DOUBLE PODIUM FOR NEUKIRCHNER
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner raced to a double
podium in the seventh round of the Superbike World Championship
at the Nurburgring today.
Conditions were difficult with the first race, delayed because
of rain and hailstones, but fortunately the track dried out
and the 20-lapper got under way without further interruptions.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) won the race with Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
second and Neukirchner third. Fonsi Nieto struggled throughout
the race but hung on determinedly to finish eighth.
The second race started in the dry but, when the rain began
to fall seriously on the 14th lap, the organisers decided
to red flag it. Although Troy Corser (Yamaha) was in the lead
on the track, the victory was given to Haga who had been in
the lead when he had crossed the line on the lap the race
was stopped.
Yukio Kagayama suffered concussion and broken fourth metacarpal
bone in his left hand in yesterday afternoon's crash in free
practice. He was taken to hospital in Adenau and kept in overnight
for further tests. This morning he was re-scanned and X-rayed
again, where it was discovered that he had sustained a fracture
in his left hand. Normal recovery time is three to four weeks,
but he intends racing in the next round in Misano in two week's
time.
Max Neukirchner - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 3rd:
"I am really happy to get two podiums in front of my
fans here in Germany. It's been great to see all the German
flags and here the noise of the crowd and it is a very special
feeling. Of course, I would have liked to have won a race
here today, but Nori, Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss were very
strong today. In race one, my bike was not so bad, but we
were losing time in the first sector and the handling wasn't
so good. We changed the bike's front fork set-up for the second
race to try and improve the first sector but I found that
I could not brake so late. I tried my very best today, but
just couldn't get the win I wanted."
Fonsi Nieto - Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 9th:
"The first race was not so good because of our tyre
choice and I couldn't brake well into the turns and the rear
was also spinning and sliding. For me, the bike balance was
not right. We changed the set-up and balance for race two,
and also used a harder front tyre and the bike felt much better.
I didn't make such a good start and it took some time to catch
the race pace, but the last five or six laps were very good
and I was catching Xaus and Biaggi quite easily. If the race
had not been red-flagged, I'm sure I could have passed both
of them. Today's results were not good for me, but the second
race was a positive improvement and the bike was much more
rideable, so now I can look forward to Misano."
WSB Results:
Race 1: 1 Haga (J-Yamaha), 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati),
3 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki), 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha),
5 Checa (E-Honda), 6 Xaus (E-Ducati), 7 Fabrizio (I-Ducati),
8 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare), 9 Tamada (J-Kawasaki), 10
Muggeridge (Aus-Honda).
Race 2: 1 Haga, 2 Corser, 3 Max Neukirchner
(D-Alstare Suzuki), 4 Bayliss, 5 Checa, 6 Fabrizio, 7 Biaggi
(I-Ducati), 8 Xaus, 9 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare), 10 Laconi
(F-Kawasaki).
Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 227, 2 Checa
188, 3 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) 176, 4 Haga 172,
5 Corser 154, 6 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare) 141, 7 Xaus
110, 8 Fabrizio 106, 9 Biaggi 97, 10 Kiyonari 89, 11 Yukio
Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare) 73.
SUPERSTOCK 1000:
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Xavi Simeon notched up his fourth
podium of the season at the Nurburgring today and now leads
the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup by 10 points.
Simeon had to fight hard for his third place today and spent
most of the eleven laps battling with Aussie Brendan Roberts
(Ducati) and Italian Davide Giugliano (Suzuki). He led the
race with two laps to go, but first Roberts and then Giugliano
barged past in the closing stages.
Xavi Simeon - 3rd:
"That was a very good race and I enjoyed the fight a
lot. Our bike was down on acceleration compared to the other
two and I had to try and make up for that on the brakes a
lot. Maybe we are a little down on speed, but I know if I
had the same acceleration then I could've made a better fight
for the lead. My bike is a good bike and it worked pretty
well today. I am happy that it didn't rain during the race
and I am happy to leave here with the championship lead.
Superstock 1000 results: 1 Roberts (Aus-Ducati),
2 Giugliano (I-Suzuki), 3 Xavi Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki),
4 PIrro (I-Yamaha), 5 Smrz (CZ-Honda), 6 Corti (I-Yamaha).
Points: 1 Xavi Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki)
73, 2 Roberts 63, 3 Giugliano 48, 4 Berger 43, 5 Pirro 43,
6 Polita 42.
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