Yamaha

Yamaha riders Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) and Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Motor Italia) used their vast experience to finish on the podium in difficult conditions at Misano today and preserve their positions at the head of the championship.

The rain storm which cut short the preceding superbike race left the track flooded and led to a 45-minute delay to the start of the race. In treacherous conditions the pair stuck with the lead pack and kept their heads and rode sensibly with their championship aspirations in mind.

The race was won by Karl Muggeridge (Honda) after his team-mate Broc Parkes crashed out lap 15 of the 23 lap race. Veteran Aussie Curtain maintained a safe cushion between Muggeridge and the battle for third, which was won by Dutchman Van den Goorbergh after he passed Katsuaki Fujiwara two laps from home.

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) had been running strongly when he crashed out of the top ten on lap four. The German had caught the pack contesting second place when he fell without injury on lap four.

Former world champion Fabien Foret (Yamaha Motor Italia) found himself uncharacteristically low in the order when he crashed out of 14th place on lap 12. The Frenchman qualified in 20th after being caught out by the wet conditions in practice and was unable to make it three successive victories at the Adriatic circuit. Foret was not hurt in the accident and despite failing to finish he leaves Misano fifth in the championship, 27 points behind team-mate and points leader Van den Goorbergh.

Curtain’s second place moves him to just ten points behind Jurgen, with Muggeridge now third in the points – a further ten points behind on 37. Yamaha also maintains its lead in the manufacturers championship, six points ahead of rivals Honda.

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) – second “I’m well happy with that. The conditions were difficult, not so much from the water but rather the dirt that had been washed onto the circuit from the downpour. It was tough because the spray left my visor all brown and made visibility difficult. I could’ve possibly pushed a bit harder but the points are in the bank and that is more important at the end of the season than going for a win and potentially crashing.”

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Motor Italia) – third “A good race. Being 13th on the grid was not a good place to fight for victory but after morning warm-up I was confident that I could have a good result as long as the track was either full wet or full dry, rather than the mixed conditions we had in qualifying – so surprisingly I was really happy when it rained so heavy before the race. I got a good start and took it easy for the opening laps. I was able to push a little harder to pass Fujiwara to keep up my 100 percent record of being on the podium this year. With only ten races in the championship this is very important for us. Maybe we will not always be in a position to fight for victory but it is important to keep getting these good results.”

Fabien Foret (Yamaha Motor Italia) – DNF “In the first corner two riders crashed in front of me. I had to take to the grass and then start again from zero. It took me a little while to find my rhythm, but when I got going I was able to do the same lap times as the leaders. I don’t really know why I crashed, the datalogging showed that my corner speed was the same as the other laps so I can only think that I went a little bit off-line and onto the dirty circuit. I feel frustrated today because I always race so well here so I can only hope for better fortune in Monza.”

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) – DNF “Fortune is not on my side just now. I was feeling good after setting the fastest time in morning warm-up. I had worked my way through from 17th on the grid and was closing on the leaders when I crashed. I do not really know why, because I do not think I made a mistake, but three other riders also fell at that corner.”

Pirelli

The inclement and ever changing wet weather conditions of practice carried over into race day at Misano, as the first race was shortened to 17 laps due to rain and race two was started in wet conditions. The variety of tyres chosen by the teams made for an equally wide variety of fortunes, with two riders in particular shining bright during an overcast day on the Adriatic coast.

Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999) played the winning hand in the first race at Misano, which was delayed due to machine problems on the grid. The start saw the Petronas FP-1 three-cylinder machine of Troy Corser take the lead, and run away with what looked like a safe win at one stage. Corser was relentlessly hunted by the voracious Laconi, who took his second win of the year, with Corser eventually second and Pierfrancesco Chili a valiant third. In fourth place Noriyuki Haga boomed his Ducati through the field to fourth, with Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) in fifth place, after some similar progress from a bad start.
Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki) would have taken an almost certain podium finish had he not crashed, and in an incident packed race, the rains which came back at an inopportune time for most, bringing out the red flags and finishing the first contest on the 17 lap mark.

