Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

podium places to a pair of two-rider fights for the top honors. Race leader Laconi was hunted down by Vermeulen, who stole the win - and the 25 points that go with it - on the very last lap; Laconi held on to second. "That win feels so good," Vermeulen said. "We've all been working a very long time for that first win of the year, and it has been hard work. Two second places at Valencia were a step forward, but we've made an even bigger one here at Monza. Once I got past Troy [Corser] in race two I just put my head down and tried to get to Regis [Laconi], who had been at the front for a long time. I caught him just at the right time on that last lap and managed to hang on. It certainly makes up for the disappointment of not finishing that first race, so overall it has been a very positive weekend." Behind, it looked as if 5uperbike-c1ass rookie Muggeridge would score his first podium of the year, but Corser proved too strong in the final sector of the race, especially after a small error in the first corner of the last lap gave Corser some breathing space. "I would have so liked to have got on that second podium, but I made a small mistake exiting the first chicane on the last lap and Troy managed to make a gap," Muggeridge said. "I should have beaten him, but it wasn't to be. The bike is much better, and it's been a good weekend for us. There is still heaps of work to do, but we really have something now that can take us forward for the rest of the season." The delay at the start of the second Superbike race was caused when Chili's Honda lost some fluid, noticed first by Bertocchi Kawasaki rider Giovanni Bussei. The eight-rider train in the second race was bracketed by Laconi at the front and Chili, with Noriyuki Haga just behind. Laconi qUickly chased and caught the early first-lap leader Corser, and as each lap passed, Laconi was always at the head of the freight train - behind him were Corser, Kagayama, Muggeridge, Pitt, Walker and Toseland. All were within two seconds in the first few laps. By lap six, small gaps were developing, with Toseland past Walker at Ascari, as Laconi gently increased his lead by 0.46, and Corser and Kagayama went with him. Toseland was repassed by Pitt at turn one, on lap eight, with race-one podium finisher Toseland now sixth. Kagayama made a hard pass at Ascari on lap eight, pushing past teammate Corser. It did not last long, as Corser repassed at turn one of lap nine. Kagayama, looking good to that point, crashed on lap I I in the Lesmo Two, simply missing his braking point, on the same lap that the forward marching Vermeulen - seventh on lap one - barged into the lead. "The second race was not so good for me," Kagayama said. '~fter 10 laps, I made a little mistake when I missed my braking point in one of the Lesmo corners and then went into the gravel. The bike fell over at slow speed and the engine cut out. I tried to restart it, but I think some small stones had got in to the airbox, because the engine made a funny rattling noise. I knew then it was impossible to carry on. But, I am still second in the championship, and one of my favorite circuits - Silverstone - is coming up next." Pitt, a never-say-die competitor of the highest order, went by the fading Toseland once more. On lap 13, Muggeridge pushed on, deposing Toseland on lap I I and then passing Corser for two laps on lap 13. Corser, having none of it as he rallied from what had looked like one of his old fashioned midrace fades, was back to third on lap 15. "In race two, I had some problems with the front brakes almost from the start," Corser said. "There was a bit of vibration when I braked hard, and then they began to get hot when I was behind Regis [Laconi] and Chris [Walker]. I think my Suzuki was as fast as them, but I couldn't brake as hard as I did in the first race. I couldn't do much about Regis and Chris, but I was determined not to let Muggas [Muggeridge] beat me to the podium, so I braked as hard as I dared and managed to hold him off. I had already seen Yukio [Kagayama] go off the track, so I knew that I had extended my series lead. For us, it is not about winning every race; it's the championship that counts." The original eight were now reduced to man-to-man battles for first and third. Laconi and Vermeulen were to duke it out on the last lap, while Corser was always going to have the better of Muggeridge. "In the last few laps, I saw on my pit board that someone was behind me, but I didn't have time to see who it was, as I was just trying to keep my small advantage," Laconi said. "Maybe I pushed too much on my tire to hold off Troy in the early laps Briefly... For the first time this year, the balance of four-cylinder power evened itself out somewhat and two Honda riders led two Suzuki riders after the regulation qualifying sessions. Winston Ten Kate Honda riders Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen secured first- and second-best times and thus would go last in the Superpole session. H,?wever, it was only to last a few scant hours, as during the single-lap Superpole session, Yukio Kagayama took his second pole of the year, from his teammate Troy Corser. Corser and Regis Laconi have won the other two this year. Even the twins got into the swing, and after some torrid experiences in the last few races, the