Race day - Misano
 DOUBLE
PODIUM FOR BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) IN EXTREMELY HOT CONDITIONS
AT MISANO
Both Race 1 and 2 at the Misano World Circuito saw a hard
fought battle between several of the Ducatis, both factory
and privateer, the two factory Yamahas and the Suzuki of Neukirchner,
with Ducati Xerox factory rider Troy Bayliss eventually taking
two third places on the podium.
Bayliss and Corser dominated the first half of Race 1 until
Neukirchner managed caught them both to ultimate pass and
take the win ahead of the two Australians. A run-in during
lap eleven of the same race between Fabrizio and Max Biaggi
saw the premature end to Fabrizio's race, an unfortunate finish
after making such a strong start.
In Race 2 Fabrizio suffered a technical problem on the second
lap but the race was then almost immediately red-flagged due
a technical problem for Muggeridge also, which left oil on
the track, and led to a restart of the race, a fortunate outcome
for Fabrizio allowing him to make the restart too.
Bayliss made a flying start to the restart and the first
nineteen laps saw him and Corser swapping between first and
second positions, before Xaus and then Biaggi too picked up
the pace to overtake, with Bayliss struggling to keep up due
to his soft tyre choice. Ducati took all three podium places
as a result, with the two Ducati Sterilgarda Go Eleven riders
eventually finishing ahead of Troy Bayliss. Michel rode in
seventh place for most of the race before tyre wear meant
he lost a few places to finish in eventual eleventh place.
Troy Bayliss now holds 259 championship points, while Neukirchner
moves into second place with 210 points ahead of Carlos Checa
(207). Michel Fabrizio lies in eighth place with 111 points.
After a very positive weekend, Ducati continues to lead the
manufacturers championship with 323 points ahead of Yamaha
(284 points).
Troy Bayliss (Race 1 - 3rd, Race 2 - 3rd)
"It was really hot here today like every year. I had
been feeling good all weekend and was feeling confident before
race 1. We had chosen a hard tyre which we thought would be
good but then I struggled throughout the race. I can't take
anything away from Neukirchner and Corser though as they rode
a great race. After Race 1 we changed the tyre for the second
race, thinking that was the problem, and that was as a bit
better but it was still difficult and towards the end I was
losing grip with the rear. Again I take my hat off to the
guys ahead of me, Ruben and Max (Biaggi), who did a fantastic
job. I can say that the day has been one of the hardest of
my career, but in the end we've gained more points. I'd have
liked to have done better today but there you go."
Michel Fabrizio (Race 1 - DNF, Race 2 - 11th)
"In Race 1 unfortunately I touched Max right at the start
during the second lap and I came off, there's nothing else
to say. I went to apologise to Max immediately. Then in race
2 we had a technical problem with a cable and so we had to
go out with the second bike for the restart. This meant that
we had exactly the same set-up as in Race 1 - as we didn't
finish the first race we couldn't know exactly how good the
set-up was or whether we would finish the race with the tyre
choice we made. We chose a softer tyre but unfortunately it
wasn't the best decision. I'm sorry for today's results as,
after a positive Friday and Saturday I hoped we could go better,
I was hoping for a different result."
RESULTS: Race 1 - 1. Neukirchner (Suzuki);
2. Corser (Yamaha); 3.Bayliss (Ducati Xerox); Race 2 - 1.
Xaus (Ducati); 2. Biaggi (Ducati); 3.Bayliss (Ducati Xerox)
CLASSIFICATION: Riders - 1. Bayliss (Ducati
Xerox) 259 ; 2. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 210; 3. Checa (Honda)
207; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 191; 5. Corser (Yamaha) 185; 6. Nieto
(Suzuki) 151.... 9. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 111. Manufacturers
- Ducati 323; Yamaha 284; Suzuki 257; Honda 226; Kawasaki
64
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