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/128006
Road Race . Round 9: Brands Hatch WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP By Gordon Ritchie Photos by Gold & Goose BRANDS HATCH, ENGLAND, AUG. I ot all fairy tales com e tru e, and if yo u d on't be lieve it, ask Ca rl Fog arty , w hose failure to w in eit her of the Worl d Su perbike races at Bra nds Ha tch b ro ke th e hearts o f the 120,911 "Foggy" su p po rters who packed th e Ken t circui t with only one shared d rea m in mind . It w as n't eve n to be his tea mma te's day, as both Duca ti rid ers suffered rear tire problems, in some times-d rama tic fashion . It was, withou t ques tion, Honda ' s day , w ith Co li n Edwa rds 11 wi nn in g both legs from his rejuvena ted, if slowsta rting , team mate, Aaro n Sligh t. "I planned to win a who le bunch of races thi s yea r, so that 's ano ther two I guess," Edwar d s sa id . "To be hon est, I reall y need ed th em after a few d isappointing results. We had the bike sorted a nd it was a p icture-perfect firs t race. Apa rt from Ca rl Foga rty leading on the fir st la p, it couldn' t have be en better. This p lace is diffi cult to pass, bu t I planned to ge t into the lead as soo n as I cou ld and it went to plan . The machine was perfect and I chan ged nothing for the second race." Deli ghted w it h h is p air of coo l, assu re d and (most imp or tantl y) fast races, Ed wards had more compan y than his largely solitary ra ce-o ne ride, w ith Aaron Slight being the only one to stick to him at the end, finishing a mere .087 of a second behind. "I came here wanting to ge t two pole positions and two wi ns . I didn't get the pole but I' ll settle for the win s," philosophi zed Edward s. Sh ari ng t he a dva n tag e t h a t the Honda /Michelin pa iring seemed to display with so me aplomb at Brands, Slight was once more a happy man, as well he might be after some of the terrible luck a nd self-des truc tiv e mo me n ts he has experienced this year. H is only min or disappoi n tme n t was h avin g to yield to h is fa ster -startin g teammate, who sp rung int o the lead of both races very early. "I tr ied to pass Coli n in th e second race," said Sligh t. "I had a goo d look in a few places, but we we re on the sa me bike, with the same tires, and there was nothing between us. I'll take a couple of seco n d p la ces . I'm a ls o pl e a s ed for Suzuki an d Yamaha to get pod ium finishes . I want a d ouble at the A- I ri ng now!" Slight is still witho u t a w in this season, but in light of his most recent form, tha t will surely come soon. The afo rementioned Ya ma ha a n d Kawasaki rid er s were Pier-Francesco Chili in the first race (a man wh o loves Brands Hatch) an d No riyuki Haga (who spent most of prac tice tellin g eve ryo ne how mu ch h e hat ed th e pl ace ) in the second. Chi li, in a s tro ng third p osition in race one, had to make d o wit h a sing le finish when his rear Dunlop disintegrated with su ch vio lence tha t it brok e his rear seat squ ab in the seco nd leg. "The rear tire started to slide abo ut in the first race at an early stage , but it was com pletely useles s in the seco nd race, " said a tight- lipped Chili. Haga was a revelation in race tw o, after his us ual early-la p a ttack tu rn ed into so me thing more substantial than of late. "I mad e a bad tire choice in race on e, a n d cha nged th e co m po u nd for ra ce two," Haga said . "That was mu ch better and I'm really happy to be on the podi um at a circuit 1do not enjoy." . fA!] m m m ~ 6 Much to the delight of th e huge crow d, Carl Foga rty (1) led the way in th e second race, with fellow Bri t Chri s Walker (43), Colin Edwards II (5), Noriyuki Haga (41) and Pier-Francesco Chili (7) giv ing chase.