Toseland maintains advantage in eventful home round
 HANNspree
Ten Kate Honda's James Toseland maintained his Superbike World
Championship lead by the narrowest of margins at Donington
Park today. The Yorkshireman suffered mixed fortunes in the
two 23-lap races at the 4.02km track in front of a home crowd
of 51,000 spectators.
Toseland extended his championship advantage to 25 points
after securing victory in race one. He quickly moved into
second position on track during the opening lap and set about
hunting down rival Troy Bayliss. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda
rider took the lead - after the Australian crashed out on
lap five at Coppice - and maintained station with consistent
laps to pass the chequered flag first.
A strong performance from team-mate Roberto Rolfo saw the
Italian move from 16th on the grid to a ninth place finish
- securing further valuable points and demonstrating his increasing
potential in the ultra-competitive championship.
Race two was a different matter with Bayliss out of contention
as a result of his injuries. The Australian was taken to Derby
Royal Infirmary for plastic surgery to his right hand after
he lost a finger, which became trapped underneath the bike
during his accident. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda's Toseland started
the race as the firm favourite for victory.
The 26-year-old moved into the lead on the opening lap and
set about opening up a gap over Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser.
However, misfortune struck on lap three when a mechanical
problem caused the CBR1000RR to stop on the entrance to Redgate
- ending Toseland's race prematurely.
A three-way dice for the lead ensued between Haga, Corser
and Max Biaggi. It was Haga who emerged triumphant from a
thrilling manoeuvre at the last corner on the final lap. The
Japanese rider's move past Biaggi ensured that HANNspree Ten
Kate Honda's Toseland remained ahead of his Italian rival
in the standings by five points. Team-mate Rolfo once again
enjoyed an improvement in performance equalling his highest
finish to date - moving from 15th on the grid to seventh at
the chequered flag and ninth position overall.
Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager:
"Everything was going so well that we were almost waiting
for something to go wrong and that's exactly what happened.
We had a perfect race one win from James and a perfect Supersport
win from Kenan. We were hoping for another win from James
and he was looking in great form. However, coming onto the
main straight, the quickshift started to cut the ignition
continuously, causing the bike to stop when closing the throttle
for the first corner. We are checking the data from the sensors
inside and around the engine now to try to discover the cause
of the problem. On a positive note, we know that James is
in great form and that the bike is capable of winning races,
so we will come back in fighting form for the next round and
Roby had two great races."
James Toseland:
"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. That
double win has eluded me once again. I felt really confident
about winning the second race, but unfortunately as I was
shifting up the gear on the start/finish straight I felt a
problem with the engine, which caused the bike to stop when
I shut the throttle for the first corner. I don't know what
the problem was but it meant that I was unable to continue.
This is as disappointing for the fans as it is for me and
I'm sorry that I was unable to give them a better result."
Roberto Rolfo:
"Race two was good - I enjoyed it very much. Race one
was more difficult as I found it hard to find a good rhythm
at the beginning because of some riders in front of me. It
was not so easy for me to concentrate. In race two, I had
a very good start and tried to push hard from the first to
the last lap. I must say that I am happy because I improved
my feeling on the bike. It wasn't easy to start from the back
but I think next time if I start from further up I can achieve
a top five place. "
Race one results
1 J. Toseland 35.28:222
2 T. Corser +1.368
3 M. Biaggi +2.448
4 N. Haga +9.249
5 L. Lanzi +18.028
6 F. Nieto +18.956
7 R. Laconi +29.998
8 M. Neukirchner +30.296
9 R. Rolfo +30.525
10 J. Smrz +36.661
FL T. Bayliss 1.31:575
Race two results
1 N. Haga 35.26:734
2 M. Biaggi +0.111
3 T. Corser +1.100
4 R. Xaus +5.927
5 L. Lanzi +9.834
6 R. Laconi +12.203
7 R. Rolfo +22.287
8 J. Smrz +30.060
9 K. Muggeridge +37.734
10 M. Neukirchner +39.893
J. Toseland DNF
FL N. Haga 1.31:634
Championship standings
1 J. Toseland 115
2 M. Biaggi 110
3 N. Haga 88
4 T. Corser 81
5 L. Lanzi 66
6 T. Bayliss 64
7 M. Neukirchner 46
8 R. Xaus 45
9 R. Rolfo 36
10 F. Nieto 30
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