DOUBLE PODIUM FOR ALSTARE MEN
 Team
Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama and Max
Biaggi both took podium places in today's eighth round of
the Superbike World Championship at Misano in Italy.
In scorchingly hot conditions, Kagayama raced to third in
race one and followed that with a fourth in race two. Biaggi
was also on course for a podium place in race one but crashed
out when he tangled with Noriyuki Haga just three laps from
the end. Despite a sore right leg and left hand he made amends
by taking third place in race two.
Both races were won by Aussie Troy Bayliss, much to the delight
of the local fans, and he is now second in the championship
just 21 points behind series leader James Toseland (Honda).
Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 4th:
"I am very happy to get back to podium ways today -
even though I was a bit lucky because two riders in front
of me crashed. But racing is like this sometimes and it's
good to get some good luck at last. We have been working very
hard on the rear settings recently and I feel we have made
some big changes and also some good progress. I did not have
many problems in the first race, except those caused by my
starting position. The second row of the grid is not the best
place to be when the first corner is not so far away. Also,
this track does not have so many passing places, so by the
time I got past Toseland it was too late to do anything about
the leaders. Once I was ahead of him, I had a free track and
I was able to run more consistently fast laps. In the second
race, I was happy in third position but then I began to have
some problems with the rear tyre moving around. I really wanted
another podium, but the shaking and movement was enough to
slow me down, so I just tried to get the best result I could.
Now that I have tasted a podium again, I want more."
Max Biaggi - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 3rd:
"This was a hard day, but it ended with a podium so I
am happy to take something positive from it. I was challenging
for a podium in the first race but then Nori and I hit each
other and we both crashed. I am sorry for myself and I'm sorry
for him. I tumbled over and over on the crash and hurt my
right leg and left hand and that caused some problems in race
two. Because of the pain, I found it difficult to concentrate
in the early stages and lost some ground when I ran a bit
wide. But gradually I started to get back into the race and
began to catch the leaders. I managed to get past Toseland,
Corser and Yukio and into third three or four laps from the
end of the race, but Haga and Bayliss had too much of a lead
and there was nothing I could do about that. I am disappointed
by what happened in the first race, but pleased that I took
a podium in the second."
WSB Results:
Race 1: 1 Bayliss (AUS - Ducati); 2 Corser
(AUS - Yamaha); 3 Kagayama (JPN - Suzuki); 4 Toseland (GBR
- Honda); 5 Rolfo (ITA - Honda); 6 Lanzi (ITA - Ducati); 7
Laconi (FRA - Kawasaki) 8 Xaus (ESP - Ducati); 9 Neukirchner
(GER - Suzuki); 10 Smrz (CZE - Ducati). Biaggi (ITA - Suzuki);
DNF.
Race 2:1 Bayliss (AUS - Ducati); 2 Haga
(JPN - Yamaha); 3 Biaggi (ITA - Suzuki); 4 Kagayama (JPN -
Suzuki); 5 Corser (AUS - Yamaha); 6 Toseland (GBR - Honda);
7 Xaus (ESP - Ducati); 8 Rolfo (ITA - Honda); 9 Lanzi (ITA
- Ducati); 10 Neukirchner (GER - Suzuki).
Points: 1 Toseland, 260; 2 Bayliss, 239;
3 Haga, 234; 4 Biaggi, 217; 5 Corser, 182; 6 Lanzi, 133; 7
Xaus, 130; 8 Rolfo, 109; 9 Neukirchner, 100; 10 Kagayama 89.
|
