Kevin Curtain did a professional job in difficult conditions to take second place and the championship lead at Assen today, although there was disappointment for his Yamaha Motor Germany squad as team-mate Broc Parkes suffered serious injury after crashing. The experienced Australian finished second in each leg of the two-part race to pull out a seven point lead over defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). Charpentier took the chequered flag 'on the road' but finished fourth on aggregate time.
In wet conditions it was Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes who took the lead and quickly pulled away. The Australian had hoped a good result would put him right in contention for the title after winning last time out in Brands Hatch but his day ended on lap three when he suffered a huge crash. The rider lost the rear of his machine and tumbled spectacularly into the gravel. Parkes was taken to hospital where the initial diagnosis suggests he has suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and an injured shoulder.
With Parkes out, Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu built up a big lead while Curtain slotted into a five rider battle for second. The Yamaha rider was battling with Kai Borre Andersen (Suzuki) when the red flags were brought out on lap 10 to allow medical staff to attend to an injured rider. Charpentier took the flag in a relatively incident-free second part, with Curtain and Sofuoglu content to ride sensibly and finish second and third on the road. Sofuoglu took the win, his first of the season, on aggregate time, with Curtain second, Andersen third and Charpentier fourth.
Curtain now leads the championship on 151 points to Charpentier's 144, with three races remaining. Parkes stays third, on 119.
Yamaha's other supersport riders faced mixed results in Assen. Yamaha Team Italia riders Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli brought their YZF-R6s home in seventh and eighth places respectively, while Yamaha GMT94's David Checa ran strongly until being sidelined with an electrical problem in the second part of the race.
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It was important to come here and get a good result for the championship. It's a shame for us that the race was wet, because we worked really hard all weekend to find a great set-up for the dry conditions. It was important not to throw it down the road and we can go to Lausitz in good spirits. I'm a lot more confident going to Lausitz than I was coming here, because we've tested there and have good settings while Assen was completely new to us with this bike."
Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm happy with the result today and felt confident because I normally go quite well in the rain and had a good rhythm in the practice. It's important to have a good end to the season, to remain in the top 10 of the championship and to build up my confidence for next season."
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I felt a lot better in the second part of the race as I learned a lot about how to ride this track in the wet conditions. With Tibero and Harms crashing I thought about the championship and rode for the points. I'm satisfied because I am not normally strong in the wet but have scored some good points today."
Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "When Broc was in the lead everything was looking OK but in the crash he had a bad head knock and other internal injuries. It is strange because it is great for Kevin to be leading the championship but tonight I my feelings are mixed, on one hand I am happy for Kevin but very sad for Broc."
Circuit Length: 4555
Temp: 22
Crowd:61000
Race 1 - 21 Laps: 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 41'49.124
2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'4.581
3 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 0'9.241
4 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'9.489
5 Arie Vos Honda NED 0'29.994
6 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'31.858
7 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'54.312
8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'56.085
9 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'9.735
10 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 1'13.899
11 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'21.451
12 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 1'26.458
13 Alessio Velini Yamaha ITA 1'32.137
14 Vesa Kallio Yamaha FIN 1'37.377
15 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'45.357
Best Lap:Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'55.516
Rider Standings 03/09/2006: 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 151
2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 144
3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119
4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 94
5. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 92
6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 86
7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67
8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57
9. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49
10. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 46
11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29
12. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27
13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 22
14. Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21
15. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 21
Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006: 1. Honda 202
2. Yamaha 188
3. Ducati 54
4. Kawasaki 49
5. Suzuki 28
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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