Race Results
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama had his best day of the World Superbike Championship year so far, grabbing a podium in the first race at today’s Misano sixth round and finishing fifth in race two.

His third place in race one was by far his best result of the season and, but for tire problems in race two, another podium would’ve been on the cards.

In contrast, reigning Superbike World Champion Troy Corser had a day to forget: A crash in both races left him without any points to show and he has now slipped to fourth place in the championship.

Troy Bayliss (Ducati) won the first race after storming though the field from his seventh place on the grid with James Toseland (Honda) second and Kagayama third.

Corser led race two for the first seven laps and was looking comfortable until he ran wide avoiding cement dust in the final chicane and lost the front end. He tried to remount but saw that there was gravel and stones in the bike and it would’ve been pointless to carry on. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) took the checkered flag - his maiden Superbike World Championship win - with Alex Barros (Honda) second and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) third.

Team Alstare Engineering rider Fabien Foret recorded his best results of the season, with a 13th in the first race and a 10th in the second.

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia):  "It feels incredible to get that first win.  I saw that Troy (Corser) was making some mistakes so I tried to keep the pressure on him.  When he went down I saw that the lead was about 1.3 seconds over the next guy.  For all I knew there was a big line of guys behind me so I tried to concentrate as there were a lot of laps to go.  When I went past and saw 'six seconds' on my pit board I thought the mechanics had made a mistake and it was 0.6 seconds.  Then, when we got down to the last five laps I knew that I could take it easier and enjoy things a bit more.  It's a great feeling and I really have to thank my team. We did a lot of testing on used tyres because we knew that it was important to be consistent throughout the race.  In the first race the bike was running wide on a full fuel load but for the second we completely changed the front end and run harder springs which made a big improvement."

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 5th:  “I’m happy to be on the podium again because it has been such a long time - maybe six months!  This season has been unlucky for me so I’m hoping that this is the start of a change of luck.  I think I could’ve got another podium in the second race if it wasn’t for a tyre problem. I used the same bike and the same tires but the feeling of the bike was not the same as the first race and I could not push as hard.  The bike was sliding and wheel-spinning a lot more and so my lap times were not as good.  Generally speaking, we have had a bit of a grip problem all season and I suppose that the very high temperatures here today did not help us at all. It was difficult to ride the bike today so I am happy to get a podium and a fifth.”

Troy Corser - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF:  “I am very frustrated and disappointed today.  The problems we had would’ve been solved if I had been able to take part in the recent Brno tests.  Missing that test has hurt us a lot.  In the first race the bike just jumped out of gear going in Querca corner and I was spat off the bike.  I was pretty comfortable leading the second race but after about five laps the bike started jumping out of a gear a bit again and that made me a bit nervous in the turns.  At the final chicane there was a lot of cement dust - put down from an earlier crash - and it was right on my line.  In order to avoid it, I had to change my line and run a bit wide and, on one lap, I must’ve run a bit too wide and when I tried to make the turn again, the tire ran out of grip and down I went. And that was the end of disastrous day!”

Qualifying
James Toseland qualified on pole for the World Superbike race in Misano at San Marino today.  Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser was more than a second under the official lap record but still had to settle for the second fastest time in World Superbike Superpole.

A slightly cautious start in the first turn lost the World Champion some time but, from then on in, he stormed back into contention losing out by the narrowest of margins in the end to James Toseland (Honda).

Third quickest is Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) with Steve Martin (Petronas) fourth.  Three out of the first four are Aussies, but surprisingly series leader Troy Bayliss is not amongst them.

Troy Corser - 2nd, 1:33.866:  “I know it sounds a bit funny but I’m a bit disappointed not to have taken Superpole today.  Before I started the lap, I felt that I could do a mid 1:33 but maybe I was a bit too cautious going into the first turn and that cost me some time.  But, at the end of the day, being on the front row is the important thing because if you are not in with the leaders when you go into the first left-hander, it’s easy to lose a lot of time.  Today, I had a lot of wheelspin or maybe lack of grip exiting the turns.  Part of that might have been due to the very high track temperature out there today.  I just can’t seem to get sufficient grip where I want it.  We’ll look at the telemetry and see if we can make some adjustments in the morning warm-up.  After my recent illness my energy levels are not back up to 100%.  At the moment I’m ok for about 12-15 laps, but then it becomes a bit of a struggle.  It’s going to be a very long, hard day tomorrow for sure.”

The question on everyone's lips is who can stop Ducati's Troy Bayliss from extending his run of seven consecutive race wins.  The man most likely to break that domination looks like being Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga.

Haga has been supremely consistent this season, failing to finish just one race and never coming lower than fifth in the other nine races.  He has been Bayliss' main challenger since the start of the European season in April, outscoring all but the Australian over the last three rounds to go to Misano third in the championship.

The Japanese rider returns to Italy on the back of three consecutive podium finishes and a successful test in Brno.  His Yamaha Motor Italia squad have worked hard to make the 2006 YZF-R1 easier to ride than last year's model and with every lap bringing a greater knowledge of the complex electronics systems used to manage the power, the team goes to Misano in good spirits.

