Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127735
ROAD RACE . World ChampiOJlship$up!!rtlllre Road Raee SerIes Round 5: Albacete, Spain from the get-go, and led the field through the first couple of laps, challenged only once by Slight, who crossed the start and finish line first on the opening lap. The leaderboard would show Corser's number 11 on top'spot for 17 laps. On the track, however, things were not quite so simple. Corser was leading a group of five riders, who refused to give an inch to each other; Slight, Fogarty, Piergiorgio Bontempi and Edwards were in the group waiting for Corser to make an error. Edw.ards was the first to fade. After several near crashes with sliding tires, the Texan decided to slow his pace. '1t went well for six or seven laps," the Yamaha rider said. "But then it got really scary, :when 1 felt the bike sliding underneath me; 1 banged my knee on the ground and just managed to avoid an off-road excursion. That showed me that it was time to slow down." His place in the lead group was taken over by Chili, who had come from a long way back after a poor start. For a brief time, it appeared that Corser and Slight were pulling away, but their escape only lasted some three laps. Ten laps before the end, the fivesome were together again, now firmly having set their mind to battle it out until the bitter end. By now, Corser had lost the lead to Slight. "I had gambled on a pretty soft tire which I'd tried during warm-up," Corser said. "At. the halfway stage, it began to go off. I'd expected Aaron to get past me, but 1 didn't know that Carl (Fogarty) was that close." (Left) Finally. Aaron Slight (3) gives the Honda RC45 Its f1rst..ver World Superblke victory in the first race In Albaeete, Spain. (Below) Carl Fogarty (1) eventually ran away In.the second race, but early on he was chase.d by Troy Corser (11) and others. By Johan Vandekerckhove Photos by Gold & Goose ALBACETE, SPAIN, JUNE 25 onda has finally made it, with Aaron Slight giving the RC45 its first World Superbike victory at Albacete. It was a fine (and long awaited) reward fpr the prestigious RC45 racing program, that began nearly a year and a half ago. And it also ended a drought for Slight, who hadn't tasted victory since Monza in 1993; it was made even sweeter by the fact that he'd beaten championship leader Carl Fogarty in a straight fight. Still, only a few hours after this historic victory, the Ducati brigade struck back. Fogarty won the second heat, raising his World Championship points lead to a whopping 95 over Slight. Slight salvaged a third place from the second leg, crossing the line behind Fogarty and Pier-Francesco Chili, who was fourth in the first race. The lone American in the series, Colin Edwards II, ended a disappointing weekend with 10th and 11th place finishes, the result of poor tire choices for the series rookie. By day's end, Fogarty was still well in control of the situation, leading Slight 230-135 after five of 12 rounds. Chili is third in the championship with 112 points, 13 clear of Fabrizio Pirovano. RACE ONE After his two crashes in Monza, Troy Corser was desperate to do well in Albacete. The Aussie took command