2008 World Superbike Championship Round 3 - Spain

Race Results
A fantastic first race and an unbelievable finish for poor Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner, who was heading for his first ever World Superbike win but was taken out by Carlos Checa on the very last corner of the very last lap of the first race, after leading the entire race.

He had led the race from the start and even though Carlos Checa (Honda) closed in on his rear end on the last lap, Neukirchner was in front as they entered the last turn.  Then Checa tried an impossible maneuver up the inside of Max and his rear wheel hit, causing both of them to crash.  In the fall, the German broke his left collarbone so could not get back on the bike, but Checa was able to remount and finish in fifth place.

After yesterday's euphoria, race day did not live up to the team's expectations.

Fonsi Nieto finished a strong fourth in the first race and 10th in the second, despite suffering the same problem with grip he's had all weekend. Yukio Kagayama crashed out of race one, fortunately without injury, and took a hard fought-for sixth in race two.

After Neukirchner and Checa crashed in the first race, it was Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) who crossed the line first, followed by Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Troy Corser (Yamaha). Race two was won by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) with Bayliss second and crowd-favorite Checa third.

World Superbike and World Supersport 2008

Round 03 Valencia – Spain

Superbike Race 1

1 L. LANZI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

2 T. BAYLISS (Ducati 1098 F08)

3 T. CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1)

4 F. NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

5 C. CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR)

6 K. MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR)

7 G.LAVILLA (Honda CBR1000RR)

8 R. LACONI (Kawasaki ZX-10R)

9 M.TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R)

10 R. ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR)

11 S. NAKATOMI (Yamaha YZF-R1)

12 K. SOFUOGLU (Jr. Honda CBR1000RR)

13 R. HOLLAND (Honda CBR1000RR)

14 J. SMRZ (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

15 D. CHECA (94 Yamaha YZF-R1)

Superbike Race 2

1 N.HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1)

2 T. BAYLISS (Ducati 1098 F08)

3 C. CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR)

4 R. KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR)

5 T. CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1)

6 Y. KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

7 R. XAUS (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

8 M.BIAGGI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

9 R. LACONI (Kawasaki ZX-10R)

10 F. NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

11 G.LAVILLA (Honda CBR1000RR)

12 L. LANZI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

13 M.FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F08)

14 J. SMRZ (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

15 K. SOFUOGLU (Jr. Honda CBR1000RR)

Supersport

1 J. LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR)

2 F. FORET (Yamaha YZF-R6)

3 C. JONES (Honda CBR600RR)

4 B. PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6)

5 G.NANNELLI (Honda CBR600RR)

6 J. REA (Honda CBR600RR)

7 M.ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6)

8 A. RODRIGUEZ (Yamaha YZF-R6)

9 C.WALKER (Kawasaki ZX-6R)

10 M.AITCHISON (Triumph 675)

11 K. FUJIWARA (Kawasaki ZX-6R)

12 G.VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR)

13 M.LAGRIVE (Honda CBR600RR)

14 V. KALLIO (Honda CBR600RR)

15 M.PRAIA (Honda CBR600RR)

Race Preview
The Ricardo Tormo Circuit will once more host the first European round of the World Superbike Championship season, with the Spanish track now boasting an unbroken run of nine years on the calendar.

The circuit can quite rightly claim to be unique as it is the first true motorcycle racing 'stadium' of modern times in Europe, having been built on a remarkably small patch of land close to the Valencia/Madrid motorway.

The 65,000 grandstand seats provide the spectators with unbroken views of the entire 4.005km circuit, as it repeatedly twists and turns in on itself. There is one significant straight on the track, and one almost never-ending left-hand corner, which leads onto the gently downhill start/finish straight.

Valencia is a favorite test track for Motorsport categories of all kinds, and its heavy use leads to unpredictable surfaces and an ever-changing level of grip.  It is a well-known venue for all the top contenders in the Superbike and Supersport classes, and thus neither the official Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team nor the Yamaha World Supersport Team elected to take part in the most recent official FGSport tests, on 13 and 14 March.

