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Pirelli Brands Hatch Race Review
04 August 2008
After two days of practice in an uncertain atmosphere, due to changing weather conditions, Troy Bayliss took the Superpole prize with a 1'25.656 lap, ahead of Haga, Kiyonari and Smrz, who were also on the first row. Just a few raindrops came along at the start of the Superpole laps, but that was enough for it to be declared ‘wet’; and then the sun came back… Wet Superpole is run in a different format compared to the solo lap of the ‘dry’ version: it’s a 50 minute session with a maximum of 12 pit lane exits for the riders. Bayliss only realized the fastest lap in the last moments, when the racetrack was completely dry and riders were finally running with Pirelli qualifiers. A great performance came from the English rider Tom Sykes, on the Rizla Suzuki which he races with in the BSB (British National championship) - which is also a single make Pirelli Championship. Sykes took a great 6th grid spot, behind Corser but ahead of Biaggi and the three Suzuki Alstare riders.
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Japanese Trio Hit the Front in SBK Qualifying at Brands
02 August 2008
A trio of Japanese riders hit the front in the first qualifying session for round 10 of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Brands Hatch, with two-times British Superbike champion Ryuichi Kiyonari clocking a time of 1 minute 26.017 seconds to take provisional pole. The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda man, who also won the Suzuka 8 Hours a few days ago, was just a fraction ahead of his fellow countryman Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), second quickest today despite a late trip into the gravel. Suzuki Alstare’s Yukio Kagayama set a similar time to Haga to grab the third slot, while Italian Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) was a further fraction of a second behind to complete the provisional front row.
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Bayliss Dominates With Double Victory at Brno
21 July 2008
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) bounced back to the winner’s podium after a gap of eight races with a dominant double victory at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The points leader took his seventh and eighth wins of the season in front of 63,000 spectators, and this was the fifteenth time the Australian has picked up the ‘double’. The ninth round of the season also saw great performances by his team-mate Michel Fabrizio, twice on the podium, and by Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati), third in race 2, while Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB) was also in good form in the two races.
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SBK Reaches #500 Mark with Czech Republic Round at Brno
16 July 2008
The Superbike World Championship notches up an important benchmark this coming weekend at the Automotodrom Brno circuit in the Czech Republic as the production-based racing series reaches the #500 mark with Sunday’s race two. The championship got underway at Donington Park on April 3rd, 1988 and this weekend’s round at Brno will see races #499 and #500. Even though the Czech Republic Round is the 252nd in the championship’s history, on four occasions (1988 Le Mans, 2001 Phillip Island, 2005 Imola, 2007 Silverstone), only race one was held due to inclement weather conditions.
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Haga Scores Magnificent Double Win at the Nurburgring
15 June 2008
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB) scored a fantastic double win at the Nurburgring on World Superbike’s return to the German track for the first time in ten years. Just two weeks after breaking his collarbone in the USA, Haga fought off Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) to win race 1, and then got the better of his team-mate Troy Corser in a rain-shortened second encounter to take the double. Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) took two thirds in front of his home crowd. Despite unfavourable weather conditions, the German Round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship, reached a satisfactory overall attendance of 41,000 over the 3 days.
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Neukirchner Powers to Superpole in Home Round
15 June 2008
Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) powered to a second Superpole win of the season in his home round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Nurburgring. The 25-year-old from Stollberg in the former East Germany, set an incredible time of 1 minute 55.471 seconds around the 5.137 km circuit on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. The remainder of the front row was made up of riders from three different manufacturers; Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was three-tenths of a second down in second place, followed by Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), who ten days ago was undergoing surgery on a broken collarbone.
