Team Suzuki Alstare riders Fonsi Nieto and Yukio Kagayama and Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner were happy to leave Donington Park after a difficult weekend, but unhappy with the results. The heavy rain on Friday and Saturday gave way to a mostly dry track in the first race, but then came back with a vengeance in the second. Yukio and Fonsi finished 5th and 7th in race one, which was a two-parter because of a red-flag, but Max crashed out of contention when he highsided after hitting a puddle of water.
Just before the start of race two, the heavens opened, causing all riders to change from a dry set-up, to rain-tyres and a wet set-up. The conditions were atrocious and there were thirteen retirements, including Fonsi, in the soggy 23-lapper. Yukio and Max struggled throughout, with Max ending 14th and Yukio 19th.
Troy Bayliss (Ducati) won race one, with ‘wild card’ Tom Sykes (Suzuki) second and Max Biaggi (Ducati) third. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) dominated race two and ran out a comfortable winner ahead of another ‘wild card’, Cal Crutchlow (Honda), with Troy Corser (Yamaha) third.
Yukio - Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 19th
"This day was very difficult, just like the whole weekend! I am almost pleased with fifth position in the first race, but for me, fifth is not good enough! Because we had no dry rack time, we had to guess what dry settings to use and so the bike was not as good as it could’ve been. So I think that to finish fifth after qualifying 24th is maybe not so bad. In race two, we changed to full wets and a wet set-up after the rain came down while we were on the grid and I always knew it would be a very long and difficult 23 laps. Just like Friday and Saturday, I could feel no grip at the rear, so I just had to ride round and try and get to the end of the race. This is not my style and so I am not happy, but when you feel the bike aquaplaning and slipping in the corners, it is hard to ride. Our engineers now have a lot of data to analyse and think about and I hope that they find solutions to our problems."
Fonsi - Race 1: 7th, Race 2: DNF
"Like everybody else, I think, I used slicks on the front and rear in race one and although we didn’t have a good dry set-up, I managed 7th, which is not to bad considering I started from 23rd on the grid. I would prefer to forget race two! All weekend we’ve had problems with rear grip and we never found any set-up that worked well. I really found it hard just keeping upright in race two and after 18 laps I decide to pull in because otherwise I am sure I would’ve crashed. For me this was a weekend to forget."
Max - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 14th
"Not all of the track was dry in the first race and I was a bit unlucky because I hit a puddle and high-sided and that was that. Our dry set-up was a gamble, because there had not been any dry track time in the past two days and we had to take a chance - like everybody else. But still, I was angry because I had crashed and could not continue. The conditions in race two were very difficult and the track was very, very slippery and I had no rear grip at all - just like yesterday and Friday! When the rain fell while we were on the grid, we had to put on wet tyres and soften the suspension, but it wasn’t anyway near a good set-up and I struggled throughout the race. It has been a frustrating weekend for us all, so I hope the next round in Vallelunga will be better - and dry!"
Superbike Result - Race One
1. T Bayliss (Ducati) 29m55.384s
2. T Sykes (Suzuki) +1.266s
3. M Biaggi (Ducati) +28.636s
4. G Lavilla (Honda) +33.566s
5. Y Kagayama (Suzuki) +35.966s
6. J Smrz (Ducati) +36.034s
7. F Nieto (Suzuki) +36.442s
8. L Haslam (Honda) +41.633s
9. K Muggeridge (Honda) +42.075s
10. J Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +43.476s
Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) DNF
Superbike Result - Race Two
1. R Kiyonari (Honda) 40m26.508s
2. C Crutchlow (Honda) +2.261s
3. T Corser (Yamaha) +9.727s
4. J Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +20.227s
5. M Fabrizio (Ducati) +27.475s
6. M Biaggi (Ducati) +28.051s,
7. G Lavilla (Honda) +30.922s
8. R Xaus (Ducati) +38.353s
9. C Checa (Honda) +50.196s
10. T Sykes (Suzuki) +57.346s
14. Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki)
19. Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare)
Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare) DNF
Championship Standings after Round 11
1. T Bayliss (AUS) 359pts
2. T Corser (AUS) 258pts
3. M Neukirchner (GER) 254pts
4. C Checa (ESP) 240pts
5. N Haga (JPN) 230pts
6. F Nieto (ESP) 192pts
7. M Biaggi (ITA) 192pts
8. R Kiyonari (JPN) 190pts
9. M Fabrizio (ITA) 172pts
10. R Xaus (ESP) 156pts
11. Yukio Kagayama 120pts
