Kevin Curtain gave the 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6 a promising debut, taking second place in the opening world supersport round in Qatar. The Yamaha Motor Germany rider rode a cautious race to take the flag behind world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). Although despite having only had 90 minutes dry weather practice at the circuit, Curtain was still able to run under lap record pace to start the season with 20 valuable points.
"We're not that far off for the first time in a race with the new bike." Said Curtain. "We have a little bit to go yet but I'm really happy we can just about match them, especially in top speed. It was close but not close enough. Sebastien ran a fast race today, and the opposition has shown that they are still strong this year. But I am happy that the new R6 has performed this well this quickly so it can only get even better. We didn't have much time in the dry and I wasn't sure if the front tyre could last the distance. In the end it was fine but I didn't want to risk a DNF at this stage. Now it's off to Phillip Island, where we've already tested and have a good set-up, so that's something to look forward to."
Charpentier had made a good start to lead from the line and pull away in the opening laps, while the Australian rider endured some inimical moves from Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda). Curtain was able to break away from his young Turkish opponent, running several laps on record pace to close right up with the champion. But Charpentier was able to increase his pace and build a gap over Curtain, who decided discretion was the better part of valour. Unsure of the endurance of his front tyre, he decided to bring his R6 home in a safe second place, five seconds behind Charpentier but a similar distance ahead of third placed Sofuoglu.
Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes' Qatar outing was a short one, ending in the gravel on lap two. The Australian burnt the clutch out on the startline but continued anyway, only to be caught out by a lack of engine braking caused by the slipping clutch. Yamaha Motor Germany's Parkes said, "I burned the clutch on the start line and I could feel that after a few corners it was not right, but I decided to continue anyway. As I went into one corner it was just slipping all the way, no engine braking at all, and then I ran into the gravel and couldn't save it. Of course, it's a disappointing start to the season but there's a long way to go and I'm looking forward to racing at Phillip Island next weekend."
The new R6 is powering the bulk of riders in this year's championship with Spanish privateer Javier Fores showing the potential of the machine with a fine fourth place. Italian riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello also finished in the top 10 on their Lorenzini by Leoni entered R6s. Anthony Gobert's world supersport debut saw him end up 12th on the Yamaha GMT94 machine.
Javier Fores who rides for SLM Racing remarked, "I thought I would get fifth but then Fujiwara crashed, so it was a bonus to get fourth. I didn't know that there was a rider closing on me until near the end, but I managed to hold the gap to him. The bike was revving to the red line even in the top gears so I think we could have done something else with the gearing and gone even faster."
Yamaha's GMT94 rider, Anthony Gobert who had to work hard in the race said, "I struggled a bit at the start but once I got going and into the groove of it, it went better. There were so many things different today, the suspension, the gearing shorter and so on. By the time I had adjusted to the new settings I was 24th but then worked my way back up to 12th at the finish."
Race classification WSSRound: 1 - QatarCircuit: Losail Circuit
Circuit Length: 5380
Lap Record: 2' 3.921 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006)
Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 3.921 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006)
Race: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 37' 30.955
2 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +5.396
3 K. Sofuoglu Honda TUR +11.657
4 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +38.142
5 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE +39.168
6 K. Andersen Suzuki NOR +45.547
7 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +47.631
8 C. Zaiser Ducati AUT +47.682
9 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +48.575
10 J. Brookes Ducati AUS +49.814
11 S. Le Grelle Honda BEL +54.509
12 A. Gobert Yamaha AUS +54.702
13 W. De Angelis Honda ITA +57.362
14 T. Tunstall Honda GBR +1' 3.436
15 G. Nannelli Yamaha ITA +1' 5.482
16 D. Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL +1' 7.541
18 C. Peris Yamaha CAN +1' 14.340
19 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA +1' 14.556
20 V. Ivanov Yamaha RUS +1' 14.876
21 A. Velini Yamaha ITA +1' 44.747
22 D. Garcia Yamaha ITA +1' 46.385
23 J. Enjolras Yamaha FRA +1' 46.500
Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 2' 3.921
Championship standings WSS Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 25
2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 20
3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 16
4 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 13
5 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 11
6 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 10
7 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 9
8 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 8
9 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 7
10 Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 6
11 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 5
12 Anthony Gobert Yamaha AUS 4
13 William De Angelis Honda ITA 3
14 Tom Tunstall Honda GBR 2
15 Gianluca Nannelli Yamaha ITA 1
Manufacturers standings WSSPos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 25
2 Yamaha 20
3 Suzuki 10
4 Ducati 8
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