2008 HANNSPREE FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP®
MONZA– 5th ROUND – 9, 10 and 11 MAY -
PREVIEW
Bayliss Takes Healthy Points Margin to Monza for
Round 5
Following his double victory at Assen, Troy Bayliss (Ducati
Xerox) will come to Monza for the IDS Italian Round of the
HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship this weekend with
a healthy 70 point lead in the table over his closest rivals
as the series reaches third distance. In eight races so far
on his Ducati 1098 F08, the 39-year-old from Taree has taken
the chequered flag on five occasions, finished second twice
and has only been off the podium once, in race 2 at Losail.
This sort of steamrolling form will guarantee Bayliss an ample
cushion from his 178 points in the next few races should a
challenge be mounted by the chasing four-cylinder contenders.
Another man who has consistently been in the points since
the start of the season is Spain’s Carlos Checa (Hannspree
Ten Kate Honda), who has impressed in his rookie season so
far. A veteran of many a year in 500cc/MotoGP, the 35-year-old
from Barcelona has taken his Japanese machine to two runner-up
slots in his 108 points this season, but the win is still
eluding him. Monza will be a bit of an unknown quantity for
Checa, but the speed of his four-cylinder CBR machine will
certainly prove to be of assistance as he chases his maiden
win.
Three podium appearances this year, including a second place
at Phillip Island, are the results that have helped to take
another double world champion, Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia
WSB), to the third slot in the table with 89 points. Corser
has been winless since Phillip Island in 2006, but Mr Superpole’s
qualifying form (41 poles to his name, on five different makes
of machinery) continues to be outstanding and a breakthrough
for the 36-year-old Australian on the YZF-R1 machine is surely
not far away.
Two Spanish riders Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare) and Ruben
Xaus (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) are next up, fourth and
fifth with 85 and 81 points respectively. Nieto appears to
have lost his way somewhat since his opening round win, while
at Assen Xaus was one of the key contenders but was eliminated
early on by Haga in race 1 before picking up a useful fourth
in race 2.
The last two rounds have seen Noriyuki Haga hit superb form
on the YZF-R1 factory machine from the Yamaha Motor Italia
WSB team, based a stone’s throw away from the Autodromo.
The 33-year-old from Japan picked up a win and a second place
at Valencia and Assen, but would certainly be much further
up the table than his current sixth place had he not scored
two DNFs in the first race of each round. However Haga scored
a dominant double victory at Monza twelve months ago and is
aiming to do the same again this weekend to restart his title
ambitions.
Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) scored a podium and a fifth
place in the Netherlands and is fast becoming the top Suzuki
contender. The 25-year-old German from Stollberg has been
in World Superbike since 2005 but now he has the right machinery
to emerge Max is becoming a regular front-runner. From one
Max to another, this time Biaggi, whose positive recovery
from a wrist fracture took a wrong turn at Assen as a lack
of feeling with the front end of his Ducati 1098RS caused
him to miss out on Superpole and score two disappointing results
in the two races.
Gregorio Lavilla (VentAxia VK Honda) and Lorenzo Lanzi (RG
Ducati) make up the top 10, the Italian recovering from his
Assen crash, in which he fractured a bone in his right elbow,
while Michel Fabrizio will also be fit to race following recent
forearm surgery. Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) is another
rider to watch as he tries to transform his recent impressive
qualifying form into positive race results. Meanwhile Makoto
Tamada and Régis Laconi will be looking to make further
progress at Monza after both ran comfortably inside the top
10 on their improving PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX-10R machines.
FIM Supersport World Championship
The Dutch Round of the championship saw a return to the classic
‘wild bunch’ battles of the past, and at one stage
13 riders were all within the space of 3 seconds up at the
front. Six were in with a chance of victory on the final lap,
but in the end the win, his second of the year, went to Australian
Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who burst out of the
final chicane on the last lap to get the better of team-mate
Jonathan Rea, who had led for much of the race. Despite a
Ten Kate 1-2, the result was in no way a foregone conclusion
however and a number of other riders were all in with a chance
of the win.
Starting with Joan Lascorz (Glaner Motocard.com Honda), whose
third place was another impressive result for a man who this
year is racing on a private Honda machine. The 23-year-old
from Spain now leads the table from Pitt by a margin of 20
points. Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport)
took fifth and fourth place respectively at Assen, but were
slightly outgunned by the Honda machines. Joshua Brookes (Hannspree
Stiggy Motorsport Honda) was back on the pace at the last
round, but his fifth place is now coming under attack from
two British riders, Rea and Parkalgar Racing Honda’s
Craig Jones, also a potential winner in the Netherlands.
Superstock 1000 FIM Cup
The Superstock 1000 classification has taken on an unfamiliar
look, as two possible title winners Claudio Corti (Yamaha
Motor Italia Junior Team) and Brendan Roberts (Ducati Xerox
Junior Team) both made errors and crashed out of the second
round at Assen. As a result the race win and points leadership
went to 18 year-old Maxime Berger (Hannspree IDS Ten Kate
Honda). The Frenchman, who dominated last year’s Superstock
600 series, has immediately got to grips with the 1000 category
and with Sebastien Charpentier as his team manager, he now
has a promising future in this championship as well. Belgium’s
Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki) is just a couple of points
behind his French rival, with Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini
by Leoni) the same distance away from second place. Italians
Davide Giugliano (Cruciani Suzuki) and former champion Alessandro
Polita (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) are currently in fourth
and fifth place respectively, while the ultra-fast Monza circuit
will probably be another penalizing track for René
Maehr on the bright orange KTM RC8.
European 600 Superstock Championship
Two races down and two different winners in Superstock 600
as well, as the 19-year-old ex-250 GP rider Dan Linfoot (Beowulf
Racing Yamaha) from the UK takes over at the top from 15-year-old
French youngster Loris Baz (YZF Yamaha Junior Team). Italian
Daniele Beretta (Cruciani Moto Suzuki Italia) will be looking
to do well in front of his home crowd, while Patrick Vostarek
(Intermoto) from the Czech Republic is the first Honda rider
in the table in fourth place.
About Monza
The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a place that has always
produced outstanding racing, slipstreaming action at speeds
of over 300 kph, demon late braking moves and uncertainty
right down to the line. It is located near the town of Monza,
north of Milan and is one of the most historic motor racing
circuits in the world. It is notable for the fact that riders
are on full throttle for a higher-than-average percentage
of the lap due to its long straights and is clearly the fastest
circuit on the WSBK calendar. Noriyuki Haga set a new record
lap for motorcycles in Superpole last year, 1’44.941
(198.729 km/h) on a Yamaha, while Michel Fabrizio clocked
322.7 km/h at the end of the pit straight on a Honda, the
highest speed ever reached by a production-based Superbike
in the world championship.
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