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/128116
World Superbike Championship Round 10: Brands Hatch It was no surprise that Ben Bostrom dominated Laguna Seca. It was definitely a surprise when he did so again in England. The Californian has now won more World Superbike races in 2001 than any other rider. tion in the later laps, means that the fight for the championship lead remained in the position it began, with Bayliss 53 points ahead. Bostrom's latest haul of 50 points have rocketed him to a very close third, on 247. Bostrom leapfrogged Troy Corser to reach third position, after the Australian rider had a nightmarish race day - finishing only eighth and 13th. "I can't explain such a 'negative result," said Corser. "After coming eighth in the first race, I was sure aiming for something better in the second. What I'm really upset about is that I just can't explain the difficulties I was up against today." The reasons given were a vibration from the rear of the machine, but once more the black Aprilia pit garage had an atmosphere to match its hue. James Toseland, Hodgson's GSE Racing teammate, scored a careerbest sixth in race two. "That's probably the best I've ever raced," said the man just out of his teens. "I tried to hang on to Troy Bayliss for as long as I could, then John Reynolds was catching me a couple of tenths a lap, but I held him off for sixth. I'm really over the moon with that. I'm starting to come to grips with racing again, after last year's big accident when I broke my leg." Peter Goddard took two points for 13th in the first race, riding the allnew factory Benelli to its second points-scoring result, and quite impressively, once you knew why. "Qualifying is the problem," Goddard explained. "I did so well in race one because I started the restart from 18th, not 27th. The bike isn't powerful enough to pass people that fast, but it is easy to ride once you get up to the faster riders." Steve Hislop, so competitive in Superpole and qualifying in general, had a double DNF, with brake problems in race one and an unspecified technical problem in race two. "The heat was certainly a factor this weekend," said Hislop. "We had good settings from racing at Brands a month ago, but it was 20 degrees hotter this time. I needed a lot of track time to test things, but in the end we had to gamble and it didn't Ruben Xaus had a fine sixth place in race one, but fell away again in race two to finish 12th, bringing forth more questions than answers about his true abilities on a Superbike. In a weekend that offered close competition between many of the top competitors, almost none was evident, with Hodgson plainly not quite able to get on terms with Bostrom - and with none of the others on the same plane of existence as those two. Bayliss should care less, as he enjoys a large championship lead that despite Bostrom's form looks increasingly unassailable. Maybe there will be a challenge for the outright win, but on present evidence, it will come from outwith the championship's most recent big two - Corser and Edwards. Out with the old, in with the new - or just a rich seam of temporary form for the new guard? All any of us hope is that sooner or later we will have a weekend when all the top contenders fight against each other for the whole race distance. Edwards, plainly pissed off, and Corser, enigmatic as always, may be living in more hope than expectation. RACE ONE Marty Craggill stalled his Ducati on the line as the pack left the grid for the warm-up lap, so the Australian had to start from pitlane. As the pack headed into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, Hodgson got the holeshot from his pole position. Close behind was Edwards, looking up the inside into the first turn; Edwards was followed by Hislop, Bostrom and Corser. Lavilla jumped the start, so the Spaniard had to come in for a 10second stop-and-go penalty. Positions were fairly static for the first circuits, until lap four. As they streaked across the line, Edwards went up the inside of Hodgson into Paddock Hill Bend to take the lead, but only bri~fly, as the GSE rider stole it straight back going into Druids. Edwards repaid the compliment by retaking the lead going into the left-hander at Stirlings, heading back toward the start/finish. On lap five, local hero Hislop entered the pits and retired from the race, with brake problems being blamed later. work out." Disappointment for the Scot, but with one eye on the British title, his results were not too displeasing. Kawasaki had another dismal day, with Akira Yanagawa the best finisher in eighth and 10th, and Gregorio Lavilla scoring a DNF and a 14th after receiving a stop-and-go penalty for jump-starting. Top privateer proved to be John Reynolds in race two, in seventh, and Sean Emmett, ninth in race one. 8 AUGUST 8, 2001 • cue • e Ruben Xaus (11) battles with Gregorio Lavilla and Tadayuki Okada. Xaus ended up sixth in the first race and 10th in the second. n e _ s By lap six, the top four of Edwards, Hodgson, Bostrom and Reynolds were close together, with Bostrom taking Hodgson for second into Surtees and Suzuki's Chili clawing his way closer toward the leading quartet. As they started lap seven, Bostrom went up the inside of Edwards, for the lead into Paddock, with the reigning champion having a big slide coming out of Surtees on the same lap as he tried to get the power on for the Cooper Straight, in his vain pursuit of Bostrom. By lap eight, Bostrom had a slim half-second gap over Edwards, and behind him were Hodgson and Reynolds. By lap nine, the leading American had increased that to 1.4 seconds, adding a further two tenths by the end of lap 10. On this lap, Aprilia's Regis Laconi retired. Lap 11 saw the red flag come out after an incident between Haydon and Ulm. Haydon's Virgin Yamaha highsided as he clipped the apex of the corner, spitting him off the bike and way high in the air. Ulm had no chance to avoid Haydon's Yamaha and both riders and bikes ended up in the air fence, with Ulm's Ducati catching fire. After almost a half-hour break, the race continued. The second part of the race saw Bostrom get the holeshot, followed by Hodgson, Edwards and a fast-starting Bayliss. On lap 12, Chili went through on GSE Ducati's Toseland at Druids hairpin, although on corrected time the Italian was far ahead. Bostrom and Hodgson started to pull away from the chasing group, with Hodgson taking the lead on the run into Hawthorn Bend on lap 12, only for Bostrom to retake him a lap later. Lap 15 saw Hodgson make a brave pass on Bostrom into Dingle Dell. With places decided on aggregate, Bostrom still had 1.7 seconds on Hodgson, even though they were together on the track. Lap 19 saw Reynolds retire. Meanwhile, Hodgson was still leading Bostrom on the road until lap 21,