With neither rider in the Yamaha World Supersport Team participating in today's race, the pressure was on for all other Yamaha-shod riders to try and get a good result for the manufacturer. Following accidents during Friday's free practice, both Curtain and Parkes were ruled out of any further riding this weekend due to broken collar bones.
The remaining key Yamaha riders in the field - Roccoli, Checa and Gimbert - rode a solid race and battled it out in the middle of the field to gain eight, ninth and 11th.places respectively. They played a safe race; a good achievement considering the race was red flagged halfway through the race due to a three rider pile up at the first corner. After a restart the times were calculated on aggregate.
Sofuoglu (Honda) won the race, while Harms (Honda) came second and Fujiwara (Honda) took third in what was a close battle in the closing stages. Overall, Yamaha claimed eight points in the manufacturer standing going forward into Valencia, where it is hoped that Curtain and Parkes will be fit enough to return. Parkes had a successful operation Saturday afternoon. Curtain will see a specialist on Monday morning.
Massimo Roccoli (8th - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)"It went better than expected after a difficult practice with two crashes. The set-up was good and I had a good race after two perfect starts. I took some important points today and am feeling positive about Valencia."
Temp: 13
Crowd: 51,000
Weather: Dry
Race 1 - 22 Laps - Donington Park:1. Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda - TUR 34'56.601
2. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 0'0.764
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Honda - JPN 0'1.343
4. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 0'10.215
5. Simone Sanna - Honda - ITA 0'12.135
6. Davide Giugliano - Kawasaki - ITA 0'12.982
7. Yoann Tiberio - Honda - FRA 0'16.642
8. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 0'16.664
9. David Checa - Yamaha - ESP 0'22.965
10. Gianluca Nannelli - Ducati - ITA 0'23.852
11. Sebastien Gimbert - Yamaha - FRA 0'24.862
12. Gianluca Vizziello - Yamaha - ITA 0'26.053
13. David Salom - Yamaha - ESP 0'26.512
14. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED 0'29.445
15. Pere Riba - Kawasaki - ESP 0'29.448
Best Lap: Katsuaki Fujiwara - Honda JPN1'33.848
Rider Standings:1. Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda - TUR 70
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Honda - JPN 43
3. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 39
4. Fabien Foret - Kawasaki - FRA 38
5. Kevin Curtain - Yamaha - AUS 25
6. Pere Riba - Kawasaki - ESP 22
7. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 19
8. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 17
9. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED 17
10. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 16
11. Yoann Tiberio - Honda - FRA 15
12. Gianluca Nannelli - Ducati - ITA 14
13. Sebastien Charpentier - Honda - FRA 13
14. Simone Sanna - Honda - ITA 11
15. Davide Giugliano - Kawasaki - ITA 10
17. Sebastien Gimbert - Yamaha - FRA 8
18. David Checa - Yamaha - ESP 7
Manufacturer Standings: 1. Honda 70
2. Kawasaki 48
3. Yamaha 44
4. Suzuki 17
5. Ducati 14
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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