Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) notched up Ducati's 250th victory in the World Superbike Championship in race 1 at Brands Hatch today as he powered his 999F06 to a ninth win of the season. The 37-year-old Australian, running Superman ReturnsTM graphic designs on his bike, leathers and helmet, held off the attacks of Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) and then James Toseland (Honda) before pulling out a slight lead to win.
"I had a bit of a battle with Nori but I didn't show all my cards. I had to follow him for a while but I was pretty much on the limit myself. Then Nori started to get a little bit slower so I passed him. I could see that James was coming and thought that this was the time to go because once James got there, there was no way he was going to let go. I put three or four laps in really good and that was it." It was a similar battle for victory in race 2 but this time Haga had the edge over Troy in the end. "I love having a hard and fair race with Nori and as much as I wanted that second win, I probably messed up a little bit when I let Nori pass twice. I wanted to have a look at his form and the second time I shouldn't have done it but we've increased our points lead a little bit so I'm really happy with the weekend."
Lorenzo Lanzi finished the two races outside the top 10 after starting from eleventh place on the grid. "I got a good start in race 1 but it was a disaster at the first curve when I made contact with Nieto and Hill and lost some places. From the mid-point of the race onwards I was lapping in good times but then I got caught up in the midfield group and I was unable to get past Hill. In race 2 I got a better start, the bike was going well and I had the feeling that I had at Brno. But then I started to have a few problems with the tyres and slipped back. Pity because I really wanted to do a good race at Brands. Hopefully the last four rounds will go better and I can finish the championship in style."
Results - Race 1:1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox);
2. Toseland (Honda);
3. Haga (Yamaha);
4. Pitt (Yamaha);
5. Kagayama (Suzuki);
6. Corser (Suzuki);
7. Walker (Kawasaki);
8. Barros (Honda); etc.
Race 2: 1. Haga;
2. Bayliss;
3. Pitt;
4. Laconi (Kawasaki);
5. Toseland;
6. Corser;
7. Kagayama;
8. Walker; etc.
Points - Riders: 1. Bayliss 307;
2. Haga 230;
3. Toseland 219;
4. Corser 193;
5. Barros 166;
6. Pitt 157;
7. Kagayama 126;
8. Lanzi 96; etc.
Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 317;
2. Honda 267;
3. Suzuki 259;
4. Yamaha 259;
5. Kawasaki 140;
6. Petronas 4.
Ducati'S Wins:The Italian manufacturer notched up its 250th WSBK win at Brands Hatch and leads the wins chart by a huge margin, followed by Honda on 87, Yamaha on 38, Kawasaki on 34 and Suzuki on 21. These are the previous milestones in Ducati history:
Win # - Race - Rider - Bike model1- Donington 1988 -race 2 - Marco Lucchinelli 851
25 -Misano 1991- race 1 - Doug Polen 888
50- Mugello 1992- race 2 - Raymond Roche 888
75 -Assen 1993- race 1 - Carl Fogarty 888
100 -Salzburgring -1995 race 1 - Carl Fogarty 916
125- Misano 1997 -race 1 - Pierfrancesco Chili 916
150- Monza 1999 -race 2 - Carl Fogarty 996
175 -Brands Hatch- 2001 race 2 - Ben Bostrom 996 F01
200 -Monza 2003 -race 1 - Neil Hodgson 999 F03
225 -Monza 2004 -race 2 - Regis Laconi 999 F04
Related Linkswww.ducati.com
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