Barros, Bayliss and Kagayama.  Courtesy Suzuki Racing

2006 World Superbike - Imola

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

Race Results
Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss split first place on the podium today at the 11th round of the 2006 World Superbike Championship at Imola.  Bayliss has the championship wrapped up, but the big excitement is who will take second place overall. 

Going in to the last race at Magny-Cours next Sunday (October 8), James Toseland has 295 points to Noriyuki Haga's 293.  It should be the race of the year!

Ducati Report - Bayliss Takes The 2006 World Superbike Title At Imola
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox Team) won the World Superbike Championship for the second time yesterday at Imola.

In the penultimate round of the series, held at the Autodromo Enzo & Dino Ferrari in front of 86,000 spectators, the 37-year-old Australian, WSBK champion back in 2001, took the crown with a fifth place in race 1, won by Alex Barros (Honda).  In the second race of the day Troy held the lead from start to finish, taking his eleventh win of the year in this extraordinary season.  Bayliss's triumph takes the number of Riders' titles won by Ducati in the production-based series to twelve, while the battle for the Manufacturers' title is still open with one round left.

Suzuki Report - Yukio Kagayama also raced to a podium in the second leg of today's World Superbike Championship round at Imola in Italy as team mate Troy Corser suffered with a DNF in the opening race.

The first race saw both Kagayama and Corser fail to finish for very different reasons: Kagayama's GSX-R1000 was hit by the falling bike of Max Neukirchner on the opening lap and Corser was forced to retire after his bike kept finding false neutrals.

The start of race two was far more encouraging for Team Alstare, with Corser in second at the end of lap one behind newly-crowned Champion Troy Bayliss.  But it wasn't long before he began to develop tire problems and gradually began to slip down the order.

Meanwhile, Kagayama moved up the order and was second with eight laps to go.  But he also started suffering tire problems and could do nothing when Barros came past.  Bayliss took the win Barros runner-up and Kagayama third.

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 3rd: "Strange day today and I am not happy with the results. My first race never really started because I was hit on the first lap and crashed. I thought about getting back on the bike, but it was too badly damaged. In between the first and second races my team did amazing work to repair my bike so that I could ride it in race two - and for this I say a 'big thank you.' The start of the second race was very fast and it was difficult to overtake anybody.

Also, my front tire feeling was not very good and I kept thinking I would crash every lap! But I did not want to give in, so I tried my hardest to keep the bike upright and close in on the leaders. I managed to do this and got into second place, but when Barros came past, my tires would not let me fight him back, so I settled for third place. It was one of the hardest races I've ever done because Imola is a very physical track and when your tires do not work it makes it even more physically tiring. Now I want to go to Magny-Cours and get two podiums!"

Yamaha Report - Andrew Pitt continued his rich vein of form today, scoring a podium finish in the day's opening race to move up to fourth in the championship ahead of next weekend's final round of the season.

The Yamaha Motor Italia rider backed up his hard fought third place in race one with a tremendous fourth around the demanding Imola circuit in race two.  Meanwhile, team-mate Noriyuki Haga fought set-up problems to post a fourth and sixth place finish, keeping his hopes of finishing second in this year's championship well and truly alive.

Race one saw both the red Yamahas fighting for the lead, with Pitt overtaking pole man Troy Bayliss (Ducati) on the second lap.  The Yamaha man rode confidently at the front for five laps, only to slip back to fifth after the rear of his machine slid violently as he exited a corner.  Despite struggling for rear grip, the Australian was able to regain a good rhythm and pass his way through to third, behind the Hondas of Alex Barros and James Toseland, by lap 19 of the 21-lap race.

Noriyuki Haga too found himself plagued by rear grip problems.  After holding third in the opening laps, he had no answer to the advancing Barros and Toseland.  The Japanese stuck diligently to his task and was rewarded with fourth place at the flag, overtaking Bayliss as he crossed the line for the final time.

Both of the Yamaha riders made slight adjustments to their machines for the second outing and it looked like the changes would pay dividends as they occupied second and third behind Bayliss in the opening laps. 

Pitt was able to push his fellow Australian harder than anyone else, but eventually the Yamaha man succumbed to front end grip problems and was passed by the slow-starting Barros and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki), who crossed the line in second and third.  Bayliss took the checkered flag for his 11th win of the season, with Haga behind Toseland in sixth.

2006 World Superbike - Imola Results
Race 1: 1 Barros (Bra-Honda), 2 Toseland (Honda ), 3 Pitt (Yamaha), 4 Haga (Yamaha), 5 Bayliss (Ducati), 6 Lanzi (Ducati), 7 Nieto -(Kawasaki),8 Muggeridge (Honda), 9 Abe (Yamaha), 10 Laconi (Kawasaki). Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF, Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF.

Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Barros, 3 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Pitt, 5 Toseland, 6 Haga, 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 9 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 10 Laconi (I-Kawasaki),

Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 393, 2 Toseland 295, 3 Haga 293, 4 Pitt 239, 5 Barros 231, 6 Troy Corser 218, 7 Yukio Kagayama 193, 8 Lanzi 152, 9 Walker 140, 10 Nieto 139.

Suzuki Racing Team Report
World Superbike Champion Troy Corser and Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra teammate Yukio Kagayama are determined to make the podium at this weekend’s 11th and penultimate World Superbike round at Imola.

