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ROAD RACE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACE SERIES By Johan Vandekerckhove Photos by Gold & Goose DONINGTON, ENGLAND, APR. 13 ho is going to stop Noriyuki Haga? After just two rounds and four races of the 1998 World Superbike Championship, that seems to be the burning question. Despite the best efforts of former World Superbike Champion Troy Corser, Haga managed to win both times out on-a cold Easter Monday in England. In winning their third straight race, Haga. and Yamaha now lead the championship point standings by 21 points. It's still early, but it's a combination that is beginning to look unbeatable. Corser and the factory Ducati came the closest to Haga and his YZF750. The Australian ended up four seconds behind in the first of the two 25-lap races, and he was a bit closer when the second leg finally ended - after being stopped and restarted after 10 laps because of oil on the race track. The two second-place finishes vaulted Corser past fellow Ducati rider Carl Fogarty and into second in the championship, but he trails Haga by 21 points. Corser's 70 points, however, puts him four ahead ofFogarty. Fogarty bounced back to finish third in the second leg after ending the first Round 2: Donington Park race in a lowly seventh place, managing to do. a little damage control to his championship aspirations. So far, Fogarty is the only rider who has been able to beat Haga in a World Superbike race in 1998. Italian Pier-Francesco Chili. had his best ou ting of the young season, finishing third behind Haga and Corser in the first race and fifth in the second. Castrol Honda's Aaron Slight, meanwhile, was consistent throughout, finishing fourth in both races on his factory RC45. Slight's American teammate, Colin Edwards II, continued to make progress with the Castro! Honda RC45, ending the day with sixth- and seventh-place finishes - bettering the pair of sevenths he earned in his debut in Australia. The other American in the field, Georgian Scott Russell, didn't fare well. The factory Yamaha rider and former two-time World Superbike Champion ended up 13th and 11th in the two races after fighting circulation problems in his hands in the first race. And things only got worse. In the second race, Russell was penalized for jumping the start. After four races, Russell lies ninth in the championship. RACE ONE Gregorio Lavilla surprised everyone by putting his Ducati on the front row during qualifying, but his dreams of doing well in the race were shattered early. At the end of the sighting lap, Lavilla's radiator cap came loose and he started his warmup lap in a cloud of steam. The Spaniard started the race from pit lane and was forced out after only one lap with engine problems. By then it was Corser leading the way, with Haga and Chili in tow. Fogarty ended the first lap in 10th place after a botched start. From that point on, Corser and Haga were in a class by themselves, easily pulling away from the opening laps on. Corser held the lead for five laps before being displaced by Haga. Those two would stay together for the majority, with Corser at times looking like a threat to the Japanese star. Behind them things were getting interesting. Chili was struggling to hold off Slight, though the Kiwi would eventually drop off to an eventual fourthplace finish. Akira Yanagawa and his factory Kawasaki hung on to finish fifth, managing to keep the battling duo of Edwards and Fogarty behind him. Edwards ended up getting the better of the former World Champion at around the halfway mark to capture sixth place - his best of the year. "I gor pushed out wide in the first comer and before I knew where 1 was, I hit the curb and lost five places," Edwards said later. '1 then lost a couple Troy Corser (11) was the only man capable of consistently running with Noriyuki Haga (41) at Donington Park, but Haga still won both races. more places on the run up to Coppice, and was something like 12th or 13th at the end of the lap. It was my own fault I screwed up. Later, I had the same reartire trouble as Aaron (Slight) and every lap under Starkeys I was drifting wide." Behind Fogarty came a thrilling battle between the two factory Suzukis of Jamie Whitham and Peter Goddard. With eighth place at stake, the pair were followed at a safe distance by Steve Hislop, Chris Walker and Russell, who continued to lose ground as the race wore on. "I couldn't feel my hands, so I couldn't feel the brake," Russell explained later. "My fingers were numb almost from the start. I think I had a circulation problem from my leathers being too tight. I didn't pick the right rear tire, but the front was good.. We're still learning the best way to get everything hooked up, so we're not at the best we can be." In the closing.stages, things heated up, with Chili getting in front of Slight again with a spectacular move, Whitham getting the best of his Suzuki teammate Goddard, and Russell drop· ping back to 13th after being passed by Kawasaki's ell Hodgson.