Round 1, Qatar
Circuit: 5.380 kms. Conditions: Dry, sunny, 22-24
C.
 SUPERB
WIN FOR FONSI!
Team Suzuki Alstare rider Fonsi Nieto took his maiden World
Superbike Championship victory in the second 18-lap race at
the Losail circuit in Qatar today. Despite having to start
from the third row of the grid, Fonsi stormed through the
field to take the lead just four laps from the end. Xaus and
Biaggi attacked Fonsi to the end, but could not find any way
past and the Spaniard was able to take the chequered flag
by three tenths of a second.
For Fonsi and his team mates, Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner,
today was a bit of a mixed day. Max led the majority of the
first race, before finishing fifth. Fonsi finished seventh,
with Yukio one place behind in eighth. The race was won by
Troy Bayliss (Ducati), with Max Biaggi (Ducati) second and
Troy Corser (Yamaha) third.
In race two, Yukio crashed out on the opening lap, when he
and Carlos Checa collided. Yukio was taken to hospital with
a suspected broken collarbone and will now almost certainly
miss next week’s race in Phillip Island. Max finished
eighth, suffering the effects of a heavy cold and grip problems.
Xaus finished runner-up to Fonsi, with Biaggi third.
Fonsi - Race 1: 7th, Race 2: 1st
This is my first WSBK win and my first race win since Donington
in 2003! Yes, It’s been a long, long while. I’ve
worked very hard in this championship and today I reaped the
reward of all the hard work. Today my Suzuki Alstare bike
was faster then the Ducatis, but I definitely raced with my
mind today. I used the same bike, with the same set-up in
both races, though I did have the traction control on a harder
setting in the first race and the bike was not as comfortable
to ride as it was in race two. There was only five degrees
difference in temperature between the two races, but the bike
felt different in both races!
In the second race, I was able to conserve my bike and the
tyres and finish strongly and that’s why I won. I would
like to thank all the people who had faith in me and have
supported me these past years. And I’d like to thank
Francis and Patricia Batta, the whole team and Suzuki for
all their help. I know there are people out there who didn’t
think I could be a winner, but today I proved them wrong!
Max - Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 8th
It was a really good feeling leading the first race for so
long and I felt pretty comfortable doing it. I made a good
start and led from the lights more or less and then I just
kept my head down and found I was in the lead without too
much of a problem. I have been suffering from some kind of
a cold or something and, with about eight laps to go, I didn’t
feel in very good condition. At the same time, I started getting
lots of slides and the two things together allowed some riders
to pass me and I ended up 5th.
In race two, I changed to a softer tyre, but the grip didn’t
feel so good. I made a little mistake on the brakes and I
lost touch with the leaders and it was not possible to catch
them again. All in all, it’s not a bad start to the
season, but it could’ve been better.
Yukio - Race 1: 8th, Race 2: DNF
In race one, I firstly suffered a problem with tyre chatter
after seven laps and the grip level also went down. Later
in the race, I had some vibration exiting the turns, so it
was difficult to push very hard. I just kept going as fast
as I could and tried to get the best result I could.
On the opening lap of race two, Yukio and Carols Checa collided,
with Yukio crashing out. He was taken to the medical centre
for X-rays to determine if he had broken his left collarbone.
The X-rays were inconclusive, so he was taken to the hospital
for further investigation and treatment.
Results
Race 1:1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 Biaggi (I-Ducati),
3 Corser (Aus-Yamaha ), 4 Xaus (E-Ducati), 5 Max Neukirchner
(D-Alstare Suzuki), 6 C.Checa (E-Honda), 7 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki
Alstare), 8 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare),
Race 2: 1 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare),
2 Xaus, 3 Biaggi, 4 Bayliss, 5 Fabrizio (I-Ducati), 6 C.Checa,
8 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki), Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki
Alstare) DNF
Points: 1 Bayliss 38, 2 Biaggi 36, 3 Fonsi
Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare) 34, 4 Xaus 33, 5 Troy Corser 25,
6 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) 19, 12 Yukio Kagayama
(J-Suzuki Alstare) 8,
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