An outstanding charge through the field, from 15th position on lap one, allowed Pierfrancesco Chili the chance to show all his many years of experience to good effect. Making the best of his tyre choice – wet front and intermediate rear - on what became a drying track - the 998RS rider caught and passed Laconi, the virtually unopposed leader to that point. A truly classic fight of tactics and sheer skill proved to be exclusively a two-man battle, with the next nearest challenger being Steve Martin (DFX Ducati), 32 seconds down on the winner.
A team display by Noriyuki Haga and Leon Haslam put them fourth and fifth respectively, on their Renegade Ducati 999s.

Giorgio Barbier (Pirelli Racing Manager): “There are enough stories about today to fill a book. In Valencia we had the first leg run on a damp track, better suited to the slicks, but in race two today we had wet conditions in which it was possible to run with a wet tyre. We are quite happy about the final result because even as the track dried the riders could make it to the end of the race using wets. We were worried about the long left hand corners onto the back straight, because there is a risk that if the tyre overheats then it could explode. Laconi showed that he could make a good lap time, even at the end of the race, when his tyres were completely worn out. Some took the risk to choose the softest rain tyre, but the other proved to be better. The rear intermediate was really an intermediate and it allowed Chili the chance to have a fantastic race. The main thing today is that we have now tested the full range of our tyres, due to all the track and weather conditions in the first three circuits. Now we know what we have, and how to develop it.”

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) finally delivered on his proven qualifying potential with a race win in the 23-lap Supersport event, but only after his team-mate Broc Parkes crashed out on lap 15. Leading by an impressive margin almost throughout, Parkes looked to be a surefire winner, but his front end fall, in slippery and unpredictable track conditions, leaves him outside the top ten overall. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Germany) was second, with hard charging Jurgen van den Goorbergh taking third place for the second race in succession, reinforcing his championship lead. In fourth place Suzuki rider Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki) managed to hold of a resurgent charge from Alessio Corradi (Team Italia Megabike Honda).

Giorgio Barbier: “The first two riders chose the softest wets, the third placed rider the hardest rain tyre we had. Considering they had a wetter track than in Superbike, the tyres proved what we thought - the right choice would decide who could win.”

Team Suzuki

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Katsuaki Fujiwara just missed out a podium position in the third round of the Supersport World Championship at a damp Misano today as all three team riders finished in the top 10.

Behind Fujiwara in fourth, Stephane Chambon took a superb seventh place after starting from the fifth row of the grid, and newcomer Vittorio Iannuzzo claimed a well-placed ninth.

The rain fell so heavily that the start had to be delayed by nearly forty minutes, but when the riders lined up, the rain had more or less stopped.

Fujiwara was fourth at the end of the opening lap behind Broc Parkes (Honda), Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) and Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati), and then moved up to third two laps later.

Throughout the 23-lapper, Fujiwara couldn t quite match the speed of his rivals and lost third place to Van den Goorbergh with just three laps to go.

Muggeridge took the win after runaway leader Parkes crashed out after 14 laps, with Curtain second, comfortably ahead of Van den Goorbergh.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA - 4th: "For the first ten laps or so, the feeling in the wet was quite good, but when parts of the track began to dry out, I started having a few problems and it was not possible to get on the gas hard. If I had pushed harder, especially towards the end, I would have crashed, so I had to be calm and just get as many points as I could. I'm quite happy today, because fourth is not so bad after the problems we had and considering the conditions. The bike set-up was quite good in the wet, but in the dry we still have to find some answers to our problems. Some of these problems are normal for a new bike such as ours, and having new tyres doesn't help either. Step by step we have to work to catch up with our main rivals. Also, I am modifying my riding style and being less aggressive ,which suits the bike a lot more.

STEPHANE CHAMBON - 7th: "I am not happy and I'm not unhappy. Seventh is good considering where I was on the grid, but we have some way to go to get the bike working the way I like. The bike was good in the wet, but not so good in the dry , in the latter stages of the race. Then it was moving around a bit and I could not control it so easily.

VITTORIO IANNUZZO - 9th: "That was a very difficult race for me. The track conditions started off like yesterday and the day before and I did the best I could, but I just couldn't match the speed of the fastest guys. When I tried going faster, I began having problems particularly with the front brake. I had to keep adjusting it every few laps and that was not so easy on such a greasy track. I honestly believe that when the bike is 100%, I can finish regularly in the top five and take some podiums. Maybe it is necessary for me to change my riding style because, at the moment, it seems that it is better to not be so aggressive.

