE (Intermoto
Czech) |
|
13 B. VENEMAN (Pioneer
Hoegee Suzuki Racing) |
|
14 S. GIMBERT (Yamaha - GMT
94) |
|
15 G.BOCCOLINI (Team PMS
Kawasaki Supported) |
Race Preview
The World Superbike Championship
moves on from the torrential rains that forced the
abandonment of Silverstone's Race 2 to what promises
to be another scorching weekend of action at the
recently revamped, resurfaced and renamed Misano
World Circuit track.
The former Santamonica circuit more
or less retains the same layout as before but now
the riders will be lapping in a clockwise direction
as it hosts its first international event since
reopening for business in spring of this year.
Misano has always been a favorable
track for Italian manufacturer Ducati, winners of 23
of the 30 encounters in the fifteen years of WSBK
action there.
Troy Bayliss has always had a
particular affinity with the Misano track the eight
times he has raced there since 2000. The 38
year-old Aussie has won four races and finishing
second three times. First Superbike testing at
the new Misano in May also went well, with Troy
topping the timesheets.
Troy Bayliss: "Now you
have to get into a good rhythm at Misano because
it's a very one-line sort of track and the bike has
to be working well to get the most out of it.
The track's got good grip but it's quite bumpy.
Some guys will come to grips with it, some will
struggle, it depends on how they're feeling with the
bike, but I felt very comfortable there.
Misano has always been good for me and I can't see
why it can't be again especially after the last test
we did there."
"Actually the launch pad for the
rest of the season started at Silverstone and the
plan is to continue. I'm going to attack as
much as I can and gradually make up the points on
the guys in front of me. I actually thought
the gap was more after Silverstone but when I found
out it's only 48 points, I was quite happy because
it's still possible to win the title!"
Yamaha Team Report
This weekend Misano hosts the eighth round of the
2007 World Superbike Championship and the Yamaha
Motor Italia Team is fully focused and raring for
more success following their second and third
positions at Silverstone two weeks ago. Bad
weather conditions meant the second race was
cancelled, preventing the team from taking further
points away. This was only the third time a
Superbike race has been cancelled in the
championship's twenty-year history.
Misano first appeared on the
Superbike calendar in 1991 and has been a regular
stop in the championship since 1993. The
circuit is much loved by racers and fans alike with
a seating capacity of 75,000. For 2007 the
circuit has undergone a makeover - the track now
runs in a clockwise direction as opposed to the
anti-clockwise route it has taken previous years. It
has also been re-surfaced. These two factors
together mean this track is effectively new for all
the riders.
The Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team has
already had a chance to get to grips with the
new-style Misano, having tested there between the
Monza and Silverstone rounds last month.
During the two-day test the team tried many new
parts including the variable intake system used on
the standard production R1. Both riders came
away feeling positive about the progress they had
made on their set-up as well having learnt the
track. Corser was second fastest over the two
days with Haga fourth fastest.
Haga goes to Misano fired up after a
solid second place at Silverstone which leaves him
only 23 points behind the championship leader, James
Toseland. Last year Haga finished fifth and
third at this circuit; in 2005 he took two sixth
positions and in 2004 he walked away with a pair of
fourth places.
Talking about the last round, Haga
says, "My second place result at Silverstone was
good. Of course it would've been ideal to take
away twenty five points but to take twenty points
was important for my championship fight. I was
very disappointed at the cancellation of the second
race because I lost the opportunity to completely
close the gap on first place but that now becomes my
challenge for this weekend instead."
|
 |
|
Misano Race Circuit |
|
|
"Having got the double win at the
team's first home round (Monza) was perfect. I would
love to repeat this at our second home circuit but I
have to be realistic," Haga comments.
"At our test there last month I
struggled to find the right set-up so I need to
resolve that before focusing on racing this weekend.
The new track has lots of grip because of the new
surface but it also has a lot of bumps which make it
more difficult to set up the braking and general
behavior of the machine."
Corser has a good history at Misano;
he achieved the Full Monty there in 2000, which
consists of taking pole, winning both races and
getting the fastest lap of both races also.
Although he didn't fare so well last year, failing
to finish either race, he took a pair of third place
finishes in 2005 and has taken pole twice at this
Italian circuit.
"I'm looking forward to going back
to Misano after such a good test there last month.
At least we can be sure that the weather will be
better there than at Silverstone! Weather aside,
Silverstone was a good race for me - it gave me my
110th podium and was a real step forward in terms of
progress. It could well prove to be the
turning point in the season for me," Corser says.
"The Misano test we did was good
because we were able to make some good chassis
improvements, which were proven at Silverstone.
The test also gave me a chance to get to know the
new direction of the track. Sure it's bumpy but I'm
not worried about that. The only issue I can
see is that the first section is now quite tight and
whilst it will lead to some good close racing it
also means that there is only one line and no
overtaking points. I will just have to see
where I can create some overtaking points! I'm
looking forward to this race for sure."
World Supersport
Anthony West gave the Yamaha World Supersport Team
their first win of the season at Silverstone, coming
up from 16th place on the grid to take the top slot
in the torrential rain that eventually saw the race
red flagged. Broc Parkes had less fortune and
crashed out of the race whilst in second position in
a low-side slide that broke his foot peg and
prevented him from continuing.
Parkes goes to Misano with a good
history at the circuit. He won an Italian
Championship round there in 2005 and finished third
in last year's World Supersport race, having taken
pole on the same weekend.
"Rather than look back at my results
so far this season I just want to focus on what's
ahead. I've been working out almost daily since
Silverstone - the first time I have been able to
really do it since I broke my collar bone - and it
feels good," Broc says.
"Misano is a new circuit for
everyone so it will be interesting to see how riders
take to it. It's always hot at Misano, which suits
me as I'm used to training in that kind of weather
back home in Australia. I feel we have a good
base set-up for the bike; we've come a long since
the start of the season even if the results don't
reflect that. Now I want to get some points on the
board badly; everyone is so close on points that
this championship isn't over yet! What I really want
is to walk away from Misano with a podium."
Anthony West continues to stand in
for Kevin Curtain after taking the race win at
Silverstone. As with Monza and Silverstone, West has
not ridden the Misano circuit before but this hasn't
slowed him down at previous rounds. He will be in
good company this weekend as almost none of the
Supersport riders have ridden the new-look track.
"I'm looking to get another good
result this weekend; it'll be nice to race in the
dry and warm after Silverstone! I'm excited to go to
Misano, especially off the back of my first win for
the team," Anthony says.
"It'll be a much more level playing
field at Misano because very few people have ridden
the new track yet. Normally I'm learning the circuit
as well as trying to find the right set-up but this
time everyone will be in the same boat, which will
give me more chance of getting a good qualifying
place. I'll start with the same set-up as I
had at Silverstone and see where we go from there. I
haven't had as much time as I'd like on the bike yet
to find a good base setting but I'm not far off. It
should be a good weekend."
Track Data
Track length: 4060m
Track opened: 1972
2006 WSB Winners: Bayliss (Ducati), Pitt (Yamaha)
2006 WSB fastest lap: 1'35.123 (Pitt, Yamaha, Race
2)
WSB lap record: 1'33.525 (2002, Bayliss, Ducati)
Circuit tel: +39 0541 618511
Circuit website: www.misanocircuit.com
