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2006 WORLD SUPERBIKE

ROUND 6, SILVERSTONE, UK, MAY 28, 2006 BAYLISS WINS RACE 1 + 2 BRITISH WILDCARD TOMMY HILL STARTED FROM POLE

• Troy Bayliss continued his dominance by winning both races. He extends his lead over the world champion Troy Corser. Bayliss has won the last 7 races from 10 races so far this season. Corser has won 2; Toseland 1.
• WINNER RACE 1 & 2, BAYLISS / DUCATI: "I saw Corser crash in the first race and so I decided to make the most of the situation and not give in to Nori (Haga) today. I really fought hard for the wins and that makes a good difference in the points for me against Corser. After the first race we tried a softer tyre and changed the suspension a bit, my main man Ernesto Marinelli did a great job and I could ride the bike half- a-second faster in the race. I feel sure that if we had gone with the same tyre it would have been much harder so a big thanks to him and all the guys in the team. Now we go on to Misano, where my 999's gone pretty well in testing, so I'm confident for that race as well."

2006 R5 OF 13: for latest update

• SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT
• 3619m length
• WORLD SUPERBIKE
  Lap Record: 1' 27.130 (Regis Laconi, 2005)
  Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 26.679 (Yukio Kagayama, 2005)
• WORLD SUPERSPORT
  Lap Record: 1' 29.027, Sebastien Charpentier, 2005
  Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 28.750 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005

• Crowd: 71000
  
• RACE 1, WORLD SUPERBIKES, 15ºC, DRY
• 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS *** 28th career win ***
  2 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +0.890
  3 J. Toseland Honda GBR +1.705
  4 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +8.285
  5 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +12.303
  6 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +23.716
  7 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +25.483
  8 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +26.049
  9 A. Barros Honda BRA +29.650
  10 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +32.208
  11 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP +39.607
  12 T. Hill Yamaha GBR +41.550
  13 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +41.935
  14 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +50.385
  15 G. Nannelli Honda ITA +52.726
• RACE 2, WORLD SUPERBIKES
  1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS *** 29th career win ***
  2 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +1.585
  3 J. Toseland Honda GBR +12.058
  4 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +14.561
  5 A. Barros Honda BRA +16.826
  6 T. Corser Suzuki AUS +21.230
  7 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +22.056
  8 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +22.549
  9 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +22.708
  10 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP +34.025
  11 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +34.739
  12 T. Hill Yamaha GBR +35.112
  13 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +35.518
  14 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +36.322
  15 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA +47.850
  
• WORLD SUPERSPORT RACE
• 1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 41' 54.640
  2 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +2.802
  3 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +6.767
  4 P. Riba Kawasaki ESP +17.116
  5 R. Harms Honda DNK +26.102
  6 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +27.097
  7 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +27.492
  8 M. Lagrive Honda FRA +27.492
  9 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE +29.073
  10 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN +41.265
  11 D. Checa Yamaha ESP +41.615
  12 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA +43.602
  13 K. Andersen Suzuki NOR +44.079
  14 Y. Tibero Honda FRA +47.538
  15 S. Easton Ducati GBR +49.619

• Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) made it seven wins on the run in the European Round of the World Superbike Championship at Silverstone with his third successive double victory this season. With his closest rival Troy Corser (Suzuki) picking up a DNF and a sixth place, the 37 year- old Australian now has a lead of 76 points in the championship with seven rounds still remaining. Japan's Noriyuki Haga and Britain's James Toseland both offered stiff opposition to today and the Yamaha and the Honda rider twice finished behind the Australian to make up identical podiums.
• "In 2002 I was lucky enough to win six in a row and I was thinking about that before this weekend but on Friday and Saturday I was throwing myself down the road getting sorer and sorer and I thought it was maybe a good time just to get some points, but racing changes your view of things," commented Troy. "I saw Corser crash in the first race and so I decided to make the most of the situation and not give in to Nori today. I really fought hard for the wins and that makes a good difference in the points for me against Corser. After the first race we tried a softer tyre and changed the suspension a bit, my main man Ernesto Marinelli did a great job and I could ride the bike half- a-second faster in the race. I feel sure that if we had gone with the same tyre it would have been much harder so a big thanks to him and all the guys in the team. Now we go on to Misano, where my 999's gone pretty well in testing, so I'm confident for that race as well."
• Lorenzo Lanzi had a difficult weekend from Friday onwards and the young Italian was unable to do better than a thirteenth and a sixteenth place in the two races.
• "For race 2 we fitted a slightly softer rear tyre like Troy but I didn't like it very much and I went slower than in race 1," declared Lorenzo. "However unfortunately everything about my race performance was due to the start and the bumping and barging at the first corner. I even passed the line on lap 1 next to last. You can't pretend to win races that way. In the first race I was lucky because I managed to stay upright after the incident at the first corner. At Misano Adriatico for sure we will work hard to start further up the grid because if you want to get good results you have to start up at the front. The most important thing is to try and get the first two rows in Superpole, which at least gives you the chance of getting good results."