factory Ducati men, Laconi and James Toseland, had much more settled sessions pre-race day. Laconi was one of many riders to put himself in temporary pole position when given the opportunity, but he dropped to an eventual third place, still an impressive performance from a rider who originally qualified only fifth. In fourth was Muggeridge, followed by Vermeulen, Andrew Pitt, Chris Walker, Toseland, Pier-Francesco Chili, Giovanni Bussei, Noriyuki Haga, Gianluca Nannelli, Jose Luis Cardoso, Norick Abe, Mauro Sanchini and Sebastien Gimbert. Regis Laconi's attempts to attack the pole-setting times of Karl Muggeridge and company were thwarted almost without exception as he found backmarkers in his way as he fitted qualifying tires on day one and day two. Had another rider been in front of him in Superpole, few would have been surprised. Hanging on for the draft was a tad less common this year, but with so many riders at such a fast one-line track, Laconi was not alone in trying to get a clean lap in without haVing to vary his course or outbrake the others. Max Neuklrchner, a podium finisher at Phillip Island and best of the new bunch so far, was finally diagnosed with a broken right thumb after his astonishing Valencia highside, and thus he was forced to have an operation. which meant he missed Monn. Initially he had been told it was not broken, but after taking part in a multibike magazine road test feature at Valencia, he complained of severe pain, flew home, was diagnosed with a broken base to his throttle-hand thumb, and was operated on shortly after. He now has a small pin holding the bone together and is confident of being fit for the next round, Silverstone. Since Valencia, the K1affi Honda team has enjoyed the assistance of a new technical director, the extravagantly titled Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techno Gerhard Holy. AIl old Formula One man from BMW Motorsport and Mercedes Motorsport, he will be responsible for analyzing the way the team works in an effort to optimize the workflow at races and tests. _.y. Corser (11) prevailecl in race_, but pre..ure from both Kagayama (71) anclLaconi (55) didn't make it MV Agusta hit the Superbike tracks at Monza, with local rider Andrea Mazzalli running a F4 1000 machine at the back of the grid - 30th out of 32 riders. Lucio Pedercini managed to crack, but not completely break, his left collarbone in a Friday morning crash at Monza. He soldiered on, qualifying 26th. Visitors to Monza were aplenty, with British Championship contender Ryuichl Kiyonarl and his HM Plant Honda team manager Tadayuki Okada at Monza "on holiday:' Yamaha's overall chief of racing was also in Italy, being shown around the pit garages by Yamaha Motorsports manager (With responsibility for World Superbike) Laurens Klein Koerkamp. With Monza a large stone's throw from Pirelli's management headquarters and experimental headquarters, a visit was organized for journalists and TV crews on the days preceding the event itself. The tires used in World Superbike are made at a large-scale manufacturing facility in Germany, but the highly robotized and flexible MIRS system was demonstrated, as well as the extensive indoor static and dynamic testing facilities, all within a couple of kilometers of the head office. Pirelli wheeled out multiple-compound tires for Monza, for the simple reason that the demands of the speed are very different, and every exacting. The high-speed sections call for special compounds to deal with the high speeds on the crown and main part of the tire. With only one significant left-hand corner on the track, but a severely right-handed nature of the circuit, different compounds are required on either side of the center sec- tion. There was, however, evidence of occasional tire chunking and tread loss, with one of AIldrew Pitt's qualifying rears showing signs of it outside the Pirelli tents on Friday. Troy Corser has probably lost count of how many seagulls he's ended at Phillip Island, but at Monza he had another brush with our feathered friends. Leaving for his out lap, he hit a bird square on his brake lever, killing the unfortunate fowl right away. In a gruesome twist, he had blood and tissue from the bird splattered allover the right side of his torso, and, most worryingly of all for the Green Party, the bird's head and beak were jammed between the brake and handlebar - meaning Corser had to take his hand off to poke the offending cranium out of his way to continue his warmup lap. Superpole, In which there were no crashes, was nonetheless worryingly eventful for PierFrancesco Chill. Approaching the end of his lap, he found Giovanni Bussei just in front of him and going at a vastly reduced pace. The Bertocchi Kawasaki rider made it into pit lane with fIVe seconds to spare before Chili flashed past to record his time. Troy Corser took a second off the previous 2004 Plrelli best time at Monza in testing the week before the start of the run up to the race. Suzuki, like the Yamaha factory squad, has Monza as one of its designated test tracks and was thus allowed to test there, more than six days before the start of the Monza World Superbike weekend. Corser couldn't quite match the time in qualifying, blaming track conditions. Continued on poge 27 CYCLE NEWS • MAY 18, 2005 25

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