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2004 WORLD SUPERBIKE: IMOLA  

• 30 year old Australian Karl Muggeridge on Honda CBR 600RR took his 6th victory of the season and the championship title. He raced in British Supersport series in 1998-99 before moving to world supersport in 2001.
  MUGGERIDGE (TEN KATE HONDA)"... Winning the title with my family here is fantastic and it has already sunk in - but right now all I'm thinking about is the final race at Magny Cours"
  He is expected to move up to world superbikes next year and rejoin his team-mate and 2003 champion Chris Vermeulen.
• 200th RACE FOR CORSER
  CORSER (FOGGY): "... I have raced in this championship since 1994 and I see my future in Superbikes ... To start so many races is something I never expected"

• PREVIOUS WINNERS
• 2003 WINNERS:
• RACE 1: Ruben Xaus SPA Ducati
• RACE 2: Ruben Xaus SPA Ducati
• 2002 WINNERS: RACE 1 + 2: EDWARDS, HONDA

WINNER R1 + R2, LACONI (DUCATI): "... I made a few small mistakes at the beginning and the bike didn't feel so good with the full tank so I didn't try to push so much ... Haga passed me and James too so I decided just to follow them. Haga crashed in front of us which was quite difficult then I just had to pass James for the win. The only way I found to do that was on the very fast left in fifth gear. It was hard for sure but I had to go for it. The last chicane was very difficult, I braked late but I knew it was close to the finish so I just tried to be fast all the way through. It was really great to win at Imola today because Imola is a Ducati track".

• RACE 1
• 1 Regis Laconi, FRA Ducati 999F04
• 2 Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR1000RR
• 3 James Toseland Ducati 999F04
• 4 Noriyuki Haga, JPN, Ducati
• 5 Garry McCoy, AUS Ducati 999RS
• 6 Steve Martin, AUS Ducati 999RS
• 7 Chili 8 Borciani 9 Nannelli 10 Haslam
  
• RACE 2
• 1 Regis Laconi, FRA Ducati 999F04
• 2 James Toseland Ducati 999F04
• 3 Steve Martin, AUS Ducati 999RS
• 4 Nannelli
• 5 McCoy
• 6 Vermeulen
• 7 Pedercini 8 Borciani 9 Clementi 10 Corser

SUPERSPORT RACE:

• 1 Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR 600RR *** 2004 CHAMPION ***
• 2 Broc Parkes , Honda CBR 600RR
• 3 Charpentier , Honda CBR 600RR
• 4 Lanzi , Ducati 749 R
• 5 Foret , Honda CBR 600RR
• 6 Pitt, Yamaha YZF R6
• 7 Fabrizio
• 8 Chambon
• 9 Baiocco
• 10 Antonello

1ST LACONI (DUCATI): ".... It was not exactly a perfect Superpole lap, because before the finish I slid a little ... I had to push harder on that lap because Chris's time was a really tough one to beat. We have done a very good job all weekend and I am very happy with my race tyre ... For me it's very important to be on pole position because I am half-Italian and Ducati is very close to here so I'm sure there will be a lot of fans trying to help me win the race tomorrow. I like this Imola track for sure, there are a lot of corners like the Acque Minerali where you can make a big difference. It seems a very good track for me and the Ducati is working very well also"

2ND VERMEULEN (HONDA): "... I really thought I had that but then Regis just came along and beat me. I haven't had a pole yet so I want to win one before the season is out. I'm happy because the bike is working well and we've made some changes since the first day, which have taken us even closer to a perfect race set-up. Sometimes we can go to tracks and it works well from the start and at others, probably because I haven't ridden a big bike there before, it has been more difficult. But it's been good so far here."