Troy Corser

Troy took a superb runner-up place in the first Superbike World Championship race at Misano today, behind Regis Laconi (Ducati). The race took place on a damp, but drying, track, with Troy making a good start from the second row of the grid. When the 27-rider field came round to complete the first lap Troy was in the lead! He then maintained the lead for the first thirteen laps before being overtaken by Laconi. The rain started to fall so heavily on lap sixteen that the race had to be red-flagged as most riders were not on wet tyres. Local favourite Frankie Chili (Ducati) took third, ahead of Haga (Ducati), Vermeulen (Honda) and Troy's team mate Walker. In race two, also held in varying conditions, Troy and all the top contenders were on wet tyres, with only Chili on intermediates. Laconi led most of the race but, as the track dried out, Chili remorselessly charged up the field and then got closer and closer to Laconi. Then, on the very last lap, Chili overtook Laconi and the partisan crowd went wild. The Italian pulled away from Laconi and took the chequered flag one to record a truly emotional victory. Laconi was second, ahead of Martin (Ducati), Haslam (Ducati) and Toseland (Ducati). Troy had clutch problems on the warm-up lap, but carried on and finished seventh. Together with second in race one, it was Troy's best day in Petronas colours and his first podium since Imola in 2001.

TROY Race 1: 2nd, Race 2: 7th - "It's hard to believe that I was back on the podium after such a long time. That's was Imola in 2001 and it's been so long, I nearly had to ask where the podium was! All weekend, we've pretty much been in the top four in every session and if I'd got off the line quicker in race two, I might have been able to get another good result there. This is my best result for the team so far and I'm so pleased for everybody involved. I was trying hard to stay with Regis (Laconi) after he passed me in the first race, but in the end I had to settle for second. Before race two started I had a problem with the clutch on the warm-up lap and that made entering corners difficult as the bike was oscillating. Then I got a bit tangled up with Sanchini and had to settle down again and go with what I had. Today is very positive for us and I'm looking forward to the next stage of the engine's development at the next round at Monza."

Chris Vermeulen

Friday
Weather conditions in Italy are very different from Australia, on Friday it was raining and cold. So it is difficult for the team to find the right settings. But Chris does not let these circumstances influence his good mood.

He makes provisional fourth position on the Honda Fireblade behind Laconi, Walker and Corser, just 0,850 seconds behind the provisional LEADER Regis Laconi.

“ I am quite pleased with today’s results considering the conditions. The Superbike is a little bit different to ride in the wet than the Supersport bike, because it spins the rear wheel even in a straight line. The best thing is that the tyres aren’t that much different from the ones I used in the wet in Supersport.”

Saturday
The track at this circuit consists of three types of asphalt which makes tyre choice increasingly difficult as the track gradually dries following heavy rain. This also makes settings hard to find as it is predicted that the remainder of the day will be dry.

The second qualifying session produced a provisional 10th position for Chris, with the track still inconsistently wet and dry he takes minimum risk to try to improve on this position with superpole yet to come. The organizers are late to announce a wet superpole as the team hurries to change the choice of tyres.

Chris completed 10 laps during the wet superpole making a time of 1:37.891 placing him 7th on the second row of the grid.

“It was OK for my first wet Superpole. We’re still fiddling with settings because we’ve not had a lot of time on the bike and most of that was in the dry. We’re getting better fast but we got caught out a bit by having only two of the tyres I really liked. We do have a good idea on the race tyre choice, and we’ve got two to choose from. I’ll go out on both of them to see which I prefer, because they both should last the race.”

Sunday
During the warm-up it rained therefore nobody was taking any risks, everybody hoped for a dry first race. With all riders on the grid a dry race was announced.

The team rapidly changed tyres on the grid and after the first lap Chris was 11th following Haga. At the 17th lap the rain began again and the race was stopped, Chris had already made good progress to 5th place.

