2006 Superbike World Championship
Preview: Round 12, Magny-Cours, France
TEAM ALSTARE LOOKING FOR A FINAL FLOURISH.
The twelfth and final round of this year’s Superbike
World Championship takes place at Mangy-Cours circuit in France
and Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra are aiming to end the
season with a flourish. This year has been a bit of a roller-coaster
ride for Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama, but both are in a
positive frame of mind as they head to the last races of the
year. Last weekend in Imola was good - until raceday! Yukio
was hit from behind in the first race - unfortunately by Alstare
Engineering Corona Extra rider Max Neukirchner - but bounced
back to take a superb third place in race two. His team mate
Troy suffered another poor weekend, retiring in the first
race with a technical problem and ending ninth in race two
after severe tyre problems.
TROY
This season started OK, but recently I have been asking myself
what’s been going on. It seems that every round has
thrown up problems- and usually those problems have been on
raceday - not qualifying or practice. Most of my recent problems
have been due to the tyres and I feel that they have not performed
consistently. Last year, in Magny-Cours, a tyre problem in
Superpole ruined my chances of a good result, but I was very
happy to take fifth and a fourth after starting from the fourth
row of the grid. Before last weekend, I really believed I
had a chance of ending the season with third place, but now
that idea has gone. My position in the championship is irrelevant
now, so I might as well go all-out in Magny-Cours and try
and shoot for the top - after all I’ve nothing to lose.
YUKIO
If I had not have been taken out in the first race last weekend,
there was a good chance of leaving Imola with two podiums
instead of just the one. I know Max did not intend hitting
my bike - it was a just a racing accident. Fortunately I was
not injured in the fall. Imola was very hard work and the
second race was a very big battle, but it is the kind of fight
I enjoy. We had a good test at Magny-Cours recently and last
year I took two podiums there, so I am really looking forward
to finishing the season with a couple more podiums, and maybe
even a win!
2005 results
Race 1: 1 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 2 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Toseland (GB-Honda), 5 TROY CORSER
(Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra),
Race 2: 1 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 2 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra), 3 Noriyuki Haga (J-Yamaha), 4 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra),
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