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SETUP REPORT - 26/09/2006
Superbike World Championship preview: round 11 - Imola
Superbike World Championship preview: round 11 - Imola
Race date: 1 October 2005
Circuit: Imola
Country: Italy
Track length: 4933m
Opened: 1953
Fastest ever superbike lap: 1'48.075 (Chris Vermeulen)
Superbike lap record: 1'48.389 (Troy Corser)
Last year's winner: Chris Vermeulen (Honda)
Circuit telephone: +39 0542 31444
Circuit web site: http://www.autodromoimola.com
The penultimate round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship takes
place this weekend at the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the
town of Imola, the championship's third visit of the year to Italy.
The technically demanding circuit is steeped in heritage thanks mainly
to its history as a Formula One circuit but it is also famous as a bike
venue too, having hosted the classic Imola 200 events during the
Seventies and, more recently, Grand Prix and superbike racing. The circuit's
surface bears the scars of this history, with the old tarmac proving
bumpy and providing the bike racers with a tough challenge to find good
settings. Despite this, Imola is generally very popular with the riders
- its challenging layout providing the sort of test that only the
old-fashioned classic circuits can. Last year's event took place in
atrocious weather conditions that eventually led to the cancellation of race
two.
The Yamaha Motor Italia squad goes into the meeting looking to give
another strong showing for their home fans and to help their riders meet
their end-of-season targets. With Ducati's Troy Bayliss looking like
clinching the series thanks to a 87 point advantage, the team's Noriyuki
Haga is targeting more wins to add to solitary success so far this year
and to consolidate his second place in the championship, which would
equal his best ever end of season ranking.
Team-mate Andrew Pitt has also taken one win this season, in Misano,
and is looking to get back on track after crashing out of the second race
in Germany. The Australian has been the man on form in the latter part
of the season, with only a slower than hoped for start to the season
and a double DNF in Brno denying him a crack at the title. Having been
the top points scorer at Assen, Pitt was unlucky to slip off last time
out in Lausitz. That failure to score moved him down to fifth in the
championship, one point behind outgoing champion Troy Corser (Suzuki).
"The result at Lausitz was disappointing because we made the wrong tyre
choice in race one and then just touched the footrest down and crashed
in the second," said Pitt. "I was disappointed to slip back to fifth in
the championship but the bike was working really well and we were lucky
that Barros and Corser also missed out on the big points. Imola's a
circuit that I like. I've some good memories of the place, as I won the
supersport title there in 2001. It's a challenging track with a lot of
blind corners. To go well there you need a lot of confidence in the bike,
which is good for us as the R1 is working really well. Who knows where
we can end the season? Second place is not out of the question but my
aim is just to keep finishing on the podium in these last two weekends
and then the championship positions will sort themselves out."
In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin
Curtain can lift the title at Imola. The veteran Australian goes to Italy
27 points ahead of current champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) and
will win his first world crown should he leave Italy with at least 26
points over his rival going into the final round.
"I never expected to go to Imola with such a big lead," says Curtain.
"I had hoped that maybe I could have something like 10 points advantage
after Lausitz so to be in this position is something we couldn't dream
of. It's all a credit to the team, who have worked so hard to put us in
this situation. We had a new bike at the start of the season but
straight away we have been competitive. With a lot of hard work we now have a
bike which is as good as anything else out there. Imola is where I had
my first ride with Yamaha Germany, in 2003, and I've gone well there in
the past. I'm not thinking too much about the championship and am going
with the same attitude as always, to pick up as many points as possible
and let everything look after itself."
Curtain should be joined at Imola by his team-mate Broc Parkes. Parkes
missed the race at Lausitz after crashing at Assen. The Australian will
is ready to race but must undergo a final fitness test in Imola. Should
he be declared fit by the circuit medics then he will look to
consolodate his third place in the championship standings.