Qualifying - 2008 World Superbike Championship Spain - Valencia - April 5, 2008
Superpole
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'33.805
2 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'33.928
3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'33.976
4 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'34.332
5 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'34.370
6 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 1'34.370
7 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1'34.492
8 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 1'34.613
9 Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 1'34.658
10 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'34.770
11 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'34.799
12 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki JPN 1'34.930
13 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 1'34.959
14 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'35.089
15 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'35.232

Valencia, Spain Track Information
Track length: 4005m
Tracked opened: 1999
2007 winner: Ruben Xaus (Ducati) and James Toseland (Honda)
2007 fastest lap: 1'35.746 (Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha)
World Superbike lap record: 1'35.007 (Neil Hodgson, 2003)

Suzuki Team Report
After the flyaway trip to Qatar and Australia, the Superbike World Championship returns to European soil with his weekend's third round in Valencia.

The race will be a special one for Team Suzuki Alstare rider Fonsi Nieto, as it will be his home race, and will also be an important one for one of the team's Spanish sponsors - Pepephone.

For Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner it will be a chance to improve on last year's results.

Fonsi Nieto:  "Racing at home is always a bit special and I want to put on a good show for all my fans this weekend - especially after my pair of DNF's last year! I am second in the championship at the moment and will be chasing a couple of podiums for sure.  Valencia is a track where it is important to have a really good bike set-up if you want to go fast, so that's what we'll be trying to do from the very start of practice.  There are quite a few Spanish riders in the championship this year and I am hoping that we get a good crowd for the race and can give them something to shout about."

Yukio Kagayama:  "The recent tests showed that my collarbone was OK and now that I've had a bit more time off, I feel even better.  I don't think that I will have any trouble with the injury, but Valencia is quite a physical track so I'm sure it will get a good work out! Last year in Valencia I was recovering from my crash in Donington, so my results were not good at all.  This year, I feel that I can challenge for podiums in both races and that's what I will be trying to do."

Max Neukirchner:  "I am sure that I can improve on my 12th and 10th places from last year and realistically I shall be chasing top-six finishes this weekend.  I am getting more and more comfortable with my bike every time I go out and as long as we can find a good set-up in practice, I think I can make a good show.  Valencia is a tough track and you need a very good set-up if you want to be at the front, but I am hoping that Sunday will be a good day for me and the team."

Yamaha Team Report
Last year Noriyuki Haga scored two podiums at Valencia, with a second and a third, while Corser just missed out on third place in race one.  This year Corser has had the brighter start to his overall campaign, in his second season as a Yamaha rider.  With two rounds down, he now sits fourth overall in the championship, having earned two podium finishes.  For Haga, bad luck has been an unwelcome companion so far, as he holds ninth position in the championship rankings, with 12 rounds to go.

Said Haga of the forthcoming weekend, "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."

Haga also acknowledges that he needed some time to prepare himself for the Valencia race.  "The break between the race in Australia and Valencia has been useful, it allowed me to recover after some bruising crashes," said Haga.

"It would have been good to test at Valencia maybe, but I feel very positive going into this race anyway.  Everybody in the team knows the bike and Valencia very well.  Last year I got two podiums there, this year I think we will be able to challenge hard again."

Troy Corser said, "I felt much more confident on the bike in the second race at Phillip Island so we can go to Spain with a setting that worked well there.  We have learned a few things in the first two races."  Corser is a highly adept rider at the tight Valencia circuit, having raced there every year but once since the track held its first World Superbike race in 2000.

"Valencia should be good, even though we didn't go there to test like most other people this year.  The set-up that we found in race two in Australia should work well is Spain also.  I think we have really found something to help the tyre and the chassis."

Corser is a five-time race winner at Valencia, while Haga has won two World Superbike contests at the intense Spanish circuit.

Joining Corser and Haga as usual in Valencia will Shinichi Nakatomi from the Yamaha YZF Team, while the Yamaha GMT94 team, featuring Sebastien Gimbert and Davide Checa, will also be running in what is a home race for Checa.