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2006 WORLD SUPERBIKE

• BAYLISS: "Everything went really well in both races"

2006 R3 OF 13: for latest update

• 1 T. Bayliss Ducati 999 F06
• 2 Lorenzo Lanzi, 999 F06
• 3 T. Corser Suzuki GSXR1000
• 4 Norick Abe (JAP) Yamaha
• 5 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha
• 6 Yukio Kagayama (JAP) Suzuki
• 7 Ruben Xaus (SPA) Ducati
• 8 Regis Laconi (FRA) Kawasaki
• 9 James Toseland (UK) Honda
• 10 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Yamaha

• 1 T. Bayliss Ducati 999 F06
  2 T. Corser Suzuki GSXR1000
  3 Lorenzo Lanzi, 999 F06
  4 Norick Abe (JAP) Yamaha
  5 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha
  6 F. Nieto, Kawasaki ZX10R
  7 C. Walker, Kawasaki ZX10R
  8 R. Laconi, Kawasaki ZX10R
  9 A. Pitt, Yamaha YZF R1
  10 M. Fabrizio, Honda CBR 1000RR

• 1 Charpentier
• 2 Curtain
• 3 Fujiwara
• 4 Parkes
• 5 Torres
• 6 Harms
• 7 Tiberio
• 8 Fores
• 9 Roccoli
• 10 Vizziello

DUCATI RACE REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• Troy Bayliss notched up the 24th and 25th victories of his World Superbike career with a double win at the Valencia circuit as the Ducati Xerox rider and his fellow Australian Troy Corser (Suzuki) put on a spectacular display of racing today. The Spanish Round saw two similar races and identical podiums with Bayliss’s young Italian team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi grabbing third place on both occasions for his first podiums of the year.
• “Everything went really well in both races” declared Troy. “We thought about changing the tyre for race 2 but we didn’t and it was the right decision to stick with the hard tyre. I didn’t think Corser was going to be as quick as he was in that second race, I thought it would be the same as the first but he went really well. I know that the limit of my tyre on the rear is exactly 35.7 or 35.8, but it stays good for the whole race and when I saw him pulling away it was disheartening. I just kept my eye on the board and did every lap like a qualifying lap, just hoping he was going to run into the same sort of problems as the first one and he did. Then once I got there it took me a long while to put it together and get past him. A big thanks to the Ducati Xerox squad, Shell Advance and all our other sponsors, with who I want to share the joy for this double win today!”
• “Two fantastic podiums today!” declared Lorenzo. “I am pleased for Ducati Xerox and for me obviously because this podium in race 2 is worth the win at Lausitzring. It wasn’t a victory for but it was just as hard-fought. I pushed hard from the first to the last lap, never gave in, and to keep up with Abe I had to struggle because he had a superior pace at the mid-race distance. Then I caught Haga and managed to pass both of them, Haga on the penultimate lap and Abe on the last lap. It was incredible! Troy and I were the only ones to lap in 37.0 in the last few laps, so the choice of tyre was the right one to keep up the same pace until the very end. It is a perfect result for me in view of Monza in two weeks time!”