Race two was declared wet and Chris improved his start holding 6th position, but with the track becoming increasingly dry he was forced to enter the pit to change the rear tyre. He rejoined the race in 22nd position finally making his way up to finish in 12th place, gaining 4 more points towards the World Championship Rankings.
Chris is now 4th place in the Championship with 70 points equal to Laconi, Toseland has 77 points and Chili is currently championship leader with 97 points.

Next race is in MONZA on the 16 May.

FG Sport

Changeable Raceday: The fastest Superbike riders in the world had hoped for a dry day of race action, after the ever-changing track in qualifying, but it was another day of drifting parameters and conditions, and which delivered a win apiece to Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) and Pierfrancesco Chili
(PSG-1 Ducati).

Race One: In the first of the two Superbike races, scheduled for 25 laps, the victor’s laurels went to French rider Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila), who hunted down and caught long term leader Troy Corser (Petronas FP-1) shortly before the morning rains returned and halted the race early. The lap count finally was 17, making for a full points score for all riders who finished in the top 15. In third place, the 998 Ducati of Pierfrancesco Chili was enough to take the 39-year-old rider to a popular podium finish. Just off the podium came the charging Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati) followed by the yellow Ten Kate Honda of Chris Vermeulen in fifth.

Race Two: With a fully wet track in front of them the field of riders chose mostly full wet tyre solutions. The exception proved to be Pierfrancesco Chili, on his latest spec of 998R, who made slow progress before charging through at up to two seconds per lap faster than his peers. He tracked Regis Laconi and on the final lap took the advantage over his championship rival, as his hard compound wet rear tyre became unsuitable for the drying track.
In third place, Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) was fully 32 seconds behind Chili.
In fourth, Noriyuki Haga was another charging force, while his team-mate in the Renegade Ducati squad, Leon Haslam, equally his best 2004 finish of firth.

The Pentagon: Chili’s win made him the fifth different race winner, the others being James Toseland, Noriyuki Haga, Garry McCoy and Regis Laconi (twice). That is as many race winners are there were in all of the races in 2003.

Kawasakis Come Of Age: The Bertocchi Kawasaki team witnessed Mauro Sanchini make some true headway in terms of the competitiveness, of the ZX-10.
Sanchini led four of the second race laps, in the early wet laps, before sliding back to 11th due to tyre choice.

Points Standings: The points standings changed significantly in Superbike, with Chili’s dazzling rides making him the new clear leader with 97, from James Toseland, who had two tough rides eventually finishing tenth and sixth after an abysmal qualifying in 20th. Laconi and Vermeulen share the 70-point mark.

Supersport: A seemingly certain Ten Kate Honda 1-2 ended up with a crash for long time leader Broc Parkes but a win for Karl Muggeridge in Misano, as he continued his high pace without major incident. The Supersport race started in wetter conditions than the second Superbike race, and was delayed by 40 minutes; such was the severity of the immediate pre-race weather. In second place, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) is now in second place in the championship standings. Championship leader Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Italia) went third, ahead of Suzuki rider Katsuaki Fujiwara. A good ride by Kawasaki Bertocchi rider Stefano Cruciani, in a strong podium place for long periods, ended in a crash.

Steve Martin

With the Misano round earlier than normal on the calendar the conditions at the circuit were a dramatic change from previous years. With the track changing dramatically between and during the sessions, the wet and drying conditions over the weekend made it difficult for the riders to set up the bikes and select their race tyres.

Final qualifying was decided in a wet Superpole, where each rider has twelve laps to complete in fifty minutes. The drying track meant that the riders actually headed out on slick qualifying tyres to complete the designated laps. Due to the wet conditions in the two previous qualifying sessions Martin still had all three of his allocated qualifying tyres, so he had three attempts with which to claim the pole position. It was the final attempt in the last ten minutes of the session that saw Martin claim the pole position from Laconi. In the closing minutes Laconi attempted another qualifying lap but was unable to reclaim the pole position from Martin.

“Well that’s another thing I can tick off my list, I gave it all I had, and in these conditions anything could have happened. Luckily it all stayed together and after getting provisional pole here last year I am glad that I finally got one when it counts”.

Race One
With a wet warm up in the morning the first race was to be run in drying conditions with Steve initially selecting an intermediate tyre on the front and a slick on the rear but with the hold up of the start of the race along with Laconi Steve decided to change the front to a slick. Steve had to complete the change and start the sighting lap from pit lane.

