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2005 WORLD SUPERBIKE: IMOLA

CIRCUIT

• Imola, Italy
• Track length: 4933m
• Opened: 1953
• Fastest ever superbike lap: 1m 48.336 (Colin Edwards)
• Superbike lap record: 1m 48.389 (Troy Corser)
• Last year (2004) winner: both races won by Regis Laconi, Ducati

RACE

RACE 1

• 1 Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR AUS 39' 35.789
  2 Troy Corser Suzuki GSX R1000 +0.297
  3 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha R1 +8.313
  4 J. Toseland Ducati GBR +15.339
  5 S. Martin Petronas AUS +49.638
  6 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +50.072
  7 M. Neukirchner Honda GER +52.175
  8 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA +52.381
  9 R. Laconi Ducati FRA +57.834
  10 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +1' 5.727
  11 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA +1' 8.332
  12 M. Sanchini Kawasaki ITA +1' 10.289
  13 B. Bostrom Honda USA +1' 10.786
  14 M. Borciani Ducati ITA +1' 27.905
  15 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +1' 33.440
  16 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +1' 37.849

RACE 2 CANCELLED

• VERMEULEN (WINNER RACE 1): “To be honest, I’m not too disappointed about the championship. It was always a long shot and, even if we’d managed to get some more points off Troy in race two, he would still go to Magny-Cours with a big lead. All I could do was win races and that’s been happening recently – I think that shows just how much we’ve developed the bike during the course of the season. I didn’t really want to stop the race but safety always has to be the most important thing. “
• “Some parts of the track were especially dangerous, like coming out of the Variante Alta chicane where the track slopes away and it was underwater. Behind that - is a concrete wall, so it was the right decision. We’ll just go to Magny-Cours next weekend and try for two more wins. In race one, it was pretty tough and perhaps the intermediate front was not the wisest choice. But it helped me get past a few guys at the start and I was able to push relatively hard early on. But by mid race distance the track was dry and I really started to struggle. The last few laps got a bit hairy in places.”

YAMAHA RACE REPORT

• Noriyuki Haga extended his run of podium finishes to eight at Imola today, although the popular Japanese star was denied the opportunity to extend this further after the day's second race was cancelled due to extreme weather.
• What proved to be the day's only superbike race proved to be an exciting affair, raced under wet weather rules but with an almost completely dry line around the track. Away from the line, the Yamaha Motor Italia rider was involved in a thrilling battle for third place with team-mate Andrew Pitt, James Toseland (Ducati), Chris Walker (Kawasaki) and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki), with Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe just behind in seventh.
• With all riders running on slick tyres, conditions proved tricky with Kagayama, Pitt and lastly Abe crashing after running off the dry line. British riders Toseland and Walker both lost time, allowing Haga to take a well earned third position, eight seconds behind winner Chris Vermeulen (Honda), who narrowly held off Troy Corser (Suzuki).
• Despite his spectacular crash on lap seven, Pitt rejoined in 18th place. The Australian was able to continue and finish in 16th place, just missing a points finish. Abe was not so fortunate and was forced to retire. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert put in his best performance since round three in Valencia, coming home eighth.
• Heavy rain arrived between the end of the second race and the scheduled start of race two. The riders completed their sighting lap as planned, but as they came round to form the grid at the end of the warm up lap it was clear that track conditions were treacherous. The bikes were removed from the grid as race direction evaluated the circuit conditions and after a delay of almost an hour, during which the rain showed no signs of abating, the decision was made to cancel the second race on safety grounds.
• The cancellation means that Corser has been declared world champion as his 409 point total cannot be passed at next weekend's final round at Magny Cours in France. Vermeulen is guaranteed second in the championship, he is currently on 354, while Haga's 16 points today consolidate his third in the championship. He moves to 255 points with nearest rival Toseland 27 behind. Pitt's failure to score sees him drop one place in the standings to eighth, with Abe staying 12th in the championship.
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "The first race I was quite happy because in the end we found a good race tyre. My lap times were as good as the leaders but because the dry line was very narrow I could not pass Toseland easily and that let Troy and Chris get away. I was actually looking forward to the second race because I have a good feeling with the bike in the wet. In the end though I am smiling when they say no race and I do not have to ride in the very bad rain!"
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "Not so bad today, eighth position is good for me here. I had a good feeling from the bike, even in final qualifying. After the Bol d'Or it was difficult to make the adaption to a full Superbike again at the very start. For the second race we could start - no problem! I like the wet."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "In race one I just drifted a bit wide and touched the rumple strip. Lost the front and went down. It was hard work on that sighting lap (for the second race) - you couldn't see even the bike in front of you and you could not see the corners. All the apexes were puddles and there was more rain after we left the grid."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "I was able to catch the group with Toseland and Haga but I just went a little bit off the dry line and was straight down. It is a shame as I felt I could get a good result and there was no chance to have a second race."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "We said to both riders that it would be their own decision if the wanted to start in the second race or not. They did not need to make one in the end. In the race we did have, Noriyuki had a bad start and lost a few seconds in the first laps but if he had got away with the leaders I think he could have stayed with them. At one stage he and Toseland were almost a second faster, for 10 laps or so. But a podium is good for Noriyuki, his eighth of the season."