• 1 Regis Laconi, FRA Ducati 999F04 1m 50.8
• 2 Noriyuki Haga, JPN Ducati 999RS
• 3 Steve Martin, AUS Ducati 999RS
• 4 Vermeulen Honda CBR1000RR
• 5 McCoy Ducati 999RS
• 6 Borciani
• 7 Toseland
• 8 Chili
• 9 Pedercini
• 10 Corser 11 Nannelli 12 Romboni 13 Bussei 14 Pini 15 Bontempi 16 Fuertes 17 Clementi 18 Walker 19 Haslam 20 Zannini

MUGGERIDGE, POLE: "... Eight out of nine poles this year is pretty good ... I don't really know why we've been so good in qualifying. All I can say is that I enjoy it; it's a chance to put all your work over two days of qualifying into practice on the track. You put the softest tyre in, and then you can be more aggressive on the throttle and push a little bit harder. I just enjoy going fast, want to go faster than everyone else. Pole position is to the left at this track and that's where you want to be for the entry to the first corner. The track is in good condition, but it was still not quite dry out there. I want to be on the podium tomorrow, I'll treat it like every other race and try to finish on the top step."

• 1 Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR 600RR 1m 52.131s
• 2 Broc Parkes , Honda CBR 600RR
• 3 Kevin Curtain , Yamaha YZF R6
• 4 Pitt, Yamaha YZF R6
• 5 Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF R6
• 6 Charpentier , Honda CBR 600RR
• 7 Foret , Honda CBR 600RR
• 8 Lanzi , Ducati 749 R
• 9 Baiocco , Yamaha YZF R6
• 10 Fabrizio , Honda CBR 600RR

PRE RACE:

QUOTES

• TOSELAND: "... We're coming off a good result at Assen and we're confident of having another result like that" declared the 23-year-old from Sheffield. "I know the pressure's on but it's on everybody and it's a question of who's going to cope with it best. If we can come away with 45 points from each of the last two rounds, like at Assen, then I'm sure we can lift the title, but it's easier said than done ... Imola has a lot of undulation, it's quite a technical track actually .. I had a torrid time last year, my gear lever fell off in the first race and I had a massive crash in the second but we were actually quite fast round there and I'm confident I can be competitive this weekend".
• LACONI: "... Imola is a racetrack that I really like and it has some very fast sections before the Villeneuve and the Piratella curves. I've always had good results there and I hope it will be the same this year with the factory Ducati ... For sure Assen was not very easy, I wasn't entirely happy with the bike so I did the best I could. We tested a lot of things at Magny- Cours afterwards and we found something that made the bike a bit better at the front so now I feel that we are ready for the last races"

PRESS RELEASE: Sept 20, 2004

SBK Title Chase Enters Penultimate Phase at Imola

As the 17th season of World Superbike approaches its penultimate round there has never been quite so much at stake, for quite so many riders. Any one of six top competitors have a mathematical chance of the title but, in more realistic terms, four riders will be contesting the final two rounds with full expectations of winning the title. New technical rules for 2004, making all engine configurations more competitive, plus the adoption of a single tyre supplier, have been the prime factors behind this most closely contested of seasons.

The 4.933km Imola circuit hosts World Superbike for the fourth time this year and the city centre parkland circuit has been the scene of some breathless SBK action in each of those years. The fast and flowing nature of the venue, combined with the undulations laid out by Mother Nature mean that even the proliferation of speed calming chicanes do little to hamper the riders’ high overall pace around the lap. With lap times over 160kmph on average, Imola is one of the fastest on the calendar and rated as a true rider’s circuit - where the machine performance is important but always secondary to the input of the rider.

Such has been the keen competition in SBK this season that the championship battle features four riders within a mere 14 points of each other. With a total of 100 points up for grabs for any who can win the final four legs of the championship, first of all at Imola and the final round at Magny Cours in France, there are no certainties at this point. Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) lost his championship lead to his team-mate James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) at the previous IMOLA round, but the French ace still sits in third place overall, only ten points from Englishman Toseland. Imola is almost a ‘home’ race for both factory Ducati riders, as Imola is a short Autostrada blast away from the Ducati Fila team’s headquarters in Borgo Panigale, Bologna. With the vociferous ‘Ducatisti’ in attendance Imola will be its usual cauldron of crimson banners on raceday. Each factory rider has an individual reason to feel confident for Imola, with Laconi the only current SBK rider to have won at the venue, while Toseland’s resurgence gave him a win at the most recent 2004 SBK event in IMOLA.