From the start Martin was in fifth position but was initially unable to match the pace of the front leaders slipping back to seventh position before his lap times started to come down and he began to catch Walker. Steve passed Walker for sixth place on the seventeenth lap just as the race was red flagged, which meant that he was relegated back to seventh.

“We made a huge mistake in race one, I wanted to head out on intermediates to get a look at the track and then change to slicks on the grid as it was declared a dry race. When I went to get on my dry bike with the dry race set up, both of my bikes had been set as wet bikes. I had no choice but to ride my wet set-up with slicks, it was bottoming out and running wide everywhere. Seventh wasn’t a bad result in these conditions”.

Race Two
A drying track meant that again the conditions were uncertain for race two, whilst the track was drying during the previous race the drizzling rain on the grid meant that most riders went full wets, the exception being Chili who took the gamble and put an intermediate in the rear. Whilst Martin lead the opening stage, Laconi and Sanchini took over the lead before Sanchini fell of the pace with a rapidly deteriorating rear tyre. Martin then had a battle for second with Haga before making a brake only to be passed by Chili in the final stages after the rain had passed and the track now had a dry line. In third position Martin claimed his second podium finish.

“I have had enough of riding in these conditions it is always a gamble, this time I headed out on my bike with the dry setting with some minor adjustments and full wets as it was probably the safest bet. Our team is still learning and in such tough conditions I am glad to walk away with another podium”.

Ten Kate

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) scored a magnificent win in trying conditions at Misano, with a fully wet track welcoming the riders in the 23-lap Supersport race, delayed because of the heavy fall of rain which stopped the first Superbike race.

It could have been a Ten Kate 1-2, as Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda) lead for the vast majority of the race distance, only to suffer a high-speed fall when his front lost grip on lap 15.

For Muggeridge, his first race win of 2004 pushes him into new levels of compe titiveness in the championship points table. "I'm delighted to win in such horrendous conditions," he grinned. "I was nearly out of the race a couple of times early on so I'm pleased to be here. I don't know if I could have caught Broc. I'd close on him and he would respond so it was static. I had a few slides and would have settled for second, but I'm happy to win."

For Parkes, it was a disappointing race day, and the crash was something of a mystery. "I lost the front on the second last left," he affirmed. "I sort of just touched the brake going in and it tucked under, but so fast. I never had any moment in the race before that and I felt really good. I saw that Karl was catching slowly so I was dawdling a bit and needed to go a little faster."

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate stated, "For sure we have some mixed feelings. I am very pleased for Karl's win because it puts us back in the charts and for us now the season is open. We can charge forward now and we know that we can be fast in any track we go to now, so we'll see what it brings. It was looking like a good 1-2 but Broc had a moment where he lost the front but these things happen in the conditions we had today."

In the championship itself, Muggeridge now sits third with 37 points, 20 behind leader Jurgen van den Goorbergh, with Parkes 11th on 13 points.

Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR rider Chris Vermeulen fought against the peculiarities of the weather the unique Misano race surface to secure a fifth and a 12th place finish at Misano.

Continuing the impressive progress of the CBR1000RR and the steep learning curve of Vermeulen and the team, the race results came as a consequence of the ever-changing weather. Race two started wet and as it was raining the team chose a full wet, soft compound rear. It only lasted a few laps as the rain stopped and the track dried, making for an impromptu tyre chance to a slick, allowing Vermeulen to finish 12th and score valuable points.

Vermeulen's latest results place him fourth in the championship, on the same points as Regis Laconi but Laconi has a higher wins score. Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) is the new leader on 97, with James Toseland (Ducati) on 77 and Laconi and Vermeulen on 70.

For the lone Ten Kate Superbike rider, Misano offered up another new set of experiences. "Race one was good, after I got a bad start," said Vermeulen. "Because there was just one dry line it took a long time to get through as I could only pass one rider a lap. Top five was my aim in both races so we did OK in race one. It seems that the four-cylinder machines use the rear wet tyres a little worse than the twins do. I had a soft rain tyre because we didn't think it would dry up as it did. The rear wasn't going to last as it was so we changed it in race two."

