Parkes claimed fourth place in today's Supersport race at Vallelunga despite a weekend of set-up challenges. Tommy Hill had an unlucky crash on the first lap of the race which ended his hopes for the day. Parkes made a good start taking second behind pole man Jones but was quickly embroiled in a battle for second place with Sofuoglu. The two riders passed each other several times in the first few laps before Parkes was forced to settle for third. By lap ten the front two riders had created a 3.4 second lead over Parkes, who was suffering with tyre grip issues. By lap 14 Parkes was fending off a challenge for the third spot by Lascorz, who eventually got passed on lap 17. The race was red flagged on lap 19 due to oil on the track and the result taken from the positions on lap 18 as the race had run two thirds distance.
Massimo Roccoli had an equally bad race day, crashing on the opening lap. He re-mounted but was forced to retire on lap five while running in seventh place. RG Team rider Gianluca Vizziello put in a good performance today to take fifth after qualifying in second.
Today's results mean that Parkes is still in third place in the championship with 15 points between him and second-place man Fabien Foret, who will be his team mate in 2008. With 25 points left to play for it will all come down to the last round for Parkes to try and grab second.
Broc Parkes (4th - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"Today was a hard race. I got a good start and went with Jones; I thought I could stay with him but by lap three my grip went, mainly from the rear. I was then trying to hold Sofuoglu off but I knew he was quicker so when he went past I had a go at tailing him and Jones but it was no good. All things considered it's good to have come away from Vallelunga with 13 points. Now we just have to re-focus for the last race and see what we can salvage."
Tommy Hill (DNF - Yamaha World Supersport Team)"It's a frustrating end to a tough weekend. I got a good start and made up some places but then Roccoli came off in front of Salom, who was in front of me. I avoided him but Salom braked hard in front of me and I ran out of space. I went over the bike but landed back on it. Unfortunately the foot peg was broken so I couldn't get back on. The whole weekend has been hard. We'd been building up a good pace from Brands and Lausitz but what held us back this weekend was the lack of the same tyre we'd used at those two races. Now I just want to give it another big push for the last round. The team have all worked so hard to get the bike set up; it's such a disappointment to crash. If I hadn't crashed I know I could've been in the top four but that's racing."
Massimo Roccoli (DNF - Yamaha Team Italia)"I was really fast on the first lap, which surprised me to start as well as I did because I don't often manage it. I took a risk at one corner and the rear tyre lost grip which is when Tommy Hill when down. On the third lap I took the fastest lap and passed Lascorz and Charpentier for fifth position but then the bike developed a problem on the fourth lap and I had to retire. We don't know what the problem is at the moment and we'll have to check the whole bike over before Magny-Cours. I'm very disappointed and frustrated."
Circuit Length: 4110
Temp: 22
Crowd: 80,000
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - 18 Laps - WSS Vallelunga:1. Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda - TUR 28'42.956
2. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 0'0.181
3. Joan Lascorz - Honda - ESP 0'5.822
4. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 0'7.063
5. Gianluca Vizziello - Yamaha - ITA 0'15.412
6. Matthieu Lagrive - Honda - FRA 0'17.246
7. Arne Tode - Honda - GER 0'18.062
8. Simone Sanna - Honda - ITA 0'18.565
9.S ebastien Charpentier - Honda - FRA 0'20.676
10. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Honda - JPN 0'20.909
11. Graeme Gowland - Honda - GBR 0'24.514
12. Vesa Kallio - Suzuki - FIN 0'25.772
13. Sebastien Gimbert - Yamaha - FRA 0'26.529
14. Fabien Foret - Kawasaki - FRA 0'26.643
15. David Checa - Yamaha - ESP 0'26.999
Best Lap: Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda - TUR 1'40.231
Rider Standings:1. Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda - TUR 251
2. Fabien Foret - Kawasaki - FRA 128
3. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 113
4. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Honda - JPN 93
5. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 84
6. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 83
7. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 78
8. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED 70
9. Anthony West - Yamaha - AUS 66
10. Sebastien Charpentier - Honda - FRA 51
11. Gianluca Nannelli - Ducati - ITA 49
12. Gianluca Vizziello - Yamaha - ITA 47
13. Matthieu Lagrive - Honda - FRA 4 6
14. Lorenzo Alfonsi - Honda - ITA 45
15. David Checa - Yamaha - ESP 40
22. Sebastien Gimbert - Yamaha - FRA 32
24. Kevin Curtain - Yamaha - AUS 25
Manufacturer Standings: 1. Honda 271
2. Yamaha 208
3. Kawasaki 140
4. Suzuki 81
5. Ducati 49
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