HockeWSB

FOGARTY AND CHILI WIN IN GERMANY

Carl Fogarty and Pier-Francesco Chili won a race each in Sunday's 12th and penultimate round of the World Superbike championship at Hockenheim in Germany.

Carl Fogarty wins the World Superbike Championship for the fourth time with Ducati. The Italian company takes the Manufacturers' title for the eighth time.

The British champion crowned a superb season at Hockenheim, Germany and confirmed that he is the best-ever World Superbike rider in history. The twin-cylinder bike from Bologna once again managed to beat off the challenge from its rivals, and confirmed itself to be the most competitive bike in the history of this hard-fought production-based racing bike series.

With this victory, 'King Carl' takes his championship total to eight. In his brilliant career, Fogarty has won four Superbike titles ('94, '95, '98 and '99, all for Ducati) in addition to two World TT-F1 titles ('88 and '89), a World Endurance title ('92) and the FIM Formula 1 World Cup in 1990.

During this season, he celebrated his 200th WSBK race and took his total of WSBK wins to 59.

Ducati has so far obtained 159 victories in Superbike: (55 Fogarty - 26 Polen - 23 Roche - 16 Corser - 13 Falappa - 11 Chili - 5 Kocinski - 2 Lucchiari - 2 Lucchinelli - 2 Mertens - 1 Whitham - 1 Meklau - 1 Bostrom - 1 Gobert).

Fogarty was awarded victory in the opening 14-lap race despite Castrol Honda's Aaron Slight taking a last lap lead and the chequered flag ahead of the British Ducati rider. A last lap crash had forced organisers to stop the race and the result was taken from the end of the 13th lap, handing Fogarty victory and his fourth World Superbike title.

"This has been a fantastic season" commented Carl Fogarty; "At the start of the year, I was determined to win this title. Only one regret, the number of my fans is getting bigger and bigger and I never have enough time to dedicate to them. I disappointed them at Brands Hatch in the race and when they wait for me at the back of the pits, I don't have enough time to spend with them as I would like".

Akira Yanagawa on a Kawasaki took third place with Colin Edwards fourth on the second of the Castrol Hondas.

A thrilling five-rider battle in the second race of the day ended with Pier-Francesco Chili bouncing back from machine trouble in the first race to take his second win of the year on the factory Suzuki. Chili got the better of Slight, Edwards, Fogarty and Yanagawa in the 190mph run into the stadium section of the 4.22-mile circuit, on the 14th and last lap.

Fogarty held on for second place with Slight third, Yanagawa fourth and Edwards fifth.

Corser came home in seventh. "In race 1 I had to retire because the rear tyre deteriorated" commented Troy Corser; "the modifications in race 2, when I used the same rear set-up as Carl, slightly improved things, but the tyre began to deteriorate anyway half-way through the race forcing me to slow down to reach the finish".

1. FOGARTY	458
2. CORSER	351
3. EDWARDS	347
4. SLIGHT	320
5. YANAGAWA	267
6. CHILI	233
7. HAGA	179
8. LAVILLA	154
9. FUJIWARA	119
10.GUARESCHI	99
11.MEKLAU	94
11.GODDARD	84

MACPHERSON'S WIN, CHAMBON'S TITLE

Iain MacPherson took victory in the 11th and final round of the World Supersport championship at Hockenheim in Germany on Sunday.

The Kawasaki-mounted Scotsman won a thrilling 14-lap race in which six riders did battle for victory around the high speed 4.22-mile circuit.

Eventually a trio broke away at the front in the closing stages and it was MacPherson who held the lead. Spaniard Ruben Xaus took second place, passing the new world champion Stephane Chambon on the last corner.

Young British rider Karl Harris took a career-best fourth place with German Yamaha rider Jorg Teuchert a close fifth.

Former champion Fabrizio Pirovano finished in sixth with his fellow Italian Suzuki rider Cristiano Migliorati seventh and Castrol Honda's Pere Riba eighth.

