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/127939
Up front, Haga was again the man of the day, scoring his second World Superbike win of the season in his European debut. The 23-year-old had come from his starling position on row three, and explained that he had extra incentive to go as fast as possible. "[ needed to go to the toilet just before the race - maybe that helped," Haga joked. "As oon as I got past Troy (Corser), I knew that he would not let me go and that I would have my work cut out for me. On the other hand, I felt more comfortable on the circuit after my two crashes, and I was no longer afraid of some of the corners. That allowed me to stay ahead." . N a turally, Corser was a bit disappointed with second place. T d been concentrating on getling a good start, and that's exactly what happened," Corser said. "On the second lap, I turned around and I noticed that Noriyuki was following. When he got past, I didn't worry too much because I wasn't pushing at 100 percent. But after a few laps, the rear of the bike started to vibrate - probably due to tire wear. Still, that didn't stop me from thinking that I could win the race. I knew I was quicker in a few places. But the tire got worse as the race wore on, so I had to settle for second. Chili filled the final rostrom spot with his third-place finish. "The bike is not perfect yet, but we are slowly getting there," the Italian said. "I never thought I was going to get past Aaron (Slight) on the last lap because he is a very hard braker. But on one of the last straights, I was close enough to him to have a go. I got next to him and succeeded in staying up front. And that was it." Slight thought he could have d(me better, blaming his rear tire. '1 thought I could have caught Haga and Corser once 1 was through to third, but then the rear tire started chattering and sliding," Slight said. "On the last lap, Chili got a better drive than me out of Coppice, pulled alongside me and I couldn't lip into the esses." inth place went to Goddard: "I should have gone for the soft compound," Goddard said. "Right up to the last minute [ was tlUnking about switching, but in the end 1chose tlle hard compound and it was a mistake." RACE TWO After the disappointment of the first race, Fogarty fans were in further despair when their idol came back from the sighting lap covered in fuel. The tank cap hadn't sealed properly but the Ducati crew was able to get it fixed on the starling grid, allowing the Brit to get a clean start. Again, Corser jumped out front, leading Chili, Haga and Lavilla, who (Above) Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga won both races at Donington and now leads the World Superbike Championship by 21 points. Not a bad Easter Monday for the Japanese phenom. (Below) The second leg in England gets under way with Haga (41) leading Corser (11), Carl Fogarty (2), Scott Russell (44), Aaron Slight (111) and the rest of the field.