YAMAHA RACE REPORT    (TOP OF PAGE)

• WSB : Season's best for Yamaha Motor Italia
• Yamaha Motor Italia enjoyed its best day of the season at Silverstone today, with Noriyuki Haga racing to two second places and Andrew Pitt fighting through from 11th on the grid to take fourth and fifth place finishes.
• Haga raced into the lead in both outings, only to be caught by championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The pair had a fantastic battle each time, with the Ducati rider just managing to pull a slight gap on the charging Haga in both races. Having had only limited dry weather practice, the ever-popular Japanese star made a few minor suspension changes to his YZF-R1 for the second race, allowing him to run closer to Bayliss than in the first but unable to quite make a decisive move on the dominant Australian.
• For Pitt the Silverstone races were made difficult after qualifying on the third row in Saturday's wet conditions, although the Australian was able to show his true pace in the dry races. In both races Pitt made a good start and lapped faster than the leaders as he scythed through the field to challenge James Toseland (Honda) for the third step on the podium. However, the Yamaha rider used up too much of his front tyre and was unable to close the gap on the Brit, using his head to bring his YZF-R1 home for 24 points over the two races.
• Race one had been delayed following two huge crashes on the first lap. Thankfully no riders were injured but the incidents brought the red flags out and a delay while marshals cleared up the carnage. Both races followed a similar pattern with local favourite Toseland winning the battle for third.
• In the championship Bayliss extends his lead to 76 points over second placed Troy Corser (Suzuki). Haga moves up two places to third in the championship, just 16 points behind Corser, with Pitt maintaining his sixth place in the points standings.
• Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe retained his ninth place in the championship, finishing 10th and 11th in the races. It was a difficult weekend for the Japanese star, who was troubled by the wrist injury he sustained in Monza. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi did not race after crashing on a wet patch in the morning warm-up. The Japanese rider has broken the radius bone in his right arm but hopes to be fit to race in Misano in four weeks time. Sebastien Gimbert retired from both races with electrical problems on another Yamaha Motor France bike. Twenty-one-year-old wild-card Tommy Hill, who grabbed the headlines by setting pole position in Saturday's wet superpole rode sensibly to take a pair of 12th place finishes on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha.
• Round six of the series takes place at Misano on 25 June. Copyright-free photography (for editorial use) and further information on Yamaha's racing activities, including a regular column by Noriyuki Haga, can be found at www.yamaha-racing.com.
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "I enjoyed the battles with Troy today and all weekend I had a good feeling with the bike in both the wet and dry. It's a shame that we weren't able to test much in the dry. I had to make some suspension changes between the races and it improved the bike but still I did not have enough traction in the last laps. But I am happy with the results and to move up the championship. We have some more testing planned before the race in Misano. We have already had a good test at Misano so I am looking forward to a good race there as well."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "I'm fairly happy with that. I felt I was in with a good shot at the podium but I just couldn't keep the lap times going at the end. I was using the softest front tyre, which I think the other guys had too, but my style pushes the front quite hard and I had to ride very aggressively in the opening laps. At the end the front was moving around a fair bit and it was getting hard to hang on to Toseland. What I've got to do now is make sure that I get the Saturdays right so that I don't give myself as much to do on the race day because I have proved that the bike is working well and I am capable of getting up on the podium."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "I did my very best and our settings were not so bad, considering we had so little set-up time in dry conditions. We changed the settings between the two races and the lap times were better, even if the position went down. I would not normally be happy with 10th or 11th places, but today we did our best. A very hard track, and a very physical race considering my wrist is still not 100 percent."
• Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha)
  "I was very nervous on the grid, until remembered that I was on pole because I won superpole, which calmed me down a bit. We finished pretty much were we expected to finish, but I couldn't believe the speed of the world superbike guys from the very first lap. Normally in a British championship race people build up to speed but here everyone races at 110 percent from the very first lap."
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "Three big crashes were not what I needed this weekend. My bike misfired with an electrical problem in both races. The problem seems to be some wires damaged in the practice crashes but it is disappointing because it is now three races and no results."
• Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France)
  "I crashed on a slippery part of the track and my arm is broken. I will miss the tests we have planned but I am hoping to be back for the races in Misano."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Both our riders did an excellent job today and we have reached our goals for the weekend. Our target was to take points from Corser and leave with Nori third in the championship, which we have achieved. Andrew also rode very well from the third row, especially in the second race when he was so close to a podium finish. Again we made some small steps forward with the bike. They are small steps but it is encouraging that they are working and we are going in the right direction. We now have a test at Brno with all the other Pirelli development teams before Misano, where I am confident of a good performance."
• Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France)
  "A very difficult weekend for us and a bad day for Nakatomi, who broke his right radius bone. A simple break but a break all the same. Gimbert had three crashes and we saw the result of that today. The wiring loom had been damaged, but we did not realise at the time and in each race he had a misfire, which caused him to retire. Only Abe saved our honour, with two hard rides after a lack of practice time - although he is not so happy because he expected more."