"Last year we had a big traction problem in Misano," says Haga, who qualified a lowly 21st on the grid but still scored a pair of sixths at the seaside circuit last year.  "My target for Misano is the same as at all races: to fight for the win.  This year the bike is much better on this type of track and we had a good test at Misano in April, when I set the third fastest time and was able to do a good race simulation.  I think that the conditions will be much hotter for the race and that this will change the grip levels but we now have a good base setting for the bike and it means that we do not have to make such big changes between each circuit."

As an official Pirelli tire test team, Haga and his team-mate Andrew Pitt spent their three days in the Czech Republic last week evaluating the latest products from the tire company as well as trying out a host of new settings and development parts on their YZF-R1s.

Running in hot temperatures as expected in Misano, Pitt set the second fastest time on race tires with a 2:01.2, Haga was third fastest with a best of 2:01.5.  Bayliss was the fastest rider on show with a 2:00.8.  Showing the considerable improvements made to the bikes and tyres over the past year, all of the top riders were well under Haga's 2:03.747 lap record from last year's race.

Pitt currently lies sixth in the series and has been a regular challenger at the front of the field this season.  The Australian is in good form, having taken a pair of top five finishes in Silverstone.  As always he goes into this weekend's race with a target of a podium finish. Like Haga, he was able to complete a full test program in Brno and is looking forward to Misano.

He says: "Misano is a circuit that I enjoy going to.  It's normally very hot there, which along with the fact that you're on the left side of the tire so long, means that it's a hard track on the tires.  It's mostly left hand corners around here and you're on the side of the tire for a big part of the lap.  There are only one or two right-handers and a couple of chicanes.  The most critical part at Misano is the triple left hand corner leading into the back straight.  You need to get that right to get a good run onto the back straight, because in the race that's really the only chance you get to overtake.  Our test went well there but we expect it to be hotter this weekend, so the grip levels are likely to be different for the race."

Having spent two days testing in Lausitz last weekend, Yamaha Motor France will go to Misano hoping to recapture the form that saw Norick Abe take two fourth places in Valencia, a track with some similarities to this weekend's venue.  The Japanese star currently lies ninth in the championship and, with last year's races and some valuable testing time around the venue, he will be expected to better the solitary point he scored in last year's races, even though Misano is one of his least favourite tracks.

By contrast team-mate Sebastien Gimbert rates Misano as one of his favorites.  He missed the race through injury last year but rode strongly to set the 11th fastest time in April's test.  The team's third rider, Shinichi Nakatomi, could miss the race due to the arm injury he sustained in Silverstone.  A decision will be made later this week as to whether the Japanese star will ride or not.

As always, the event will also feature a round of the Supersport World Championship, where Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain will look to take advantage of the absent championship leader Sebastien Charpentier.  The Honda rider crashed at the Brno test and will miss the Misano race. Curtain currently lies second in the championship on his new-for-2006 YZF-R6, 40 points behind Charpentier.  Curtain set the fastest supersport time at the Brno test, his 2:06.0 being over a second under the lap record.

"The Brno test went real well," explained Curtain.  "The bike is improving every time we get out on it. Pirelli brought along a lot of tyres to test and we've found some that work well with the R6.  Misano should suit us.  We've got to try and pull some points back on Charpentier and keep applying the pressure to him.  There's still a long way to go in the championship and I've always maintained that nothing would be decided in the opening races.  I had some bad luck in Monza but we will keep focussed and try not to make any mistakes."

Suzuki - Following its disastrous weekend at Silverstone, Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra is going to round six of this year’s Superbike World Championship at Misano in a positive frame of mind.

Misano is a track reigning World Champion Troy Corser knows well and, although the track does favor twins, he is hoping that the good test work done by his team mate Yukio Kagayama in Brno last week will pay dividends.  Kagayama has had a bit of a topsy-turvy season and although he is not fully fit, he too is determined to get back on the podium.

For Alstare Engineering rider Fabien Foret, the San Marino round is the halfway point in what has been a difficult learning year for the Frenchman.  But in the Brno tests, he made a significant step forward with his bike set-up and is now much happier about his Misano prospects.

Troy Corser:  “I’m obviously disappointed to have missed the Brno tests but I know that Yukio has done a good job there.  The first day of practice at Misano will be used to try out some of the ideas from Brno and it’ll also be a chance for me to ease myself back in the saddle after a lay-off of nearly a month."

"Misano is quite a technical track and there are a few places where you can either make up or lose time, so you have to have a pretty good set-up and know what you’re doing.  It’s a track that seems to suit the twins and, because it is their ‘home circuit’, Ducati will be pulling out all the stops to win, but that will not stop me from trying to spoil their party.

Yukio Kagayama:  “I think we did a lot of good work in Brno recently and now I hope that all the information we collected can be put to good use.  Physically the three days in Brno were very tiring because Troy-san was not there, but since then I have had a chance to rest and I will be ready for Misano for sure.  Although I am not 100% fit, when I am on the bike I forget about any discomfort and just ride.  In Misano last year I had a crash in the first race and I was sore in the second and couldn’t push hard. It is not an easy track, but I want to get my season back on track and take a podium or two.  This is my goal.”

Circuit: Misano
Country: Italy
Track length: 4060m
Opened: 1972
Fastest lap ever: 1:33.525 (Troy Bayliss, 2002)
Lap record: 1:34.913 (Troy Bayliss, 2002)
Last year's winner: Regis Laconi (Ducati)

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