Subscription

Car Racing

Motorcycle Racing

Racing in Oz

Shop

2006 WORLD SUPERBIKE  IMOLA

2006 R10 OF 13: for latest update

• Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) won the World Superbike Championship for the second time today 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.
• "I'm really happy for myself and for Ducati Xerox with the title win" declared Troy. "We've worked well all year, the second half has been a little bit up and down but I've just had to ride harder. I got a good start in race 1, I really wanted to go for the win but I think we chose the wrong rear tyre and I was struggling a bit so in the end I was happy to let Pitt pass me and then I let Nori pass me as well. It's been very busy today with all the Ducati factory here but I'm happy as well for everyone who made this win possible, Xerox and Shell Advance above all, but to do it at Imola today was very special. I've got a great team, and a lovely bike, and I wanted to win the second race to put the icing on the cake!"
• Federico Minoli, Chairman of Ducati Motor Holding, commented: "It's a great satisfaction to have Troy as World Champion for the second time. He has come back home, he has given the best of himself, the bike is there, the team also, so this is the crowning of teamwork that began a long time ago: congratulations to Troy and everyone, it's been a great day!".
• Two determined races for Lorenzo Lanzi earned him a sixth place in race 1, followed by a seventh place in race 2. "I was a bit unlucky today" said Lorenzo. "In the first race I was hit by Neukirchner, which lost me six positions. Afterwards I managed to get back up to sixth place. In race 2, someone touched me, maybe Toseland, at the first corner. Once again I managed to get back up the field, lapping in some good times, to finish seventh".

RACE REPORT - SUZUKI    (TOP OF PAGE)

• Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama 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 tyre 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 too started suffering tyre 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 tyre 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 tyres 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 tyres do not work it makes it even more physically tiring. Now I want to go to Magny-Cours and get two podiums!”
• Troy Corser - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 9th: “What a day! One to forget for sure! I have had some bad luck this season and it seems to be carrying on and on. There’s not much to say really - especially about the first race. After a few laps, my bike found a false neutral on the downhill approach to a left-hander. I had to take to the gravel but I managed to stay on the bike and get back on the circuit. On the next lap, I got some false neutrals again and it became quite scary as I didn’t know when or where the bike would do it. It happened a couple more times, so I decided to pull in rather than crash and that was it for race one.
• “Race two started better and I was with Bayliss from the off. After 5-6 laps, the rear tyre started going off and that, together with a lot of wheelspin, meant that I couldn’t get any drive or grip. From then, it was a real struggle to keep up and soon my lap times began to get worse and prevented me getting any decent result. I have no idea or explanation how or why all this is happening at the moment, but I’ve got to believe that it can’t last for ever.”

RACE REPORT - YAMAHA    (TOP OF PAGE)