SBK rookie Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) has consistently belied his relative Superbike inexperience and trails Toseland by only three points, 255 to 252. With the reigning World Supersport Champion having an unquestioningly spectacular impact in the premier class, another new SBK star has been born. Vermeulen’s current championship position is also a remarkable achievement for both his Ten Kate Team, which also made the jump to Superbike this year, and the new-for-2004 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, in its first season of international competition. Raising their game at every crossroad they have come to so far, the Ten Kate trinity of rider, team and four-cylinder machine have scored a quartet of impressive wins so far.

Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati Koji 999RS) currently lies fourth in the championship, 14 points from Toseland, but he is nonetheless holder of a 2004 winning record the envy of all except Laconi, with five full-pointers under his belt so far. Fully in the hunt, Haga is the most experienced of all the current championship contenders, but has yet to win a Superbike race at Imola.

Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) has had a typically eventful season so far in SBK, with a single race win on his hybrid 998/999 machine, five DNFs in total and arguably more column inches in the media than any other single rider. The local hero, 40-years-old and in his 22nd year of senior racing competition, may be a remote 42 points from the lead at present, but at Imola, riding a wave of local emotion, he could perform in a fashion that sometimes only Chili can. A rider with an even more up-down season than Chili is the most experienced SBK rookie imaginable, Garry McCoy (Ducati Xerox SC 999RS). A single race winner at Phillip Island, McCoy has taken only two further podiums, despite his best efforts and a dramatic tail steering style. At a fast track like Imola, McCoy could find things going his way, despite being surrounded by Superbike’s best exponents.

Troy Corser and Chris Walker have posted some impressive results on the 900cc, three-cylinder Petronas FP-1, a unique machine in its own right. Corser has taken a second place and Walker a third, but each will be out to make their ultimate mark before the season reaches its denouement at Magny Cours on October 3.

Among riders looking for their first ever SBK wins, at Imola or elsewhere, are Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati Koji 999RS) and Steve Martin (DFX Ducati 999). Each has podium finishes, but that elusive win has yet to be attained. Other top Superbike privateers out on force at Imola will be the Bertocchi Kawasaki duo of Mauro Sanchini and Ivan Clementi, with Suzuki represented by the privately entered Zongshen team from China, running hired guns Warwick Nowland and Piergiorgio Bontempi. Martin’s DFX Ducati team-mate Marco Borciani is another in the frame for a good result.

Ducati 999 and 998 series machines proliferate in the privateer ranks, and in addition to the usual slew of regular SBK combatants, there will be several local riders running locally sponsored machines. In addition to the usual suspects, such as Giovanni Bussei, Gianluca Nannelli, and Lucio Pedercini, there will be wildcards aplenty, plus the fascinating induction of an MV Agusta machine, in the hands of Andrea Mazzali.

In the World Supersport Championship five time race winner in 2004 Karl Muggeridge could put his hands on the trophy with any result equal to, or better than 4th. The Ten Kate Honda rider is currently 38 points ahead of Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Italia R6), with van den Goorbergh having only two races in which to make up that substantial gap. Third placed rider Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) is now coming under pressure from Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) after an IMOLA DNF for Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Deutschland R6) dropped him to overall fifth.

Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha riders Lorenzo Alfonsi and Gianluca Vizziello carry on their own in-house battle at their local circuit once more, each vying for the right to call himself champion in this hotly contested class. With two rounds remaining, Vizziello leads by 16 points, having taken four wins to Alfonsi’s three.

As well as a full race programme Imola will feature its traditional open paddock on Thursday, plus a fun minimoto race between riders and some of the World Superbike paddock regulars.