Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Superblke Championship went past up the outside, thankfully without further incident. Haga, half a lap later, blasted around the outside of Corser on lap two, along the start/finish straight, leaning on the Aussie rider and muscling in around him on the drop down Paddock Hill bend. Having made a clean break at Brno a month previously, Haga was obviously out to go at it at the front. Toseland, with Laconi and Pitt right behind, had Vermeulen a short space away. Haga set his best lap, the best of the day so far in the third lap, with a I:27.272, and it would stay the best of the meeting in race conditions. With Corser back in front of Haga and both riders wheelying over the bump onto the start of the straight, Haga launched an attack up the inside on turn one on lap six. Pitt was in fighting and fast form as he closed the gap to Toseland, but the most impressive fight of all was from Walker, who battled his way to the tail end of Vermeulen. Behind the leading duo, some 3.6 seconds back on lap nine, Toseland had Vermeulen as his closest challenger, shortly after Pitt was swamped by his compatriot. After Vermeulen got past Toseland, it was change aplenty, as Walker slipped past the descending Pitt. Once more running a 200mm tire, Toseland was losing ground on the faster turns and more exacting parts, gaining it as he exited corners. A slip from the rear by Corser made a gap for Haga to exploit on lap 13, as he scooped out a gap of .30 and maintained it the lap after. Walker slipped past the inside of Toseland at Druids on lap 16, bashing away to a small gap right away as they each chased Laconi. Vermeulen gapped the rest of the chasers by 2.5 seconds by that time, looking for a safe third place. Toseland dropped to seventh on lap 18, while Walker was ready to batter his big, yellow race taxi into the upper echelons of the results. He passed Laconi on lap 20, as his four proved more adept to Brands Hatch than the Frenchman's twin. Abe and Martin clashed and crashed out of the race on lap 19, at the Druids hairpin. As Martin ran wide, Abe went into the gap, and Martin closed it up again. On lap 21 there was a gap of over six seconds from Haga and Corser to the follOWing riders, and it was showtime. With two laps to go, Corser had got right with Haga again, and on the final lap, he had a go at Haga on the brakes, running wide at Hawthorns. Haga made good an escape plan, and Corser regained the circuit. just as well, as none of the back sections at Brands feature much in the way of runoff, and such was his adeptness that he never even lost much ground. "I followed Nori for most of the race and made my move on the last lap," Corser said. "I got past him but then was into Westfield a bit too hot and had to ease off the brakes and take to the grass. 1 kept it upright, gassed it again and rejoined the track, but then Nori was gone. I suppose 1 must have worried Francis [his team manager] when I went off the track, but I still managed to take second without any problem. It's my aim to win as many races as possible this year and finish on the podium in all the ones 1don't." Hence, Haga's heavy elbowing tactics of earlier were rewarded with a win, and Corser's with another couple of letters to add to his championship-trophy engraving fund. "I had two fantastic races with Troy," Haga said. "In the second, I led almost from the first lap to finish. Early on I tried to make a distance on him early, but it was impossible. Later, I tried some more crazy hard braking but still 1could not make the gap. Unfortunately for Troy, he made a mistake, and when 1see that, I have a very big smile in my helmet! I would like to thank my team and also Ohlins and Pirelli, because today the bike was very good. Now I go back to japan for more holidays, and when I come back, I hope we have some more 'Nitro' for Assen!" Corser's win and second place, compared to closest challenger Vermeulen's fourth and third, puts him on a total of 344 to Vermeulen's 234. Laconi is third with 214, Kagayama fourth on 172. Haga's high score puts him sixth, with 167. With Corser I 10 points clear of second place, the race for the championship is over, even if there is obviously a lot of racing left. Of more significance, maybe, is the fact that for the first time in Brands Hatch's history of hosting Superbike events, a non-Honda, non-Ducati machine won a race. just for fun it seems, both Suzuki 18 AUGUST 17,2005 • CYCLE NEWS and Yamaha took a win apiece, with nontwin-cylinder machinery, more evidence of the death of the twins. Brands was once more a successful meeting for all involved (unless you were the depressed Toseland), another sunny highpOint on the way to holiday for most riders until Assen in early September. SUPERSPORT RACE Winston Ten Kate Honda's Sebastien Charpentier won his sixth race of the season, ahead of young charger Team ltalia Megabike Honda's Michel Fabrizio and Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain. Former Brands race winner Stephane Chambon scored an impressive fourth, ahead of

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