Suzuki’s World Superbike Champion Troy Corser raced his Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000 to two second places at today’s third-round World Superbike Championship race in Valencia, Spain. He led Troy Bayliss (Ducati) for the best part of the two 23-lappers but had to give way to his fellow countryman in the closing stages both times. But team mate Yukio Kagayama had a weekend to forget: After his concussion yesterday and badly bruised right hand, he was far from fit but battled hard in the opening race for a well-deserved sixth place.
The second race was following a similar pattern until he lost the front going into the first hairpin and crashed out. Fortunately he didn’t do any further damage to his right hand but hurt his right leg in the process. Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret scored his first points of the season with a 15th in race one and a 13th in race two.
Troy Corser - Race 1: 2nd,
Race 2: 2nd:
“I’m happy, but also frustrated today. Happy because I took two seconds and also because I know I couldn’t have ridden any harder than I did. I tried my best, but I couldn’t overtake Troy Bayliss after he had passed me in both races. That was kind of frustrating, but I could see his bike was working the tyres less than mine and in the end the difference between us was marginal.
“In race one I got a pretty good start and managed to pull out a bit of a gap, but in the later part of the race he caught me up when my tyres started to go. When he passed me I tried to get back at him, but he could run a bit faster than me and I just couldn’t do it.
“It was much of the same in the second race: I built up a pretty good lead but I got a false neutral going into the first hairpin and was lucky not to crash. That was enough for Troy to close the gap. I had to adjust the clutch slip during the race and although it was only a tiny problem, that and tyre wear prevented me from catching and passing him.”
Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 6th,
Race 2: DNF:
“The weekend was not so good for me and maybe it’s better that I forget it. The crash yesterday meant that my right hand was not strong and, because Valencia is a very physical circuit, I couldn’t brake as hard as normal. Also it made changing direction much more difficult.
“In the first race, I had a good fight with a group of riders and I enjoyed this battle. I could only use one finger to brake, so I could not go in as deep and hard as normal. If I hadn’t had the problem, I think I could’ve caught Haga and Abe ahead. In the second race I crashed at the hairpin, but I am not exactly sure why. I went into the turn, braked as usual and suddenly I was down without any warning. I was using a medium front tyre in race two - compared to a hard front in race one - so maybe that was part of the problem.”
Fabien Foret - Race 1: 15th,
Race 2: 13th:
“All in all, I’m pretty happy with the weekend because it has been a good experience - my first ever Superpole yesterday and then scoring some points today. In the first race, I made a good start and the first five or six laps were not so bad. But, I think the tyre choice was wrong and that together with a small suspension problem didn’t allow me to lap as fast as I had expected.
“My start in race two was ok and I was in a good group , Toseland, Barros and I enjoyed the battle and was happy because my lap times were consistent. This race weekend I feel I have made another step forward and gained a lot of experience. My next step is to qualify better and improve my finishing positions.”
Race 1 Result: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati),
2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra),
3 Lanzi (I-Ducati),
4 Abe (J-Yamaha),
5 Haga (J-Yamaha),
6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra),
7 Xaus (E-Ducati),
8 Laconi (I-Kawasaki),
9 Toseland (GB-Honda),
10 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha).
15 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra).
Race 2 Result:1 Bayliss,
2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra),
3 Lanzi,
4 Abe,
5 Haga,
6 Nieto (E-Kawasaki),
7 Walker (GB-Kawasaki),
8 Laconi,
9 Pitt,
10 Fabrizio (I-Honda),
13 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra).
Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF.
World Championship Points (after 3 rounds): 1 Bayliss 125,
2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 103,
3 Toseland 86,
4 Haga 64,
5 Barros 62,
6 Pitt 58,
7 Lanzi 47,
8 Abe 40,
9 Fabrizio 34,
10 Xaus 33.
13 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 24.
21 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 4.
Related Linkswww.alstare.net
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