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/127808
·ROAD RACE . WorIdSuperbike Championship By Johan Vandeckerckhove Photos by Gold & Goose PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, OCT. 27 s expected, Promotor Duc"ti's Troy Corser grabbed the World Superbike Championship on his home soil at Phillip Island, the task to do so becoming somewhat easy when his main title rival Aaron Slight crashed out on the 13th lap of the first race. That left Corser to cruise to third place and his first world title, becoming the first Australian and youngest-ever World Superbike Champion. But Corser had to share the cheers of the 35,00.0 race fans with another Australian. Muzzy Kawasaki's Anthony Gobert won both races on the day as both men finished their World Superbike careers in style - the Aussie duo will make their Grand Prix debuts in 1997. Although Gobert won both races, it didn't come easy. T-ne Kawasaki rider with the new orange hairdo was pressured to the very end in the first race by Yamaha's Colin Edwards Il, with the Texan coming up only 0.284 of a second short of his first World Superbike victory. In the second race, Gobert was pushed to the very brink by Slight, who came up just 0.109 of a second behind the new member of the Lucky Strike Suzuki Grand Prix team. Edwards, meanwhile, finished an impressive third despite hitting a seagull on the second lap, the collision leaving his YZF750 with. a broken windscreen and Edwards with a bloodied faceshield and leathers. Edwards, though, wasn't the only rider to be foiled by the feathered inhabitants of Phillip Island. Corser, already crowned as the World Champion, hoped to celebrate with a race-two victory. Those hopes were dashed on the first lap, however, when he struck a seagull, breaking his dutch lever and smashing his fairing. American John Kocinski ended his first season of World Superbike racing with a 7-5 tally, good enough to give him third in the final standings behind Corser and Slight - and just six points dear of Carl Fogarty. RACE ONE ~ ~ -.D 1-0 Q) "S Q) > o z 6 Pole-sitter Edwards and Slight got away first, but were passed by Corser·in one of the first fast left-handers of the circuit. Championship-leader Corser wouldn't stay there for long as he was outbraked in Honda Corner by Edwards. The Yamaha rider was clearly determined to take the first World Superbike victory of his career and he tried to make a break for it from the start. After some five laps, Edwards had a two-second lead over a trio of Gobert, Slight and Corser, but he couldn't expand it any fur,ther. Of th.at threesome, Gobert was the man in the biggest hurry. He was soon all over Slight with Corser apparent! y opting for a safe fourth place, some distance from his two colleagues. Slight's choices were somewhat limited: he had to get back into the lead as Final Round: Phillip Island