Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

His win took him to the top of the championship table with 45 points, not a bad way to end, especially after his poor luck in previous starts to seasons. His start to the race was not a grand one, however, as he began down in eighth and then was up to fourth at the end of the first lap. Young Italian charger Team Italia Megabike's Michel Fabrizio took an early lead, looking good on it, but was first rebuffed by the charging Yamaha Motor Germany R6 of experienced rider Curtain. Fabrizio failed to finish the race with only three laps to go. His front suddenly lost side grip, and he had to retire. Up ahead, Curtain had started to drop off the pace of Charpentier, even if his pre-race machine-setting gamble had paid off handsomely. Curtain finally finished second, to take third in the championship, on 33 points. "Tough race. Once I got in the lead a couple of times, I didn't know how I did it, as yesterday we had a lot of grip problems with the rear," Curtain said. "But the guys found something overnight, and the team worked real good. It was a real gamble going into the race, because we were going into a race with something we hadn't tested before. The wind was the worst I've ever seen it since I've been riding here, and I've been riding here for a while. Turn one was really bad. I nearly ran wide a couple of times, so pretty treacherous." Qatar race winner Winston Ten Kate Honda's Fujiwara lost his personal battle with third-place man Team ltalia Megabike Honda's Foret, taking fourth place by a narrow margin. Fujiwara now sits second overall, on 39 points, and lost out on some more by no more than a front wheel compared to the 2002 champ. With Fabrizio out, a strong ride on a circuit he knows well gave Ducati Selmat's Jurgen van den Goorbergh a fine fifth place. Way off the pace at Qatar and at the recent Valencia tests, the powerful V-twin matched van den Goorbergh's ambitions more closely this weekend. Johann Stigefelt was sixth, running his private Honda in a private race at the end, dressed in Darkdog yellow. In seventh, some kind of award for valor would not have been out of place for Broc Parkes, who rode through the pain of his compressed spine to take seventh. Stephane Chambon was in eighth place on the Gil Honda. eN PHIUIP ISLAND CIRCUIT PHIUIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA RESULTS: APRIL 3, 2005 (ROUND 2 OF 12) QUAliFYING: I. Yukio Kagayama (1:33.241); 2. Steve Martin (1:33.301); 3. Max Neukirchner (1:]3.]75) 4. Troy Corser (I :33.398): 5. Andrew Pitt (I :33.461); 6. Karl Muggeridge (I :33.557); 7. Garry McCoy (I :33.676): B. Regis Laconi (I :33.837): 9. Chris Vermeulen (I :34.053); 10. James Toseland (1:34.068); II. Giovanni BU$sei (1:34.503): 12. Norick Abe (I :34.142); 13. Chris Walker (I :34.803): 14. Gianluca Vizziel10 (1:34.939): 15. Jose Luis Cardoso (I :35.003); 16. Mauro Sanehin! (I :35.132); 17. Pier Francesco Chili (1:34.775); 18. Ivan Clementi (1:34.905); 19. Noriyuki Haga (1:34.927); 20. Lorenzo Alfonsl (1:35.136); 21. Sebastian Gimbert (1:35.178); 22. Fonsi Nieto (I :35.400): 23. Ben Bostrom (I :35.524); 24. Alessio Corradi (I :35.561); 25. Lucio Pedercini (1 :35.565); 26. Marco Borciani (I :35.685); 27. Lorenzo Lanzi (I :35.976); 28. Andrew Stroud (1:36.292); 29. Miguel Praia (1:36.843). RACE ONE: I. Troy Corser (Suz); 2. Yukio Kagayama (Suz); 3. Chris Vermeulen (Hon); 4. Max Neukirchner (Han); 5. Andrew Pitt (Yam); 6. Norick Abe (Yam); 7. Regis Laconi (Due); 8. Karl Muggeridge (Hon); 9. Chris Walker (Kaw); 10. Giovanni Bussei (Kaw); II. Sebastian Gimbert (Yam): 12. Mauro Sanchini (Kaw): 13. Ivan Clementi (Kaw): t4. James Toseland (Due); IS. Andrew Stroud (Suz): 16. Miguel Praia (Yam). Time: 35 min., 15.199 sec. Distance: 22 laps, 60.62 miles Average speed: 10].18 mph Margin of victory: 8.279 sec. Fastest lap: Troy Corser. lap 2, 1:34.917 RACE TWO: I. Troy Corser (Suz): 2. Yukio Kagayama (Suz); 3. Max Neukirchner (Hon): 4. Chris Vermeulen (Hon); 5. Fonsi Nieto (Due); 6. A11e.sio Corradi (Due); 7. Regis Laconi (Due); 8. Norick Abe (Yam): 9. Giovanni Bussei (Kaw): 10. Mauro Sanchini (Kaw): II. Ben Bostrom (Hon); 12. Andrew Stroud (Suz): 13. Lorenzo Lanzi (Due); 14. Miguel Praia (Yam). Time: 37 min.• 34.183 sec. Distance: 22 laps. 60.62 miles Average speed: 96.82 mph Margin of victory: 5.822 se<. Fastest lap: Troy Corser. lap 6. 1:34.979 WORLD SUPERBIKE C'SHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 2 of 12 rounds): I. Troy Corser (91/3 wins): 2. Yukio Kagayama (85/1 win): 3. Regis Lacani (54): 4. Chris Vermeulen (SO); 5. Max Neukirchner (37); 6. Norick Abe (33); 7. Andrew Pitt (31): 8. James Toseland (22); 9. Giovanni Bussei (20); 10. Fonsi Nieto (17); II. Noriyuki Haga (16): 12. Karl Muggeridge (I 5); 13. (TIE) Pier Francesco Chili (I I)/Sebastian Gimbert (II )/Mauro Sanchini (II). UPCOMING ROUNDS: Round 3: April 24, Valencia, Spain Round 4: May 8, Monzo, Iialy The Superpole session was a series of upsets, with an outstandingly entertaining last 10 minutes, as Kagayama's pole time of I :33.241 was almost reached but never quite broached. "My first win in Superpole, but I already have had practice at Superpole, as there is a similar qualifying session at the Suzuka B-Hours," Kagayama said. "It's Superpole style. I had some slides, but this is not a big mistake. This is normal riding, and that helps a good lap time. I think there will be many riders making good lap times in the race." The entry list at Phillip Island was swollen by the appearance in the Pedercini Superbike team of Alessio Corradi, of former World Supersport fame in the Team Italy Yamaha and Honda teams. Although still injured from his bad smash at Assen in 2004, Corradi was called on when regular