QUALIFYING

GRID - SUPERPOLE, OCT 1, 2005

• 1 Chris Vermeulen Honda CBR 1000RR 1m 48.075
  2 Regis Laconi Ducati 999 F05 1m 48.506
  3 Troy Corser Suzuki GSX R1000 1m 48.649
  4 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1m 48.667
  5 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA
  6 N. Haga Yamaha JPN
  7 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN
  8 B. Bostrom Honda USA
  9 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS
  10 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS
  11 S. Martin Petronas AUS
  12 M. Neukirchner Honda GER
  13 N. Abe Yamaha JPN
  14 P. Chili Honda ITA
  15 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA
  16 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR
  18 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA

YAMAHA QUALIFYING REPORT

• Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga was back to his best form in Imola today, taking his Yamaha YZF-R1 to a second row start for tomorrow's two-race 11th round of the Superbike World Championship.
• After ending the opening day a lowly 17th on the time sheets, the Japanese star reverted to tried and tested settings to leapfrog up the order. Within minutes of the morning's second qualifying, Haga was into the top eight - a position he retained going into the afternoon's superpole session. The crowd favourite was able to elevate himself further up the grid in the one lap superpole session, posting a 1:49.094 lap time to take sixth place on the grid.
• Team-mate Andrew Pitt had a good superpole session to end the day in ninth. The Australian had been 10th after the two qualifying sessions, but pushed hard on his superpole lap despite suffering the effects of influenza and a less than perfect bike set-up. Unfortunately the former supersport world champion narrowly missed out on a second row start.
• Yamaha Motor France pairing Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert both qualified for superpole and will start from the fourth row of the grid, in 13th and 15th place respectively.
• Pole position for tomorrow's races was taken by Chris Vermeulen (Honda) from Regis Laconi (Ducati), with championship leader Troy Corser (Suzuki) third and outgoing world champion James Toseland (Ducati) completing the front row.
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "I think we have some tough races tomorrow. In the morning warm-up we still have to try and find a rear tyre for the race and because I can't find the tyre I can't make the perfect suspension setting. Basically problem is only at rear. The front is very good so tonight we try to change the bike and find a solution."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Today was not a good day. I'm not feeling so great and we've still got some problems with the set-up: chatter is a problem and we're struggling with grip a little bit. I hope that I'm feeling better tomorrow and we'll just need to see what the races bring."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "We made some improvements today and I am hopeful that we can have some good races tomorrow. I like this track and our times on the race tyre are good although we are not able to find a big improvement with the qualifier."
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "Yesterday I made a mistake with the qualifier but today I was able to make an improvement with the soft tyre. My superpole lap was ok and I think that we can be strong in the races tomorrow."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Both riders are having trouble with traction. It seems that when the surface does not have good grip we are suffering more than most, like in Misano. For sure we are better than yesterday and both riders made good improvements today. We will change some things tomorrow to try and improve the rear grip. We know that Noriyuki especially is stronger in the race than in qualifying so we must see what happens tomorrow."

