World Superbike 2008 - Round Five

World Superbike 2008 - Round Five - Monza

Haga takes win number two

Noriyuki Haga overcame some early weekend set-up issues to power his way to a superb race two win for his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team at their home track of Monza. Having already scored second in the first race this was Haga's best weekend of the year so far and pushed him further up the championship table. He now sits third overall, on 112 points.

In the first race Haga pushed hard in the early laps, taking the new lap record of 1'45.882, beating his previous 2007 recordas he brought himself forward to join what had been a breakaway trio of eventual winner Max Neukirchner, Yukio Kagayama and eventual third place rider, Troy Bayliss.

Haga was in contention for race two almost from the start, taking the lead over the line on lap three, and after some close action riding with Neukirchner and Ryuichi Kiyonari, he held Kiyonari off over the line, with Neukirchner second, by only 0.009 seconds.

Corser had a tough weekend at Monza, starting well in race one but slowly dropping back to 12th. In race two he was in more competitive form but a close moment under braking with another rider saw him run wide at the first chicane and lose places. He finished eighth, and is now sixth overall, on 101 points.

Team YZF Yamaha rider Shinichi Nakatomi was 13th in race one and 12th in race two, in two 18-lap contests with a host of non-finishers. This was also Nakatomi's best race of the 2008 season so far.

Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) scored points in each race, posting 15th and 14th places. The team's stand in rider Michel Beck acquitted himself well, finishing race one 19th and race two 15th, scoring a point in only his second ever WSB Championship race.
Noriyuki Haga (2nd and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In the first race I tried to ride 100% but the feel was not really there. We had a team meeting and we altered the chassis settings and suspension for race two. We got a better feeling and I could push everywhere. I could not calculate for the last few laps I just knew I had to keep in front of everyone. On the last lap I tried to brake hard into the last corner and then passed Kiyonari. I am really happy today because everybody in the garage made a good job, so my thanks go to them."

Troy Corser (12th and 8th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "I struggled to get a good set-up today and the bike didn't feel as fast as we hoped it would. The bike felt unbalanced so I found it difficult braking into corners, the tyre seemed to spin up more on exit making it harder to drive out. I just couldn't get comfortable with it. The bike was better in race two but it didn't really feel better."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "An unbelievable win for Noriyuki. His fender was touching his wheel and that was why we saw smoke coming from his machine a couple of times. We were all worried it was something else at one stage! We made the machine shorter between races and it seemed that the tyre was rubbing, but only sometimes. Nori rode really well today and we worked well to give him a winning bike. Troy had some problems that we could not get right for raceday. A huge thank you to everyone on the Yamaha team, we worked really hard at Monza this year, I'm very proud of the team."

Shinichi Nakatomi (13th and 12th - Team YZF Yamaha) "We changed the settings on the bike to make it easier. I made a mistake and lost positions in race one. In race two I had a good start but after five laps the rear tyre started to drop off. So we need to work on the electronics and the suspension to balance this."
----------
RACE REPORT - 11/05/2008

Foret wins in style at Monza

Both Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes posted heroic performances in race conditions at Monza, with Foret taking his first win of the 2008 season, by 1.199 seconds, and Parkes finishing third. Parkes was unsure if he could even ride at all on Wednesday, so his podium finish, his second of the year, was an impressive performance from the tough Australian rider.

Foret pulled through from fifth after an imperfect start to overhaul early leaders Josh Brookes and Parkes, and after taking a firm grip on the lead on lap nine the winning result was never really in doubt.
Parkes had a pretty lonely race after putting up a spirited defence of his early leading position, fighting with Brookes for much of the time. He finished only six seconds from victory, and five seconds ahead of the next best rider, Andrew Pitt.

Foret's win places him second in the championship on 71 points to Joan Lascorz's 77, with Parkes third on 65.

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a fighting ride at his home track, taking seventh after riding in a group of warring riders, looking for fourth place.

Yamaha Spain rider Angel Rodriguez had a solid tenth place but his team-mate David Salom just missed out on a point again, going 16th for the second race in succession.

