Cardoso had showed great promise throughout all practice and qualifying sessions but then that early promise was not translated into instant results as he was left stranded on the grid with machine problems as the rest of the field set off on their warm up lap.

Off the line well were Corser, Kagayama and Pitt. Chili had problems on lap one and pulled off the circuit while Corser and Pitt led the field most of the way round before Kagayama moved past Pitt and then took the lead from Corser before the team mate then swapped positions yet again in what looked to be shaping up as a titanic battle. Laconi was running fourth, Walker fifth, Haga sixth, Abe seventh. The two Ten Kate Superbike men, Vermeulen and Muggeridge were running 10th and 11th respectively.

On the second lap Troy Corser put the hammer down and started to pull a couple of lengths out on Kagayama while Laconi got the better of Pitt for third place. 

By lap three Corser had more than half a second over his team-mate who in turn had a full second over Regis Laconi while Andrew Pitt was putting in a big effort to try and prevent Laconi getting away from him.  Toseland had got off to a poor start but had worked his way through to ninth place and starting to challenge Fonsi Nieto for eighth.  Kagayama on the Suzuki along with Laconi and Pitt were just nudging 300kph down the main straight while Corser was managing just under 295kph.

By lap five Corser had stretched his lead out to a full second over Kagayama who was really starting to come under major pressure from Regis Laconi. It looked like only a matter of time before the Frenchman would get the better of the Japanese pilot but Kagayama has come from the cut and thrust of British Superbike and is well used to some cut and thrust. Kagayama seemed to be able to pull a couple of bike lengths over the Ducati mounted Laconi down the straight but come corner entry Laconi was climbing all over his tail pipe.

Andrew Pitt was the leading Yamaha rider in fourth place but five seconds behind Corser and starting to come under pressure from his team-mate Noriyuki Haga.

Kagayama had responded well to Laconi's challenge and was still managing to withstand the onslaught until lap seven when Laconi actually got in front and just managed to make the move stick and it looked as though he would run away but Laconi made a mistake a couple of corners later which allowed Kagayama alongside and the pair rubbed shoulders and fairings through the next turns as neither rider would give an inch.  In the end Laconi managed to regain the advantage but their were some heart in mouth moments to hold on to the position.

The hectic battle between Laconi and Kagayama over second place had allowed Corser to escape to the tune of four full seconds. 

Laconi got a clear track in front of him but again made a small mistake which allowed Kagayama to close again. The Frenchman just can't seem to be consistent.  He was the fastest man in World Superbike during the 2004 season for sure but his younger and less experienced team-mate put the runs on the board thanks to cool, clam and measured performances to take the title ahead of him.  That would have done ex GP rider Regis Laconi no favours in the confidence stakes and again he just doesn't look to have the kind of composure to be the main man for the title.

At the halfway point of the race Corser still had over four seconds on Laconi and Kagayama while a further four seconds down was Andrew Pitt in fourth.  The battle for fifth was shaping up to be a cracker between Japanese riders Noriyuki Haga and Norick Abe which made it Yamaha riders in fourth, fifth and sixth while the best Honda was Chris Vermeulen in seventh.  Abe then got the better of Pitt for fourth and Haga also started to challenge Pitt for fifth place.

The rain then started falling and Laconi ran off the track but remained upright and rejoined the circuit. The red flag then came out to signal that we would be up for a restart.  The standings were put back to the end of lap ten of the 18 lap race which had Corser as the leader with a four second gap over Laconi and Kagayama. Abe fourth, Haga fifth, Pitt sixth, Vermeulen seventh, Siva eighth, Toseland ninth, Gimbert 10th.  Fonsi Nieto 11th followed by Muggeridge, Walker, Bussei, Martin, Borciani, Lanzi, Neukirchner, Bostrom, McCoy, Vizziello, Sanchini and Praia.

Norick Abe failed to make it out on the warm up lap with problems striking his R1 before the start just as Cardoso's R1 had also faltered before the lights went out the first time. Abe was then forced to start from pit lane. A terrible blow to Abe who was looking strong in fifth place before the red flag came out.

When the riders got going again it was Kagayama who got the holeshot from Andrew Pitt and Troy Corser who was immediately attacked by Regis Laconi and with a four second lead on aggregate time Corser let the Frenchman have the line and settled for negotiating the first turn safely.  The track was again dry after the brief shower that halted the race and all riders were again out on slicks.

It didn't take Corser long to get the better of Laconi and quickly closed on Pitt.  Abe was running ninth on combined time after starting from pit lane.

Corser got past Pitt but then very nearly went over the highside as he got bounced right out of the seat on exit which also messed up Pitt's line.  Corser was lucky to save it and the incident had done Kagayama a great favour as that 'moment' had given him a healthy lead on the track even though Corser still held the advantage on combined time. Kagayama really flying too and at this stage of the race it would have been a brave man to bet against a Suzuki 1-2 on debut today.

Then four riders went down together from the lower mid-field pack including Neukirchner. 

With three laps to run Corser was running second place on track but still had a good lead on aggregate time.  Laconi then slipped past Corser for second on track and put his head down to catch Kagayama in the hope of taking second overall in the final wash up on combined time.

As they got the final lap board Kagayama still held a healthy advantage over Laconi on the track and thus on combined time but the Japanese rider was starting to get quite loose on the exits and it was not out of the question that Laconi could steal second overall on combined time while Corser still looked safe as houses for the overall win on combined time and third across the line in this restarted encounter.

And that was the way it ended with Corser taking the overall win and Kagayama second to make it a fantastic Suzuki 1-2 on debut.  That fact making that feat even more impressive is that it is also the only two Suzuki machines in the field.  Yamaha have eleven Superbikes entered, Ducati seven and Honda five but it seems that strength in numbers from the other manufacturers may not be enough to stop the Suzuki pair in 2005.