Yamaha World Supersport team's Broc Parkes took a hard fought third place in the world supersport round at Phillip Island today, although there was a touch of disappointment for the Australian as he led for all but the final three laps of the race. Starting from the second row, Parkes quickly took the lead and pulled away from the chasing pack - heading the four-way battle for second by almost two seconds at one stage. The 25-year-old looked set for a third career win, only for his lap times to drop off in the closing stages of the 21-lap race. Frenchman Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) overtook the Yamaha to take the win with round one winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) also getting past Parkes. Despite his problems Broc was able to bring his R6 home in third place.
Team-mate Kevin Curtain had been one of the favourites for the win at Phillip Island and he was the early leader as the front group sped off at under qualifying pace. The 40-year-old Australian looked comfortable in the four-rider battle for second when his lap times faded dramatically at around half distance. As in Qatar eight days ago Curtain experienced rear traction problems and was forced to ride on and secure as many points as possible. Despite posting lap times over five seconds from the leaders, Curtain refused to give up and was rewarded with five championship points for his 11th placed finish.
It was also a tough day for Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni rider Massimo Roccoli. Despite qualifying back on the fifth row the Italian had been riding impressively in the top ten for much of the race. However, he was forced to stop when his bike cut out and, despite rejoining, was unable to score any points.
Sofuoglu's second place sees him extend his championship lead. The Turkish rider lies on 45 points with second placed Foret on 38. Yamaha's Curtain is fourth in the standings, on 25 points, with Parkes' 16 points moving him up to seventh in the championship with two of the 13 rounds gone.
Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport team) "I got a good start from the second row and felt that I was a bit quicker than a couple of guys in front so I decided to try and go. I was able to open up a gap of a little more than a second and I tried to keep that pace. I felt the rear go pretty quickly at about nine laps to go so I just got my head down and tried to keep it going. The grip really went off though and I made a mistake out the back of the circuit. Once Fabien and Kenan came past they had much better rear grip than me and I didn't have any answer to them. I had done a lot of testing on that tyre (specification) and I knew it was good for the race. Unfortunately we didn't run the full race last weekend so maybe we still have a little more work to do on our chassis settings. It's a little disappointing to be just a couple of laps away from the win but we've come away with some good points and it's a good result compared to last week."
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World Supersport team)"I don't know what to say, I'm just feeling really fed up just now. We've got no luck at the moment and I'm really disappointed. It'd been a good weekend and I was confident that I could have a good result today, but the tyre went off and, to be honest, I'm surprised that I was even able to stay on the bike let alone score some points."
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I made a good start and thought I could make a top ten finish when the bike just stopped out on the circuit. I pressed the starter and it fired again after about 30 seconds. I was able to rejoin the race but it was too late and I could not score any points."
Circuit Length: 4445
Temp: 20
Crowd: 63250
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - 21 Laps: 1 Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 33'46.218
2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'0.704
3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 0'2.243
4 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'6.415
5 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 0'15.085
6 Pere Riba Kawasaki ESP 0'15.192
7 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'22.846
8 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'24.509
9 Lorenzo Alfonsi Honda ITA 0'24.509
10 Yoann Tiberio Honda FRA 0'29.413
11 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'29.706
12 Gregory Leblanc Honda FRA 0'29.759
13 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'35.318
14 Craig Jones Honda GBR 0'43.153
15 David Salom Fuentes Yamaha ESP 0'43.410
Best Lap: Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'34.976
Rider Standings 04/03/2007: 1. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 45
2. Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 38
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 27
4. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 25
5. Pere Riba Kawasaki ESP 21
6. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 19
7. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 16
8. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 15
9. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 13
10. Lorenzo Alfonsi Honda ITA 10
11. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 9
12. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 8
13. Vesa Kallio Suzuki FIN 6
14. Craig Jones Honda GBR 6
15. Yoann Tiberio Honda FRA 6
18. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 3
Manufacturer Standings 04/03/2007: 1. Honda 45
2. Kawasaki 38
3. Yamaha 36
4. Suzuki 15
5. Ducati 8
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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