Riba commented: "The race was all about slipstreaming and I couldn't make the break from my group to get with the leading group."

Dutchman Wilco Zeelenberg ran wide with four laps to go but bounced back to take ninth place. Techert's team-mate Christian Kellner finished 10th. James Toseland, on the second of the Castrol Hondas, ran off the track on the seventh lap but returned to finish in 22nd place.

World Supersport championship race result:
1 Iain MacPherson, GB (Kawasaki) 30m 05.421s,
2 Ruben Xaus, Spain (Yamaha) 30m 05.867s,
3 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 30m 05.915s,
4 Karl Harris, GB (Suzuki) 30m 06.685s,
5 Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 30m 06.822s,
6 Fabrizio Pirovano, Italy (Suzuki) 30m 10.232s,
7 Cristiano Migliorati, Italy (Suzuki) 30m 10.717s,
8 Pere Riba, Spain (Castrol Honda) 30m 11.042s,
9 Wilco Zeelenberg, Holland (Yamaha) 30m 12.841s,
10 Christian Kellner, Germany (Yamaha) 30m 12.993s.

Final championship points:
1 Chambon 153,
2 MacPherson 130,
3 Piergiorgio Bontempi 116,
4 Teuchert 108,
5 Xaus 101

Manufacturers:
1 Yamaha 235,
2 Suzuki 191,
3 Kawasaki 137,
4 Honda 112,
5 Ducati 60,
6 Bimota 15.

Saturday Qualifying & Superpole News

Castrol Honda's Aaron Slight will start Sunday's 12th round of the World Superbike championship from pole position after setting the fastest time in Saturday's Superpole qualifying competition at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.

Slight, in dominant mood all weekend at Hockenheim, was the final rider to go in the one-lap competition and the New Zealander didn't disappoint.

He explained: "I was really pushing hard for the first lap under two minutes around this place but I ran wide and hit the dirt coming into the stadium section and that cost me the tiny bit of time I needed to get under two minutes."

Troy Corser will start alongside Slight on the front row and the pair are joined by Austrian Ducati rider Andy Meklau who put in by far the best qualifying display of his career.

Kawasaki's Akira Yanagawa completes the front row. Castrol Honda's Colin Edwards heads the second row, in fifth place place, alongside Pier-Francesco Chili who was forced to use his spare Suzuki for the Superpole lap.

Carl Fogarty - who can take a record fourth World Superbike title on Sunday - was seventh fastest with Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga completing the second row of the grid.

Peter Goddard put the Aprilia in ninth place with Katsuaki Fujiwara taking 10th place for Sunday's two races.

CHAMBON TAKES HOCKENHEIM POLE POSITION

Champion-elect Stephane Chambon will start the 11th and final round of the World Supersport championship from pole position after setting the fastest time in Saturday's final qualifying session at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.

Frenchman Chambon will be crowned world champion after Sunday's race and the Suzuki rider celebrated with his third pole position of the year. Ruben Xaus - who dominated two days of practice and qualifying at Hockenheim until the closing stages of Saturday's action - will start from second place on the grid alongside Chambon.

Iain MacPherson is in third place while Jorg Teuchert completes the front row of the grid for Sunday's race. Young British rider Karl Harris made the most of a slipstreaming battle in the final lap of qualifying to take fifth place at the head of the second row. Teuchert's Yamaha Germany team-mate Christian Kellner starts from sixth while Castrol Honda's Pere Riba was seventh quickest.

Riba commented: "It's all about getting a good slipstream and I managed that thanks to my team-mate James Toseland. We made a plan to lap together and it worked, we both improved our times."

Honda France team rider Sebastien Charpentier completes the second row of the grid while his fellow Honda France rider William Costes took ninth place with Dutchman Wilco Zeelenberg 10th on a Yamaha.

Riba's Castrol Honda team-mate Toseland will start from 12th place on the third row of the grid.