• Andrew Pitt continued his rich vein of form at Imola 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.
• 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 chequered flag for his 11th win of the season, with Haga behind Toseland in sixth.
• Norick Abe was Yamaha Motor France's leading rider in Imola, scoring 12 points from ninth and 11th place finishes to move him up one place, to 13th, in the championship. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi had one of the best weekend's of his rookie world superbike season, finishing 11th and 12th in the races, although the team's third member, Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert, had a disaster at one of his favourite circuits. Still racing with an injury sustained in Assen he retired from both races.
• Bayliss' performances secured him his second world title with one round remaining, while Barros' win makes him the eighth different race winner in what has proved an exciting season. The battle for the silver medal is very much alive, with Haga trailing Toseland by just two points following today's races. Pitt currently lies fourth in the series and will also be looking to defend his eight point advantage over Barros in France.
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)"Overall I'm pretty happy, although I'd have liked to have got another podium in the second one as well. In the first race the rear grip was gone after a few laps but after I had a big slide I was able to find my rhythm again and work my way through to the podium. For the second race we made quite a few changes and moved some more weight onto the front of the bike. It was a definite improvement and the bike worked better for longer, but as the fuel went down the front started pushing a bit. I thought that maybe I could get past Kagayama, as he was making some mistakes, but by the end the front tyre was gone and I couldn't take the risk. At the end of the day we've come to a track that we felt wouldn't be one of the best for our bike and got some good results to move up to fourth in the championship. On Friday we were struggling but my team is working very hard and it's always great to give them a podium at one of their home races, so it's been a good day."
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)"In the end it was not such a bad result. All weekend we found it difficult to get a perfect feeling with the bike and this made the races hard work, especially around this demanding circuit. In both races I was able to make a good start and fight for a few laps. In the end I had to ride for the points. Ten years ago I think I would have crashed trying to win the race, but today I was able to use my head and think of the championship. Now we go to Magny Cours two points behind Toseland, so this is not so bad and possible for us to overcome."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
• "So many riders crashed in race one that the result maybe looked better than it was. I was lucky to be ninth. We had problems with rear grip, lots of sliding and moving. Then between the races we changed a few small settings and maybe the bike worked better, because the lap times were faster. But we were still sliding everywhere, uphill and downhill!"
• Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France)"I started from the 22nd position on the grid and then I passed some riders. My lap times and positions went better and better from Friday to Sunday. I finished the second race 1.8 behind Abe and my fastest lap was on the 19th of the 21 laps, so for my first time on this track, it is good progress."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)"Of course, we would prefer to be winning the races but I think that today we did a good job as we had a problem getting race distance out of our tyres. Andrew rode very well in both races and is now fourth in the championship. Noriyuki has had some small problems over the weekend and although we lost some points to Toseland he made sure he didn't crash and got as many points as possible. We have two riders in the top four of the championship and our targets for Magny Cours are now clear: for Noriyuki it is to finish second in the championship, while Andrew must defend his fourth place."
• Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France)"It is a good overall result with one ninth position, two 11th and one 12th. Our two riders are in fact the first privateers on this very difficult and dangerous track with a bad surface, so we have many reasons to be happy. Sebastien Gimbert, injured at Assen and the Bol d'Or, tried everything but unfortunatelyhad to retire. Abe is now 13th in the championship standings and Nakatomi, for his first year, is 17th which is good because the level is very high. We hope that Sebastien Gimbert will feel better at Magny Cours and that he will be able to express himself properly on bike."
• WORLD SUPERSPORT REPORT - Podium placing keeps Curtain on title track
• Yamaha Motor Germany rider Kevin Curtain will go in to next weekend's final world supersport round with an 18-point advantage after finishing third at Imola today.
• The race was won by championship rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who needed to beat the Yamaha man to keep his title defence alive, but Curtain's sensible ride to his ninth podium of the season keeps him in the driving seat for next weekend's race in Magny Cours.
• The Imola event proved somewhat less exciting than most of the year's previous supersport races. From the lights it was Charpentier's team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu who led the race, riding in formation with his team-mate until the Frenchman unsurprisingly took the lead with eight laps remaining.
• Behind them, Curtain struggled for traction and rode a lonely race, with five seconds of tarmac ahead and behind him for much of the race. Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello, winner of the previous weekend's Italian supersport championship race at the same venue, had agreat race to secure the best result of his world supersport career, crossing the flag in fourth place.
• Broc Parkes, team-mate to Curtain in the Yamaha Motor Germany squad, rode heroically to bring his YZF-R6 home in sixth place, just one month after receiving serious injuries in a crash at Assen. The Australian was still in considerable discomfort from his injured neck and ribs, but rode a determined race to bag 10 points that could prove vital in deciding his final championship position.
• Massimo Roccoli made it four YZF-R6s in the top ten, bringing his Yamaha Team Italia entry home in tenth. Spain's David Checa finished 12th on the Yamaha GMT94 R6.
• The series will now be decided next weekend at the last round of the year in Magny Cours. Curtain goes to the French Formula One circuit on 187 points, with Charpentier on 169. Parkes will be looking to reclaim third place at the circuit where he gained his maiden world supersport win 12 months earlier. The Australian currently lies eight points behind third placed Sofuoglu, on 129 points.
• Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany)"I did the best I could with what I had but we just didn't have enough rear grip to challenge Sebastien and Kenan today. I don't know what it was, if it was the temperature or the tyre, but it made it a long hard and lonely race. I'm disappointed that I couldn't run with Sebastien today but if you'd told me at the start of the season that we'd be going to the final race with an 18 point lead I'd have taken it like a shot. We did a professional job today and we've now got to do more of the same at Magny Cours next weekend."
• Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia)"I got off the line really well but I made a mistake when I changed into second and this lost me a lot of time and places. After that I pushed hard and just found a good rhythm. I was able to run the same lap times as the guys in front of me so there is a little disappointment as you never know what I might have been capable of had I got away with the leaders. Anyway, I am very happy and I would like to dedicate the result to my team, who have worked very hard for me."
• Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany)"I just got on and pushed as hard as I could and tried to stay at the same pace for the whole race. The guys in front of me were a little bit quicker, a bit more than I felt comfortable pushing, so I powered on at my best pace and felt good in the middle of the race. I could see Vizziello in front of me and he was making some mistakes. But I had no stamina at all and found it hard to change the bike from side-to-side in the middle of the chicanes. I think I will be a lot better next weekend but, considering the circumstances, I'm quite happy with today's result."
• Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia)"I wanted to get a good result for my fans today but I went into the race knowing that it would be difficult because we struggled to find a good set-up in practice. I'm now looking forward to Magny Cours. It is a challenging track and I will be doing my best to get back up to fifth in the championship."

• BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) SETS BLISTERING LAP TO TAKE SUPERPOLE FOR IMOLA WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND
• Imola (Italy), Saturday 30th September: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) set a blistering lap of 1 minute 48.804 seconds in Superpole for tomorrow's Italian Round of the World Superbike Championship at Imola. The 37 year-old Australian, only sixth after the two qualifying sessions, knocked more than a second off his performance to take his fifth Superpole of the year and the twelfth in his career, outrunning second-placed James Toseland (Honda) by almost six-tenths of a second.
• "We put a good lap together in Superpole but Imola is a really difficult track" declared Troy. "It's very technical and has a strange surface so we've been working hard with the bike to make it do what I want and honestly it took until the last session to find what we're looking for. Right at the end of the session, we found it and straightaway I just felt comfortable on the bike. I knew I was going to do a good lap anyway but wasn't sure about a 1m48. Now I'm really confident and I've done a lot of laps on the race tyre. The situation I'm in right now in the championship, I'm really happy with pole. We'll wait and see how it all goes tomorrow but it'll be interesting for sure".
• Lorenzo Lanzi looked much more confident in the one-lap Superpole session as he recorded his quickest time this weekend but it was only good enough for tenth place on the third row of the grid.
• "My lap in Superpole was not bad but it could have been better", commented Lorenzo. "It was my best lap of the weekend but it wasn't enough. Pity, because it means I start from the third row. However after my long-run in the afternoon session I am quite happy with the pace on my race tyre. I aim on getting a good start because at Imola it's not easy to overtake".

• SECOND IN SUPERPOLE FOR ON-FORM TOSELAND
• James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored second in an intense Superpole competition at a warm and dry Imola, having secured his best lap time of the weekend with a 1'49.394. Superpole was taken by championship leader Troy Bayliss, with a blitzing 1'48.804, with Andrew Pitt and Troy Corser now also on the front row of the grid thanks to their Superpole performances. James' immediate championship rival, Noriyuki Haga, was seventh fastest, and starts from row two.
• In 13th place Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) will now start from the fourth row of the grid for Sunday's 21-lap Superbike races, after not setting a Superpole lap as fast as his best time from the opening day of qualifying. Sliding off his machine shortly before Superpole began restricted Muggeridge's speed in Superpole, but he his confident in his race pace for Sunday's competition.
• Ronald Ten Kate , Team Manager
• "Good for James to be on the front row and I would say his time was quite good. I never expected that anyone would go into the 1'48s, to be honest. On race tyres we are pretty consistent; we have shown that in all the sessions so far. With raceday to come James always has a little extra to bring, so we are looking forward to the races, which should be very good around here, and all the top guys are up there. Karl I feel sorry for a bit, because crashing out before Superpole does not boost your confidence so he'll have to put up a fight tomorrow to show what we all know - that he is worth more than his Superpole starting position. We have some work to do in the garage tonight with the electronics package, because finally we have time to do it, now that the chassis set-up is basically OK. We need to fine tune the electronics system and that should bring us quite a bit for tomorrow's races as well."
• James Toseland , Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider "My Superpole lap was good but I saw Troy's lap before I went out and that was pretty good also, so he deserves a round of applause for that one - going from a 50.2 to a '48.8! But we've been good all weekend, top three all weekend, and I put a good consistent lap together to get a front row start. That was important because there is hardly a straight in a straight line here, it's all braking on angles and braking into corners, then it's straight into the next one, so it will be tough to pass. It will be tough to win tomorrow over the full race distance but it is possible - and I will be going for it. I want to finish off the season strong."
• Karl Muggeridge , Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider "Due to fall I had in the last session, I wasn't confident enough to push the bike the way I would normally do in Superpole. I could have done better without the crash but I will have warm-up tomorrow to set the bike up the way I want it again, to be competitive in the race.

