NEUKIRCHNER ROBBED OF DEBUT WSB WIN
Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner was heading for his
first ever World Superbike win but was taken out on the last
corner on the last lap of the first race of today's third-round
event at Valencia in Spain.
He had led the race from the start and even though Carlos
Checa (Honda) closed in on his rear end on the last lap, Neukirchner
was in front as they entered the last turn. Then Checa tried
an impossible manoeuvre up the inside of Max and his rear
wheel hit, causing both of them to crash. In the fall, the
German broke his left collarbone so could not get back on
the bike, but Checa was able to remount and finish in fifth
place.
After yesterday's euphoria, race day did not live up to the
team's expectations.
Fonsi Nieto finished a strong fourth in the first race and
10th in the second, despite suffering the same problem with
grip he's had all weekend. Yukio Kagayama crashed out of race
one, fortunately without injury, and took a hard fought-for
sixth in race two.
After Neukirchner and Checa crashed in the first race, it
was Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) who crossed the line first, followed
by Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Troy Corser (Yamaha). Race two
was won by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) with Bayliss second and
crowd-favourite Checa third.
Fonsi Nieto - Race 1: 4th, Race 2: 10th:
"I'm not happy about the results but at least I am still
second in the championship and the season is a very long one.
You get days - or weekends - like this in racing, but I was
able to stay on the bike and collect some points, despite
problems with grip. Today I had the same problems I've had
all weekend, but I just tried my best even though there was
no front or rear grip. I think if I had pushed harder, I would've
crashed, so I just carried on as best I could."
Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 6th:
"I am not happy. Throughout the weekend everything has
gone well and there have been no problems really. But today,
we had problems and I could not make the results I expected.
I don't know why I crashed in the first race, but because
it happened so suddenly I think I must have hit some water
or oil on the track. I had braked normally and then I was
on the floor! I was not injured, but my bike was damaged too
badly to continue. I had to use my spare bike in race two
and although it had the same set-up, there did not seem to
be the same level of grip as my number one bike and the feeling
was not good. The grip went down after just five or six laps
and after 10 laps my front tyre was destroyed, so the bike
became very difficult to ride. But I was determined to keep
going as long as I could and finish the race, and that's what
I did."
Max Neukirchner - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNS:
"I am more than disappointed. I could almost see the
chequered flag when suddenly I was hit by Checa. He tried
to dive up the inside of me in the last corner, but I don't
think there was enough room for him to do what he did and
we both crashed. I broke my collarbone but, to make matters
worse, he was able to get back on his bike and score some
points. My weekend had gone perfectly up to that moment. I
had been consistently fast and I had felt very comfortable
on the bike. There was no problem for me leading the race,
the only problem all weekend was what happened in the last
corner."
WSB Results:
Race 1: 1 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati),
3 Corser (Aus-Yamaha), 4 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare), 5
Checa (E-Honda), 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda). Yukio Kagayama
(J-Suzuki Alstare) DNF, Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki)
DNF.
Race 2: 1 Haga (J-Yamaha), 2 Bayliss, 3
Checa, 4 Kiyonari (J-Honda), 5 Corser, 6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki
Alstare). 10 Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare). Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare
Suzuki) DNS.
Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 128, 2 Fonsi
Nieto 80, 3 Corser 72, 4 Checa 72, 5 Xaus 68, 6 Haga 47, 7
Biaggi 44, 8 Lanzi 42, 9 Max Neukirchner 39, 10 Fabrizio 37.
15 Yukio Kagayama 18.
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