SUZUKI RACE REPORT

• Suzuki’s World Superbike Champion Troy Corser raced his Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000 to two second places at today’s third- round World Superbike Championship race in Valencia, Spain.
• He led Troy Bayliss (Ducati) for the best part of the two 23-lappers but had to give way to his fellow countryman in the closing stages both times. But team mate Yukio Kagayama had a weekend to forget: After his concussion yesterday and badly bruised right hand, he was far from fit but battled hard in the opening race for a well-deserved sixth place.
• The second race was following a similar pattern until he lost the front going into the first hairpin and crashed out. Fortunately he didn’t do any further damage to his right hand but hurt his right leg in the process.
• Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret scored his first points of the season with a 15th in race one and a 13th in race two.
• Troy Corser - Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 2nd: “I’m happy, but also frustrated today. Happy because I took two seconds and also because I know I couldn’t have ridden any harder than I did. I tried my best, but I couldn’t overtake Troy Bayliss after he had passed me in both races. That was kind of frustrating, but I could see his bike was working the tyres less than mine and in the end the difference between us was marginal.
• “In race one I got a pretty good start and managed to pull out a bit of a gap, but in the later part of the race he caught me up when my tyres started to go. When he passed me I tried to get back at him, but he could run a bit faster than me and I just couldn’t do it.
• “It was much of the same in the second race: I built up a pretty good lead but I got a false neutral going into the first hairpin and was lucky not to crash. That was enough for Troy to close the gap. I had to adjust the clutch slip during the race and although it was only a tiny problem, that and tyre wear prevented me from catching and passing him.”
• Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 6th, Race 2: DNF: “The weekend was not so good for me and maybe it’s better that I forget it. The crash yesterday meant that my right hand was not strong and, because Valencia is a very physical circuit, I couldn’t brake as hard as normal. Also it made changing direction much more difficult.
• “In the first race, I had a good fight with a group of riders and I enjoyed this battle. I could only use one finger to brake, so I could not go in as deep and hard as normal. If I hadn’t had the problem, I think I could’ve caught Haga and Abe ahead. In the second race I crashed at the hairpin, but I am not exactly sure why. I went into the turn, braked as usual and suddenly I was down without any warning. I was using a medium front tyre in race two - compared to a hard front in race one - so maybe that was part of the problem.”

YAMAHA RACE REPORT  (TOP OF PAGE)

• WSB : Abe back to the front in Valencia
  
  Yamaha's world superbike riders overcame a lack of traction to bring home a good haul of points at round three of the series in Valencia today.
• Norick Abe was the leading Yamaha rider, ending the day with a pair of fourth places and only narrowly missing out on a podium finish in his second outing.
• The Japanese star was in superb form all weekend after his Yamaha Motor France squad brought along a new specification engine for the race. The team, which uses and is responsible for development of Yamaha's YEC kit parts, worked hard after below par performances in Qatar and Phillip Island.
• In both races Abe made good starts and worked hard to battle with fellow Yamaha rider Noriyuki Haga. In the afternoon's second race the two-time 500cc Grand Prix winner looked like coming home third for what would have been his first ever superbike podium, only to be passed by Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) on the final lap. Despite a little disappointment at missing out on third, Abe was delighted with the performance of his R1 and at being back running with the leaders.
• Yamaha Motor Italia riders Haga and Andrew Pitt had a tough day struggling with set-up problems. For Haga, the two races were virtually carbon copies of each other, holding third for much of the race but succumbing to Lanzi and Abe in the final few laps. The Japanese rider suffered electrical problems in both outings, affecting his machine's quick shift system and the power delivery of the engine.
• Despite the first race problems, Haga was able to bring his R1 home in fifth place. Set-up changes and the replacement of various electrical components brought hope of a better result in race two and, after a good start, Haga was challenging eventual winner Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in the battle for second. Unfortunately for Haga the problem reemerged and his lap times dropped off, drawing him into the clutches of Abe and Lanzi. Despite his disappointment at not battling for the podium, Haga had the consolation of moving up two places in the championship, leaving Valencia in fourth place.
• Pitt also had two similar races, unable to fix the front end grip problems he faced all weekend. The Australian came home tenth in the first race following a bad start and finished ninth in race two, at the back of a three-way battle for seventh with Kawasaki riders Chris Walker and Regis Laconi.
• Yamaha Motor France's improved fortunes allowed Shinichi Nakatomi to show his true colours. The Japanese newcomer grabbed two 12th places in a wonderful display of aggressive riding on his R1. After a somewhat lonely race one, the second outing saw Nakatomi was involved in an intense four-way battle for tenth that included no less than multiple Grand Prix winner Alex Barros (Honda) and former superbike world champion James Toseland (Honda). In the end Nakatomi finished just a tenth of a second behind Toseland, but claimed Barros as a scalp.
• Both Valencia races were won by Bayliss, with defending world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) second both times. In the championship, Bayliss extends his lead to 22 points over second placed Corser with Toseland third and Haga fourth. Pitt slips back one place to sixth, with Abe's 26 points taking him up to eighth place overall.
• The next round takes place at Yamaha Motor Italia's local Monza circuit in two weeks' time.
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Two good results today, so I am very happy with that. In the second race compared to the first I had a better feeling but in the beginning the top two were gone and in a different world. I caught up with Lanzi then tried so hard to catch Haga. When I passed him I tried to make a gap but by that stage the tyres were spinning a lot. I think the Ducati has good traction in that condition, because Lanzi was very fast at the end. So I am a little disappointed to miss the podium but the whole day was a big improvement over the first rounds, so I am very happy."
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "After qualifying we knew that this was going to be a tough race but the problems we had today made it impossible to fight for the podium. In the first race the traction was not so good but I thought I could take third until the engine lost power. For the second race the feeling with the bike was better but the problem came back and there was nothing I could do when Abe and Lanzi came past."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the first race we also tried something different on the start and it didn't work, which gave me a lot of work to do. We made some improvements to the bike after qualifying and between the races but I was still struggling for front end grip. The bike was actually quite good for the first ten laps but when it went off I couldn't push as hard as I wanted to. I was able to run with guys like Toseland and Laconi but the confidence in the front end wasn't there and I couldn't make a pass."
• Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I'm pleased to have two good races and score some championship points. The main difference this weekend was that the team has made the bike a lot better than at the first two races, so I could go fast and have some good battles in the second race. We had three days of testing here as well so that also makes a difference."