Pedercini rider Alessio Velini badly broke his right ankle in a recent Valencia test. Replacing Velini became a matter of urgency as the privateer team had already paid for all passages and freight to Australia, even if Corradi has severely limited motion of his right wrist. Andrew Stroud was in the mix at Phillip Island, riding a Superbike New Zealand Suzuki GSX-R I000, and alternatively, in simpler fashion, it was the 2004 model, not the same as Corser of Kagayama's beasts. His engine let go oil in the final untimed qualifying session, went on fire for a short period and caused a 20-minute delay to proceedings as the track was cleaned. Few considered the Foggy Petronas team capable of planting two riders in the top eight after first qualifying, but seventh and eighth respectively came Garry McCoy and Steve Martin - and it was no April fool. Despite testing their new spec of engine at Phillip Island the previous week, the two Aussies could not use it in eamest. There is only one exhaust system for the bike at present, and the convoluted and complicated design needs a long lead-time to build, especially for all the team's four race bikes, plus spares in the event of crashes. After their glowing Superpole performances, it came to light that they were using hybrid engines· without the new cam spec and aforementioned exhausts, but with all the other as-yet-unnamed components and mods in place. The jetlag victims at Phillip Island were thick on the ground, but none more so affected than young Spanish Supersport rider Javier Fares. Riding his Suzuki, he was so fatigued after no sleep since arriving in Australia that he vomited inside his crash helmet out on the track in the first session. World Champion in 2002, Fabien foret is slowly working toward true competitiveness on his Team ltalia Megabike CBR600RR. He had time to relax before the Phillip Island race and went jet skiing with other riders. He hit a wave head-on at one stage, and after being blasted off the watercraft by the full impact of the wall of water, he was left with the legacy of a black eye! The talk of high top speed figures made many happy Phillip Island attendees dream fondly of Monza - and maybe the chance of a breached 200 mph speed. Ducati has no plans to make a half-yearly homologation, as it used to do in the bad old days of "V-twin Grand Prix" competition with the factory Honda squads. It does however, have an extra five horsepower over the originally declared IB9 bhp figure of the latest 999, heavily revamped internally for 2005. With the fuel and oil now used in the MotoGP class, Ducati is confident it can make the 999 engine a 200-bhp beat really soon, with more work promised on the bike before they get Monza. Stiggy Motorsports Honda rider Stefan Folkesson had the great misfortune to break his left tibia very close to the knee joint in the very first session. Such was the extent of his injury that he was sent straight to hospital for an operation. His teammate, Johan Stigefelt, was an impressive sixth fastest all the same on day one. The Phillip Island press conference podium was laden with Aussie talent making its way in the World Championship campaign, with Garry McCoy, Steve Martin, Karl Muggeridge, Chris Vermeulen and Troy Corser outnumbering all other riders present. When asked why Aussie riders are so prevalent in World Superbike, especially in the Ten Kate team, Vermeulen stated "I don't know really, you would have to ask Gerrit Ten Kate, but he keeps employing us, so we must be doing something right. Karl says it's because we're good!" Troy Corser stated in the press conference, "The team 1have this year is probably the best one I've ever worked with in my career. With all that behind me, I feel like I've got a good chance. The bike has worked fantastically well at tests here and then in the race at Qatar, and we made some improvements to the bike again in tests at Valencia. To be honest. the only thing we needed to improve was the clutch. At Qatar, I just had to get the clutch out and get going then try to make up some time on the track. Now I feel I should get to get to the first corner first, which should make it easier for us the rest of the race." The first-day performance of Fonsi Nieto flat-out last of 29 Superbike riders - has demonstrated how tough he has found the transition to a big V-twin Ducati from a smaller Aprilia 250. His knowledge of Phillip Island is not in question. as his record attests. Pole in the 250cc class in 2002, followed up by a second place in 2002 and third in 2003 show that he is no slouch around the track in different circumstances. Another Spanish SBK "rookie," Jose Luis Cardoso, also has good experience of the Phillip Island circuit, even on a 500 GP bike, scoring a point in 2002 by finishing I Sth on a Yamaha D'Antin machine. Confusion in the Supersport ranks saw a whole batch of Pirelli tires withdrawn from use. Some teams were confused when they were told that two tires, coded the GB and F6, were exactly the same tires. It turns out that the marks are for production identity purposes only, the GB signaling that it was made on a particular month. The confusion was ended when the GBs were all withdrawn, and only F6 tires were made available for those who chose to use that fitment over another. The change in code was also partly due to the fact that the "baseline" Pirelli Supersport front is a different one from last season's. Yamaha technical support engineer and former racer Wilco Zeelenberg was lucky to escape injury when the Yamaha pit box covers fell on him, and the race itself, even after the delay to let the winds die down, was a tough test of endurance and delicacy. CYCLE NEWS • APRIL 13, 2005 27

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