Fabien Foret (1st - 29'38.261 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I am very pleased to win here. After a tough time in round one at Qatar, I needed points - but I also wanted to win. This was my race; I love this track. I was a bit nervous after problems with my start in previous races so I didn't push it for a bit, but then it started to happen for me. I tried to push every lap from then on. There is still a long way to go in the championship but I am very happy with the win. A big thanks to the team!"

Broc Parkes (3rd - +0'6.736 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I had an accident on my mountain bike a short while ago and my arm's still quite sore. That made it very difficult today. It was good for the first half of the race, but then it just got harder and harder to push under braking and during changes of direction. Considering how things were a few days ago, I'm happy to take the points and move forward."

Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"We are very happy of course with Fabien's first win. He deserved it at the first race in Qatar, because he was fighting so hard for that first win in February, but it didn't happen. He had the whole package to win today and he made the most of it. We took lots of points from Lascorz and the championship is open again. Broc had a brave and fast ride. He tried to pull away to let him relax a little on the final laps but he couldn't, just because of his injured arm. A first and third today was a good result for the whole team."

Massimo Roccoli (7th- +0'11.757 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
"The race was not great and not bad, but for sure I could not get to the pace of the top three guys today, they were just too fast. I was a little disappointed not to get to the front of the group I was racing in at the finish."

Angel Rodriguez: (10th - +0'15.175 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team)
"Since yesterday I started to feel pain in my forearms. During the race, 6 or 7 laps to go, it was painful again so I settled for the 10th position. I didn't want to risk another crash like Assen, today it was important to finish. I tried to follow Lascorz but he had a little more rhythm and escaped, but at the end we finished almost together. Everything has been OK, team and bike has worked well."

David Salom: (16th- +0'46.152 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team)
"I was fighting with a riders group and I couldn't escape them. The rear tire slid a lot and it was impossible to find a rhythm. But anyway I think it would have been difficult to escape. In the last laps I was very slowly because we were fighting with each other so much."

----------
RACE REPORT - 11/05/2008

Yamaha contenders taken out at Monza

A promising race at Monza for top Yamaha qualifier Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) and his fellow R1 runners was ended at the first chicane, in a double crash, which also put out Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni YZF-R1) and Sylvain Barrier (YZF Yamaha Junior Team). No fewer than 11 riders were halted by the results of these crashes, with Corti and Pirro hit by a bike that ran across the infield as another incident took place behind.

Claudio Corti (DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team)
"I'm very depressed about this result because we were set for a good race until I got taken out. After a no score at Assen as well, the championship has become very difficult. We will try our best to get back into contention from Germany onwards."

Michelle Pirro (DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
"After the first corner crash behind me I thought I had got away with it at the front, but then a Ducati came across the grass and knocked me off. The bike bashed into my groin and stomach very hard and that was it finished."

A fantastic ride at Monza in the Superstock 600 European Championship for young YZF Yamaha Junior Team star Loris Baz. Having qualified on pole, the talented young rider went on to take the chequered flag at Monza in his debut season. This was his second win of the year, adding to his Valencia victory. Baz leads the championship with 61 points, a 19 point lead over second placed rider Daniele Beretta.

Race 1 - 11 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 20'14.707
2, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'2.109
3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'2.147
4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'6.656
5, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'10.849
6, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 0'11.070
7, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'11.143
8, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'14.501
9, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'15.802
10, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 0'16.593
11, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'19.172
12, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'19.315
13, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'28.267
14, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 0'28.874
15, Jonathan Gallina, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'29.029
16, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 0'39.472
17, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 0'41.145
18, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'43.629
19, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 0'44.176
20, Robert Gianfardoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'44.609
21, Cameron Stronach, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'56.517
22, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 1'20.649

Rider Standings 11/05/2008
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 57
2, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 42
3, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 38
4, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 34
5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 30
6, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 29
7, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 28
8, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 18
9, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 17
10, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 15
11, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 15
12, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 13
13, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 11
14, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 10
15, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 9
27, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 2

Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008
Pos., Manufacturer, Points
1, Suzuki, 61
2, Honda, 54
3, Ducati, 54
4, Yamaha, 42
5, Kawasaki, 7