• WORLD SUPERBIKE
• 1 T. Corser Suzuki GSXR1000 AUS 1m 34.992
  2 T. Bayliss Ducati 999 F06 AUS 1'35.175
  3 Lorenzo Lanzi, 999 F06, Italy, Ducati
  4 Steve Martin, Petronas FP1, Australia, Petronas
  5 Nieto, SPA, Kawasaki ZX10R
  6 Laconi, FRA, Kawasaki ZX10R
  7 Walker, UK. Kawasaki ZX10R
  8 Abe Yamaha JPN
  9 Toseland Honda
  10 Haga Yamaha JPN
  11 Pitt 12 Kagayama 13 Xaus 14 Foret 15 Rolfo 16 Barros
• WORLD SUPERSPORT
• 1 Charpentier S. Winston Ten Kate Honda. Honda CBR 600RR 1'36.913 33
• 2 Curtain K. Yamaha Motor Germany. Yamaha YZF R6 1'37.698 30
• 3 Fujiwara K. Megabike Honda Team. Honda CBR 600RR
• 4 Parkes B. Yamaha Motor Germany. Yamaha YZF R6
• 5 Fores J. SLM Racing. Yamaha YZF R6
• 6 Harms R. Stiggy Motorsports. Honda CBR 600RR
• 7 Veneman B. Hoegee Suzuki. Suzuki GSX 600R
• 8 Sofuoglu K. Winston Ten Kate Honda. Honda CBR 600RR
• 9 Tiberio Y. Megabike Honda Team. Honda CBR 600RR
• 10 Torres J. Speed Moto. Yamaha YZF R6