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Checa’s Double Win Leaves All to Play for at Nurburgring
11 June 2008
The double win by Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) in Round 6 of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship two weeks ago at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA succeeded in shuffling the cards in the points standings somewhat as the series reaches the mid-point of the season. With Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) failing to score in both races, the Spaniard has now cut the gap to the top man to just 28 points. What seemed a healthy points cushion for the Australian just a couple of races ago, is now not such a large gap after all, proving that anything can happen in the unpredictable world of Superbike racing. The second new circuit in the space of two weeks is the Nurburgring, which has not hosted a round of the Superbike World Championship since 1999, when the German Round made its second and last visit after the first event in 1998. Four riders in the current world championship line-up have raced Superbike there before – Troy Corser, Noriyuki Haga, Ruben Xaus and Gregorio Lavilla – with the Australian powering to a race 2 win in 1999, while Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi have raced in 500 and 250 respectively and Max Neukirchner in the German championship. Almost one decade has passed since then and this weekend’s Nurburgring race is sure to throw up a few surprises.
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Neukirchner & Haga Share the Wins in Monza
12 May 2008
Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) shared the wins in the IDS Italian Round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in front of a record crowd of 112,000 spectators. The first-ever win for a German rider in World Superbike history came at the end of a sprint finish to the line with Haga, just 0.058 seconds behind at the flag. The final podium place went to championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) after a late attack by Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare), who finished fourth despite a couple of errors at the chicane.
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Monza Gets Ready for Another Slipstreaming Thriller
09 May 2008
As the gates opened at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for the traditional SBK Open Paddock, riders taking part in this weekend’s races have been facing up to an intense day of PR activity, both inside and outside the circuit. The first appointment of the day saw six Superbike riders – Troy Bayliss, Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Noriyuki Haga, Makoto Tamada and Max Neukirchner, together with the leaders of the other three categories, Joan Lascorz (Supersport), Maxime Berger (Superstock 1000) and Dan Linfoot (Superstock 600) – take part in the traditional pre-event press conference in the delightful 14th century Castello della Bicocca building within the grounds of Pirelli headquarters in Milan.
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Double Dutch Delight for Bayliss at Assen
28 April 2008
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) powered to his second double of the year with two convincing wins at the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands in the fourth round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship front of 75,000 spectators. Bayliss powered to his fifth win at Assen in the opening race after a mistake by early leader Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki) on lap 12 left him with a gap at the chicane. The Australian then increased his lead over the following riders in the final laps to win by a margin of 2 seconds. Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took the runner-up slot, in a sprint to the finish with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare). Kagayama took fourth from Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), both riders holding off a late charge by Jakub Smrz (Ducati Guandalini).
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Wins For Lanzi & Haga In SBK Round 3 At Valencia
06 April 2008
Lorenzo Lanzi (RG Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB) took the wins in a spectacular day of action at Valencia in front of 60,000 spectators, a record attendance for World Superbikes at the Spanish circuit. Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) were the protagonists of the first race. Neukirchner led every lap from pole position until the final corner, when Checa dived inside, but the Spaniard crashed and took his German rival down with him. Neukirchner suffered a broken left collarbone in the incident and failed to take part in race 2, while Checa remounted to finish fifth.
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Suzuki Take 1-2 In Thrilling Valencia Superpole
05 April 2008
Suzuki Alstare riders Max Neukirchner and Yukio Kagayama finished first and second in today’s thrilling Superpole session at the Valencia circuit. The young German rider has been on the pace all weekend and he took his first ever Superpole, Suzuki’s 16th pole position, with a time of 1m33.805s, the new outright circuit record. His Suzuki team-mate Yukio Kagayama was just a fraction of a second behind, the Japanese rider almost back to full strength after his recent collarbone injury. Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was the first rider this weekend to dip under 1m34s, but he was outpaced in the one-lap sprint and had to settle for third place.
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Bayliss Faces Spanish Attack At Valencia
03 April 2008
With the opening two flyaway rounds behind them, competitors in the 2008 HANNspree Superbike World Championship are now on European soil for the third round of the series at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia, Spain. The form guide after two events shows Ducati Xerox Team’s Troy Bayliss at the top of the standings with 88 points and three wins to his name in four races, but other riders and teams are now emerging as powerful threats to the Australian, in particular Suzuki Alstare’s Fonsi Nieto and Carlos Checa of HANNspree Honda Ten Kate. “Valencia is one of those tracks where I expect everyone to go better and I think those teams that have perhaps been a little behind us with getting ready for the championship will now start to show results,” said Bayliss.
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