Troy Corser gave his Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team something to cheer
with a hard fought podium finish in the second race at today's opening
round of the 2007 Superbike World Championship in Qatar.
With team-mate Noriyuki Haga digging deep to finish fourth, it was a
promising start for the 2007-model YZF-R1, which was making its world
championship debut at the Losail circuit.
Having proved its pace by taking Corser to pole in qualifying, the new
R1 wasn't quite able to repeat its performance over the race distance -
although things started promisingly as the red Yamahas hit the front on
the opening laps of the first race. The R1s fought a four-way battle
for the lead with Max Biaggi (Suzuki) and James Toseland (Honda) but it
soon became obvious that the Corser and Haga were suffering more than
their rivals in the warm conditions when they started to fall off the
pace after six laps. Haga struggled for front end grip as his tyre wore
while Corser's machine vibrated heavily due to his rear tyre spinning on
the rim. In the circumstances both men rode well to bring their
machines home in the top 10, Haga eighth and Corser ninth.
In the second race the Yamaha men were able to battle with Biaggi and
Toseland for around 11 laps before dropping off the pace. Corser and
Haga were able to stay closer to the leading duo and maintained their
third and fourth places to the flag, the Japanese rider only just fending
off Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki) as he crossed the line.
Team YZF Yamaha's Shinichi Nakatomi scored points for 12th place in the
opening race, although the Japanese rider finished just outside the
points, in 17th, in the second.
Biaggi and Toseland each took a win and a second place to jointly lead
the championship. The Italian won the day's opener, his first ever
superbike race, while British rider Toseland held the advantage in the
second. Corser's podium sees him leave Qatar fourth in the championship
while Haga heads to next weekend's second round, held at Australia's
Phillip Island circuit, sixth in the standings.
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team)
"The first race was really tough because but the tyre was more
consistent in the second and that meant that I could stay with James and Max
for longer. I decided to stick with the same tyre choice and tried to put
the problems we had in the first race out of my mind. I was ok when I
was with them as the slipstream helped me make up a little bit down the
straight, but when they made a break I didn't have an answer to them.
Overall though it's been a positive start. It's my first weekend with
Yamaha, on a new bike, and we've finished on the podium. We've got a very
good chassis and I feel really comfortable riding the bike, so if we
can make the tyres last then there's no reason why we can't get a good
result at Phillip Island next weekend."
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team)
"It has been a difficult day because after about six laps my front tyre
is gone! For race two we made some changes and used the softer rear
tyre, but already we used the hardest option on the front. I did the best
possible today and I am looking forward to next weekend."
Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha)
"It was good to score some points in the first race. We are learning
about this new bike all the time so we will be stronger as the year goes
on. The second race was more difficult as more riders finished but I am
hoping to get more points next weekend."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team)
"While we were all very happy with our performance in qualifying
yesterday we also knew that it would be difficult in the races today. We have
a new motorcycle this year and tyre wear was a problem at this race
especially with Noriyuki, maybe because of his riding style. But we were
not the only team to experience problems and thankfully we understand
what has happened and how we can work to improve the bike. There are many
positives to take from this weekend and if Troy hadn't have had his
problems in the first race I am sure he would have been on the podium
twice."
Race 1 - 18 Laps
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 36'10.115
2, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 0'1.483
3, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'13.906
4, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'14.819
5, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'17.305
6, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'24.931
7, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'25.165
8, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'27.320
9, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'31.237
10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'31.669
11, Steve Martin, Honda, AUS, 0'42.355
12, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'46.845
13, Alessandro Polita, Suzuki, ITA, 0'59.207
14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 1'0.296
15, Dean Ellison, Ducati, GBR, 1'21.043
Race 2 - 18 Laps
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 36'9.433
2, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'0.738
3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'7.386
4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'14.984
5, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 0'15.033
6, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'15.911
7, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'16.664
8, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'23.249
9, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'24.282
10, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'33.480
11, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'34.004
12, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 0'37.297
13, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'42.064
14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'42.359
15, Alessandro Polita, Suzuki, ITA, 0'46.206
17, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'51.300
Best Lap
Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 1'59.194
Rider Standings 24/02/2007
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 45
2, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 45
3, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 25
4, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 23
5, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 23
6, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 21
7, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 19
8, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 16
9, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 13
10, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 11
11, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 9
12, Steve Martin, Honda, AUS, 5
13, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 5
14, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 4
15, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 4
Manufacturer Standings 24/02/2007
Pos., Manufacturer, Points
1, Honda, 45
2, Suzuki, 45
3, Ducati, 25
4, Yamaha, 24
5, Kawasaki, 11
RACE REPORT - 24/02/2007
Podium for Curtain in tough Qatar opener
It was a day of mixed emotions, and results, for the Yamaha World
Supersport team in Qatar but overall it was a good day for Kevin Curtain,
grabbing 20 important points after finishing second in today's opening
round of the 2007 Supersport World Championship.