SUZUKI QUALIFYING REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• TROY STORMS SUPERPOLE!
• Despite being down at the first split, Troy made up time in the second and third sections and stormed to a Superpole victory ahead of his great rival Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Troy didn't put a foot wrong after a slightly nervous start and his third split was absolutely perfect. Third quickest in the 16-rider shoot-out, is Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati), with Steve Martin fourth on the Petronas. Troy's Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team mate Yukio Kagayama suffered a fall in the closing stages of this afternoon's free practice and was slightly concussed. Because of that, he and the team decided that he would not take part in Superpole and so he will start from the third row of the grid. Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret was unable to keep his provisional third row grid place and will start from the fourth row instead.
• TROY 1st, 1:34.992 I knew I was a little behind in the first section of my Superpole lap because I had run a bit wide in one of the turns and lost some time. But I knew I was good in the second and third sections, so I just concentrated on getting them as best I could. The third section was perfect and I don't think I could've got round it any faster, so that made me pretty happy.
• I did a long run in this afternoon's free practice and was on the track so long I might have done a lap or two ore than intended. So, when I came in to put on a qualifier, it was too late. For sure the races tomorrow are going to be much tougher than last year, but a lot will depend on the weather. If it rains, it's going to be very difficult because the track is so slippery - it feels a bit like riding on ice!
• YUKIO 12th, 1:35.670 I would like to tell you about today, but don't remember much at all! I crashed in the afternoon and banged my head a bit and that made me forget what happened today. I also hit my right arm, but nothing is broken so I think I will be OK to race tomorrow. I hope I get a good sleep tonight and feel back to normal tomorrow.
• FABIEN 14th, 1:36.502 This was my first Superpole and it has been a good experience, but I am a little disappointed not to have done better. On my Superpole lap the grip didn't feel so good and then I got a neutral exiting the last turn and had to run a bit wide. That lost me some time, so maybe I could've finished higher up the grid. Most of my problems here are to do with the conditions. The bike seems very sensitive to temperature changes - well that is the tyres seem very sensitive to changes in temperature. How we set up the bike will depend on the weather tomorrow, but I hope it will be dry, because this place is very slippery when it's wet.

DUCATI QUALIFYING REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• FRONT ROW STARTS IN VALENCIA FOR BAYLISS AND LANZI (DUCATI XEROX)
• Valencia (Spain), Saturday 22 April: Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) will line up on the front row of the grid for tomorrow's round 3 of the World Superbike Championship at Valencia after qualifying in second and third position in Superpole. Just three-tenths of a second separated the top 4 on the grid as the two Ducati factory riders split two more Australians, poleman Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Steve Martin (Petronas) in fourth place.
• "We struggled a little bit for grip on that lap but also at the end of the free practice session I had a crash on the front and that put me off a little for the Superpole. I had to use a new front and had to push it on the out lap and that used up my tyre a bit" declared Troy. "I'm reasonably happy however because I'm on the front row and got half a decent lap in but it was still about a second and a half slower than what I've done in the past. It wasn't much of a crash in the hairpin and I picked the bike up and went back to the pits but that all just contributed to not a great lap for me really. I hope we get some good weather for the races tomorrow, all the tests we've done here have been nice but the conditions have been quite dismal so far".
• "I am really happy and my satisfaction for getting on the front row is just as great as it was in Qatar" declared Lorenzo. "I am right up there with the two Troys, but this time I hope things won't go the same way as in the first round and I can express my full potential. I am starting from the front row, which is what I wanted, hopefully the conditions will at least be like today. If it rains, it rains for everyone but the conditions don't worry me because in the winter tests we went quite well in the wet. The feeling with my 999 is really good, in the afternoon I seem to struggle a bit when it gets warmer but in the warm-up we will make a change that should help so I am confident of getting two good results tomorrow".

RACE PREVIEW   (TOP OF PAGE)

