2006 World Superbike

Troy Corser.  Courtesy Team Suzuki

2006 World Superbike - Monza Results

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

Bayliss Again

Many race fans had pretty much given up on World Superbike after the Pirelli spec tire fiasco, the dominance by Ducati and the massive interest in MotoGP, thanks to one V. Rossi.

So this year's World Superbike championship has been a real treat -- it's everything motorcycle racing should be: exciting and thrilling with some extraordinarily close racing and some wild crashes to spice up the fun.  And who doesn't like to watch Noriyuki Haga?  Fantastico!

But unpredictable it isn't:  Troy Bayliss took yet another double at the fourth round of the World Superbike championship at Monza, putting him 36 Championship points ahead of Troy Corser, who took a third and second on his GSX-R1000.

Bayliss pretty much had the thrilling Race 1 to himself, and Corser, the reigning world champion, showed his ‘never give up’ spirit in both 18-lap races: He had front brake problems in race one and nearly crashed twice, but still managed third place behind Bayliss on the Ducati and Alex Barros on the Honda.

In race two, Corser and Bayliss traded the lead for most of the 18 laps, but Corser's Suzuki could not quite match the Ducati's acceleration out of the turns and when Bayliss pulled out a small advantage Corser could not push any harder and catch up. Bayliss crossed the line to take his second win of the day, with Corser second and Noriyuki Haga third.

It was an unlucky day for team mate Yukio Kagayama: In the first race, he got taken out when James Toseland highsided next to him and crashed. And in the second, he was forced to retire with clutch problems.

Troy Corser - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 2nd:  “Today, like at Valencia, I rode as hard as I could and when you do that and don’t win, you just have to reach out and shake the hand of the winner. In race one, I had some front brake problems. The lever was inconsistent and sometimes it’d be ok and sometimes it would come nearly all the way back to the bar! That made it a bit entertaining, I can tell you! I nearly crashed a couple of times, so in the end I was happy to get on the podium.

“There were no real problems in race two and there was just no way I could have ridden any harder. The Ducati can accelerate out of the turns like no other bike - especially the four cylinder ones - and their traction control allows Bayliss to get on the gas hard when the bike is still leant over. We cannot do that, and that is where we lose ground and time. It’s a little frustrating to ride so hard and not win, so we’ll have to figure out what to do and try and get our own back in Silverstone.”

 

Monza Qualifying - Corser Does It Again

May 6, 2006 - Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser lived up to his "Mr. Superpole" reputation with a stunning performance at the end of the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out in today’s World Superbike qualifying at Monza in Italy.

Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) had stormed his way round the 5.793 kilometer course and looked certain to claim pole position. But after a cautious start, Corser stormed back into contention with a faster second split. The third split was pure magic, with his drive through and out of the Parabolica virtually perfect that put him three-tenths-of-a-second ahead of his rival.

Third quickest was Alex Barros (Honda) with Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) fourth - making it four different manufacturers on the front row of the grid.

Corser’s team mate Yukio Kagayama struggled with a very painful right hand and then made a small mistake at the first chicane on his Superpole lap. It was enough to relegate him to the ninth fastest time and a third row grid place. Joining him on row three is Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra Fabien Foret after posting his best qualifying result of the season so far.

Troy Corser - 1st, 1:46.058:  “After taking things pretty steadily yesterday because of the weather, it was good to be able to push harder today. The bike worked pretty well and the guys gave me a great package to use on my Superpole lap. In the free practice before Superpole we tried a new qualifying tyre and decided to use it for Superpole. I was a bit cautious on the brakes going into the first chicane, but when I felt that the tire was going to stick ok, I started to go for it.

“The second split was good and the third was perfect. For that I have to thank the whole team. Races at Monza are never easy because it’s so difficult to get a gap on the field and I think there's going to be a lot of tactics going on. My aim is to stay in the front group, see how it goes, and then make my move when I think the time is right.”

Yamaha Racing - Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga go into tomorrow's Monza races in good spirits after a strong showing in today's final qualifying sessions.

Both riders have run consistently at the top of the timesheets, with Pitt third and Haga fourth at the end of the two one-hour qualifying sessions. Both men were to lose places in their grid deciding one-lap Superpole runs, but with the leading riders covered by just fractions of a second around this long and fast circuit, Pitt and Haga are confident they can challenge at the front in what looks like being a pair of thrilling races.

Haga, who was fastest in yesterday's practice session, went into Superpole as the fourth fastest rider but was hampered by a vibration from the rear of his machine. The Japanese star parked his machine immediately after crossing the finish line, with the source of the vibration being traced to a faulty component. The problem caused Haga to slip back to 10th on tomorrow's grid, although the rider is confident of running with the leaders in tomorrow's races.

Pitt ended regular qualifying as one of only three riders to break into the 1:46 bracket but was unable to replicate his best time on his Superpole lap. The Australian was hampered on his flying lap due to the engine mapping switch not being set to the optimum position. Despite this handicap, Pitt was on schedule to take pole position at the second intermediate point, only to make a mistake on entry to the Parabolica corner. He ended the day in sixth position, confident he can make a good start and join the leading slipstreaming group around this unique circuit.

Yamaha Motor France's three riders missed out on Superpole at Monza. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert was 18th fastest in the two one-hour sessions, only just missing out on a top 16 Superpole place when his best time was eclipsed in the dying moments of the second session.

Norick Abe missed the morning's final qualifying session as a result of the crash he had yesterday. Abe's best time of 1:49.497, set in Friday's less favorable conditions, was still good enough to qualify him for the races and the former MotoGP rider has been passed to ride by medical staff. Should he be fit enough to ride, he will start tomorrow's races from 27th. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi improved his Friday time by over a second to start from 20th place in his first visit to the historic circuit.