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[Bayliss], but it was time to dig deep. I don't think I could have gone any harder. That race was about four seconds faster than the first race and it was a relief to start the last lap having got a plus .6-second gap to whoever was behind. It's been a long time since I've won, and with half of Texas here to see me, and a team that wanted a win badly, I'm pleased to give them something to cheer about tonight." Xaus had an eventful second outing, running off the track, then crashing on the warm-up lap and finishing an eventual 19th. A throttle stuck open both times was blamed. He preferred to speak about his happy race one, however. "We got a good result in race one, I was second and it's good for my championship," he said needlessly. "On Friday, I wasn't satisfied with the setup and wasn't riding very well, so I took things calm. We did a lot of work on Saturday, then in free practice I was in the top five. Superpole was good and I found a really good tire and setup for the race. These points are good because they made up for the ones I lost in Misano." when I started to have a go at him, it was difficult to pass, then when he did make a mistake, Ruben [Xaus] was there as well. It makes me really happy to win at Laguna, which hasn't been very kind to me in the past." Bayliss was denied the chance to add another in race two only by the combined pugilism of privateer HM Plant Ducati rider Neil Hodgson and the front-running determination of local hero Edwards, who kept the ying and yang of the championship roughly in place with his debut Laguna World Superbike win. The second race was a particular classic, with all three leading riders in with a chance of the win with only a few laps remaining, and no fewer than seven riders in the front group at the start of the second 28-lap race. Even Bayliss was impressed. "That was an awesome race, both Neil and Colin were riding really good," he enthused. "Anyway, things panned out for themselves and I did the best I could. I only made a couple of points on Colin today, but that's what it's all about and I'm happy with a win and a second place." One by one in the second race, the leading bunch of seven - Eric Bostrom, Edwards, Hodgson, Bayliss, Ben Bostrom, Nicky Hayden and Noriyuki Haga - was whittled down to the final three - Edwards, Bayliss and Hodgson, the lone Dunlop man on the podium. The smallest of errors at the entrance to the Corkscrew allowed Hodgson to pass Bayliss, and the consistent attempts by both riders to gain supremacy only went the way of Bayliss after numerous audacious passes. Bayliss took the initiative on the last left up the hill to score second and 20 points. (Above) Race two was Just as intense as race one, if not more so. Edwards (2), Bayliss (1) and Hodgson (hidden) stayed this close for almost the duration. (Right) Ben Bostrom had an off-day, the Californian never a factor in either race. Here, he leads Xaus - a runner up In race one, warm-up-Iap crasher in race two. Hodgson was happy enough, and obviously under no generic Ducati team orders. Speaking after race one, he said: "I rode as hard as I could out there. I had some good scraps with Haga and Hayden, but I was riding on the edge all the time. I just lost out in the horsepower stakes towards the end because the pace was pretty hot and my bike was less than perfect onto the start/finish straight. I spent the whole time trying to make up the ground that I'd lost in that section, so I was really pushing it through some of the fast corners. At least Haga didn't score any points, so my championship position is that little bit safer than it was before." Keeping out of the battle raging on behind in the second 28-lapper, Edwards took his third race win of 2002 and narrowed the gap gleaned by the combined race-one efforts of winner Bayliss and his second-place teammate Ruben Xaus. (Xaus went to the lead at one stage before pulling back somewhat to allow Bayliss free reign.) Edwards wiped out that memory with a great front-running ride. "I don't know what was going on behind me in race two, but it was some race at the front," he said. "I was pretty determined to win that race. After the first race, I felt like going home. I've never won at Laguna and I knew the crowd wanted to see my machine take the checkered flag. It's always a hard battle when you're on the racetrack with Troy eye' e American Honda's Nicky Hayden had a superb ride in race one to hold Hodgson off for the fourth spot. Determined and motivated, the AMA Superbike Series points leader made wise tire choices, and as Hodgson later admitted his own edge was missing, later found to be a razor in race two. Hayden showed his youth and relative inexperience and spoiled his rookie World Superb ike meeting somewhat by crashing in front of Sony PlayStation 2 Aprilia's Noriyuki Haga in turn 11 in race two, taking both of them off the track and ending Haga's day with no points - after a first-race crash no-score. Haga had tried to push too hard in the opening race, ;3nd though spectacular to n e _ S • JULY 24, 2002 11