Corser believes he can still make the top three in the series - after a roller-coaster season – with good results at the Italian circuit and at Magny Cours in France the following week.

Imola was a scene of celebrations for Team Alstare last year when Corser was crowned World Champion after the second race was cancelled due to a flooded track.  His runner-up position in race one and the cancelled race two was enough for Suzuki and the GSX-R1000 to take their first ever World SBK title.

Troy Corser:  “I still think I can finish in the top three this year and that’s what I’ll be shooting for at Imola and Magny. It’s been a real up and down year - literally in some cases - but I’m aiming for strong consistent finishes in the remaining races and a good end to the season.  I had mixed feelings last year when the second race was cancelled because I would’ve liked to have taken the title in normal conditions."

"But our team had worked so hard over the winter months and we were all set from the very first race - and so our title was well-earned.  It’s not going to be so easy these last few races because Bayliss and his Ducati are working so well - particularly his traction control.  Also, Imola is a ‘home’ race for Ducati because their factory is just down the road, but that’s a big incentive for me and the rest of the boys to put one over them.  That’s what I’ll be trying to do, for sure.”

Yukio Kagayama:  “I do not have such good memories of Imola last year so I will be doing my best to get two good results this time - maybe podiums.  Ever since mid season, when I was fully fit again, I have been feeling good on the bike.  There have been changes to the bike from last season and it has not always been so easy to get a really good set-up at some race tracks."

" I think my riding style has changed a little during the year and I have learnt how to be more patient.  It is not my natural style, but if it works, of course I will use it.  It’s always a bit of a problem when you have back-to-back races but I want to take podiums in all the four races and end the year in a big way."

2005 results: Race 1: 1 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Haga (J-Yamaha). 15 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Race 2: Cancelled.

Imola Race Circuit.  Courtesy Yamaha Racing

Yamaha Racing Team Report
The penultimate round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship takes place this weekend at the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, the championship's third visit of the year to Italy.

The technically demanding circuit is steeped in heritage thanks mainly to its history as a Formula One circuit but it is also famous as a bike venue too, having hosted the classic Imola 200 events during the Seventies and, more recently, Grand Prix and Superbike racing.

The circuit's surface bears the scars of this history, with the old tarmac proving bumpy and providing the bike racers with a tough challenge to find good settings.  Despite this, Imola is generally very popular with the riders - its challenging layout providing the sort of test that only the old-fashioned classic circuits can.  Last year's event took place in atrocious weather conditions that eventually led to the cancellation of race two.

The Yamaha Motor Italia squad goes into the meeting looking to give another strong showing for their home fans and to help their riders meet their end-of-season targets.  With Ducati's Troy Bayliss looking like clinching the series thanks to a 87 point advantage, the team's Noriyuki Haga is targeting more wins to add to solitary success so far this year and to consolidate his second place in the championship, which would equal his best ever end of season ranking.

Team-mate Andrew Pitt has also taken one win this season, in Misano, and is looking to get back on track after crashing out of the second race in Germany.  The Australian has been the man on form in the latter part of the season, with only a slower than hoped for start to the season and a double DNF in Brno denying him a crack at the title.  Having been the top points scorer at Assen, Pitt was unlucky to slip off last time out in Lausitz. That failure to score moved him down to fifth in the championship, one point behind outgoing champion Troy Corser (Suzuki).

"The result at Lausitz was disappointing because we made the wrong tire choice in race one and then just touched the footrest down and crashed in the second," said Pitt.

"I was disappointed to slip back to fifth in the championship but the bike was working really well and we were lucky that Barros and Corser also missed out on the big points.  Imola's a circuit that I like.  I've some good memories of the place, as I won the Supersport title there in 2001.  It's a challenging track with a lot of blind corners.  To go well there you need a lot of confidence in the bike, which is good for us as the R1 is working really well.  Who knows where we can end the season?  Second place is not out of the question but my aim is just to keep finishing on the podium in these last two weekends and then the championship positions will sort themselves out."

2006 World Supersport Championship
In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain can lift the title at Imola.  The veteran Australian goes to Italy 27 points ahead of current champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) and will win his first world crown should he leave Italy with at least 26 points over his rival going into the final round.

"I never expected to go to Imola with such a big lead," says Curtain.  "I had hoped that maybe I could have something like 10 points advantage after Lausitz so to be in this position is something we couldn't dream of."

"It's all a credit to the team, who have worked so hard to put us in this situation. We had a new bike at the start of the season but straight away we have been competitive.  With a lot of hard work we now have a bike which is as good as anything else out there.  Imola is where I had my first ride with Yamaha Germany, in 2003, and I've gone well there in the past.  I'm not thinking too much about the championship and am going with the same attitude as always, to pick up as many points as possible and let everything look after itself."

Curtain should be joined at Imola by his team-mate Broc Parkes.  Parkes missed the race at Lausitz after crashing at Assen.  The Australian will is ready to race but must undergo a final fitness test in Imola. Should he be declared fit by the circuit medics then he will look to consolidate his third place in the championship standings.

Race date: 1 October 2005
Circuit: Imola
Country: Italy
Track length: 4933m
Opened: 1953
Fastest ever Superbike lap: 1'48.075 (Chris Vermeulen)
Superbike lap record: 1'48.389 (Troy Corser)
Last year's winner: Chris Vermeulen (Honda)

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