Final World Supersport championship qualifying times

1 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 2m 07.391s,
2 Ruben Xaus, Spain (Yamaha) 2m 07.538s,
3 Iain MacPherson, GB (Kawasaki) 2m 07.828s,
4 Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 2m 07.840s,
5 Karl Harris, GB (Suzuki) 2m 08.190s,
6 Christian Kellner, Germany (Yamaha) 2m 08.267s,
7 Pere Riba, Spain (Castrol Honda) 2m 08.349s,
8 Sebastien Charpentier, France (Honda) 2m 08.497s,
9 William Costes, France (Honda) 2m 08.543s,
10 Wilco Zeelenberg, Holland (Yamaha) 2m 08.543s.

SLIGHT ON TOP AT HOCKENHEIM

Castrol Honda's Aaron Slight set the pace on the opening day of qualifying for Sunday's 12th round of the World Superbike championship at Hockenheim in Germany.

Slight was the fastest rider in Friday's opening qualifying session. The New Zealand rider was also equal fastest through the speed trap with Ducati mounted Carl Fogarty, at 188mph (303kmh).

"I'm happy with what I've achieved so far today," said Slight. "Despite taking the fastest lap I made a mistake on that actual lap, missing a gear going into the last corner so I need to be smoother tomorrow to go quicker."

Troy Corser was second quickest with Colin Edwards third quickest on the second of the Castrol Hondas, 0.003s slower than Corser.

"I set my best time on race tyres, but the bike feels very nervous" declared Troy Corser. "The comparative tests we did on two different bikes are helping us to go in the right direction. I have to push hard to set a fast time and the areas where we have to improve are the first corner and the two chicanes. Top speed is very good and is vitally important on a track like this".

Carl Fogarty completes the first row of the grid for Sunday's two races. "The bike seems to be very hard on the bumps of the track and not very stable coming out of the chicane" commented Carl Fogarty. "It’s not very pleasant riding it like that. I can’t understand what the problem is and for this reason we’re trying out several different solutions".

Kawasaki's Akira Yanagawa was fifth quickest with Italian Suzuki rider Pier-Francesco Chili sixth.

Yanagawa's team-mate Gregorio Lavilla was seventh with Austrian Ducati privateer Andy Meklau eighth.

The Yamaha pair of Vittoriano Guareschi and Noriyuki Haga took ninth and 10th places respectively.

1   Aaron Slight,                  New Zealand            (Castrol Honda)        2m 00.646s
2   Troy Corser,                  Australia                    (Ducati)                       2m 01.261s
3   Colin Edwards,             USA                           (Castrol Honda)        2m 01.264s
4   Carl Fogarty,                 GB                             (Ducati)                       2m 01.694s
5   Akira Yanagawa,           Japan                         (Kawasaki)                 2m 01.739s
6   Pier-Francesco Chili,   Italy                            (Suzuki)                      2m 01.791s
7   Gregorio Lavilla,           Spain                          (Kawasaki)                 2m 01.939s
8   Andy Meklau,                Austria                      (Ducati)                       2m 02.000s
9   Vittoriano Guareschi, Italy                            (Yamaha)                    2m 02.353s
10 Noriyuki Haga,              Japan                         (Yamaha)                   2m 02.438s
14 Peter Goddard              Australia                    (Aprilia)                      2m 03.789s

Ruben Xaus set the fastest time in Friday's opening qualifying session for the 11th and final round of the World Supersport championship at Hockenheim in Germany.

Xaus set the provisional pole position time with series leader Stephane Chambon in second place. Chambon's only title rival Piergiorgio Bontempi suffered a wrist injury in Holland last week and will not race at Hockenheim leaving Chambon to be crowned world champion on Sunday.

Chambon's team-mate Fabrizio Pirovano bounced back from injury - which forced him to miss last week's Dutch race - to take third with Cristiano Migliorati completing the provisional front row.