FRI QUALIFYING

• 1 Troy Corser Suzuki GSX R1000 1' 49.161
  "It felt a bit strange this morning when I went out and then was six seconds ahead of everybody else! I knew it wouldn’t last, but it was a bit weird at the time! In the afternoon timed session, the track didn’t feel as grippy, but this was probably because the temperature was much hotter then it had been in the morning. It also felt a bit dirty for some reason, but I was still quicker then anybody else, so it didn’t matter too much. We tried different gearings today and also some different tyres but, because of the change in temperature, we have not decided which ones to use in the races. The recent test helped us all and the set-up here at Imola is not far off what we were running at those tests, so we’re almost there. The only problem I had today was a little bit of ‘bumping’ at Acque Minerali, but apart from that the set-up was pretty good. I know we’re coming to the end of a long season and Ducati will be very strong here (as it is their home track), but I feel relaxed and ready to race."
  2 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda CBR 1000RR 1' 49.280
  “I’m still playing around with getting a lot more feeling from the front. Just in the last four races, I’ve found that it’s really important. We only tried two rears and two fronts in that session but that feeling is definitely coming. I didn’t feel that comfortable out there but the lap times were pretty quick – the quickest I’ve ever been here. I think that shows just how much we’ve improved the bike recently and that there’s a lot of potential still there. I’m also still familiarising myself with the circuit after the wet session this morning so definitely more to come tomorrow.”
  3 Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati 999F05 1' 50.007
  4 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1' 50.028
  5 P. Chili Honda ITA 1' 50.029
  6 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1' 50.126
  7 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 50.142
  8 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1' 50.487
  9 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1' 50.537
  10 R. Laconi Ducati FRA 1' 50.560
  11 M. Neukirchner Honda GER 1' 50.692
  12 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA 1' 50.969
  13 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1' 51.067
  14 M. Borciani Ducati ITA 1' 51.097
  15 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1' 51.285
  16 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1' 51.286
  17 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1' 51.387
  18 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1' 51.529

YAMAHA FRIDAY REPORT

• Andrew Pitt led the Yamaha runners in first qualifying for Sunday's Superbike World Championship round at Imola, ending the day with the seventh fastest time. The Australian ran strongly throughout the one hour session, only missing out on higher position after running onto the grass during his flying lap on a qualifying tyre.
• It proved a difficult day for all the riders at Imola, with overnight rain making the circuit treacherous and ensuring the teams were unable to take full advantage of vital set-up time.
• No-one suffered more from the wet conditions than Pitt's team-mate Noriyuki Haga, who was unable to fully evaluate the new specification swinging arm on his YZF-R1 during the morning session. The Japanese star ended the day in 17th place, just outside the cut-off for the grid deciding superpole session, but not too dejected, having opted not to use his soft qualifying tyre and electing to work on finding a good set-up for Sunday's races. Haga and his team will make changes to the machine overnight in order to find a setting that can allow him to qualify for the superpole session from tomorrow morning's final one hour practice.
• Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe ended the day 16th fastest but happy with his opening day performance. The Japanese, who has raced here many times during his 500cc Grand Prix career, was running consistently within the top ten on race tyres but was unable to find an improvement on the soft qualifying tyre. Team-mate Sebastien Gimbert was also unable to take advantage of the soft rubber, being unable to start his flying lap before the end of the session.
• Championship leader Troy Corser (Suzuki) was the fastest rider today, just ahead of title rival Chris Vermeulen (Honda) with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) and Steve Martin (Petronas) completing the provisional front row.
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "I'm quite happy today. We're generally running in the top five on race tyres although I made a mistake and ran onto the grass on the qualifier, which cost me some time. We lost some time because of the wet weather this morning and we've got some things to try tomorrow which should improve the bike even further."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "On race tyres I am quite happy and able to run in the top 10 although it was strange that I could not go faster on the qualifier. I like Imola and have been on the podium here in Grands Prix, so I am hopeful we can have a good race this weekend."
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "We lost about 30 minutes with the wet weather this morning and we are finding it difficult to get a good setting. We tried some new swingarms today but it changes the feeling for the bike and we just couldn't get it right. It is not so bad though. The times are very close and as I worked on the race setting I did not use a qualifying tyre today. Tomorrow we will make many changes so I hope that it is dry and we have a chance to properly test them and improve to the superpole."
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "We made a mistake and put the qualifier on too late, so that lost me the opportunity to make an improvement. This is my first visit to Imola and I like the track and am generally happy with today and confident of some improvements tomorrow."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yammaha Motor Italia)
  "Andrew has found his race tyre already and the setting he has is good, but not perfect so tomorrow we will try some things to make the bike more easy to ride. With Nori I think we took a risk by trying some new parts in qualifying practice which did not work. We tried the parts in Monza and the feeling was not so bad but here we could not find such good settings. Tomorrow we will take a safer option and return to the traditional swingarm. We will also change the gearbox settings and I think that will allow him to return to the front again."
  