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate explained the complications of race day. "It was raining when we were on the grid for race two so without even arguing about it we thought to use a wet. But it dried way quicker than we thought and saw Chris sliding backwards, so we called him in for a tyre change to a slick and we made some points in the end. We are really equal third in the championship and after the strange experiences we've had I think we are doing as well as we could. Hopefully we will give them a run for their money at Monza."

The next round for the Ten Kate Honda Superbike squad is the classic Monza, on May 14-16.

Fila Ducati

Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) finally launched his World Superbike championship challenge in a big way at the Misano Adriatico circuit with two superb races in front of 45,000 spectators. The 28 year-old French rider won the first, which was stopped six laps from the end due to the rain, holding off Troy Corser (Petronas), before picking up more championship points in race 2 with second place.

But it was the second race that demonstrated Laconi's extraordinary determination. After choosing 'wets' for the race, Regis led all the way on a drying track until the last lap, when he was passed by Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati). The Italian had opted for an intermediate rear tyre, which proved to last the pace better on a drying track in the 25-lap race.

"In race 1 I went slowly at the beginning because of the damp track. Then I realised that I was faster than the rest so I went to catch them one by one. The last lap was so dangerous and it was a good solution to stop the race" declared Laconi. "The second race was really difficult because I was in the lead for 24 laps and then Chili passed me on the back straight on the final lap. We went for full wets because we thought it was going to rain again. Chili went for an intermediate rear, and he caught me on the last lap. I am very happy because I couldn't do much more today with the tyres I chose. I was sliding the rear around all over the track!. Finally I got the results I wanted to kick start my championship!"

Two cautious races from the fifth row of the grid for Ducati Fila team-mate James Toseland. A tenth and a second place in difficult conditions gave the British rider a boost for the next rounds of the championship.

"I couldn't do much more from 20th place on the grid" he declared. "There is only one dry line and it's difficult to pass because when you go offline it's damp. I should have had eighth in race 1 but Pedercini fell off in front of me, I had to avoid him and then the other two guys came past. In race 2 I went from 20th to 6th but unless you rely on people's misfortune you can't do any better than that. It was just one of those weekends really, I had to get as many points as I can and keep in touch with the championship."

Misano Adriatico (Italia), Sunday 18 April 2004: Lorenzo Lanzi took his Ducati 749R Breil to a positive sixth place in an exciting third round of the World Supersport Championship at Misano Adriatico.

On a track made difficult by the rainy and wet conditions, the 22 year-old Italian started from fifteenth position on the grid and passed numerous riders during the early stages of the race, crossing the line at the end of lap 2, a position he held for three more laps.

Unfortunately for Lanzi, the track dried out during the 23 lap race and the young Ducati Breil rider had to settle for sixth place overall.

"I made a great start but then it stopped raining!" declared Lanzi. "I'm really disappointed because we put on a couple of softer tyres as the sky still looked menacing before the start. If it had continued to rain, I could have got on the podium today.

"Unfortunately I had to settle for sixth place because in the last five laps there was no more tyre left. Luckily the others were a long way behind but I'm a bit disappointed not to have got onto the podium. However starting from fifteenth on the grid and finishing sixth is a good result."

Garry McCoy

Rain and cold have framed a poor day for Team Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks today at Misano, where the riders of the Bologna based team scored no points.

In Race-1, stopped by red flag for a sudden rain shower, Garry McCoy crashed when touched by another rider at Misano corner.  While in Race-2 the Aussie rider finished in a poor 17th position.

"With the track conditions I get no feeling and I was not able to push as I'm used to." - said Garry McCoy at the end of the day - "That's not because of the bike, which performed well, it was just because I was not comfortable on this wet and cold surface, while the other riders look to fly.

"I'm sorry for the team, I know how they would expecting a good result on this track near home, but actually everything was very difficult. During Race-1 the conditions were a little bit dryer and I felt better, but Clementi sent me off the track after a few laps, then in Race-2 the track was changing lap by lap and only a rider who know the track very well in every condition could push hard."

HRC

In a dramatic and often costly World Supersport race at Misano, Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) secured the race win, the first for him and his team in the 2004 season.

