Race Results
Troy Bayliss took home a double win on his Ducati today at Phillips Island in Round 2 of the 2008 World Superbike Championship. 

Troy Corser took second in the first race and a DNF in the second on his Yamaha, with Michael Fabrizio taking third in the first race, also on a Ducati.

In the second race, Carlos Checa (Honda) took second and Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) came in third.  The mixed results probably will not so far affect the discussions on whether or not to somehow equalize engine output between the Ducati and other bikes.

Ducati Team Report
An incredible day for the Ducati Xerox Team with both Bayliss and Fabrizio performing impeccably.  Twice world-champion Troy Bayliss took the double win in front of his home crowd, in what is to be his last ever Superbike race day at Phillip Island.

Despite the elbow injury he sustained in a high-side yesterday morning, Bayliss rode the two races perfectly, leading the field from the start in Race 1 (restart) and leading for most of Race 2 after rival Corser crashed out in the early stages.

Fabrizio had a much more difficult start to Race 1 after failing to leave the start line.  He sustained muscular contusions to his right calf and although in pain returned to the grid for the Race 1 restart.  After a less than perfect start, Fabrizio soon moved up from eighth place to fourth and, after a battle with Corser and Xaus, was able to take an impressive third place and his first podium with the Ducati Xerox Team.  Unfortunately in Race 2 a jump start for Fabrizio meant a drive through penalty, leaving him unable to catch up and with an eventual nineteenth place finish.

Bayliss now leads the championship with 88 points, 27 points ahead from Nieto (Suzuki) while Fabrizio is in eighth place overall. Ducati leads the manufacturers championship with 95 points and a 32 point advantage over Suzuki.

Troy Bayliss (winner - Race 1 and Race 2):  "It's something you dream of, to have a double win and I knew this year it would be difficult to achieve but I have a great team behind me who all worked really hard. overnight  They had to build a new bike for me from scratch after my crash yesterday."

"I had a few ups and downs this weekend.  After Race 1 I was struggling with the last 6 laps but in the end I managed to take the win. In the second race the tires were a little slower but I felt better on the bike which was more consistent and a pleasure to ride.  After race 1 I was so tired but after the second one I felt great.  I had to concentrate hard today as in the second race, even though I was ahead I was aware I had to keep it together and put in some consistently good laps.  It's been incredible, great weather and some good racing.  I know there will be fighting to come later this season so two wins like that was just fantastic."

Michel Fabrizio (3rd place - Race 1):  "All in all, it was a good day.  I'm sorry for what happened this morning on the grid but the bike failed to leave the start line and that unfortunately caused an accident.  The blow to my leg from the impact from David Checa's bike meant that of course my leg was hurting a lot during the restarted Race 1 but I gritted my teeth and did what I had to do." (FYI: wBW review of the replica Michael Fabrizio Suomy helmet).

"Then there was the jump start in Race 2.  I realized straight away that I'd done it and unfortunately after the ride-through penalty that they gave me, I wasn't able to catch the others.  A big thank-you goes to my team today as they had to completely rebuild my bike between the two races, literally from the frame, so I'm very grateful to them."

Yamaha Team Report
Troy Corser went through one race of joy and endured one non-finish at the challenging Phillip Island circuit in Australia, taking a masterful second place in race one but falling out of contention for the podium places in race two.

On his home track, Corser had to work hard with his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team to find a good race day set-up and he made adjustments between races to improve it still more, finding great gains until his race finished early.

Noriyuki Haga celebrated his 33rd birthday today but not in the way he wished on the racetrack, taking eighth in race one and seventh in race two.  He found traction issues in each 22-lap race, following on from similar concerns in qualifying at Phillip Island.

A dramatic race one had to be restarted after a starting line incident, when Michel Fabrizio's machine stalled on the line and was struck first by the unsighted David Checa (Yamaha GMT94 Team) and then more powerfully by privateer Vittorio Iannuzzo, who was injured in the impact, breaking his left wrist.  As Iannuzzo lay trackside the race was red-flagged, and a complete 22-lap restart called.

