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/127833
ROAD RACE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES With one of 13 rounds in the books, Koci i with his 1-7 tally leads the championship point standings after one round with 34, just one point better than Fogarty, who finished the day with second- and fourth-place finishes. Crafar's two thirds puts him third in the title chase with 32 while Slight's victory and non-score in race one places him fourth with 25 points. Australian Superbike Series competitor Troy Bayliss is fifth after he ended the day as the top Suzuki man with two fifth-place finishes. And what of former World Superbike Champion Scott Russell? The factory Yamaha star crashed in the first race, but remounted to finish seventh. In the second leg he was sixth, placing him seventh - just behind teammate Edwards - in the championship, 15 points behind Kocinski. RACE ONE From the moment they woke up, the riders knew that at least the first heat wouldn't be one they'd easily forget. For the first time since Christmas, it was pouring rain on the Island that's located south of Melbourne and after a wet morning warmup session, it was time to mount rain tires and rain suits. Just when it seemed as though things couldn't get any worse, tire decisions became even more critical when the sun came out again only five minutes before the start - with these conditions, the track was certain to dry before the end of the race. Things started off very badly for pole-sitter Slight when he lost a Jot of ground as the lights turned to green and it was only the beginning of a very short and difficult race for the New Zealander. Not so for his Castrol Honda (Left) John Kocinski (3) leads Neil Hodgson (9) and a pack that includes Colin Edwards II (45) early In the ralnsodden first leg of the World Superblke Championship In Phillip Island. (Below) A wet and oily track wreaked havoc on most of the field, Including Suzuki's Jamie Whitham who crashed early in the first race. By Johan-Vandeckerchove Phot9s by.Gold & Goose PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, MAR. 23 onditions at Phillip Island couldn't have been more different than in the two races that opened the 10th edition of the World Superbike Championship. But it didn't make any difference for Castrol Honda as one of its riders came out on top both times out - wet and dry. John Kocinski scored a memorable and solitary win in his debut ride for the team in treacherous conditions on the soaking-wet and slippery track south of Melbourne and, a few hours later, his teammate Aaron Slight did the same - but this time in perfect weather conditions and with three rivals breathing down his neck until the very end. Kocinski's victory came easily after several of the top men had fallen in the miserable conditions and he ended up leading Ducati's Carl Fogarty across the line by some 15 seconds with Kawasaki's Simon Crafar a similar distance behind in third place. The second race, though, was a thriller with first-race crash victims Slight and Yamaha's Colin Edwards II battling to the very end - along with Crafar. At the finish line it was Slight by just .033 of a second over Edwards with Crafar only anoth~r half second behind.