Chasing his team-mate Broc Parkes (Ten Kate HondaCBR600RR) for most of the race, Muggeridge was propelled into the lead when, shortly after setting the fastest lap, Parkes fell from his machine with eight laps to go. This left Muggeridge a free track but lots of work still to do, especially with rain-master Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) on his tail. Curtain was to finish second, with Championship leader Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha) third.

Torrential rain at the end of the previous World Superbike race delayed the start of the Supersport race by a significant 40 minutes, as areas of the track were cleaned and allowed to dry out somewhat. The race was nonetheless declared wet, and most riders opted for soft compound wet tyres.

The Honda Italia Megabike duo, Alessio Corradi and Denis Sacchetti, both finished, Corradi strongly in fifth place after a terrible start, and Sacchetti in 14th place.

For the Klaffi Honda team, each of their two riders was a faller in a race that had only 16 finishers. Sebastien Charpentier crashed exiting the last chicane on lap nine, experiencing a high side fall on what was a slippery and unpredictable section of the track.

Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) only managed a few hundred meters of the Misano circuit in race conditions, being taken out by a falling competitor during a three rider crash at the first corner, walking away uninjured by understandably disappointed.

Muggeridge said from the podium, “I’m delighted to win in such horrendous conditions. I was nearly out of the race a couple of times early on so I’m pleased to be here. I don’t know if I could have caught Broc. I’d close on him and he would respond so it was static. I had a few slides and would have settled for second, but I’m happy to win.”

Parkes, a previous podium finisher at Misano, was philosophical. “I lost the front on the second last left,” he affirmed. “I sort of just touched the brake going in and it tucked under, but so fast. I never had any moments in the race before that and I felt really good. I saw that Karl was catching slowly so I was dawdling a bit and needed to go a little faster.”

Charpentier stated, through his disappointment: “On the exit of the last corner the rear went immediately away. Suddenly no grip in the rear and it was the same in practice. This is a very difficult day for me because I have no more points in the championship, and that is bad for the whole season.”

Neukirchner, after another assured qualifying, said of his fall, “There was nothing I could do. In the very first corner a rider came from behind and the side and took me out. It was a very short race and an unhappy one.”

Corradi, notable by his race progress, was dismayed at his start but felt satisfied in other ways. “I changed from first to second gear off the start but the bike stayed in first so I lost a lot of time when it spun up. It’s disappointing at home but I made some good points. I have never had a good result in the rain and this is the first race in which I have a real feel for my Honda - so I am happy for two reasons.”

Sacchetti, who scored his first points in World Supersport, said "I was lucky at the beginning because a lot of riders fell in front of me and I just missed the fall, so I rode to make sure I finished in the points. I’m pleased to have done this as these two points are my first in World Supersport.”

In the Championship itself, van den Goorbergh leads on 57 points, with Curtain on 47 and Muggeridge an upwardly mobile 37. Corradi propelled himself to the 20 point mark and ninth in classification, with Parkes 11th, on 13 points.

World Superbike Races
Regis Laconi (Ducati) had to give best to wet Superpole winner Steve Martin (Ducati) on Saturday but despite having to fight through from a bad start the Frenchman took his second win of the 2004 season. The largely dry start of the race was delayed, due to problems with one of the machines on the grid, but it was stopped before the scheduled 24-lap finish, due to the return of the rains that plagued qualifying.

Second place was taken by long time leader Tory Corser (Petronas) with Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) third, when Kawasaki rider Mauro Sanchini crashed out. Nori Yukihada (Ducati) finisched fourth and Cris Vermeulen fifth on his privately entered Ten Kate Honda.

A quite spectacular chase through almost the entire field, from 15th on lap one, delivered the first race win of the 2004 season to Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati). He hunted down the long time leader Laconi, as the Frenchman’s tyres went off faster than his on a drying track. In third, Steve Martin (Ducati) was fully 32 seconds adrift of the front running fight.

In the World Championship itself, Chili now leads by a convincing 20 points, 97 to James Toseland (Ducati) and his 77. In third, Laconi leads Chris Vermeulen, also on 70 points, by dint of having won two races.

Round four of the championship continues in Italy, at the classic and impressively fast Monza circuit on May 14 -16.

