Round 10, Brands Hatch, GB
Sunday 5th August
Circuit: 3.702 kms. Crowd: 126,000 (3-day). Weather: Dry,
sunny 27-28 C.
A PODIUM FOR MAX IN HIS FIRST BRANDS HATCH!
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi took a
superb third place in his first ever race at Brands Hatch
in front of a huge sun-baked crowd of over 100,000. The Roman
was confident of following that up in the second race, but
was judged to have moved before the start and was given a
drive-though penalty. He had been well-placed in fourth position
at the time, but dropped to sixteenth because of the penalty.
After he rejoined the race, he managed to claw his way up
to eighth place before the 25-lap race was over.
Max’s team mate Yukio Kagayama suffered a heavy crash
with only four laps left of the opening race and was stretchered
off. He was taken to the Clinica Mobile, where he was found
to have severe bruising of both knees, but no other injuries.
Despite pain and ligament damage, he rode determinedly and
finished a superb fifth in second race.
Series leader James Toseland won both races much to the delight
of the huge partisan crowd. It was Toseland’s first
ever World Superbike win at Brands Hatch and his first ever
double and he was so happy that he took off his leathers and
threw them into the crowd at the end of the second race! Troy
Corser (Yamaha) finished second in race one, helped a little
by both Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) crashing
out. Max took third spot, with Ruben Xaus (Ducati) a long
way back in fourth. Michel Fabrizio took fifth, with fellow
Honda rider Roby Rolfo sixth.
Race two was a real dogfight between Toseland and Haga for
over three quarters of the 25-lapper. But when Toseland pulled
out a small advantage, Haga could not respond. At the flag,
Toseland’s margin of victory over Haga was over one
and a half seconds, with Corser close by in third. Fourth
went to Fabrizio, with Yukio a gritty fifth and Xaus sixth
Max - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 8th
Considering this was the first time I’ve raced here,
I’m very happy to get a podium in the first race. This
track is very different to any track I’ve ever seen
and it is probably the most difficult track I’ve ever
raced at. It’s a real fun track to ride when you know
where you are going and what makes it even more special is
that the fans are so close and you can hear them!
I want to apologise to my team for what happened in race two.
I must have moved a little on the line and because of that
I was given a ride-through penalty. So I went from fourth
to sixteenth and then had to fight hard to get back into the
points. But I rode as hard as I could and managed to get up
to eighth. If the race had been one lap longer, I’m
sure that I would’ve passed Bayliss and taken seventh.
I’m sorry for the team, because I think I could have
given them another podium. So I’m disappointed for this,
but happy overall because I think I showed everybody my ability.
Yukio - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 5th
I am very disappointed today because I think I could’ve
taken two podiums. In race one, I was shadowing Max and waiting
to make my move, but crashed just four laps from the end.
I had worked out how and where I was going to pass him, but
I had a little brake problem going into Clearways and down
I went. It is a fast place to crash! I hurt both my knees
in the crash and damaged a ligament in my right knee and that
made it hard for me to get comfortable on the bike. It was
hard just to get my right foot down on the ground at the start
of the second race and then move it around on the footpegs.
I also had some problems with nearly highsiding a few times,
so in the end I decided that I didn’t want to crash
again and rode steadily for a finish. I will have a little
holiday now and be back to full fitness for the next race,
where I shall be chasing podiums again.
Results
Race 1:1 Toseland (GB-Honda), 2 Corser (Aus-Yamaha),
3 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Xaus (E-Ducati),
5 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 6 Rolfo (I-Honda), 7 Haga (J-Yamaha),
8 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 9 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 10 Neukirchner
(D-Suzuki), Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)
DNF,
Race 2: 1 Toseland, 2 Haga, 3 Corser, 4 Fabrizio, 5 Yukio
Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 6 Xaus, 7 Bayliss
(Aus-Ducati), 8 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra),
9 Laconi, 10 Neukirchner,
Points: 1 Toseland 355, 2 Haga 289, 3 Max
Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 286, 4 Bayliss 258,
5 Corser 227, 6 Xaus 163, 7 Lanzi 161, 8 Rolfo 146, 9 Neukirchner
123, 10 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 116,
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