Yamaha scored its 100th podium finish in the Supersport World Championship with a second place for Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain in Valencia today. Curtain's podium makes Yamaha the first manufacturer to reach that milestone in a class in which it has consistently been strong. Massimo Meregalli's win at Misano in 1997 was the manufacturer's first podium finish in the class and since then Yamaha has gone on to win three manufacturer and a rider's world title with Yamaha Motor Germany's Jörg Teuchert in 2000.
Australian rider Curtain made a poor start in today's race, ending the first lap in fourth place but fighting his way through to second at the flag. After moving into second on lap four Curtain had something of a lonely race, six seconds behind race winner Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) but three ahead of third placed Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda). In a good day for Yamaha Motor Germany, Broc Parkes came home fourth in what is only the third race for the latest model YZF-R6.
With showers throughout the weekend limiting the amount of dry practice time both Yamaha's Australian riders failed to find a perfect set-up for what turned out to be a dry race.
Having worked hard to move through the pack, Curtain found his rear tyre was unable to provide the grip needed to close down Charpentier and was forced to settle for what was his third second place of the season. Parkes meanwhile had a problem of brake fluid leaking onto his footpegs after the top of the rear brake cylinder was displaced by the rider's boot. Despite not affecting the performance of his machine, Parkes understandably rode cautiously as he was unaware of the source of the fluid.
Yamaha's third-generation YZF-R6 was well represented in the race, with six machines in the top ten and several young riders catching the eye. Nineteen-year-old wild-card Jordi Torres equaled his fine qualifying position with fifth in the race, while fellow Spaniard Xavi Fores, 20, ran second in the early laps but faded to eighth at the flag. Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello finished just behind Fores, ending the day ninth and tenth respectively.
The race was led from lights to flag by world champion Charpentier to extend his lead over Curtain to 15 points in the championship. Parkes moves up to fourth in the points with three of the 13 races completed with Fores and Roccoli sharing fifth place alongside Yoann Tiberio (Honda).
Kevin Curtain: (Yamaha Motor Germany)
"I didn't get the best of starts and by the time I made it through to second Sebastien had got away. I tried hard to catch him but I'd worked my rear tyre too hard and didn't have enough grip. I'm happy enough with the result though. Our bike is still developing and we lost a lot of set-up time here due to the rain. Fair play to Sebastien though, he was the best rider today and deserved to win. Hopefully we'll have a new specification engine at Monza, if not then by Silverstone, and Pirelli will be supplying a new front tyre which we have tested and works much better with our bike."
Broc Parkes: (Yamaha Motor Germany)
"I suppose I got some points today but I'm not that happy. I realised in the middle of the race that there was some fluid leaking onto the bike and I thought it was maybe oil from the rear shock. It turned out it was the cap that had come off the rear brake master cylinder, but it was always in the back of my mind that something could maybe go on the tyre, so I had to hold back a bit."
Jordi Torres: (Speed Moto)
"I was very nervous at the start of the race and in the first corner a lot of riders passed me. I regained my concentration and started to pass a few other riders. At the end of the race my tyre was pretty much finished but I tried to control the situation I was in and scored fifth place. I am very pleased about that because this is my first race in this championship, which is run at a very high level."
Massimo Roccoli: (Yamaha Team Italia)
"I rode quite nervously in the opening laps but by lap five I had settled down and was able to make up some positions. With about five laps to go the bike seemed to be straining a bit and although I was still able to have a good battle with Fores I could not quite pass him. We definitely improved our set-up from yesterday and I am quite happy with the result, although I know we must still work harder."
Gianluca Vizziello: (Yamaha Team Italia)
"I was having a good race in front of Massimo until close to the end, when I lost some grip at the front. I had a lot of front end slides and twice saved a crash on my knee. Massimo was able to pass on one of these moments and when I looked behind and saw no-one close I backed off and took a safe finish."
Race Classification WSS:Round: 3 - Spain
Circuit Length: 4005
Circuit: Valencia
Date: 23 April 2006
Crowd: 42000
Temp: 21ºC
Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 1' 38.664 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.664 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006)
Race: 23 Laps:1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 38' 12.713
2 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +6.537
3 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN +9.454
4 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +11.750
5 J. Torres Yamaha ESP +15.964
6 R. Harms Honda DNK +17.007
7 Y. Tibero Honda FRA +19.548
8 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +22.400
9 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +22.513
10 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +24.708
11 B. Veneman Suzuki NED +25.317
12 J. Brookes Ducati AUS +27.194
13 W. De Angelis Honda ITA +31.740
14 T. Lauslehto Honda FIN +37.082
15 S. Le Grelle Honda BEL +41.951
Fastest Race Lap: 1, S. Charpentier Honda FRA 1' 38.664
Championship standings WSS:1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 75
2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 60
3 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 31
4 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 29
5 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 22
6 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 22
7 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 22
8 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 20
9 Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 20
10 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 16
11 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 16
12 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 16
13 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 15
14 Jordi Torres Yamaha ESP 11
15 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 11
21 Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 2
Manufacturers standings WSS:1 Honda 75
2 Yamaha 60
3 Ducati 22
4 Kawasaki 8
5 Suzuki 5
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