Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra
2006 Superbike World Championship
Round 4, Monza, 7th May, Preview
The fourth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship
takes place at the famous and historic Monza circuit in northern
Italy. Just a short step from chic and fashionable Milan,
Monza has been part of the Superbike World Championship since
1990 and is a firm favourite amongst riders and race fans
alike. The 5.792 kilometre circuit always provides fast, close-quarter
racing, with tactics and slipstreaming playing an important
part. Last year Troy Corser took victory in the first race
(to make it six wins out of seven) and a third in the second
and team mate Yukio Kagayama took runner-up spot in the race
one and then DNF’d in race two. Team Alstare Engineering
rider Fabien Foret didn’t ride a Superbike last year,
but has had lots of experience round Monza on a Supersport
bike and is looking forward to his new challenge.
TROY
Monza is a great track for fast racing and you must have
good horsepower to do well. Having said that, it is a place
where slipstreaming plays a big role and it’s possible
to exit the final chicane third or fourth and still cross
the line first! After Valencia, it’ll be good to go
to a fast track and hopefully my Suzuki will be able to outpower
the Ducatis, so that I can go all-out for a couple of wins.
YUKIO
I like Monza because I like fast tracks and high-speed turns
- even though my results were mixed there last year. So far,
this season has not gone according to plan and it is about
time I made the podiums again. We knew that the competition
would be stronger this year, but it is up to me to qualify
better and not have to work so hard at the beginning of a
race trying to catch the leaders. I need to be with them right
from the start! This is my aim for Monza and the rest of the
season.
FABIEN
This will be my first time at Monza on a Superbike and it
is going to be a very interesting experience for me because
the track is so fast. I will have to forget about all my old
braking points and learn to ride the track as if it was completely
new to me. At Valencia, I was beginning to feel that the bike
is now really mine and I enjoyed the races a lot. I would
like to continue my progress at Monza by getting into Superpole
and them going for a couple of top ten places.
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