MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news World Superbike 2006 - Round Four - Monza - Foggy Petronas Report
May 7th, 2006 		MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news

The intense demands of the Monza circuit took their toll on the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team as Steve Martin and Craig Jones were unable to complete a race.

Mechanical problems which had been evident during the two days of qualifying persisted on race day, while championship leader Troy Bayliss romped to victory in both contests to extend his championship lead.

Team manager Jack Valentine said: “Monza has always been a tough circuit for us and the nature of the circuit again has highlighted some of the weaknesses that persist with a bike which is still continually being developed. We will get to work on solutions straight away to ensure that we are in better shape for the next round at Silverstone.”

Craig and Steve stayed clear of the first race carnage at the first chicane, where seven riders crashed, leaving Craig in 14th place going into the first split before he pulled in with an electrical problem, shortly before Steve retired with an oil leak.

And, on a day littered with a total of 19 DNFs, the second race was equally short as Craig, running a new gearbox, ran off into the gravel and Steve had to pull in with further mechanical issues.

Craig said: “In the first race I think Nannelli came flying along the grass, went down and wiped everyone out in front of me so I was the first through unscathed. I was able to do my fastest lap of the weekend, a 50.8, and if the stability problems hadn’t returned with the changes that we had to make to improve handling after morning warm-up, I think I could have lapped in the mid-49s. But then I had a problem with the bike cutting out so I had no option but to come in. We ran a different gearbox for the second race and, when I changed down for Parabolica as normal, I ran out of track but managed to keep the bike upright in the gravel.”

Steve said: “I was one of the first guys behind the accident in the first race, so I had to brake and let everyone get out of the way. Then I was able to lap at 49.4, my fastest pace of the weekend, with clear air in front of me. But I felt the back end siding round and could see oil on my boots so I had to retire. In race two there seemed to be a problem with the fuelling on the out-lap, which we tried to fix on the line. The bike then got slower and slower in the opening two laps and I had to park it up.”
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