In the second race, Corser was fast off the line, too fast for the race officials, and he was given a jump-start penalty in controversial circumstances.  Unsure if the penalty signal was for him, he carried on initially, but fell on lap five, having led for three laps and looking strong for another podium finish at least.  Corser was uninjured by his high-speed crash exiting the first left-hand corner, and felt he must have slid off on oil or water lying on the racing line.

Fast starting in each race, Haga was forced to go backwards through the field, having a lonely race towards the end of the first contest, but working hard in race two to defend his seventh place finish.

Even with his race two no score, Corser is fourth in the championship chase, with 45 points, while Haga, who has scored in every race so far, is on 22 points, holding ninth place.

David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was lucky to escape the race one start line incident with only a badly cut left foot, and he recovered from a DNF in the restart to take a fine 12th place in race two.  His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert just missed a point in race one, but had a neck-and-neck race with Checa in race two and scored 13th place.

Team YZF Yamaha squad rider Shinichi Nakatomi overcame some difficult moments in qualifying to take two points scores, going 15th in each race, approximately thirty seconds behind the leaders each time.

Troy Corser.  Courtesy Yamaha Racing

Troy Corser (2nd and DNF - Yamaha Italy WSB Team):  "There were a few tough passes in that first race, but I never panicked even when I got run wide a couple of times.  The bike wasn't perfect and we were moving around a bit too much.  We were going as fast as we could sideways!

We made changes for race two and it was a lot better.  Overall a podium in race one was not too bad.  They definitely held the start too long in race two. 

It was like the starting light was on, on and then on some more, then it went off.  It was way too long to wait.  I knew I had moved, but I had stopped again.

Anyway I felt much more confident on the bike and in control in race two but it seemed to me that there was a small line of oil on the corner and that's what it felt like - tucking the front on oil.  I thought there would be bikes coming into the gravel trap after me.  We learned many things this weekend and I think we could have finished second in race two at least, maybe even challenged Troy Bayliss."

Noriyuki Haga (8th and 7th - Yamaha Italy WSB Team):  "My physical condition was OK today because I had a very effective massage from the Clinica Mobile people, so thanks to them.  This whole weekend has just been down to a lack of grip.  It feels like the first two races this year have just been an exercise for me.  We have not had the chance to build our performance on the bike so it feels like our season will start in the European races."

Qualifying
Suzuki Team Report
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner started today's first day of qualifying superbly by posting the fourth quickest time of the day.

His lap of 1:32.808 was just over four tenths of a second behind provisional pole-setter Troy Corser (Yamaha). Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was second quickest today, with his team mate Michel Fabrizio third fastest.

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Fonsi Nieto had a steady day, finishing ninth fastest overall, but will be looking for an improvement tomorrow.

Max Neukirchner - 4th, 1:32.808:  "Today was not so bad and I had no big problems at all.  We changed the characteristics of the engine-braking for the afternoon session and also the rear shock.  We did that to get better grip. When the bike is on fresh tires, I seem to be able to ride smoothly, without a problem.  But when I try and push very hard I get many rear slides.  Phillip Island is a great track, but it's a track where you have to be perfect everywhere if you want to set a really good lap time."

Fonsi Nieto - 9th, 1:33.269:  "I am happy because we've made a good start today, even though the set-up was not right.  Conditions today were very different to when we tested here in January, so we more or less had to start from scratch again.  I spent most of the day working at trying to understand the tires and how they perform.  In the afternoon, the bike's set-up was better then the morning and this is a track where a good bike set-up is vital if you want to make a good lap."

Yamaha World Superbike Team Report
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was only one place away from taking the Superpole win at his home track of Phillip Island, after qualifying second quickest in the regular official timed sessions and Superpole itself.

On qualifying tires he was half a second a second faster in Superpole than he had been on race tires
, posting a lap of 1'32.011.  He did not get the chance to practice on a qualifying tire, making his ultimate performance in Superpole all the more impressive.

