BAYLISS EXTENDS UNBEATEN RUN TO EIGHT FOR DUCATI XEROX BEFORE
TAKING A TUMBLE IN RACE 2 AT MISANO ADRIATICO - TWO SEVENTHS
FOR LANZI
Misano Adriatico (Italy), Sunday 25 June: Troy Bayliss extended
his unbeaten run to eight at Misano Adriatico as the first
race saw the Ducati Xerox Team rider take a superb win from
seventh on the grid. With clinical efficiency Bayliss picked
off the six riders ahead of him on the track one by one to
take the lead on lap 11 and power to the 25 points. The second
race of the day could have produced a similar result until
Bayliss slid onto the grass on lap 17 while challenging for
second place and then remounted to finish twelfth as Andrew
Pitt (Yamaha) headed for his maiden WSBK win. With championship
contender Troy Corser (Suzuki) crashing out twice, Bayliss
now has a 94 point lead over Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) as the
World Superbike Championship enters the second half of the
season.
"We are all very happy with the result but a dampener
has been put on things because the Team's warehouse guy Lorenzo
Ghiselli lost his life in a road accident on Friday night
so I'd like to dedicate this win to "Lollo" who
will be sadly missed by everybody" declared Troy after
race 1. "To be honest I really wanted to win the second
race and after a mixed start it took me a long while to get
into the rhythm. Then finally when I caught the guys the bike
just didn't feel as good as in the first race at the front
and I stepped over the edge a bit. Maybe I should have settled
for third, but I'm a racer and I wanted to keep the winning
streak going. Now it's broken but we increased our points
lead from 76 to 94 so I'm happy for everyone and now we move
on".
Lorenzo Lanzi had a difficult race 1 to finish seventh after
starting from eighth on the grid. The result was the same
in race two, seventh place, but the Italian's performance
was much improved as he put in a surge on the final lap to
pass Toseland. "It was a great battle with James, but
I really wanted to finish ahead of Fabrizio as I was constantly
quicker than him" commented Lorenzo. "The last few
laps I was one of the fastest guys out there but I got bogged
down a bit because the bike wasn't quite right in certain
parts of the track. I really have to get better starts because
I know I can stay up there with the guys in front as I proved
last year. But I've got a great team around me; hopefully
we can improve as quickly as possible because I want to get
back to winning again".
"Pity, Troy was going very well and the crash happened
when he wasn't pushing that hard" declared Ducati Corse
Director General Filippo Preziosi. "With his race 1 win
he demonstrated to be the best rider out there and for this
we are very proud of him and what he is doing in the championship.
Lorenzo also contributed to the good result because he managed
to pass Toseland on the last lap and take points away from
a tough rival so a big thanks to him as well".
RACE 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); 2. Toseland
(Honda); 3. Kagayama (Suzuki); 4. Barros (Honda); 5. Haga
(Yamaha); 6. Laconi (Kawasaki); 7. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox); etc.
RACE 2: 1. Pitt (Yamaha); 2. Barros; 3. Haga; 4. Walker (Kawasaki);
5. Kagayama; 6. Fabrizio (Honda); 7. Lanzi; etc.
POINTS: Riders - 1. Bayliss 254; 2. Haga
160; 3. Toseland 157; 4. Corser 149; 5. Barros 146; 6. Pitt
128; 7. Lanzi 80; etc. Manufacturers - 1. Ducati 260; 2. Honda
196; 3. Yamaha 189; 4. Suzuki 188; 5. Kawasaki 98; 6. Petronas
4.
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