The Brands Hatch weekend always excites the expectations, and fantastic show is assured. A great track layout and really smooth tarmac allow the riders to express their skills and offer an exciting show to the traditionally large crowd. Even on Friday the times were good, and as usual, on Saturday the previous records - both with the race rubber and the qualifying tyres – went down.
Pole man Troy Bayliss set the time of 1’25.449, while his fastest lap with race tyres is the one scored in the first qualifying session: 1’26.272.
Once again three different machines appeared on the front row, with Bayliss followed by Haga and team-mates Muggeridge and Toseland.
Race 1 was simply… amazing. Riders started to push hard on the very first metres of the track, and it was easy to guess a battle would ensue. Many of the top riders decided to race with the softest solutions on the front and the rear, looking for the best grip and then the highest performance.
This happened because they started the weekend with quite a cold Friday, which may first have suggested this strategy to them. Despite the increasing temperatures on Saturday most riders tried the same “A” solution, discovering that these tyres would last the whole length of the race.
That’s why on Sunday, with a warmer temperature again, the grid was full of “A” tyres. The result was an exciting race, very fast and with no single rider needing to abandon the race because of a tyre problem. The podium order delivered Bayliss, Toseland and Haga, and therefore three different manufacturers. Race 1 gave us a new World Superbike Race Fastest Lap at Brands, with James Toseland able to set a 1’26.351 on his fourth lap.
Race 1:1, Bayliss - Ducati 999 Fo6 - Ducati Xerox - 36’26.855
2, Toseland - Honda CBR1000RR - Winston Ten Kate Honda - +1.657
3, Haga - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB- +2.248
4, Pitt - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia - WSB+2.860
5, Kagayama - Suzuki GSXR - Alstare Suzuki - +9.666
Comparing the 2006 race time with last year there’s a big improvement. Thanks to the new Pirelli Diablo Superbike, presented this season in Qatar, race one at Brands Hatch was almost 20 seconds faster than the 2005 version; (2005 Race 1: 36’45.074).
Race2: With the temperature of the tarmac still increasing, race two was definitely going to be hot. Haga and Bayliss offered a great show, followed by Pitt on the second bike from the Yamaha Italia team, and then Laconi, able to overtake Toseland in the final laps, with Toseland’s “A” – soft - tyres suffering more than the French rider’s. Out front the two main contenders conducted the last laps at a very impressive pace, despite the hot weather and the 25 lap duration: the last lap of Haga was a 1’27.843 - only two-tenths from the Superpole cut off time.
After Brands Hatch, Troy Bayliss is still leading the Championship, but with two Yamahas on the podium, and James Toseland proving to be determined, the Ducati rider will have to keep his guard up.
Race Standings:1, Haga - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB - 36’29.709
2, Bayliss - Ducati 999 Fo6 - Ducati Xerox- +0.184
3, Pitt - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB - +2.242
4, Laconi - Kawasaki ZX10 R - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse - +6.523
5l, Toseland - Honda CBR1000RR - Winston Ten Kate - +7.073
Championship Standings:1, Bayliss - Ducati 999 Fo6 - Ducati Xerox - 307
2, Haga - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB - 230
3, Toseland - Honda CBR1000RR -Winston Ten Kate Honda - 219
4, Corser - Suzuki GSXR - Alstare Suzuki - 193
5, Barros - Honda CBR1000RR - Klaffi Honda - 166
6, Pitt -Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB - 157
7, Kagayama - Suzuki GSXR - Alstare Suzuki - 126
8, Lanzi - Ducati 999F 06 - Ducati Xerox - 96
9, Walker - Kawasaki ZX10 R - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse - 96
10, Fabrizio - Honda CBR 1000RR - D.F.X. Treme - 87
After Race 2 the Paddock Show was the venue for the culmination of the Pirelli Diablo Replica Bike Contest. Thanks to Pirelli and Suzuki Alstare a lucky reader of the English Magazine MCN won a Suzuki GSX600R Alstare replica, and it was presented by the different partners involved in the initiative and three beautiful “Diablo Girls”.
