Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) bounced back from a race 1 defeat by Max Biaggi (Suzuki) to grab the second race spoils and ruin the Rome rider's hopes of a double win at his home circuit in front of a massive 80,000 crowd. Lorenzo Lanzi could only finish sixth and seventh. Troy led the first three laps of race 1 before Biaggi powered past and then Haga did the same three laps later. The Australian had to make four attempts to get past Haga (Yamaha) before clinching the runner-up slot. "I was struggling to make the bike do what we want it to do" declared Troy after race 1. "Everything was working OK but we really need to do something with the settings to get that last bit of feeling. I had three or four goes at getting round Nori, it wasn't easy and finally I managed but there was no way I was going to catch Max unless he made a mistake."
In race 2 Troy's Ducati Xerox crew made a slight change to improve the set-up and the Australian led every lap, but the crucial moment came on lap 15 when Bayliss and Biaggi almost touched at a slow corner and Troy was able to administer a two second lead to take his seventh win of the year. "It's been a really hard day, it's pretty warm out there and Vallelunga is a very physical track. I didn't see the race before our race, and when I went out on the sighting lap there was cement dust everywhere for the oil and I was really concerned about that so the track was warmer but slower as well because you couldn't use the right line. Congratulations to my Ducati Xerox squad, they've all worked hard. I put the bike down three times this weekend through a bit my fault and trying something new and sometimes you lose a little feeling as well. In the second race I wanted to change the rear tyre but my chief engineer Ernesto Marinelli wanted me not to and I went with his decision and I have to say 'Ernie, you're the man!". It paid off so I put that win down to him!"
Lorenzo Lanzi couldn't repeat his good qualifying and Superpole form in the race and finished sixth and seventh. "I'm a bit disappointed really because we set some good times in qualifying and the warm-up this morning but unfortunately I was struggling for grip at the rear and was unable to repeat that form in the races. The only good thing about the weekend is that I'm back in sixth place in the table."
Toseland's race 2 crash means that Biaggi and Haga are now 29 and 33 points behind the British rider in the title battle, while Bayliss is out of contention in fourth place with one round remaining, at Magny-Cours next weekend.
RACE 1: 1. Biaggi (Suzuki)
2. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox)
3. Toseland (Honda)
4. Haga (Yamaha)
5. Fabrizio (Honda)
6. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox)
7. Laconi (Kawasaki)
8. Nieto (Kawasaki)... etc
RACE 2: 1. Bayliss
2. Biaggi
3. Haga
4. Corser
5. Rolfo
6. Xaus
7. Lanzi
8. Nieto... etc.
POINTS (after 12 of 13 rounds):
Riders:1. Toseland 396
2. Biaggi 367
3. Haga 363
4. Bayliss 341
5. Corser 267
6. Lanzi 192
Manufacturers:1. Honda 420
2. Yamaha 417
3. Ducati 408
4. Suzuki 386
5. Kawasaki 165
6. MV Agusta 1.
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