World Superbike / Supersport 2005 - Round Seven - Brno

Runaway championship leader, Wollongong’s Suzuki slaying, Troy Corser is Brno bound and confident as he leads the world superbike fraternity back to the Czech Republic, after a nine year hiatus, with and the 5.403 km undulating circuit hosting round seven of the championship this weekend (July 17).

The last time (1996) the world superbikes raced at the undulating 5.403km Brno circuit Corser picked up maximum points with two wins aboard his ’96 championship winning Ducati.

The Wollongong ace is quietly confident. Of the 36 riders registered to race this weekend, Corser and Honda veteran Pierfrancesco Chili, were the only competitors of the current crop that raced in 1996.

In contrast, another three Aussies have never raced at the Brno, with Ten Kate Honda teammates Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge and Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas) all with a steep learning curve in front of them.

Corser, after starting from pole position, streaked the field in the 1996 Brno World Superbike round on his factory Ducati, in a year which saw him become the first Aussie to win the four-stroke, production-based championship.

The double victory in 1996 was Corser’s first in World Superbike. Since then, he has managed to add a further seven doubles to his catalogue – including two in 2005 on the all-conquering GSX-R1000.

Furthermore, after finishing on the podium in all 12 races this year, 33-year-old Corser now leads the championship by a massive 73pts (254 to 181) over Vermeulen, followed by Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati Xerox 999F05, 162), Japan’s Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000, 148) and reigning world champion James Toseland (Ducati Xerox 999F05, 124).

While Corser will be focused on continuing his unnerving consistency at Brno, his main rivals will be banking on the Wollongong rider’s mind being elsewhere – all the way back in England.

“My wife Sam is about to have our second baby,” said Corser, “so it’ll be quite different not having her around this weekend. I’ll get out there and concentrate on the racing and then get back home hopefully in good time for the birth.

“The Suzuki should be good at Brno. As for my opposition, Regis (Laconi) is riding as hard and as committed as he ever has. And it will be great if Yukio (Kagayama) can get up there again and score some good points, and take some off my rivals.”

While Corser is enjoying his World Superbike renaissance after three years on the Foggy Petronas triple, one of the riders who has now slotted into the Malaysian-Anglo collaboration, McCoy, is in the middle of his own ‘annus horribillis’.

The five-time GP winner has only scored 4pts all year after a slew of crashes and mechanical failures, but he has proven his Brno credentials in the past, not the least a third place in the 2001 500cc GP behind Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi.

“We used to test there in my Red Bull (GP) days so I know the circuit pretty well and have had some pretty good results there,” said McCoy. “It's a big and wide track with a couple of hills, a couple of tight lefts and some blind corners, so it is a bit tricky. The key corner is the one running onto the main hill. If you come out of there a bit untidy you will lose all momentum before that huge hill.”

Of the six Aussies contesting this year’s SWC – the biggest anglo line up on record – 29-year-old Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia YZF-R1) has also ridden at Brno. The then Kawasaki-backed Pitt finished 16th in the 2003 MotoGP race around the layout which sweeps across forested hillsides.

After failing to score points at Misano’s round six, Pitt is confident he’ll hit the ground running at Brno.

“After two tough weekends at new tracks for our R1 it will be good to get to a circuit where we at least have some data ahead of the race weekend,” said Pitt. “We’re going to Brno with a base setting and we should be able to spend Friday improving them rather than just trying to find something that works like we did in Misano and Silverstone.

“Misano was just a nightmare, the track was so slippery and that made it difficult to find a set-up that worked.”

In the meantime, Vermeulen, Muggeridge and Martin will all be facing the unknown this weekend. While Muggeridge will be hitting the track on a scooter to fast-track his courtship, 23-year-old Vermeulen is just, well, plain confident.

“I’m looking forward to the new challenge that Brno brings and excited about going to a new track,” said Vermeulen. “I’ve spoken to a few other guys who have raced there in MotoGP and it seems to be one of their favourites because it’s fast and flowing.

“It’s certainly going to be difficult going out on the first day but we’ll hopefully get up to speed quickly enough because the bike’s been getting better and better over the last few rounds. I’ve spoken to the guys back at the workshop and they’ve got a couple of new things for us to try.

“I’m pretty relaxed because I managed to grab a few days back home in Australia between a couple of Suzuka 8-hour tests in Japan and, since I got back to Europe last week, I’ve been playing around with my new Ford Coupe, which is fantastic.”

Adelaide-born Martin (FP1), who spent last weekend soaking up the atmosphere at a world trials round near his Italian home, has no pre-conceived ideas about what he’ll face, but he is hoping for one thing – a cold front.

“It looks as though the weekend might be wet and I would actually look forward to a wet race,” said Martin. “The team has been making a few modifications to the weight distribution which should help improve my lap time consistency with full and empty fuel tanks.”

A massive 36 riders will start practice at Brno on Friday, Corser and Vermeulen’s main concern the factory Ducatis of Laconi and Toseland shaping up as the biggest threats.

Laconi, in particular, is proving to be an indomitable force at the front of the pack, with his two wins at Misano in line with his recent upswing.

In the World Supersport race at Brno, the Australian pairing of Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes, who ride under the aegis of Yamaha Motor Germany on YZF-R6s, will again attempt what has hitherto been a despairing task – defeating Honda. Ten Kate Honda’s Sebastien Charpentier (CBR600RR) leads injured teammate Katsuaki Fujiwara (CBR600RR) by 34pts (140 to 106) in the championship, followed by Curtain on 93. Parkes is in fifth on 60pts.