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World Championship Superbike Series ound 1: Circuito RicaNiJo in race two, frequently setting faster laps than his peers as he crept forward, though he was doomed to a still-bright eighth-place finish after trashing his clutch at the start. Not a particularly good day for Michelin, a good day for the twins, a weekend and a half for Aprilia and Corser. The Valencia Superbike race sort of missed the likes of Haga and Fogarty and Yamaha. With a 35,OOO-strong (all weekend) crowd figure and an estimated real Sunday attendance of 25,000, there were a few spectators missing from the guest list, as well:But to put it in perspective, the 18,000 who traipsed wearily into Donington for the GP last year, and who witnessed their home rider come third in the biggest race of the day, were still fewer in number than those who came to Valencia. Even if the show was of a Doohan-style decimation, rather than a close and exciting battle for the win. Spain may not love Superbike the way it adores GP racing, but at least it is now shaking its hand. Will Superbikes die in the brave new four-stoke GP world? On the evidence of this weekend, not by natural causes alone. ormo (Above) Colin Edwards struggled with poor suspension settings In race one, but was able to rebound In race two and finish fourth. held his ground until lap four, when Corser squeezed past on his way to the top step of the podium. An Aprilia-versus-Honda battle in the early laps became an Apriliaj Ducati chase later on, but only after fast-starting Tadayuki Okada's Honda stopped, with the hackneyed excuse of an electrical problem being blamed - although it was most certainly an engine failure, given that Edwards had suffered a similar problem earlier in the warmup and there were many sightings of an engine dismantled into its compenent parts in the back of the pit garage. Taking the lead on lap three, Corser was never again headed, and led Bayliss home by 3.609 seconds after 23 laps of drama. A lot was to happen before that point, with first of all Hodgson out on lap four just trying too hard to stay in touch with the leaders at the same time that Giovanni Bussei was getting a black flag for a jumped start. Okada's departure was almost a death knell for Edwards' chances, with the American rider becoming swamped by Bayliss on lap six. Bayliss soon dived up the inside at his favored spot, the last turn. A ballsy place to pass, but Bayliss' ability to hold a tighter line frequently paid dividends to him as the races unfolded. The fastest mover in the early laps proved to be Bostrom, who fairly hurtled through the field to go fourth after six laps. Like the rest, he was to find Corser in a commanding lead, having just put in the lap record (which would survive the day) of 1:36.126. More than three seconds ahead at that point, Corser was in total control, and Laconi was in an unexpected and comfortable second place, two-seconds ahead of the chasing pack. Bostrom, determined to be top Ducati if he could not be top man outright, commenced his tractor-beam pursuit of the Infostrada machine of Bayliss, and together they stuck for most of the race. Tag-teaming to Laconi's contrail by lap 13, Bayliss made his pass stick a full two laps earlier than Bostrom, as the three riders rode in a quarrelsome formation. For another Ducati man, that sixth lap would prove momentous, as the otherwise fast Xaus crashed out of the race without injury. Pulling a string of 1 :36 laps out, Xaus was clearly the fastest man at that time, and was gutted with failing to finish. "On lap 13, I was right behind Edwards when he overshot the curve," he said. "I was distracted by his mistake, braked too suddenly and, unfortunately, fell." With a nine-second gap back to Lavilla in fifth place, Corser had the race won at half-distance, as the field started dropping by the wayside in high numbers. Only 20 were to make the finish, turning it into it a bumper points day for a lot of privateer riders. The old Superbike heads of Chili and Yanagawa conspired to crush Izutsu on lap 20, leaving the 2000 Sugo double-race winner hanging on for ninth place. RACE 1 SBK rookie Regis Laconi took an impressive holeshot after a brilliantly clean start from the front row and 22 MARCH 21,2001 • aye' • Regis Laconl (55) led the first three laps of race one after an excellent start from the second position on the grid In his first race aboard a Superblke. Valencia was the site of Laconi's only 500cc Grand Prix victory a year ago. He was taken out by Okada in race two, but proved that he may be a force to reckon with In Wortd Superblke. n e _ so