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Infostrada pair were only three-tenths of a second apart as they flashed across the line to start lap 11. Edwards, meanwhile, had dropped off and was 1.3 seconds behind the leader. Behind the Texan was Chili, a little further back, and then Hodgson and Corser. Bostrom was still struggling along in 11 tho By the end of lap 12, Bayliss was still under pressure from Xaus, but Edwards was starting to close up once more and was less than a second behind while setting the fastest lap with a 2:04.6. On lap 13, Xaus got by his teammate at the fast right at Meeuwenimeer, but not for long. The Spaniard was easy on the brakes going into the Bocht chicane, allowing Bayliss back through. At the end of the lap, the rain began to fall and the top three all put their hands up, bringing out the red flag and the end of the race with three laps remaining. Bayliss took win number five by .16 of a second from Xaus. Then it was Edwards - just over a second behind - followed by Chili, Hodgson, Corser, Okada, Yanagawa, Laconi, Toseland, Bostrom, Lavilla and Chambon. Bayliss led Chili, Edwards, Xaus, Yanagawa and Corser. Neil Hodgson - 15th in qualifying started to come good, pressuring Corser in sixth place before finally taking him into the first turn at Haarbocht. Bostrom - the winningest rider so far this season - was way down in 11th. Lap six saw the move of the race, as Xaus - right on the leaders - swept around the outside of Edwards at the fourth-gear left of Ramshoek on the run down to the chicane to take third. The Spaniard then took Chili for second barely a lap later through the fast sweeps on the other side of the circuit. At the end of lap seven, Bayliss led teammate Xaus, then Edwards, Chili, Hogdson, Yanagawa, Corser, Okada, Toseland, Laconi, Bostrom, Lavilla, Chambon and Yamaha's Juan Borja. The top four were out alone now, as by the end of lap eight 6.97 seconds separated Bayliss in first from Hodgson in fifth, although Xaus was shadowing his teammate and championship leader Bayliss, only fourtenths of a second behind. On the 10th lap, lzutsu crashed out, while Xaus looked around the outside of Bayliss at the chicane. The performances, finishing a wheezing 13th and 12th. The Benelli of Peter Goddard fought out a battle with the top privateers, losing out on the chance of scoring points in each race by lessthan-huge margins. Nothing to play for at Imola then, if you are Bayliss or Edwards, but with the rest ready for possibly crucial races to their contract negotiations for 2002 and Bayliss relaxed now that he doesn't have one eye on the championship table, it could be one hell of a race at a brand-new World Superbike circuit. RACE ONE Bayliss converted Ducati's 100th pole position into the race lead as the pack screamed into the first corner. He was followed by Kawasaki's Yanagawa (third on the grid), Chili's Suzuki and Toseland, who got a superb start from fifth on the grid. Just behind the 20-year-old Englishman was Edwards, and the Texan was soon looking for a way past the GSE Ducati. Yanagawa wanted to make an early move past Bayliss on the opening lap, just taking a look up the inside at the GT Bocht Chicane. Thrown Into the series last year after Carl Fogarty was InJUred, Troy Bayliss Is now the World Superbike Champion. As they crossed the line to start lap _two, Bayliss led from Yanagawa, Chili, Toseland, Edwards and Corser. In the first turn, Toseland ran wide on his Ducati, allowing Edwards through and Corser to close right up. Edwards latched on to the leading trio of Bayliss, Yanagawa and Chili. As the second lap came to a close, Edwards was close but just couldn't make the move past the Suzuki. Chili, meanwhile, moved around Yanagawa heading into the chicane to take second. Xaus saw his poor start drop him down the top 10, but on lap two he set the fastest lap so far of the race and began clawing his way back into contention, as both the Spaniard and Corser finally- managed to get past Toseland on lap three to get into the top five. Edwards managed to take Yanagawa's Kawasaki going into the left horseshoe at De Strubben, setting another fastest lap as he did so. The top four or five had now started to get away from the chasing palik, so that at the end of lap five After Ruben Xaus had given them the manufacturers' title the weekend before, Troy Bayliss sent Ducati another bunch of red roses, giving the manufacturer its 100th pole position and making it the first manufacturer in World Superbike racing to break through the magic 100 barrier. He was his usual quietly pleased self, and had a lot to say for himself afterward. "It's been a while since my last pole at Monta and I haven't really been enjoying it, because I usually go well in qualifying and lately I've been sliding back a bit," Bayliss said. "Today, timing had a lot to do with it, but it's good to get Ducati's 100th pole." Bayliss admitted that once more qualifying in general had been hard work for him and his experienced crew. "This weekend has been really strange and we've changed our ways a little bit with the wet setup, which has been on and off all the time. The bike is very fast with the dry setup and you get good grip around here. All the guys in the team are working well and things have been almost perfect. We were well-organized in Superpole and we didn't want to be sitting around with laps to spare, so it went really well. Tomorrow, I'd like to see it dry, and I'll be going for a win, but if I can't win then "II be happy to finish ahead of Colin." Ruben Xaus may again have been the man to deliver the Italian factory its latest landmark achievement, but he was pipped by the determination of the aspirant World Champion, Bayliss. The 'wet' Superpole rules were invoked because of the large number of damp patches and wet stretches around the circuit. Each rider then had 12 laps, within a SO-minute time limit, in which to set their best times. Neil Hodgson looked to have made a very smart early move on a still-wet track, because the heavens opened shortly after the pit lane. drenching the circuit and preventing most of the top riders from improving their times, at least initially. The bright sunshine that had followed the rain throughout a largely wet Assen weekend soon dried out the surface enough to let some riders set fast times on their qualifying tires, before a sudden downpour came in to stay with 15 minutes to go. Hodgson was an exception, fmishing a lowly 15th and missing out on his chances to improve before the rains recommenced. Third after the full SO minutes was Akira Yanagawa, giving a boost to the somewhat beleaguered Fuchs Kawasaki squad. A similar Job was done by Pier-Francesco Chili's third-place finish. with the A1stare Suzuki team pleased to be back on terms with the other big World Superbike hitters. James Toseland upheld the GSE Racing team's honor, finishing fIfth overall, which was no fluke after his front-row provisional starting position. He admitted that there was an element of luck attached to his result: "I had the scariest moment of the weekend on my fast lap. , hit a puddle on the way down the back straight and it tank-slapped all the way to the comer. I really thought I'd lost It, but I managed to brake and get around the corner somehow. It was a proper lock-to-Iock job." Gregorio Lavilla put the second Kawasaki Into the top six. Troy Corser, an experienced Assen competitor, scored well enough for a vital second-row start, as did Colin Edwards, although he was highly displeased to be held up by Giovanni Bu'ssei, to the point of lashing out at him with his boot on the way past when out on a fast lap. Ben Bostrom took 11 th-fastest time on his L&M Ducati, ahead of a 2000 season podium finisher at Assen, Juan Borja on the Panavto Yamaha. cue •• n • _ IS • SEPTEMBER 19,2001 17