ROUND 8 – BRANDS HATCH – 6TH AUGUST 2006 – RACE REVIEW

The Brands Hatch weekend always excites the expectations, and fantastic show is assured. A great track layout and really smooth tarmac allow the riders to express their skills and offer an exciting show to the traditionally large crowd.

Even on Friday the times were good, and as usual, on Saturday the previous records - both with the race rubber and the qualifying tyres – went down.

Pole man Troy Bayliss set the time of 1’25.449, while his fastest lap with race tyres is the one scored in the first qualifying session: 1’26.272.
Once again three different machines appeared on the front row, with Bayliss followed by Haga and team-mates Muggeridge and Toseland.

Race1:
AIR HUMIDITY 56% AIR TEMPERATURE 26°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 36°

Race 1 was simply… amazing. Riders started to push hard on the very first metres of the track, and it was easy to guess a battle would ensue. Many of the top riders decided to race with the softest solutions on the front and the rear, looking for the best grip and then the highest performance.

This happened because they started the weekend with quite a cold Friday, which may first have suggested this strategy to them. Despite the increasing temperatures on Saturday most riders tried the same “A” solution, discovering that these tyres would last the whole length of the race.

That’s why on Sunday, with a warmer temperature again, the grid was full of “A” tyres.

The result was an exciting race, very fast and with no single rider needing to abandon the race because of a tyre problem.

The podium order delivered Bayliss, Toseland and Haga, and therefore three different manufacturers.

Race 1 gave us a new World Superbike Race Fastest Lap at Brands, with James Toseland able to set a 1’26.351 on his fourth lap.

Rider Bike Team Race time
1 Bayliss Ducati 999 Fo6 Ducati Xerox 36’26.855
2 Toseland Honda CBR1000RR Winston Ten Kate Honda +1.657
3 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +2.248
4 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +2.860
5 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki +9.666

Comparing the 2006 race time with last year there’s a big improvement. Thanks to the new Pirelli Diablo Superbike, presented this season in Qatar, race one at Brands Hatch was almost 20 seconds faster than the 2005 version; (2005 Race 1: 36’45.074).

Race2:
AIR HUMIDITY 45% AIR TEMPERATURE 26°C
TRACK CONDITION Dry TRACK TEMPERATURE 44°

With the temperature of the tarmac still increasing, race two was definitely going to be hot.

Haga and Bayliss offered a great show, followed by Pitt on the second bike from the Yamaha Italia team, and then Laconi, able to overtake Toseland in the final laps, with Toseland’s “A” – soft - tyres suffering more than the French rider’s.

Out front the two main contenders conducted the last laps at a very impressive pace, despite the hot weather and the 25 lap duration: the last lap of Haga was a 1’27.843 - only two-tenths from the Superpole cut off time.

After Brands Hatch, Troy Bayliss is still leading the Championship, but with two Yamahas on the podium, and James Toseland proving to be determined, the Ducati rider will have to keep his guard up.

Race Standings

Rider Bike Team Race time
1 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB 36’29.709
2 Bayliss Ducati 999 Fo6 Ducati Xerox +0.184
3 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +2.242
4 Laconi Kawasaki ZX10 R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse +6.523
5 Toseland Honda CBR1000RR Winston Ten Kate +7.073

Championship Standings

Rider Bike Team Points
1 Bayliss Ducati 999 Fo6 Ducati Xerox 307
2 Haga Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB 230
3 Toseland Honda CBR1000RR Winston Ten Kate Honda 219
4 Corser Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 193
5 Barros Honda CBR1000RR Klaffi Honda 166
6 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Motor Italia WSB 157
7 Kagayama Suzuki GSXR Alstare Suzuki 126
8 Lanzi Ducati 999F 06 Ducati Xerox 96
9 Walker Kawasaki ZX10 R PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 96
10 Fabrizio Honda CBR 1000RR D.F.X. Treme 87