Sun and intense heat were the main factors for the riders to deal with at the second Italian round of the season.

Misano remains an important and well loved weekend for everyone involved in SBK racing, in every class. There was much excitement in the paddock and the usual level of enthusiasm you find at any Italian race meeting.

A special weekend, above all because Pirelli has introduced, in the Supersport category, the Diablo Supercorsa, a new tyre range which was immediately appreciated by all the riders.

Toseland was fastest in Superpole, the competition which determines pole position in Superbike. The English rider used his rear Pirelli qualifying tyre to perfection, to make a 1’33.833, ahead of Troy Corser and Andrew Pitt. Completing the front row was Steve Martin on the Petronas. It was a front row which confirmed one thing: Pirelli tyres, designed in conjunction with development input from all the manufacturers who participate in the championship, perform well on any motorcycle. Thus, on the front row, we had Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Petronas machinery.

A little lower than usual on the grid was Troy Bayliss, seventh, but with a very good race set-up already worked out.

Race1:
AIR HUMIDITY 64% AIR TEMPERATURE 28°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 47°

At the green light, Toseland took an immediate lead, from Haga and Corser. With each passing lap Troy Bayliss got closer to the front of the field, and thanks to the hot weather the pace was fast at the start.

In an incredibile development, Troy Corser fell and the race would be between Bayliss and Toseland. There were different choices for the combatants; the 200mm rear, in the “A” (soft) compound seemed best, but Bayliss opted for a harder compound on the rear, with Toseland running a softer compound.

Bayliss fianlly passed Toseland for the victory; Kagayama was the winner of a podium duel with first Haga and then Barros, taking his first podium of the year.

Notwithstanding his choice of a softer rear tyre, Toseland did not suffer any great ill-effects in the hot temperatures, proving that either a soft or a hard tyre was ready to take on the challenge of Misano.  This race offered up extremes of temperature, but the race offered up many interesting developments.: Troy Bayliss started from seventh, and like many of his competitors he set a fast pace, taking the fastest lap of the race on the fourth lap, only two tenths slower than the previous lap record, set on prototype tyres in 2002.

Rider Bike Team Race time
1 Bayliss Ducati 999F 06 Ducati Xerox 40’06.480
2 Toseland Honda CBR1000RR Winston Ten Kate Honda +6.943
3 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +10.141
4 Barros Honda CBR1000RR Klaffi Honda +15.017
5 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +15.376

Three different manufacturers were present on the podium: Ducati, Honda and Suzuki. Whether for two-cylinders or four-cylinders: the technical solutions, the tyres developed in conjunction with the development teams, made for another race meeting where all the riders and machines put on a sensational display, resulting in races which were enjoyed by the spectators.

Race2:

AIR HUMIDITY 66% AIR TEMPERATURE 30°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 51°

In race two the track surface reached 50°, and with 25 laps of the track facing the riders, it required great stamina from them all. The pilots had to suffer in the sun, but also the machines, the riders and the sun-bleached spectators, (61,000 over the whole hot and sunny weekend). The race delivered a multitude of interesting developments, lots of thrills - and many mistakes. The pilots had already proved the worth of their tyres in race one, using a new 200 section “big tyre” on the rear, and most of the top riders went for “A” – soft – front. It was not for everyone and the two Ducati Xerox riders chose a (C), and Alex Barros the (B).

Corser, desperate to rescue his day after a no score in race one, set off into the lead but seven laps into the race he fell and had to retire from race two as well.

Pitt was now in command, followed by Toseland and Bayliss. The three riders delivered a fantastic spectacle, but first Troy (on the 17th lap) and then James (on the 18th) made errors and found themselves off the track. Both re-entered the race, but lost several positions, and Pitt was left in command of an even bigger lead. Yamaha thus had its first win of the year and had two riders, Pitt and Haga on the podium. Haga finished behind Barros, who rode his Honda to an impressive second after a slow start.

Bayliss finished 12th, interrupting his winning streak, but still managing to increase his championship lead.

Race Standings
Rider Bike Team Race time
1 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB 40’18.671
2 Barros Honda CBR1000RR Klaffi Honda +2.717
3 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +6.559
4 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse +7.100
5 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +7.276

Championship Standings
Rider Bike Team Points
1 Bayliss Ducati 999 Fo6 Ducati Xerox 254
2 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB 160
3 Toseland Honda CBR1000RR Winston Ten Kate Honda 157
4 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 149
5 Barros Honda CBR1000RR Klaffi Honda 146
6 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB 128
7 Lanzi Ducati 999F 06 Ducati Xerox 80
8 Xaus Ducati 999F 05 Ducati SC - Caracchi 70
9 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 64
10 Nieto Kawasaki ZX10 R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 61

After an unfortunate Misano weekend, Troy Corser lost his second place in the championship with Bayliss now 94 points ahead of the second place man, Haga.


