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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128388
Round 7
WORLD SUPERBIKE
for his first tide than Corser is for his second, as he is 56 points ahead (with half
the races Corser has to potentially lose)
still to be run.
As Charpentier rocked to a clear but
certainly not uncontested win, his rivals
were lemming it up.
One high-profile crash and two highprofile retirements, with no Katsuaki
Fujiwara there at all, put it all on a plat de
jour for the Rying Frenchie. He soared to
a points total of 165 and is now 59 points
ahead of his nearest rival, Fujiwara, who
missed this event through injury.
"It was a difficult race and a good battle with Kevin [Curtain] from the start,"
Charpentier said. "It was not such a good
race after he crashed out - I prefer a fight
- but the result has given me a good position in the championship. With my pole
position qualifying time and fastest lap of
the race, it's been a complete weekend
for me. The grip went off towards the
end of the race today, but it's our first visit
here, so it feels good to beat the other
teams that have tested here already."
Michel Fabrizio ended his run of bad
luck with a superb second place for his
Team ltalia Megabike Honda squad, rekindling his aspirations of a top-three finish.
Gianluca Nannelli scored third, in a race in
which top championship runners Curtain
(who crashed) plus Broc Parkes and
Fabien Foret (who both retired for technical reasons) failed to finish and thus
score any points.
FUjiwara's replacement Craig Jones
was eventually sixth.
After a first semi-clean but clumsy first
lap for most competitors, with all 30 qualifiers around lap one in largely good order,
Fabrizio had overturned Curtain's early
lead, with Foret third, ahead of Parkes,
Charpentier and stand-in Ten Kate rider
Jones. Stephane Chambon was ahead of
the impressive Dane Robbin Harms.
After a second lap, when Curtain,
Fabrizio and Charpentier formed a slight
breakaway top-three, the Yamaha rider
was back in front again, with Charpentier
26
July 17, 2005
~
World SUPErblke Championship
passing Fabrizio two corners before the
end of the lap. He even went on a tighter
line than Curtain into turn one of lap
three and took the lead - deserved after
such a clean pass.
Fabrizio, determined to break a tworace drought of points with a top podium
finish, went with Charpentier, as Parkes
made a lonely figure in fourth.
Behind, Jones and Harms were having
a batde of the lesser-knowns.
Foret, looking behind to see what the
problem was with his bike, came in to
retire on lap five. He changed a suspected
punctured rear but still had problems and
came in to finish it all off.
Harms went past Jones on the seventh
tour, with the Nannelli's Ducati just
behind, making up ground from I I th on
lap one.
In most Supersport races this year, the
Hondas have had the better of the
Yamahas, even before half distance, but
with eight laps of 18 gone, Curtain was
back to second.
Jones was swamped by Nannelli, but
he was being a spirited rider. He fought
back to fifth place in what was developing
into a four-rider fight with Nannelli,
Harms and top Suzuki rider Xavier Fares.
Curtain, in the mood for a win, went
back into the lead on lap 10, while
Charpentier repaid the compliment on
the final chicane entry of the follOWing lap.
In what was an ultimately and disappointing race for Parkes, he was forced
out on lap 12, his Yamaha coming back
to pit lane but not exiting the pit garage.
His rear shock had leaked nuid onto his
rear tire.
Fabrizio, in third, was now over three
seconds adrift of the battling front duo,
with a handy cushion of five seconds over
the warring quartet of Nannelli, Jones,
Harms and Fares.
His cushion was de-padded a tad by
the forward moving Nannelli, who was
looking likely to make a clean break from
the four cylinder machines behind.
Curtain slid off on the apex of turn
JULY 27,2005 • CYCLE NEWS
one, at the very beginning of lap 15, leaving Charpentier looking behind, wondering what had happened.
Behind, there was less drama, but with
Nannelli rapidly catching Fabrizio, followed by Harms, Fares and Jones, there
was still plenty of punch packed away.
Surprisingly, the drama stayed away, as
the order strung out to Nannelli in third,
Harms fourth, Fares fifth and Jones, more
used to the shorter format of British
Championship races and fighting a
degrading front tire, sixth.
Ahead of this grouping the last couple
of laps were taken without any dramas by
race winner Charpentier (five from seven
now), while Fabrizio got his wish of a top
finish, second after all his recent disappointments.
The namboyant Nannelli was third
but overdid it on his slowing-down lap.
As he burned out his rear tire, complete
with an oversized Italian nag in his hand,
he tried to move away. To his embarrassment, he dumped it as the rear spun out,
leaving marshals to help him restart.
Behind the top six finishers, Chambon
was seventh, with Alessio Corradi overcoming wildcard Werner Daemen for
eighth. Barry Veneman's Suzuki was 10th.
Charpentier may be reaching untouchable status week on week, but Brno made
the chase for top-five finishes a thing of
great beauty, as Fabrizio joined in again.
Curtain sits on 93, Foret on 74, Fabrizio
62, Parkes 60, Nannelli 56 and Chambon
55.
CN
BRNO CIICUlT
BRNO, CnCH REPUBUC
RESUlTS: JULY
17, 2005 (ROUND 7
Of
12)
SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING: I. Troy COrHr
(2:02.69~); 2. James Toseland (2:03.180); 3. Max
Neukl,,:hner (2:03.21~): <. Chris Venneulen (2:03.2<7); 5.
Karl Muggeridge (2:03.252): 6. Chris w..Jker (2:03.<129); 7.
Yuklo Kagayama (2:03..437); 8. Jose luis Cardoso
(2:03.<191); 9. Reg. Laconl (2:03.756); 10. David Checa
(2:03.913); II. Noo-Ick Abe (2:03.9~); 12. Gany McCoy
(2:03.969): 13. Andrew Pitt (2:04.352); 14. Mauro Sandlini
(2:0"-633); 16. Lorenzo Lanzi (2:05.M9): 17. 17. Pie,
F.-ancesco Chili (2:03.<83); 18. Nonyukl Haga (2:0U29);
19. Steve Martin (2:04.756); 20. Fonsi Nieto (2:04.839); 21.
Giovanni Bussei (2:05.240); 22. Sebastian Gimben
(2:05.269); 23. Gianluca VlZZiello (2:05.446); 24. Marco
Boo-cJani (2:05.<58); 25. Lorenzo Alfons; (2:05.518): 26.
Alessio Ve/lnl (2:05.532); 27. Ben Bosu-om (2:06.059); 28.
Lucio Peden:lnl (2:06.858): 29. Miguel FTaIa (2:07.599); 10.
Adam Badzlak (2:08.51~); 31. Milos Cihak (2:08.685): 32.
Jlri DnlZdak (2:08.942); 33. Jiri Mricyvka (2:08.986); 34.
Marek Scoboda (2:09.+49); 35. Michael Nickmans
(2:09.610); 36. Jlri Tn:ka (2: 11.329).
RACE ONE, I. Troy eoo-.e, (Suz): 2. )ames Toseland
(Due); 3. Reg;, lAc.".,; (Due);~. Chris w..Jker (Kaw); 5. Plee
F.-ances