Karl Muggeridge

Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge took his first win and podium after a difficult start into the 2004 World Supersport Championship at round three in Misano, Italy.

The last two rounds at Valencia and Phillip Island both looked really good for a podium and the qualifying sessions went really well with two Pole Positions but then in the the races Muggas got let down by his bike. Where as here in Misano the Ten Kate boys struggled all weekend with finding a proper setting for the race and still weren’t too sure what do in the morning warm-up because of the quick weather changes all day but then got rewarded with a glorious victory of Muggas.

It was a bit hairy at some stages of the race and Muggas had a few big moments where he nearly had to say c ya to his CBR, but every time he managed to hang on and brought it home save and sound.

Muggas comments: “ I got a bit hold up after the start in a group of 5 guys and desperately tried to get out there, as I couldn’t see jack shit behind the spray of their rear tyres. The heavy rain before the race must have washed a lot of dirt on track and mud was covering our visor’s. I had a few scary moments when I made my moves to get out of the group, but it was worth it. When I got to the front I saw Broc and started using him as a marker where as I should have just concentrated on my own stuff. I was really surprised when I saw him going down in a straight part of the track, but it was nice to take the lead and go for my own race. At that stage I didn’t know how close the other guys were, so I just put my head down and went for it. I’m stocked with the win and the championship is now looking a bit friendlier too.”

Second place was Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain and third was Jurgen Vd. Goorbergh on another Yamaha. As for the Championship, the same three guys we’ve seen today on the podium are also in the top three of the Championship. Just the other way around.

Foggy Petronas

Carl Fogarty heaped praise on his two Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders after the team's best display at the third round of the World Superbike championship in Misano, Italy.

The four times World Superbike champion and FPR owner watched his former team-mate Troy Corser finish second in the day's first race, with Chris Walker a creditable sixth. And, although the team did not fare as well in the second race when technical difficulties resulted in Troy finishing 7th and Chris 13th, the results were enough to move PETRONAS above Honda into second place in the manufacturers' standings.

On a day of unpredictable weather conditions, Troy capitalised on the previous two day's good set-up work on slick Pirelli tyres to pull a healthy lead before being caught on the 15th lap by factory Ducati rider Regis Laconi. A heavy shower brought an early end to the race to seal FPR's second podium, following Chris Walker's debut ride to finish third in Valencia.

On a damp track for the afternoon race, both FPR riders went along with the majority of the grid and opted for wet weather tyres in the front and rear. However, local hero Frankie Chili chose an intermediate rear and, on a drying track, hauled in a massive deficit on Laconi to clinch a thrilling victory.

Troy, after an indifferent start, suffered clutch problems early in that race and was unable to improve on seventh place. Chris, on a softer compound, suffered problems with grip early in the race, as well as engine over-heating.

Carl said: "It has been a fantastic weekend, our best to date, with Troy getting an excellent second place - and almost a win! At the start of the year I thought we might be challenging for a rostrum at the end of the season so to have had two in the first three rounds is a credit to the riders and to PETRONAS. The weather was a bit cooler and the conditions damper, so that levels things out and then it is down to the riders. And I believe we have two of the best in the championship. If it had remained wet all day, who knows, we might even have had a win. It was also good to see the old guy Chili still winning races!"

Troy said: "It was hard to believe I was back on the podium after such a long time. The last time was at Imola in 2001! But we have been in the top four pretty much every session here and, if I had got off the line a bit better in the second race, I might have finished a bit further up. This is the best result we have had so far so I am obviously pleased for everyone involved in the project. I was trying so hard to stay in front but the track was getting slippery and I was losing the rear end when I was trying to stay with Laconi, so I had to settle for second. In the second race I had a problem with the clutch on the sighting lap and entry into the corners was difficult as it was oscillating. Then I got tangled up with Sanchini at the start and really just had to ride round and settle for what I had. But this is a positive note on which to move forwards to the next stage of our engine development at Monza."

Chris said: "I am disappointed with the result in the second race as I think we deserved better. I got a great start and was desperate to lead the race but my tyre lost grip after three laps and I was suffering engine difficulties after five laps so there wasn't much more that I could do. But I was happy with sixth place in the first race, although I was praying for it to start raining while Troy was still in the lead so that he could win."