Corser's battered and bruised team-mate Noriyuki Haga jumped up from 11th to 7th after a gritty Superpole ride, despite not finding the levels of rear traction he expected around the 4.445km circuit in Victoria.  He had set second time on a qualifying tire earlier in the afternoon session, but could not find the same level of drive in Superpole.

In his first Superpole ride Davide Checa (Yamaha GMT94) finished 15th, overcoming a moment of drama as he ran off track at the first corner, losing valuable time.  He qualified for Superpole ahead of several riders from official teams, thanks to recent changes in the way the GMT94 team approaches the business of finding a good set-up.

It was the first Superpole qualification for the team since moving into World Superbike. Checa's team-mate Sebastien Gimbert matched his first day qualifying performance by going 20th fastest, and he now starts on row five, one row behind Checa.

Shinichi Nakatomi found the Phillip Island track a difficult challenge in qualifying, ending up 22nd fastest with a 1'33.833 lap time.

Troy Corser (2nd - 1'32.011 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team):  "Today the bike was working well, but we had a few problems in that last free practice trying to get the bike balanced.  Unfortunately we were unable to use the qualifying tire before Superpole so basically I was doing a fast lap for the first time using the qualifying tire.  We can't complain too much however, because being on the front row is ideal for tomorrow."

Noriyuki Haga (7th - 1'32.728 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team):  "At the end of the untimed afternoon session, I tried a qualifier for one lap and it worked well.  I made a 1'32.3.  In Superpole it felt like a different tire.  The left side was not working, because when I opened the gas I had a slide and had to take it easy from then on.  That's why I am on the second row.  It is disappointing because I felt good for Superpole.  We still have a problems dealing with the bumps on the asphalt at this track, but it was better today than yesterday.  Tomorrow morning we try another solution and then we will be ready to race."

David Checa (15th - 1'34.166 - Yamaha GMT94):  "I was not in Superpole at Qatar but one round later we made it.  I did not have so much time to prepare on a qualifying tire and there is a bit of movement from it compared to the race tires.  I had a scare on the first corner of my Superpole lap when I ran wide and I lost about six tenths of a second right there.  I just gave it full throttle a bit too fast.  After that I got my rhythm back, but my lap time was lost.  We were happy to have got into Superpole and it was a good learning experience. I wanted to be on the third row because a rider always wants more!"

2008 World Superbike Round 2 - Phillip Island, Australia

Track Length:  4445m Fastest Superbike Lap:  1:31.493 (Troy Bayliss, Ducati) Lap Record:  1'31.826 (Troy Corser, Yamaha) 2007 Winners:  Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and James Toseland (Honda) Ambient Temperature: 24 degrees Weather: Temp: 22, Sunny
Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 34'22.933 2 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'4.221 3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'4.738 4 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'5.171 5 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 0'5.543 6 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'5.895 7 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'5.964 8 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'14.826 9 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 0'18.899 10 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'20.633 11 Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 0'21.601 12 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'29.281 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'29.500 14 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'30.030 15 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'30.223 16 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'30.800	Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 34'35.284 2 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'1.127 3 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 0'4.395 4 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'6.621 5 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'11.550 6 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 0'11.620 7 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'12.049 8 Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 0'12.134 9 Russel Holland Honda AUS 0'13.462 10 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'15.519 11 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'16.225 12 David Checa Yamaha ESP 0'21.959 13 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'21.989 14 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki JPN 0'29.106 15 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'29.219
Rider Standings as of March 2, 2008 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 88 2. Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 61 3. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 59 4. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 45 5. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 45 6. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 39 7. Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 36 8. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 34 9. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 22 10. Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 18 11. Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 17 12. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 17 13. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 13 14. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 13 15. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 12 20. David Checa Yamaha ESP 4 21. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 3 22. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 2	Manufacturer Standings as of March 2, 2008 1. Ducati 95 2. Suzuki 63 3. Yamaha 54 4. Honda 46 5. Kawasaki 7
Best Lap: Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'32.516