2008 HANNSPREE SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP®
1 ROUND – LOSAIL (QATAR) - 21st, 22nd and 23rd
FEBRUARY
RACE REPORT
Losail, Saturday 23rd February 2008
BAYLISS (DUCATI) AND NIETO (SUZUKI) SHARE THE WINS
IN QATAR WORLD SUPERBIKE OPENER
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) and Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Suzuki)
shared the wins in two exciting races in the opening round
of the HANNspree Superbike World Championship in Qatar. Australia’s
double WSBK champion Bayliss had the honour of scoring the
Ducati 1098’s maiden victory in the first encounter,
while Spaniard Nieto picked up his first race win since 2003
on the Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Race 1
Bayliss had to work hard for the win from eighth place on
the opening lap. He put his wheels on the edge a few times
as he made his way to the front and then had a terrific duel
with Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) on the final
lap to seal victory. The Italian, in front from lap 12 to
17, went slightly wide and had to settle for second. Third
went to poleman Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia), who ran
in the top 3 throughout, while Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Go
Eleven) made it three 1098s in the top 4. Max Neukirchner
looked impressive on the Alstare Suzuki, leading for most
of the first half of the race, eventually finishing fifth
ahead of Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda), while Noriyuki
Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) had a nasty high-side on lap 7.
“I guess it was special to take the 1098 to its first
win and it’s the first time I’ve had a win here
at Losail” declared Bayliss. “I thought it was
going to be between me, Troy and Nori, but Neukirchner surprised
me and Max did a good job as well. It was a hard race, I got
a terrible start and had to really ride hard to get to the
front. I made a couple of mistakes, eventually when I reached
Max I was on the limit. Then it was a matter of playing our
cards, he went a bit wide and that gave me the advantage to
come home to the finish line”.
Race 1 results
1. Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
2. Max Biaggi (Ducati) +0.396
3. Troy Corser (Yamaha) +1.878
4. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +4.487
5. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) +7.505
6. Carlos Checa (Honda) +9.639
7. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +9.725
8. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +19.537
9. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) +23.156
10. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) +24.429
11. Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +27.595
12. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) +27.979
13. Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +28.237
14. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) +30.205
15. Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +31.882
Race 2
The second race win saw a battle up front between Corser,
who led for nine laps before fading, Biaggi, Xaus and Nieto,
with Bayliss not far behind. Max and Ruben both had spells
in the lead but neither were able to shake off Nieto, who
took over at the front with three laps to go. The Spaniard
went on to take his first-ever WSBK win, ahead of his compatriot
Xaus and Biaggi. The two factory Ducati riders Bayliss and
Fabrizio were fourth and fifth, with Corser finishing sixth.
“It’s nice for me, I haven’t won for four
years and I’m really happy” said Nieto. “When
I arrived in World Superbike it was really difficult for me.
I worked really hard for four seasons and this is a dream
come true. We are not yet 100% with the frame of the bike
but the engine is the best now, today I won because I had
a really good engine. I rode with my mind and never gave up”.
Race 2 results
1. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki)
2. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +0.301
3. Max Biaggi (Ducati) +1.321
4. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +6.452
5. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) +7.627
6. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) +9.117
7. Troy Corser (Yamaha) +10.806
8. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) +11.661
9. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) +13.269
10. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) +14.563
11. Carlos Checa (Honda) +15.953
12. Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) +16.748
13. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) +18.356
14. Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +26.311
15. Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +26.560
Riders points: 1. Bayliss 38; 2. Biaggi
36; 3. Nieto 34; 4. Xaus 33; 5. Corser 25; 6. Neukirchner
19; etc.
Manufacturers points: 1. Ducati 45; 2. Suzuki
36; 3. Yamaha 25; 4. Honda 16; 5. Kawasaki 5.
World Supersport
Broc Parkes scored a fortuitous win for the Yamaha World
Supersport team in the opening round of the championship at
Losail as his team-mate Fabien Foret, race leader since the
early stages, ran out of fuel on the final lap. The Australian
still had to fight for the win however against Spain’s
Joan Lascorz who was ahead with a couple of corners remaining.
Parkalgar Honda’s Craig Jones was also in contention
right until the very end and the British rider took the final
podium slot. The entire HANNspree Ten Kate team was eliminated
on the second lap as Jonathan Rea crashed in front of Andrew
Pitt, causing his team-mate to go down in the process. Both
riders suffered a series of nasty cuts and abrasions.
|
