Both Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes posted heroic performances in race conditions at Monza, with Foret taking his first win of the 2008 season, by 1.199 seconds, and Parkes finishing third. Parkes was unsure if he could even ride at all on Wednesday, so his podium finish, his second of the year, was an impressive performance from the tough Australian rider.
Foret pulled through from fifth after an imperfect start to overhaul early leaders Josh Brookes and Parkes, and after taking a firm grip on the lead on lap nine the winning result was never really in doubt. Parkes had a pretty lonely race after putting up a spirited defence of his early leading position, fighting with Brookes for much of the time. He finished only six seconds from victory, and five seconds ahead of the next best rider, Andrew Pitt.
Foret's win places him second in the championship on 71 points to Joan Lascorz's 77, with Parkes third on 65.
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a fighting ride at his home track, taking seventh after riding in a group of warring riders, looking for fourth place.
Yamaha Spain rider Angel Rodriguez had a solid tenth place but his team-mate David Salom just missed out on a point again, going 16th for the second race in succession.
Fabien Foret (1st - 29'38.261 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)"I am very pleased to win here. After a tough time in round one at Qatar, I needed points - but I also wanted to win. This was my race; I love this track. I was a bit nervous after problems with my start in previous races so I didn't push it for a bit, but then it started to happen for me. I tried to push every lap from then on. There is still a long way to go in the championship but I am very happy with the win. A big thanks to the team!"
Broc Parkes (3rd - +0'6.736 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)"I had an accident on my mountain bike a short while ago and my arm's still quite sore. That made it very difficult today. It was good for the first half of the race, but then it just got harder and harder to push under braking and during changes of direction. Considering how things were a few days ago, I'm happy to take the points and move forward."
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team)"We are very happy of course with Fabien's first win. He deserved it at the first race in Qatar, because he was fighting so hard for that first win in February, but it didn't happen. He had the whole package to win today and he made the most of it. We took lots of points from Lascorz and the championship is open again. Broc had a brave and fast ride. He tried to pull away to let him relax a little on the final laps but he couldn't, just because of his injured arm. A first and third today was a good result for the whole team."
Massimo Roccoli (7th- +0'11.757 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
"The race was not great and not bad, but for sure I could not get to the pace of the top three guys today, they were just too fast. I was a little disappointed not to get to the front of the group I was racing in at the finish."
Angel Rodriguez: (10th - +0'15.175 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team)"Since yesterday I started to feel pain in my forearms. During the race, 6 or 7 laps to go, it was painful again so I settled for the 10th position. I didn't want to risk another crash like Assen, today it was important to finish. I tried to follow Lascorz but he had a little more rhythm and escaped, but at the end we finished almost together. Everything has been OK, team and bike has worked well."
David Salom: (16th- +0'46.152 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team)"I was fighting with a riders group and I couldn't escape them. The rear tyre slid a lot and it was impossible to find a rhythm. But anyway I think it would have been difficult to escape. In the last laps I was very slowly because we were fighting with each other so much."
Circuit Length: 5792
Temp: 22
Weather: Cloudy
Race 1 - WSS Italy - Monza:
1. Fabien Foret - Yamaha - FRA 29'38.2612. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS 0'1.199
3. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 0'6.7364. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS 0'11.398
5. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 0'11.477
6. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 0'11.716
7. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 0'11.7578. Matthieu Lagrive - Honda - FRA 0'12.186
9. Joan Lascorz - Honda - ESP 0'14.847
10. Angel Rodriguez - Yamaha - ESP 0'15.17511 .Mark Aitchinson - Triumph - AUS 0'21.256
12. Cristiano Migliorati - Kawasaki - ITA 0'24.899
13. Gianluca Nannelli - Honda - ITA 0'25.077
14. Vesa Kallio - Honda - FIN 0'25.160
15. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Kawasaki - JPN 0'26.429
16. David Salom - Yamaha - ESP 0'46.152
Best Lap: Fabien Foret - Yamaha - FRA 1'50.430
RIDER STANDINGS: 1. Joan Lascorz - Honda - ESP 77
2. Fabien Foret - Yamaha - FRA 71
3. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 654. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS 63
5. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS 63
6. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 49
7. Jonathan Rea - Honda - GBR 41
8. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 39
9. Matthieu Lagrive - Honda - FRA 28
10. Gianluca Vizziello - Honda - ITA 26
11. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 2512. Gianluca Nannelli - Honda - ITA 20
13. Chris Walker - Kawasaki - GBR 20
14. Mark Aitchinson - Triumph - AUS 20
15. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED 19
19. David Salom - Yamaha - ESP 8
MANUFACTURER STANDINGS:1. Honda 115
2. Yamaha 963. Triumph 30
4. Kawasaki 24
5. Suzuki 19