Starting from pole position, Curtain was able to quickly build up a
lead. However the Australian was unable to shake off the attentions of
Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu (both Honda) and was involved in
a three-way battle for the lead in the opening half of the race.
The Yamaha man pushed his rivals hard but was unable to quite keep his
rivals in touch as an incorrect rear tyre selection caused his machine
to spin up and lose fractions of a second. Curtain rode a lonely but
sensible race to maintain a podium finish and was rewarded when world
champion Charpentier crashed out of the lead two laps from the end, moving
the Yamaha man up to second place at the flag.
Similar tyre selection problems meant that team-mate Broc Parkes' bad
luck at the Losail circuit continued when he was forced to retire after
five laps, his second retirement at this venue in as many years. The
Australian had seemingly solved the chatter problems that plagued him
during qualifying as he moved up from seventh on the grid to fourth place
at the end of the first lap. However he suffered severe tyre
degradation and, unable to maintain race pace, he was forced to retire for safety
reasons.
Yamaha Motor Italy Lorenzini by Leoni racer Massimo Roccoli had a good
day in Qatar. Coming from the third row, the 22-year-old from Rimini
made a rocket propelled start and was as high as fourth on the opening
lap. He settled into a race-long battle with Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati)
in the lower half of the top 10, holding off his fellow Italian to take
seventh place by one tenth of a second.
Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda) took third place to join Curtain and Sofuoglu
on the podium. With just one race gone, the championship standings are
as per today's results: Sofuoglu leading the way on 25 points with
Curtain five behind in second place.
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World Supersport team)
"Second place is a good start in terms of the championship, although
I'm disappointed I didn't have a chance to fight for the lead. In the end
we used the wrong tyre and the bike was spinning up everywhere, so in
the circumstances it's a good result. We've made some good progress with
the bike over the winter and I'm looking forward to racing at my home
circuit next week. Phillip Island is a place I know like the back of my
hand and I'll be giving it 200 percent to try and go one better than we
have today."
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Motor Italy Lorenzini by Leoni)
"Not such a bad start to the season. I made a very good start and was
able to have a good battle with Nannelli and a few others. I said
yesterday that top 10 would be a good result so seventh is a pleasing start
to the season for me."
Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport team)
"I'm really disappointed but when the tyre went off my lap time dropped
by around three seconds and I just couldn't continue. We've had a tough
weekend as we couldn't seem to get as good a set-up or lap time as we
did in testing, although I was confident we could get some decent points
today. I made a good start but after a few laps the tyre was gone and I
had to pull in because it was too dangerous to stay out."
Race 1 - 18 Laps
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 37'22.452
2, Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, AUS, 0'3.413
3, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Honda, JPN, 0'6.228
4, Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'13.759
5, Pere Riba, Kawasaki, ESP, 0'13.857
6, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'14.534
7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'18.650
8, Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, ITA, 0'18.775
9, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'19.291
10, Vesa Kallio, Suzuki, FIN, 0'20.595
11, Javier Fores, Honda, ESP, 0'20.817
12, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'22.398
13, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 0'26.903
14, David Salom Fuentes, Yamaha, ESP, 0'28.568
15, Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, ITA, 0'34.516
Best Lap
Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, FRA, 2'3.921
Rider Standings 24/02/2007
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 25
2, Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, AUS, 20
3, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Honda, JPN, 16
4, Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, FRA, 13
5, Pere Riba, Kawasaki, ESP, 11
6, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 10
7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 9
8, Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, ITA, 8
9, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 7
10, Vesa Kallio, Suzuki, FIN, 6
11, Javier Fores, Honda, ESP, 5
12, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 4
13, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 3
14, David Salom Fuentes, Yamaha, ESP, 2
15, Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, ITA, 1
Manufacturer Standings 24/02/2007
Pos., Manufacturer, Points
1, Honda, 25
2, Yamaha, 20
3, Kawasaki, 13
4, Ducati, 8
5, Suzuki, 7