AIR HUMIDITY 66% AIR TEMPERATURE 29°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 50°

A race without the presence of the injured Charpentier, hurt in a recent Brno test, and thus Roccoli was the rider of the day.

The Yamaha R6 of Yamaha Italia was due a win in the series and Roccoli made a huge impact with his first win in the championship since his move from Superstock. In second place was Sanna, substituting for Fujiwara, with Parkes completing the podium.

The pilots quickly demonstrated the prowess of the new Diablo Supercorsa, which since its appearance on Friday had been posting very good times.

In the race the tyres had to resist high temperatures from the tarmac, and yet the race time was a huge improvement on the previous best (2005, Charpentier: 38’14.344 – 2006, Roccoli: 37’55.059). What would have happened had Charpentier been here is difficult to judge, but even without Sebastien the race was a close and hotly contested event.

The Diablo Supercorsa had indeed survived its exposure to the crucible of Misano, and delivered excellent times on the stopwatch - and great performance for the riders.

Race Standings
Rider Bike Team Race time
1 Roccoli Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Italia 37’55.059
2 Sanna Honda CBR 600 RR Megabike Honda Team +0.242
3 Parkes Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany +4.936
4 Checa Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha – GMT94 +6.492
5 Harms Honda CBR 600 RR Stiggy Motorsports +9.805

Championship Standings
Rider Bike Team Points
1 Charpentier Honda CBR600 RR Winston Ten Kate 116
2 Curtain Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 86
3 Parkes Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Motor Germany 74
4 Harms Honda CBR600 RR Stiggy Motorsports 74
5 Roccoli Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Team Italia 71
6 Tiberio Honda CBR600 RR Megabike Honda 50
7 Fores Yamaha YZF R6 SLM Racing 45
8 Stigefelt Honda CBR600 RR DarkDog StiggyMotorsport 42
9 Sofuoglu Honda CBR600 RR Winston Ten Kate 35
10 Vizziello Yamaha YZF R6 Yamaha Team Italia 26

AIR HUMIDITY 65% AIR TEMPERATURE 13°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 19°

Another race which featured thrills a minute, and proved to be the perfect curtain raiser to the Sunday race action.

The first line of the grid was incomplete, however: Luca Scassa, an MV rider, presented himself late for the race and had to start from his pit box. Despite not making the grid formation, Luca and his MV still managed to make it onto the podium! A great win was taken by Polita who had a clear victory over Badovini, but the unfortunate Chiarello crashed on the final corner and ruined his race.

Two MVs on the podium made for a great party in the paddock, and brough about celebrations from Pirelli for the new lap record: Polita set the new best time on the second lap: 1’37.526, which beat the 1’38.235 set by Iannuzzo in 2005.

Race Standings:
Rider Bike Team Race Time
1 Polita Suzuki GSXR Celani Suzuki Italia 24’48.301
2 Badovini Mv Agusta Biassono – Unionbike +6.202
3 Scassa Mv Agusta EVR Corse – Ormeni Racing +9.519

Championship Standings:
Rider Bike Team Points
1 Polita Suzuki GSXR Celani Suzuki Italia 95
2 Badovini Mv Agusta Biassono – Unionbike 68
3 Scassa Mv Agusta EVR Corse – Ormeni Racing 51


AIR HUMIDITY 62% AIR TEMPERATURE 29°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 49°

The Superstock600 series continued its positive progress, another series where spectacular happenings are commonplace.

With 50° degrees of track temperature on Saturday evening the riders, and their tyres, had a major workout under the Adriatic sun. The riders were armed with the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III, a new product in this category this year, and one which has already proved its worth to its race users.

The winner was Giugliano, involved in a fantastic fight with Simeon who was having another good weekend. The race was stopped by red flags as the riders got ready to dispute the ultimate lap, and because Giugliano was in the lead at the right time, he took the victory.

Race Standings:
Rider Bike Team Race time
1 Giugliano Kawasaki ZX6RR Lightspeed Kawasaki 17’16.347
2 Simeon Suzuki GSX 600R Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 0.005
3 Canepa Ducati 749R Ducati Xerox Junior 0.760

Championship Standings:
Rider Bike Team Points
1 Simeon Suzuki GSX 600R Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 90
2 Giugliano Kawasaki ZX6RR Lightspeed Kawasaki 71
3 Canepa Ducati 749R Ducati Xerox Junior 61