TEN KATE HONDA

• After a month and half of break, the SBK World Championship restarts from the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, the first of ten races which will be raced in Europe.
• The Winston Ten Kate Honda Team will present in Spain after the strong results obtained in the first two races of the season, which have placed James Toseland at the second position of the standing, only one point behind the leader Troy Bayliss.
• On the 4005 metres at the Valencia track, a insidious track that doesn’t allow a minimal mistake, which present 9 left turns 5 right turns, the English rider is ready to attack the leadership.
• Wonderfully supported by his Honda CBR 1000 RR, which has demonstrated strong since the beginning of the season, and having already won on this track in 2004, the year he conquered the World Title, Toseland is surely between the favourites for the final victory, having fully recovered after the fall in the test in March.
• In Valencia there will be Giovanni Bussei’s debut with the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team. The piedmont based rider has been chosen to substitute injured Karl Muggeridge for the Spanish race, who will be back in Monza at the beginning of May. Bussei, who will try the bike for the first time in the weekend of race, declared himself really eager to jump into this adventure and will do his best to take home a solid result.
• Ronald Ten Kate - Team manager - “We decided to not participate the Misano test because we needed to work on the bike and the engine in our racing department. In the pre-season test on the Valencia circuit we already obtained positive feedbacks, constantly in the top four or five positions with a race setting, therefore we preferred to concentrate on other priorities. I am sure that James will be one of the protagonists in the race while I am sorry Karl will not be with us: he has been with us for four years and it will be strange to not see him around the box. But I fully believe in Bussei, who could give us a nice surprise.”
• James Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider - “I really believe in this race, even if I know Bayliss will be really fast like in the Test, and Corser and Haga will be as usual two strong clients. But I am really motivated and concentrated and I want to continue to conquer important results after the great start of the season I had. Bayliss only has one point of advantage and I don’t have any intention to let him go away. I am sorry Karl didn’t make it to race in Valencia and I wish the best of luck to my new team-mate Giovanni.”
• Giovanni Bussei – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider - “I am really happy to be able to compete with the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team and I am aware that I will ride one of the top bikes. It will be hard because I have to get used to the race rhythm but of course I will do all I can to payback the trust has been given to me. It will be nice to be James’ team-mate, even if only for one weekend, and for this I want to thank the Team and the sponsors.”

YAMAHA   (TOP OF PAGE)

• The Spanish round of the Superbike World Championship takes place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on the outskirts of Valencia.
• The modern venue is well known to all the superbike riders, as it is a favourite location for winter testing and the host of the first official FG Sport test, held between round two at Phillip Island and this weekend's third round of the championship.
• Valencia is a tight and twisty circuit built with spectators in mind. Surrounded by grandstands, fans can see almost the entire circuit from their seat. The favourable winter weather conditions and modern facilities, including sprinkler systems to simulate wet conditions, mean that the circuit is in use throughout the year by everything from trucks to Formula One cars, MotoGP to national championship riders. Perhaps because of this, grip levels can be unpredictable, causing conditions to change by the hour and requiring constant adjustments to the set-up of the bike.
• Yamaha Motor Italia has been busy since the opening rounds of the series at Qatar and Australia, attending official tests at Valencia and Misano. Valencia was the venue for the first of those tests, ensuring that the Yamaha Motor Italia squad goes into this weekend's race with good settings for their YZF-R1 machines. Haga ended that test sixth overall, testing a whole range of chassis, suspension and electronics parts for his bike. Currently lying sixth in the championship, the Japanese ace was in sensational form in Qatar - finishing third in race two after crashing out of the opener while challenging for the lead on the last lap.
• Valencia is a favourite of Haga, who has won there in 2000 and 2004, and he is looking forward to this weekend's races. Team-mate Andrew Pitt is currently fifth in the championship. Finishing third in Qatar's opening race, Pitt has been the epitome of consistency with two fifth places also to his credit. The 2001 supersport world champion ended the Valencia test just a few places behind his team-mate, setting the eighth fastest time at the end of the three days. Like Haga, the Australian completed a comprehensive test programme and is confident he has found a good set-up for the weekend's race.
• With the first two rounds taking place seven weeks earlier, many people see the Valencia round as the 'real' start of the season. Having worked out of flight cases at the fly-away rounds in Qatar and Australia, the teams will have the added advantage of having their full accompaniment of trucks and hospitality units to help them settle in for the main European season. This year sees the championship take in a total of 13 rounds of two races each. Valencia marks the start of 10 European races, with the series due to end with a final flyaway round to South Africa, most likely at the Kyalami circuit, in October.
• Valencia also plays host to round three of the Supersport World Championship and the opening round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. In supersport, Australian Kevin Curtain lies second in the championship having finished in that position in the opening two races of the season. In superstock, last year's 600cc champion Claudio Corti makes his debut in the 1000cc class as Yamaha looks to make it a hat-trick in the championship. The third-generation YZF-R1 has won the series every year since the bike was introduced for the 2004 season.