Supersport: The Supersport race virtually inflamed the crowd. The two Yamaha Germany riders scored a great 1-2, leading Sofuoglu to the chequered flag.
Sebastien Charpentier, still not in a perfect physical shape, had to fight very hard but had to cede the way to Harms and wild card Crutchlow – the latter racing with Pirelli in the British Supersport Championship – and finishing 5th today. The Championship is now definitely wide open with Curtain able to reduce the gap from Charpentier to zero.
The rhythm today was furious, so that the race time is much better than last season’s 34’33.153. Another vote of confidence for the new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa, presented this season at Misano.
Race Standings: 1, ParkesYamaha YZF R6Yamaha Motor Germany34’27.306
2, CurtainYamaha YZF R6Yamaha Motor Germany+1.758
3, SofuogluHonda CBR600 RRWinston Ten Kate+2.088
4, HarmsHonda CBR600 RRStiggy Motorsports+12.146
5, CrutchlowHonda CBR600 RRNorthpoint Eckerold Honda+12.309
Championship Standings:1 ,Charpentier - Honda CBR600 RR - Winston Ten Kate - 131
2 ,Curtain - Yamaha YZF R6 - Yamaha Motor Germany - 131
3, Parkes - Yamaha YZF R6 - Yamaha Motor Germany - 119
4, Harms - Honda CBR600 RR - Stiggy Motorsports - 87
5, Roccoli - Yamaha YZF R6 - Yamaha Team Italia - 78
6, Tiberio - Honda CBR600 RR - Megabike Honda - 67
7, Sofuoglu - Honda CBR600 RR - Winston Ten Kate - 67
8, Stigefelt - Honda CBR600 RR - DarkDog StiggyMotorsport -7
9, Fores -Yamaha YZF R6 - SLM Racing - 49
10, Vizziello - Yamaha YZF R6 -Yamaha Team Italia - 37
Supersport: Superstock 1000 was the first race of the day, with a gentle sun eventually arriving to warm up Brands. Starting from the first row were Badovini (MV Agusta), Roberts (Suzuki), Sacchetti (Kawasaki), Scassa (MV Agusta), while championship leader Polita finished the qualifying sessions 5th.
After a breathless fight Scassa took the lead, followed by Polita, and then Badovini joined them. The three would offer the spectacular racing we have got used to in this exciting class.
After some exceptionally exciting action, Badovini was leading the race, followed by Scassa. A really breathless last lap gave us the shape of the final podium of this 6th Round, with Scassa finishing 1st ahead of Polita and Badovini.
Race Standings:1, Scassa - Mv AgustaEVR Corse – Ormeni Racing - 22’48.907
2, Polita - Suzuki GSXR - Celani Suzuki Italia - +0.449
3, Badovini - Mv Agusta - Biassono – Unionbike - +0.583
Championship Standings:1, Polita -Suzuki GSXR - Celani Suzuki Italia - 115
2, Badovini - Mv Agusta - Biassono – Unionbike - 109
3, Scassa - Mv Agusta - EVR Corse – Ormeni Racing - 96
With Simeon and Canapa fighting, as always, for the whole race distance, the Superstock 600 once more gave us a great show. This class seems to be even more competitive than expected, and the Pirelli DIABLO CORSA III has been called on to do a really tough job. The high temperature and the high humidity made the racetrack very slippery, but thanks to the three zone compound of the official fitment Pirelli tyres, the riders could ride in the expansive manner to which we have grown accustomed to seeing.
At the end Simeon won the race, increasing his advantage in the Championship standings. Four different bikes finished in the top four positions, confirming that this road tyre is the perfect choice for a sporty riding style, with every kind of 600cc bike.
Race Standings:1, Simeon - Suzuki GSX 600 - Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra - 18’55.045
2, Canepa - Ducati 749R - Ducati Xerox Junior - +0.263
3, Antonelli - Honda CBR 600RR - Junior Team Italia Honda - +1.246
Championship Standings:1, Simeon - Suzuki GSX 600R - Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra - 140
2, Canepa - Ducati 749R - Ducati Xerox Junior -101
3, Giugliano - Kawasaki ZX6RR - Lightspeed Kawasaki - 84
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