Press Release:Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow had a tough race in Kyalami today missing out on the race win after being held up by the pack at the start of the race. The British rider initially dropped to sixth position from the start, behind team-mate Fabien Foret. The pair stayed together, following Sofuoglu until a mistake by the Honda rider on the 3rd lap allowed Crutchlow past. He then passed his team-mate on the fifth lap, before swiftly taking Lascorz and Pitt to move into second behind race leader Laverty. By this point Laverty had extended a considerable lead, and although Crutchlow worked hard to close the gap he had to settle for a second place finish and another podium.
Team-mate Fabien Foret had a better start and lead Crutchlow for a while before following him through to take up third place. He gradually built up a good lead over fourth placed rider Lascorz but a momentary lapse of concentration going into a corner too hot four laps from the end saw the French rider lose the front end and crash out.
Crutchlow leaves South Africa still leading the championship on 119 points, 13 ahead of second placed Laverty. Foret is in eighth on 44 points.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd)"It was a really tough race, the beginning was a proper dog fight. It took me a long time to get through the pack and start working on breaking down Laverty's lead. By the time I got clear in second he had a big gap and I just couldn't keep it consistently quick enough to catch him. I made a couple of small mistakes which cost me some time so had to settle for the second spot on the podium. A big thank you to the Yamaha team again for working so hard this weekend."
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (DNF)"I'm really disappointed with myself. It was a big fight at the beginning of the race and I did well to get through. I had a really good race pace and was feeling confident to keep pushing on. I had built up a good lead in third but just lost a moment's concentration going into the corner and went down on the front."
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team"We lost the fight for the race win two seconds into the first lap when both riders got held up by the main pack, by the second lap Eugene was too far away to challenge. Cal was looking like he was able to catch him but he had to push hard and made one or too small mistakes. At the moment the championship lead is very close and podiums are very important. It was very disappointing not to have two podiums, Fabien had a good pace and was as fast as Cal but was a bit too hot into the corner and crashed. It was a shame as he had a good lead and didn't need to push so hard."
Circuit Length: 4263
Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 1'46.975 (James Whitham, 01/01/2002)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'40.634 (Cal Crutchlow, 17/05/2009)
Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 39'06.061
2 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'02.546
3 Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 0'17.358
4 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 0'17.454
5 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'18.221
6 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 0'20.561
7 Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 0'33.141
8 Anthony West Honda AUS 0'37.326
9 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 0'37.728
10 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'37.939
11 Michael Laverty Honda GBR 0'38.782
12 Massimo Roccoli Honda ITA 0'39.198
13 Katsuaki Fujiwara Kawasaki JPN 0'40.386
14 Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 0'46.386
15 Danilo Dell'omo Honda ITA 0'46.794
22 Yannick Guerra Yamaha ESP 1'24.481
Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 1'41.053
Rider Standings 17/05/2009 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 119
2. Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 106
3. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 83
4. Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 64
5. Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 60
6. Anthony West Honda AUS 60
7. Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 50
8. Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 44
9. Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 40
10. Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 31
11. Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 29
12. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 28
13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Kawasaki JPN 26
14. Massimo Roccoli Honda ITA 24
15. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 23
19. Franco Battaini Yamaha ITA 5
22. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 3
Manufacturer Standings 17/05/2009 Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Honda 133
2. Yamaha 119
3. Kawasaki 71
4. Triumph 36
5. Suzuki 28