Last week's race winner in Holland, Iain MacPherson was fifth quickest despite a crash in the Friday morning free practice session.

Double race winner this year, Jorg Teuchert was sixth with Walter Tortoroglio seventh and Castrol Honda's James Toseland eighth to complete the provisional second row.

"Hockenheim is a high speed track so I spent much of the session looking for a tow in somebody's slipstream," said Toseland. "It's early days yet but the Castrol Honda is working very well here."

Honda France team rider William Costes was ninth with Wilco Zeelenberg in 10th. Toseland's Castrol Honda team-mate Pere Riba was 16th.

1 Ruben Xaus, Spain (Yamaha) 2m 07.672s
2 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 2m 08.431s
3 Fabrizio Pirovano, Italy (Suzuki) 2m 08.637s
4 Cristiano Migliorati, Italy (Suzuki) 2m 08.951s
5 Iain MacPherson, GB (Kawasaki) 2m 08.993s
6 Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 2m 09.093s
7 Walter Tortoroglio, Italy (Suzuki) 2m 09.323s
8 James Toseland, GB (Castrol Honda) 2m 09.596s
9 William Costes, France (Honda) 2m 09.652s
10 Wilco Zeelenberg, Holland (Yamaha) 2m 09.762s.

Castrol Honda's Colin Edwards and Aaron Slight believe victory is in sight in round 12 of the World Superbike championship at Hockenheim, Germany on Sunday.

Edwards, third in the championship points standings, has won five races this year and is confident of adding to that tally in this week's penultimate round of the series.

"I know the Castrol Honda works well at Hockenheim and I'm confident we can get the machine set-up for victory," says the 25-year-old.

He adds: "It's a high speed track and when we actually get to top speed on the Honda it's as quick as anything out there. But I don't want to make the mistake I did at Monza. That was the last high speed circuit we visited and I almost took it for granted I'd win but walked away from there with two second places."

Slight is currently fourth in the championship and the determined New Zealander is hopeful of adding to the victory he took at Hockenheim the last time a World Superbike round was staged there in 1997.

"It's a circuit I like and I'm sure there'll be some great, close racing with the typical slipstreaming battles this track is famous for," says Slight. "It's been a long time since I won a race so I'm pretty keen to get at least one win under my belt before the season finishes and Sunday is my best chance."

The Hockenheim World Superbike action includes qualifying on Friday and Saturday followed by Sunday's two races, at 12 noon and 3.30pm.

1. FOGARTY	413
2. CORSER	342
3. EDWARDS	323
4. SLIGHT	284
5. YANAGAWA	238
6. CHILI	208
7. HAGA	161
8. LAVILLA	136
9. FUJIWARA	104
10.GUARESCHI	89
11.MEKLAU	84
11.GODDARD	76

Castrol Honda's James Toseland and Pere Riba will be going all out for victory in Sunday's final round of the World Supersport championship at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.

The 600cc Honda-mounted pair are confident they can challenge for victory in the 11th round and take what would be a first win of the year for the Castrol Honda team.

Toseland, 11th in the championship, believes: "The Castrol Honda was a new machine at the beginning of the year, we have made improvements and the CBR600F is now capable of winning."

He continues: "This will be my first visit to Hockenheim so I'm looking forward to the challenge and after four hours of practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday I'm sure I can be well placed to win on Sunday."

Toseland's team-mate, Spain's Pere Riba is hoping to end a season of mixed fortunes on a high note at Hockenheim. The talented 30-year-old from Barcelona was forced out of three races due to injury but a sixth place in the Dutch round at Assen last Sunday has left Riba determined to win in Germany.

"I've had a poor year, including a little bit of bad luck but I want to win on Sunday for the team, not just for myself," admits Riba. "The team has worked hard this year, the first year with a new machine is always going to be difficult but I believe we've turned the Honda into a race winner - I want to prove that on Sunday."