Troy took the all-new BMW Motorrad Motorsport S 1000 RR to a tremendous eighth place in the opening race of this year’s Superbike World Championship and managed to also set the fastest lap of the race! Considering that Troy had to start from the fifth row of the grid and that this year’s series is the most competitive in WSBK history, Troy’s achievement on a brand new bike is nothing short of spectacular.
?With eighth under his belt in race one, expectations were high for race two, but almost from the start of the second 22-lapper it was obvious that something was wrong with Troy’s tyres.
?After just one lap, his bike began to slide and it got worse lap after lap. He should’ve pulled in and stopped, but he determinedly kept going despite several nasty ‘moments’. He suffered two massive highsides - the last one taking place on the last lap and throwing him out of the saddle and into the air. Fortunately his bike was still facing forwards and he fell back on the bike and carried on to the chequered flag, but it was more than a close thing.
?The first race was won by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) second and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) third. In race two, Haga was in contention for a double, but was beaten by America Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Briton Leon Haslam in third place.
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Troy - Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 22nd
?"That was an up and down day for sure, but I’ll take the positive - my eighth place in the first race. I made a good start and just kept at it. It ended up being one of the hardest races of my life, but I was determined to give it everything I had. I think we showed that the S 1000 RR has potential and I’m sure that there is quite a bit more to come, once we have got further along with its development. As I said before, the team have done a great job to get the bike where it is now so soon and although there’s more work to do, all the signs are good and I am excited about the prospects. It’s just a shame that I had to start from the fifth row of the grid and fight my way through so much traffic. If I’d been higher up the grid, I’m sure the result would’ve been even better.
?Regarding race two: Probably the less said, the better. The tyres were gone after just one lap or so and from then it was just case of hanging on as best I could and not crash. I don’t know what the problem was because it was the same bike and the same set-up - the only difference was the tyres. I could’ve pulled in (and probably should’ve done!) but I wanted to try and finish the 22 laps and give my team as much information and data as possible, so that’s what I did.
?The ‘moment’ on the last lap was a big one! I was out of the saddle, in the air and I thinking that this could end in tears. But I was lucky because the bike was pointing forwards and when I came down the bike was under me somehow. I’m still not sure why I didn’t crash, but I’ll take that piece of good luck and not worry about it. I am happy with the bike and know that it has a lot of potential. We’ve just got to keep working hard and the results will come for sure. ?
See ya,?
Troy"
?
Results?
Race 1: 1 Haga (J-Ducati)
2 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki)
3 Kagayama (J-Suzuki)
4 Fabrizio (I-Ducati)
5 Rea (GB-Honda)
6 Haslam (GB-Honda)
7 Laconi (F-Ducati)
8 TROY CORSER (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport)9 Smrz (CZ-Ducati)
10 Sykes (GB-Yamaha)
?Race 2: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha)
2 Haga
3 Haslam
4 Laconi
5 Fabrizio
6 Neukirchner
7 Smrz
8 Kagayama
9 Rea
10 Sykes
22 TROY CORSER (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) ??POINTS: 1 Haga 45
2 Neukirchner 30
3 Haslam 26
4 Spies 25
5 Kagayama 24
6 Fabrizio 24
7 Laconi 22
8 Rea 18
9 Smrz 12
10 Sykes 12
11 TROY CORSER (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 8
