KAGAYAMA TO MISS PHILLIP ISLAND
 After
their win in Qatar last weekend, Team Suzuki Alstare headed
to Australia in good spirits, with Fonsi Nieto and Max Neukirchner,
but without Yukio Kagayama.
The Japanese rider crashed in the second race and broke his
left collarbone and is forced to give the Phillip Island round
a miss, but he will be back in action at the SBK tests in
Valencia in just two weeks time. Kagayama has had a metal
plate inserted in his shoulder to hold the collarbone together
in order to be in action again as soon as possible.
Fonsi Nieto:
"Last week was a fantastic weekend and it was so good
to take my first SBK win. Now it's time to think about this
weekend and try and keep up the momentum. I like Phillip Island;
it is a real circuit for racers and it's also a very demanding
track. To put in a good lap here you have to be perfect on
every part of the track. But when you do that, it is a wonderful
feeling.
Max Neukirchner:
"Since last weekend my condition has improved a lot
and I'm feeling much better. The 'flu, or whatever I had in
Qatar, made me lose concentration in the latter part of the
race. Otherwise maybe I could've taken a podium. But I'm OK
now and looking forward to racing at one of my favourite tracks."
Francis Batta -Team Manager:
"Some mixed feelings last weekend because of Yukio's
injury, but I'm really happy with Fonsi's win. I'm also very
happy with Max's performance and I'm sure he'll be stronger
this weekend. So, for this race, it's just Fonsi and Max carrying
our new colours, but I think they can once again make some
good results. Yukio is a very tough racer and he will be back
in two week's time for sure."
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