With the advent of Monza the championship entered a new level of excitement. Above all in Superbike the fourth round of the season saw increased tension in the paddock. It was an important appointment, with riders of many machines in the hunt for a coveted win. Haga, who was out to stop the two Troys’ powertrain, showed his tension both on and off track. A nervous time for everyone, but especially the riders.
On Friday the lap times were already interesting, but on Saturday Troy Bayliss running race tyres, took a new best lap at the Monza circuit. The other Troy was still on his guard, and took the Superpole win thanks to a magnificent lap - on qualifiers – pulversising the previous best with a 1’46.564 (compared to a 1’46.981 set by Neil Hodgson on prototype tyres in 2003).

Corser was on pole, followed by Bayliss, Barros and Laconi. Four different bikes were present on the front row: Suzuki, Ducati, Honda and Kawasaki.

In Supersport the practice domination of Charpentier continued on his Honda, but this time it was Vizziello who was closest, repeating the Honda/Yamaha rivalry which had characterised the start of the year.

AIR HUMIDITY 44% AIR TEMPERATURE 20°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 31°

At the end of Superpole, on Saturday, the Superstock 600 race was unveiled.

On the first lap the boys (with no riders allowed over 20 years) demonstrated their deseration to do well a little too strongly, unfortunately, and a crash involved many of them, with riders and machines slithering across the track. The red flag was displayed to make a new race.

On the restart a duel developed between Canepa – Simeon, and a great race ensued, one which was only determined on the last lap, when an exhausted Canepa fell from his Ducati, having suffered from a fever for three days before the race. Another win for Simeon and his Suzuki GSX600R, followed by two Kawasaki ZX6RRs (Giugliano e Colatosti) and the Yamaha R6 of Lamarra. There is a great equality between the different manufacturers, all chasing the championship with close to street spec Supersport machines. An important signal for this category, with great respect by the pilots for the sense of competitiveness was noted by Paolo Flammini (FGS CEO) in the Saturday press conference. He asserted that the 600 Superstock class was not just an important class in its own right but a real entry level opportunity for riders who wished to join in a European Championship level to enhance their careers.

Because of this entry level status, Pirelli uses tyres directly designed for street use, but with a sporting potential to allow the riders to push the limits on the track.

Monza was the second time that the new Pirelli Diablo Corsa III – three zone compound – had prooved itself well suited to this racing class, and Monza will host the international lauch of this tyre on Monday 8 May, at the same time as is goes on sale across the world.

AIR HUMIDITY 46% AIR TEMPERATURE 20°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 28°

The first race on Sunday is always Superstock 1000, and always a great spectacle.
A real scrap betweeen Polita and Chiarello developed and it is always a difficult battle in this class, given the speed of the machines in use. The power of the streetbike derived 1000cc machines – not many modifications are allowed in this class – make the role of the tyres particularly important. Also in this class the tres are DOT versions, homologated for street use - Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa PRO in the SC2 compound – and once more it is a tyre which works on all the participating machines. Like other classes which use control Pirelli tyres, this results in very competitive races, and once again there were diverse machines on the podium (Suzuki, Kawasaki, MV Agusta).
Polita finished the race with another win, to add to his victory from Valencia.


World superbike provides races which deliver an incrediblke spectacle. Frequently there are new lap records and great on-track battles. At Monza this trend continued, and even in warm up the times were fast, with the Honda of Alex Barros capable of setting the best time.

Race 1
AIR HUMIDITY 70% AIR TEMPERATURE 20°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 25°

When the green lights came on the two Troys headed a group which included Noryiuki Haga, confirming his form at this circuit.

After a few laps the group was ahead of Alex Barros, riding behind with another Honda, belonging to Toseland. A great battle was to come between these two riders, but not right to the flag. Although the three leading riders had some great battles, it was an eventual clear win for Bayliss.

Barros was behind and took second place, setting a new lap record of 1’47.027 (four tenths faster than the previous record, set by Troy Baylisss in 2002). With just over one lap to go, Toseland lost his gamble to get into contention with the top runners again, crashing out at the Parabolica and scoring no points.

It was an important victory for Bayliss, who made another jump over Troy Corser in terms of the overall classification.

Race 2
AIR HUMIDITY 34% AIR TEMPERATURE 24°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 44°

Warmth and sun, perfect conditions for racing… they were all present.

Race two was once more a fissured affair, recalling race one when Troy Corser took an immediate lead, this time with with Haga. Barros did not make a fantastic start but put his head down once more to catch up the group behind the leaders in fine style.

The choices of tyres were substatnially those of the first race. The majority of the riders had opted for the ‘big tyre’, the 200mm Pirelli rear, while the fronts were largely more varied.

It was "A" (soft) for Bayliss, Corser and Haga, "C" (hard) for Barros, and "B" (medium) for Toseland, and all the top five chose to use the "B" rear.
Bayliss and Corser, once more locked together, made for a fantastic race, continuing their tremendous feud at the head of the championship. After four laps Bayliss set the best lap of the second race, 1’46.815, the new record, and the public were wowed by another great performance from Barros, who finished the first Honda pilot and fourth, ahead of Toseland.

It was once more a great advert for Superbike, and proved the competitiveness of the series. Three different manufacturers took podiums in races one and two. Superbike is in fantastic form at the moment, and the fight between the riders has really captured the imagination of the public. 96,000 sectators were at Monza over three days, coming to watch a race sries of unsurpassed passion in motorcycling terms, and which needs a large garage to keep all the participating bikes in – using tyres which have the same mass produced nature as the ones we all use.


AIR HUMIDITY 37% AIR TEMPERATURE 23°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 40°

Emotion and spectacle were not in short supply at Monza for Supersport, and the action appeared to be never-ending.
The leader of the championship, Charpentier, started from pole and was immediately in command, on the hunt for his latest victory. During lap five of his reign, a stop go penalty for jumping the start was taken, dropping him as far down as 13th, and setting up a spectacular revival in his fortunes.

Tiberio profited, as did Curtain, and there were more developments of great importance in the championship battle. Tiberio found himself alone at the head of the field when Curtain’s R6 failed. Tiberio used his head to keep the lead and earned a deserved victory, in only his third World Supersport race.

Also on form was Harms, on another Honda, just ahead of Charpentier who had made a tremendous recovery after his dramatic early race adventures. Three Hondas enjoyed the champagne festival at Monza, and Roccoli, in fourth was the first Yamaha home.

Charpentier leaves Monza with his championship lead made all the more secure by Curtain’s retirement, with a new lap record and with a new all-time best Supersport lap: 1’50.580.