• 50 minutes and 12 laps to qualify instead of a single flying lap

• 1st Qualifying 2nd Qualifying Superpole
  1 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 1' 27.807 N/A 1' 38.001 ** WILDCARD **
  2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1' 27.011 N/A 1' 38.254
  3 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1' 27.656 1' 58.930 1' 38.265
  4 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1' 27.364 1' 46.090 1' 38.546
  5 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA 1' 28.078 1' 52.640 1' 38.899
  6 A. Barros Honda BRA 1' 27.940 1' 45.802 1' 39.082
  7 R. Xaus Ducati ESP 1' 27.810 N/A 1' 39.388
  8 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1' 27.648 N/A 1' 40.023
  9 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1' 27.721 1' 51.550 1' 40.042
  10 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1' 27.068 1' 45.726 1' 40.181
  11 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 27.539 1' 51.876 1' 40.552
  12 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1' 27.730 N/A 1' 40.574
  13 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1' 27.205 1' 46.955 1' 40.729
  14 J. Toseland Honda GBR 1' 27.418 N/A 1' 41.004
  15 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1' 28.246 1' 51.269 1' 42.069
  16 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1' 27.599 1' 48.928 1' 42.262
  20 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1' 28.503 1' 53.912

• 1st Qualifying 2nd Qualifying
  1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 1' 30.516 N/A
  2 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS 1' 30.711 1' 55.269
  3 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1' 31.001 1' 46.493
  4 P. Riba Kawasaki ESP 1' 31.492 N/A
  5 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1' 31.657 1' 46.085
  6 M. Lagrive Honda FRA 1' 31.692 1' 56.255
  7 X. Fores Yamaha ESP 1' 31.963 1' 58.969
  8 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE 1' 32.136 1' 48.307
  9 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN 1' 32.320 1' 51.224
  10 Y. Tibero Honda FRA 1' 32.450 N/A
  11 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA 1' 32.533 1' 49.784
  12 K. Andersen Suzuki NOR 1' 32.595 1' 46.573
  13 D. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 32.649 1' 45.873
  14 B. Veneman Suzuki NED 1' 32.732 1' 47.055
  15 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1' 32.755 1' 47.946
  16 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA 1' 32.920 1' 48.332
  17 J. Enjolras Yamaha FRA 1' 32.995 1' 46.427
  27 A. Corradi Yamaha ITA 1' 34.645 N/A
  29 V. Ivanov Yamaha RUS 1' 35.041 1' 58.005
  30 B. Martinez Yamaha ESP 1' 35.154 1' 53.001