  SUPERSPORT: Curtain second in first qualifying
  
  30/9/2005
• Yamaha Motor Germany star Kevin Curtain was in fine form in Imola today, posting the second fastest time in the opening qualifying session for Sunday's penultimate round of the Supersport World Championship.
• The Imola Lap record holder, who was fastest in the wet morning practice session, posted a time of 1:53.379 to hold the provisional pole position until the dying moments of the 45 minute session - only to be eclipsed by 2005 world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) just before the chequered flag came out. Despite this, the experienced Australian was happy with his day's work, having finished ahead of all his rivals for second place in the championship.
• Team-mate Broc Parkes ended the day fifth fastest, within a second of Curtain's time around the classic Italian Formula One circuit. The young Australian, who last week signed an extension to his contract with Yamaha Motor Germany, completed 13 laps with a best of 1:54.136.
• Joining Charpentier and Curtain on the provisional front row are local riders Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Honda). Final qualifying for Sunday's race takes place tomorrow afternoon.
• Kevin Curtain
  "The same old story really, with us setting the target and Charpentier coming out to set a faster lap right at the end. Things are generally going well, I sat out most of the morning session because the track was so wet and slippery so that cost us some track time. I'm confident for the race. With the championship already decided our race isn't with Charpentier, it's Foret and Fujiwara we need to look out for."
• Broc Parkes
  "A decent start. The track was so slippery this morning but I went out to get as much information as possible. Other than Charpentier the times are quite close and hopefully it will be dry tomorrow so that we can push for the front row."

RACE PREVIEW

HONDA

• VERMEULEN: “I’m not feeling any pressure because, as I said after the last round in Germany, this is Troy’s title to lose. The last two rounds were good and we took 50 points out of his lead, but we have to do even better than that over the last two rounds. We had a little hiccup at Imola last year but I won the Supersport title here in 2003 and I like the circuit a lot. I think the bike will work here as it really has been getting better and better all season, as the last few results have shown. But, as well as Troy trying to wrap things up, there are going to be some other quick guys at Imola – the Ducatis were strong last year so Toseland should be in there, and Laconi if he’s fit enough. Haga will be fast and hopefully Karl (Muggeridge) can start to get the kind of results his qualifying form has suggested.”
• MUGGERIDGE: "I like Imola and won the Supersport race in 2003 and again last year on my way to the title. I don't see any reason why we can't get a good result on the Superbike this time round,” said an ever-positive Muggeridge. “I know the race results haven't been exactly spectacular this year but I'm actually feeling pretty confident in myself and in the bike. We just need everything to fall into place to unlock this thing. The season's been pretty up and down – I’ve had my share of bad luck and the good things that need to happen to get a good result just haven't all happened together! Everyone in the team is trying really hard to make it happen and I really believe that it's a question of 'when' now, not 'if'. I'm looking forward to Imola and Magny-Cours - I like the fact that they're back-to-back races, and I'm hoping to finish this year on a high.”

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