• FRONT ROW FOR TROY.
  Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser set the fourth fastest time in Superpole today and will start tomorrow's eleventh round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship from the front row of the grid. His team mate Yukio Kagayama is just behind, in fifth place, and both are determined to get podiums in tomorrow's pair of 21 lap races. Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took Superpole with a lap of 1:48.804, the fastest he has been all weekend, with James Toseland (Honda) second and Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) third. It was a also a good day for Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Max Neukirchner. The young German rode a superb Superpole and posted the sixth quickest lap of the 16-rider shoot-out, ahead of many of the top factory riders.
• TROY - 4th, 1:49.442 I'm pretty happy I am on the front row and that's important here at Imola because there are not that many passing places. Taking Superpole was a possibility, but when the rear of the bike started moving around like it did, it was hard to go faster then Bayliss. But, I'm satisfied with my bike set-up on race tyres and we'll have to see how it goes tomorrow. I hope that I will not be involved in a big fight at the start of the race because I want to conserve my tyres a little for the end of the race. When it's hotter, our tyres don't seem to work as well, so I'd prefer cooler conditions than today.
• YUKIO - 5th, 1:49.497 I am sort of happy with the set-up of my bike for the race, but a lot will depend on how hot it is tomorrow. For me, the tyres do not work the same way in hot conditions as cool conditions, so the end of the race is going to be very interesting if it is as hot as it was this afternoon. I am bit disappointed with my Superpole lap. I tried very hard and I really wanted a front row place. So now I need two good starts and for me usually that is not a big problem. I want two podiums tomorrow and I will try my best to get them.

DUCATI PREVIEW (TOP OF PAGE)

• BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) RETURNS TO IMOLA IN SEARCH OF CHAMPIONSHIP GLORY
• Imola (Italy), Thursday 28th September: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) returns to the Autodromo Enzo & Dino Ferrari di Imola this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2006 World Superbike Championship and another championship finale, four years on from the memorable battle with Honda's Colin Edwards in 2002.
• This time round however Troy finds himself in a completely different situation, having strung together ten victories throughout the 2006 season to stamp his authority on the series. This has left him with a comfortable 87-point lead in the standings, with two rounds (Imola and Magny-Cours) and four races left to run.
• At Imola the 37 year-old Australian basically just needs to finish fourth or better in race 1, irrespective of how his rivals Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) or James Toseland (Honda) do, to clinch the World Superbike title for the second time.
• "I have been thinking about this weekend for sure, but just normally really" said Troy. "My approach is the same as everywhere. We start off tomorrow, work on the bike, try and get a good race set-up and then go for the win. There are lots of different scenarios but the most important one is that I need a fourth or better and that wraps it up, but I'm certainly not going to be riding around for fourth place. I'm looking forward to Imola, I like racing here, I went pretty good in 2002 and had a great race with Colin. This time I'm sure Nori and James are out to do whatever they can to try and stop me but it's going to be difficult for them. Imola's a great track, lots of character but the surface is variable especially in the wet. But the forecast is looking good and we want to see a lot of people here on Sunday".
• Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi still has a couple more opportunities to search for that vital spark that has eluded him throughout the year, performances that will enable him to repeat his sensational race-winning form of the end of 2005. Imola presents an ideal opportunity as the 24 year-old from Cesena hails from just down the road.
• "I am calm and relaxed even though I know that this race is going to be important for my future" declared Lorenzo. "I hope to start the weekend off well and go well, not only in qualifying but this time also in the races on Sunday. I like the Imola circuit, last year I went well in qualifying but then in the races on the wet track things were a bit more difficult. However this track is really great, all ups and downs, technical and difficult. I can undoubtedly count on some local support here; Sunday will probably be crazy at the Lorenzo Lanzi Fans Club curve, there will be a lot of them, hopefully I'll give them something to shout about!"
• Troy and Lorenzo will be racing at Imola with a special emblem on the side fairing of their Ducati 999F06s in honour of a ‘twinning' between the Friuli Aircraft Brigade, based in Bologna, and the factory Ducati Xerox Superbike Team. In addition on Sunday parachutists from the Friuli Brigade will make a spectacular jump onto the circuit between the two races.

SUZUKI PREVIEW (TOP OF PAGE)

• Team Alstare Suzuki aiming for a big finish in Imola. The penultimate round of this years Superbike World Championship takes place at the undulating 4.933 kilometre Imola circuit and Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama will be going all-out to end the season in style. For both riders, this year has been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride, but both are determined to take podiums in Imola and then Magny-Cours one week later. Last year, Imola was a scene of celebrations for Team Alstare because it was there that Troy was crowned world champion after the second SBK race was cancelled due to a flooded track. Troy's runner-up spot in race one and the cancelled race two was enough for Suzuki to take their first ever World SBK title. Yukio fell in that race, but remounted to finish fifteenth.
• TROY : 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 last year 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 : 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 midseason, 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 racetracks. 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 (Imola and then Magny), but I want to take podiums in all the four races and end the year in a big way.

  (TOP OF PAGE)