Team Alstare Suzuki Corona - 2006 Superbike World Championship
Round 1, Losail circuit, Qatar
Saturday 25th February
Circuit: 5.380 kms Conditions: Dry, sunny 30 C.
SUPERBIKES ARE BACK WITH A BANG!
The opening round of this year’s Superbike World Championship
in Qatar today proved that Superbikes are back with a bang.
Close-quarter, cut and thrust racing was the order of the
day in both 18-lappers and, if today’s races are anything
to go by, Superbike fans are in for a treat this year.
Troy Corser suffered clutch problems in both races, but still
managed to hold off the challenge of fellow countryman Troy
Bayliss (Ducati) in the second and take the win. This made
up for the disappointment in finishing fourth in the first
race, when the clutch problem was more severe. James Toseland
(Honda) won that one, with Troy Bayliss second and Andrew
Pitt (Yamaha) third. Behind Troy in race two was Bayliss,
with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) third after getting the benefit
of a photo-finish with Toseland.
It was a disappointing day for Yukio Kagayama and Fabien
Foret. Yukio was leading the first race on the last lap, but
was taken out by Haga at the hairpin. Haga had got in a bit
too hot, lost the front end and crashed. His bike then hit
Yukio’s, knocking him off in the process. In race two,
clutch problems forced his early retirement. Fabien Foret
had a debut to forget - though not of his own fault. A broken
sensor sidelined him in the first race and a problem with
electronics caused an early stoppage in race two.
TROY Race 1: 4th, Race 2: 1st
It’s possible that I may have over-revved the bike at
the start pf race one and worked the clutch too hard. It was
OK at first, but after six or seven I had a problem with it
going into the hairpin. It jumped and was completely out,
so I had to wait until a straight and try and dial it back
in a bit. It made life difficult entering the turns and so
I had to brake harder on the entry and that probably worked
the front tyre too hard. I think I was lucky to finish the
first race because the clutch was very hot.
I also had some problems with the clutch in the second race,
but not as bad as the first. Towards the end of the race I
could hear a Ducati nearby and I knew it probably was Troy’s
(Bayliss). The tyres were more or less finished on the last
couple of laps and I almost overcooked it on the last corner,
but I managed to keep it upright and take the chequered flag.
Both races were really hard - certainly much harder than the
races here last year - and I think everybody knows that this
is going to be one long, hard season for sure.
YUKIO Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF
I am not sure if I could’ve won the first race because
Nori (Haga) was very strong. For sure I had a good chance,
but when his bike hit me on the very last lap it was all over
- for both of us. I was ahead of him at the time and I think
he must have just lost the front going into the turn and the
bike went down and then struck me. Of course it was a disappointment
- but that is racing. We both just wanted to win.
I had clutch problems more or less from the start of the second
race. I could feel straightaway that it wasn’t working
properly and so I tried to wind the adjuster back for the
first few laps. Then I had a problem with Fabrizio in turn
one when he overdid it and nearly hit me. To avoid him, I
had to go off the track and I lost a lot of positions. After
that it was a lost cause.
FABIEN Race 1: DNF, Race 2:
I had a few problems in the first race, right from the very
beginning when I had to take a different line to avoid Barros.
Then, just three corners later, Jones crashed right behind
me and I had to change my line to avoid being skittled by
his bike. I then began to relax a little but a few laps later
I began to experience chattering from the front end. Finally,
the bike just suddenly stopped after six laps because of a
broken speed sensor.
I’m not sure what the problem was in race two. The bike
was stuttering and mis-firing and then stopped completely.
It’s not the kind of start I had hope for, but here
and Australia are really tests for me and the team, so it’s
not a big disaster.
Results
Race 1: Toseland (GB-Honda), 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati),
3 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 4 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona
Extra), 5 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 6 Barros (Bra-Honda), 7 Rolfo
(I-Ducati), 8 Chili (I-Honda), 9 Borciani (I-Ducati), 10 Neukirchner
(D-Ducati), YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)
DNF, FABIEN FORET (F-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF,
Race 2: 1 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra), 2 Bayliss, 3 Haga, 4 Toseland, 5 Pitt, 6 Lanzi
(I-Ducati), 7 Barros, 8 Fabrizio, 9 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda),
10 Xaus (E-Ducati),
Points: 1: 1 Bayliss 40, 2 CORSER 38, 3 Toseland
38, 4 Pitt 27, 5 Fabrizio 19, 6 Barros 19, 7 Haga 16, 8 Rolfo
12, 9 Muggeridge 11, 10 Lanzi 10.
Manufacturers: 1 Ducati 40, 2 SUZUKI 38,
3 Honda 38, 4 Yamaha 32, 5 Kawasaki 7,
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