Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain took a step closer to winning the 2006 Supersport World Championship after extending his lead to 27 points at EuroSpeedway Lausitz. The Australian, who had been fastest in all of the weekend's practice sessions, made a good start from pole position and led for 19 of the 23 laps. Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) pressurised the Yamaha rider all the way and eventually took the lead on lap 20.
Curtain still had some opportunities to retake the lead but, with the championship at stake, chose the discretionary option to take home a safe 20 points and his eighth podium finish of the year - crossing the line just one-tenth of a second behind Sofuoglu. With title rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) retiring from the battle for fourth, Curtain leaves Germany with a larger than expected advantage going into the final two races.
Fabien Foret, standing in for the injured Broc Parkes on the second Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6 rode a superb race to take the final podium position. The Frenchman had not even sat on the Yamaha prior to arriving in Germany, but the former world champion improved with each practice session and made a good start from the second row of the grid. Foret found himself fourth into the first turn but quickly passed Christian Zaiser (Ducati) to ride to a somewhat lonely third place, ten seconds behind the winner.
Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello had one of his best results of the season, ending the day sixth. Team-mate Massimo Roccoli overcame a disappointing qualifying to bring his R6 home in a points scoring 12th by the flag.
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany)"I really never expected to leave here with a 27 point advantage. I thought that maybe it would be possible to take four or five points from Sebastien today, so to take 20 is unbelievable. I knew that Kenan was with me all the way and I knew that he would be strong here. I tried to make a break but he stayed with me and I decided to ride for the championship. My team let me know exactly what was happening, so I knew that Charpentier was out. It was quite an easy decision for me in the end. I had the choice of settling for a safe 20 points or risking them for another five. From a championship point of view I've exceeded all my expectations and we can go to Imola and just keep doing what we're doing."
Fabien Foret (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The jump from superbike to supersport was not so easy, especially after being off a bike for some time, but the team is really good, the bike too, and I soon remembered what a 600 was like to ride. At the end it was a good result so I have to give big thanks to the team for giving me the chance of this ride."
Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am very satisfied. Every race I am making more progress and so is the team, our understanding of how everything works is improving all the time. Lausitz is very good for my style and the bike has felt good all weekend, and also at Assen last weekend. Sixth is good for the championship and I hope to move up some more places in the last two races."
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I had a problem getting enough traction out of the slow corners, I think because I am so light, and I had to settle for scoring as many championship points as I could. I'm not particularly happy that I could not ride aggressively but I think I was correct in riding for the points."
Circuit Length: 4265
Temp: 22
Crowd: 51400
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - 23 Laps:1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 39'29.099
2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'0.130
3 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 0'9.654
4 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'10.564
5 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'19.925
6 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'24.288
7 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 0'24.980
8 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 0'25.058
9 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'30.289
10 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 0'34.854
11 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 0'35.811
12 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'36.092
13 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 0'36.430
14 Chris Peris Yamaha CAN 0'36.845
15 Tatu Lauslehto Honda FIN 1'0.846
Best Lap: Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'42.090
Rider Standings 10/09/2006:1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 171
2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 144
3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119
4. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 117
5. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 107
6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 90
7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67
8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57
9. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 56
10. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49
11. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 30
12. Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 29
13. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29
14. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27
15. Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 24
Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006: 1. Honda 227
2. Yamaha 208
3. Ducati 65
4. Kawasaki 55
5. Suzuki 36
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
Related News
