Polished performance moves Pitt up to fourth

Andrew Pitt continued his rich vein of form at Imola today, scoring a podium finish in the day's opening race to move up to fourth in the championship ahead of next weekend's final round of the season.

The Yamaha Motor Italia rider backed up his hard fought third place in race one with a tremendous fourth around the demanding Imola circuit in race two. Meanwhile team-mate Noriyuki Haga fought set-up problems to post a fourth and sixth place finish, keeping his hopes of finishing second in this year's championship well and truly alive.

Race one saw both the red Yamahas fighting for the lead, with Pitt overtaking pole man Troy Bayliss (Ducati) on the second lap. The Yamaha man rode confidently at the front for five laps, only to slip back to fifth after the rear of his machine slid violently as he exited a corner. Despite struggling for rear grip, the Australian was able to regain a good rhythm and pass his way through to third, behind the Hondas of Alex Barros and James Toseland, by lap 19 of the 21-lap race.

Haga too found himself plagued by rear grip problems. After holding third in the opening laps, he had no answer to the advancing Barros and Toseland. The Japanese stuck diligently to his task and was rewarded with fourth place at the flag, overtaking Bayliss as he crossed the line for the final time.

Both of the Yamaha riders made slight adjustments to their machines for the second outing and it looked like the changes would pay dividends as they occupied second and third behind Bayliss in the opening laps. Pitt was able to push his fellow Australian harder than anyone else, but eventually the Yamaha man succumbed to front end grip problems and was passed by the slow-starting Barros and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki), who crossed the line in second and third. Bayliss took the chequered flag for his 11th win of the season, with Haga behind Toseland in sixth.

Norick Abe was Yamaha Motor France's leading rider in Imola, scoring 12 points from ninth and 11th place finishes to move him up one place, to 13th, in the championship. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi had one of the best weekend's of his rookie world superbike season, finishing 11th and 12th in the races, although the team's third member, Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert, had a disaster at one of his favourite circuits. Still racing with an injury sustained in Assen he retired from both races.

Bayliss' performances secured him his second world title with one round remaining, while Barros' win makes him the eighth different race winner in what has proved an exciting season. The battle for the silver medal is very much alive, with Haga trailing Toseland by just two points following today's races. Pitt currently lies fourth in the series and will also be looking to defend his eight point advantage over Barros in France.

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Overall I'm pretty happy, although I'd have liked to have got another podium in the second one as well. In the first race the rear grip was gone after a few laps but after I had a big slide I was able to find my rhythm again and work my way through to the podium. For the second race we made quite a few changes and moved some more weight onto the front of the bike. It was a definite improvement and the bike worked better for longer, but as the fuel went down the front started pushing a bit. I thought that maybe I could get past Kagayama, as he was making some mistakes, but by the end the front tyre was gone and I couldn't take the risk. At the end of the day we've come to a track that we felt wouldn't be one of the best for our bike and got some good results to move up to fourth in the championship. On Friday we were struggling but my team is working very hard and it's always great to give them a podium at one of their home races, so it's been a good day."

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the end it was not such a bad result. All weekend we found it difficult to get a perfect feeling with the bike and this made the races hard work, especially around this demanding circuit. In both races I was able to make a good start and fight for a few laps. In the end I had to ride for the points. Ten years ago I think I would have crashed trying to win the race, but today I was able to use my head and think of the championship. Now we go to Magny Cours two points behind Toseland, so this is not so bad and possible for us to overcome."

Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "So many riders crashed in race one that the result maybe looked better than it was. I was lucky to be ninth. We had problems with rear grip, lots of sliding and moving. Then between the races we changed a few small settings and maybe the bike worked better, because the lap times were faster. But we were still sliding everywhere, uphill and downhill!"

Shinichi Nakatomi   

Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I started from the 22nd position on the grid and then I passed some riders. My lap times and positions went better and better from Friday to Sunday. I finished the second race 1.8 behind Abe and my fastest lap was on the 19th of the 21 laps, so for my first time on this track, it is good progress."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Of course, we would prefer to be winning the races but I think that today we did a good job as we had a problem getting race distance out of our tyres. Andrew rode very well in both races and is now fourth in the championship. Noriyuki has had some small problems over the weekend and although we lost some points to Toseland he made sure he didn't crash and got as many points as possible. We have two riders in the top four of the championship and our targets for Magny Cours are now clear: for Noriyuki it is to finish second in the championship, while Andrew must defend his fourth place."

Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "It is a good overall result with one ninth position, two 11th and one 12th. Our two riders are in fact the first privateers on this very difficult and dangerous track with a bad surface, so we have many reasons to be happy. Sebastien Gimbert, injured at Assen and the Bol d'Or, tried everything but unfortunately had to retire. Abe is now 13th in the championship standings and Nakatomi, for his first year, is 17th which is good because the level is very high. We hope that Sebastien Gimbert will feel better at Magny Cours and that he will be able to express himself properly on bike."

Circuit Length: 4959 Temp: 28 Crowd: 86500 Weather: Sunny     2006 WSB Imola 01/10/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Alex Barros Honda BRA 39'0.096 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'4.351 3 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'6.809 4 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'11.179 5 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'11.537 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'20.974 7 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'23.055 8 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'23.747 9 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'27.289 10 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'29.160 11 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'30.792 12 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'32.104 13 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 0'38.537 14 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'45.410 15 Joshua Brookes Kawasaki AUS 0'48.494

Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 38'57.069 2 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'1.413 3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'4.355 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'5.387 5 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'6.418 6 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'9.615 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'12.429 8 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'14.895 9 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'19.708 10 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'20.577 11 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'23.473 12 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'25.368 13 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'31.340 14 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'32.993 15 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'41.830

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'50.266

 Rider Standings 01/10/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 393 2. James Toseland Honda GBR 295 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 293 4. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 239 5. Alex Barros Honda BRA 231 6. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 218 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 193 8. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 152 9. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 140 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 139 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 117 12. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 113 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 105 14. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 103 15. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 96 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 42 21. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18

Manufacturer Standings 01/10/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 412 2. Honda 373 3. Yamaha 368 4. Suzuki 336 5. Kawasaki 211 6. Petronas 19

RACE REPORT 01/10/2006 Podium placing keeps Curtain on title track   Kevin Curtain   

Yamaha Motor Germany rider Kevin Curtain will go in to next weekend's final world supersport round with an 18-point advantage after finishing third at Imola today.

The race was won by championship rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who needed to beat the Yamaha man to keep his title defence alive, but Curtain's sensible ride to his ninth podium of the season keeps him in the driving seat for next weekend's race in Magny Cours.

The Imola event proved somewhat less exciting than most of the year's previous supersport races. From the lights it was Charpentier's team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu who led the race, riding in formation with his team-mate until the Frenchman unsurprisingly took the lead with eight laps remaining.

Behind them, Curtain struggled for traction and rode a lonely race, with five seconds of tarmac ahead and behind him for much of the race. Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello, winner of the previous weekend's Italian supersport championship race at the same venue, had a great race to secure the best result of his world supersport career, crossing the flag in fourth place.

Broc Parkes   

Broc Parkes, team-mate to Curtain in the Yamaha Motor Germany squad, rode heroically to bring his YZF-R6 home in sixth place, just one month after receiving serious injuries in a crash at Assen. The Australian was still in considerable discomfort from his injured neck and ribs, but rode a determined race to bag 10 points that could prove vital in deciding his final championship position.

Massimo Roccoli made it four YZF-R6s in the top ten, bringing his Yamaha Team Italia entry home in tenth. Spain's David Checa finished 12th on the Yamaha GMT94 R6.

The series will now be decided next weekend at the last round of the year in Magny Cours. Curtain goes to the French Formula One circuit on 187 points, with Charpentier on 169. Parkes will be looking to reclaim third place at the circuit where he gained his maiden world supersport win 12 months earlier. The Australian currently lies eight points behind third placed Sofuoglu, on 129 points.

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I did the best I could with what I had but we just didn't have enough rear grip to challenge Sebastien and Kenan today. I don't know what it was, if it was the temperature or the tyre, but it made it a long hard and lonely race. I'm disappointed that I couldn't run with Sebastien today but if you'd told me at the start of the season that we'd be going to the final race with an 18 point lead I'd have taken it like a shot. We did a professional job today and we've now got to do more of the same at Magny Cours next weekend."

Gianluca Vizziello   

Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I got off the line really well but I made a mistake when I changed into second and this lost me a lot of time and places. After that I pushed hard and just found a good rhythm. I was able to run the same lap times as the guys in front of me so there is a little disappointment as you never know what I might have been capable of had I got away with the leaders. Anyway, I am very happy and I would like to dedicate the result to my team, who have worked very hard for me."

Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I just got on and pushed as hard as I could and tried to stay at the same pace for the whole race. The guys in front of me were a little bit quicker, a bit more than I felt comfortable pushing, so I powered on at my best pace and felt good in the middle of the race. I could see Vizziello in front of me and he was making some mistakes. But I had no stamina at all and found it hard to change the bike from side-to-side in the middle of the chicanes. I think I will be a lot better next weekend but, considering the circumstances, I'm quite happy with today's result."

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I wanted to get a good result for my fans today but I went into the race knowing that it would be difficult because we struggled to find a good set-up in practice. I'm now looking forward to Magny Cours. It is a challenging track and I will be doing my best to get back up to fifth in the championship."

Circuit Length: 4959 Temp: 28 Crowd: 86500 Weather: Sunny     2006 WSS Imola 01/10/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 40'7.972 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'0.406 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'9.627 4 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'13.983 5 William De Angelis Honda ITA 0'14.390 6 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 0'16.870 7 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'18.171 8 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 0'18.534 9 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 0'31.522 10 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'31.561 11 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'32.047 12 David Checa Yamaha ESP 0'36.420 13 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'43.105 14 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 0'43.674 15 Chris Peris Yamaha CAN 0'47.734

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'53.388

 Rider Standings 01/10/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 187 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 169 3. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 137 4. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 129 5. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 107 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 96 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 74 8. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 69 9. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 62 10. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 33 12. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 30 13. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 30 14. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 30 15. Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 29

Manufacturer Standings 01/10/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 252 2. Yamaha 224 3. Ducati 74 4. Kawasaki 55 5. Suzuki 39

RACE REPORT 01/10/2006 Corti moves up to second at Imola   Claudio Corti   

Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti moved up to second place in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup after a dramatic race in Imola.

The 19-year-old from Como finished the race fourth but was moved up to third following the exclusion of race winner Luca Scassa (MV Agusta) for a technical infringement.

Corti made a good start from fourth on the grid, lying in second place to in the opening laps. While Scassa was able to pull away up front and take the flag by over two seconds, Corti slipped back into a thrilling five-way battle for the remaining podium slots, which was eventually won by Australian rider Brendan Roberts (Suzuki).

Corti raced elbow-to-elbow with series leader Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) on the final lap and although the Yamaha man tried to overtake his fellow Italian for the final podium position on several occasions, he could not quite force his YZF-R1 SP past his more experienced rival.

With Scassa's exclusion, Roberts was declared the winner and Polita's second position seals the championship in his favour. Corti moves up to second place, 26 points behind the champion. Ironically, had Scassa not been excluded Corti would have gone to Magny Cours with the slimmest of hopes of winning the title.

Despite being unable to win the title at the final race Corti will be looking to retain a top three position in the championship, his initial target after moving up from the 600cc class he won last year.

Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I started very fast but found myself slipping back into the pack after a few laps. I was able to recover and tried very hard to pass Polita on the final lap. He defended his line well and seemed to be able to accelerate out of the slow corners a little bit more quickly than me today. Probably our set-up wasn't quite as good as it could have been today but it's a good result and we're now second in the championship, so I am happy."

Circuit Length: 4959 Temp: 23 Crowd: 86500 Weather: Sunny     2006 Superstock Imola 01/10/2006 Race 1 - 12 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 23'4.667 2 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'0.538 3 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 0'0.624 4 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 0'2.939 5 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'6.047 6 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'10.025 7 Roberto Lunadei Yamaha ITA 0'15.101 8 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'15.527 9 Leonardo Biliotti MV Agusta GER 0'15.907 10 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'16.449 11 Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 0'16.585 12 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'18.130 13 Matej Smrz Honda CZE 0'22.745 14 Arne Tode Suzuki GER 0'23.202 15 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'26.382

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 1'54.426

 Rider Standings 01/10/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 157 2. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 131 3. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 122 4. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 118 5. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 87 6. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 72 7. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 71 8. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 58 9. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 48 10. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 11. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 41 12. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 39 13. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 30 14. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 15. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27

Manufacturer Standings 01/10/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 189 2. MV Agusta 153 3. Yamaha 149 4. Kawasaki 86 5. Honda 45