• Yamaha-riding British wild-card Tommy Hill, who normally competes in his national championship, had a sensational world championship debut, taking pole position on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 at Silverstone today.
• For the first time this year superpole was run under wet weather regulations, giving each rider 50 minutes and 12 laps in which to set their qualifying time, rather than the usual one flying lap in dry conditions.
• The 21-year-old former British R6 Cup champion did all his laps in one stint, riding spectacularly to head the times for much of the superpole session. Hill slid off on his final lap while try to improve his pole position time of 1:38.001. Despite the slip-up, no other rider could knock the Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider from the top of the time sheets and he will start his first ever world superbike races from the front of the grid tomorrow.
  Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga grabbed a front row start at Silverstone, powering his YZF-R1 to the fourth fastest time at the British circuit. The Japanese star has been consistently strong in both the wet and dry, although he was forced to use his spare machine for the superpole after his number one machine developed a a vibration in the preceding free practice session. Haga used all his experience to stay upright in the slippery conditions and get a valuable front row start at a circuit where he has excelled in the past.
  With the rain stopping and the sun making its first appearance of the day the track prior to the session, the Yamaha Motor Italia duo stayed in the pits until 20 minutes into the session in the hope that the conditions would improve.
  With heavy rain falling throughout the day, the riders have been unable to work on improving the settings for what are expected to be dry conditions for tomorrow's races.
  Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt was a disappointed 11th after superpole. The Australian rode strongly in the dry conditions, going into superpole as the sixth fastest rider, but the rider and his team could not find an ideal wet weather setting and Pitt struggled for grip in the wet superpole session.
  Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe completed the five YZF-R1 riders competing in superpole. Gimbert crashed on his first lap in superpole, his third tumble of the weekend, but came back to 12th on his spare machine. Abe, no fan of the wet conditions, finished 15th after superpole - improving his position from regular qualifying by one position.
  Shinichi Nakatomi will start the race from 20th position after failing to make the top 16 in yesterday's opening qualifying session. The Japanese newcomer is making his first visit to the historic British circuit and is looking to score some more championship points despite having completed only one session in dry conditions.
• Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha)
  "I can't believe that I'll be starting my first world superbike races ahead of the guys that I am used to watching on television! I'm not sure what to expect from the races and I think that it'll only really sink in when I'm sitting on the grid tomorrow. It was probably just as well that I crashed as we are so far down the pit lane that I couldn't read my lap board properly. I was feeling really comfortable and I would probably have stayed out even longer if I hadn't come off and been penalized for doing too many laps! It's great to be here and riding on the same tyres as everyone else. I like the wet but it'll be nice for the fans if it's dry tomorrow as we have had so many wet races in the British championship this year. In the dry I'd love to get a top eight but for now I'm just enjoying what we've achieved today."
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "This circuit has no grip and is very scary in the rain. We waited a while to see if the track would dry but it was still very slippery out there. I almost crashed many times so I am really happy to be on the front row. We have a good setting for wet or dry, so I think I can make a good race tomorrow. I hope for sunshine but this is England and no-one ever knows what the weather will do here!"
  Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "We are struggling for rear grip in the wet and it didn't matter what we did we couldn't improve the situation. We've got a good set-up for the dry so I'm hoping that there's no rain tomorrow. It will be tough from the third row of the grid though."
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "Not so bad but I was not feeling 100 percent after the crash in superpole. I have had quite a few crashes this weekend and need to rest up and get ready for the race."
  Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "I am still trying to find a good feeling with the superbike and the Pirelli tyres in rain conditions, so I was not pleased that qualifying was wet today. The forecast for tomorrow is dry so I am hoping that we can have some good races."
• Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France)
  "I'd have liked at least one more hour in dry conditions today as it has been difficult trying to learn the circuit in these conditions. I have never ridden at Silverstone before and it was difficult to find out about the circuit while I am still learning the characteristics of this bike and the wet-weather Pirelli tyres."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Nori is running strongly in both conditions and is ready to fight at the front tomorrow. His bike developed an unusual vibration before the superpole so we decided not to risk anything and switch to the spare bike. The set-ups are almost identical so this was not such a problem. Andrew had some problems with the back of the bike coming around when he backed off the throttle and this has dropped him back a little. Tonight we will follow the weather forecast. It looks like being dry but we will prepare a wet weather bike and a dry weather bike for each rider. In case of a dry race we already know which front tyre to use and will have the 20 minute warm-up to make our final decision on the rear."

• Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) will line up on the front row of the starting grid in second place for tomorrow's fifth round of the World Superbike Championship following a wet Superpole session at Silverstone. British Superbike regular Tommy Hill (Yamaha) used his wild-card status to good effect in the slippery conditions to power to the pole position, while the front row of the grid is completed by Chris Walker (Kawasaki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha).
• "This place and this weather remind me of the British Championship in 1998 and 1999 with red flags coming out, bikes flying everywhere and mine's done that three times this weekend," declared Troy after Superpole. "I feel like I've been rolled, bowled and sat on but I'm sure I'm going to come up OK tomorrow. I made a little mistake in that session, I was supposed to stay out for another flying lap but there was one thing we'd changed when I went out and I wasn't happy with it. I was on the limit and I'd been off three times this weekend and didn't want to do it again. It was my mistake coming in but my time was not so bad and I'm quite happy. That's racing, Tommy did a great job today. I'd like some dry weather tomorrow especially for the British fans, but I'm going to try and spoil the party for them."
• Rain in the second and final qualifying session in the morning meant that Lorenzo Lanzi missed out on the Superpole cut today and the Italian will start from the fifth row of the grid.
  "I am a bit disappointed obviously because I didn't take part in Superpole, it's been some time since that happened. It was surely not the weekend I had dreamt about," commented Lorenzo. "But I managed to get the right feeling in the wet conditions in the afternoon and did some good times, which is important for tomorrow because the conditions are not very clear. Anything can happen, the race is still open, I'm starting from the fifth row but I feel sure I can do two good races."

• Reigning World Superbike Champion Troy Corser suffered grip problems during today’s Superpole for the British World Superbike fifth round at Silverstone.
• The Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider finished a disappointing 10th in a wet qualifier with team mates Yukio Kagayama and Fabien Foret 16th and 25th.
• The top 16 riders from timed qualifying had 50 minutes in which to complete a maximum of 12 laps. Although it had stopped raining by the time Superpole started, the track was mostly soaking wet - conditions that turned out to be more difficult then when it had been raining steadily.
• Wild card rider Tommy Hill (Yamaha) surprised everybody by setting the quickest lap of the Superpole session with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Chris Walker (Kawasaki) third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth.
• It was an unhappy Superpole for Kagayama who crashed after eight laps. He highsided at the end of the start-finish straight and landed heavily on his back and damaged the index finger of his right hand in the process. Fortunately he didn’t break any bones but he will be very sore when he lines up on the grid tomorrow.
• Troy Corser - 10th, 1:40.181: Obviously I’m not happy being so far down the grid, but I was lucky to complete Wet Superpole without crashing! I could’ve crashed on virtually every lap - that’s how bad my grip problem was. I didn’t want to hurt myself or damage the bike with two races to do tomorrow, so I just tried to stay upright and go as fast as I could. Every time I touched the throttle, the bike just wanted to come round.
  “Funnily enough, the grip felt better when the track was soaking wet. When the rain eased and then stopped, my problems began. The weather forecast says it’s going to be dry tomorrow and I know that we’ve got a pretty good set-up for a dry race, so if that’s so, all I need is a couple of really good starts.”
• Yukio Kagayama - 16th, 1:42.262: “I am so sore! I highsided at the end of the front straight and I went over the front of the bike while I was still holding on! I remember looking at my front wheel and thinking I would wait for the situation to improve, but it never did! I hit the ground very hard and cut my finger bad enough to have three stitches in the wound. When the track was fully wet, I think the grip felt ok. Maybe it is because we were going slower and controlling the bike better. In Superpole, the grip did not feel good at all and it was very difficult. I will have an early night tonight and hope I feel ok in the morning.”
• Fabien Foret - 25th, No Superpole time: “I don’t like the rain so much but I put in quite a few laps today because I need to understand how my bike works in the wet. I am disappointed not to have qualified for Superpole, but now I have to think about the races tomorrow and getting some good starts if I am to have any chance of a good result. I hope the track is dry because I know I can race much harder. This year we’ve lost some time due to rain at every round except one, so my understanding of my bike has not happened as quickly as I would’ve liked. But I am determined to get some good results tomorrow.”