Two seconds moves Haga up in the championship

Two second places at today's German round of the Superbike World Championship saw Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga move back into second place in the series.

Despite suffering a wrist injury in Saturday's free practice session, the Japanese star was able to lead both races and scored more points than any other rider at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit. In the day's first race Haga made a good start and followed championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in the opening laps. When the Australian made an error, the Yamaha rider led a four-way battle for the lead with Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt and the Suzukis of Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama. Pitt eventually slipped back to fourth as a result of an incorrect tyre choice, while Kagayama was able to pass the Yamaha as Haga's front tyre grip deteriorated in the closing stages.

Race two saw the same protagonists at the front but Pitt, now running the same specification tyres as the other front men, was an early casualty when he crashed on lap four. The Australian had been sitting comfortably with the leading pack, only to be pitched off in a lowside crash when his bike's footpeg touched the raised kerbing. That left James Toseland (Honda) in the lead with Haga breathing down his neck for the entire duration of the race. Despite his best efforts, the Yamaha rider could not find a way through and took the chequered flag two-tenths of a second behind the Briton.

Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe brought his YZF-R1 home in 11th place in race two, with team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi gaining another point for 15th. The points provided some reward for the squad, who had a disappointing first race with neither rider scoring a point due to a poor choice of tyres.

Today's results mean that Haga moves back to second in the championship, 87 points behind series leader Bayliss with two rounds and four races remaining. Toseland is the only other rider with a mathematical chance of the title, a further six behind Haga, although Pitt's failure to score sees him surrender one place in the championship. The Yamaha man is now fifth in the series, although only one point behind Corser. Haga's forty points also saw Yamaha close in on Ducati at the head of the manufacturers championship. The Iwata company is now just 37 points behind their Italian rivals with a maximum of 100 available in the four remaining races.

The penultimate round of the championship takes place at the Imola circuit in Italy on 1 October.

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I am happy with the result because yesterday I hurt my wrist and was in a lot of pain. The doctors gave me some painkillers and I actually enjoyed both races, because there were some good fights. In the first race I was able to lead but in the last five laps my front tyre was gone and I could not do anything when Yuki passed me. We made some changes for the second and I was able to fight with James, although he rode very well and I could not pass him. Still, I am satisfied and I would like to thank all the medical staff who helped me get such good results today."

Andrew Pitt   

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "For the first race we chose a different rear tyre to most of the other guys and after ten laps it was gone and I had to settle for fourth. It had been a bit of a gamble, but the temperatures were higher than yesterday and we felt it might give us an advantage. We made a few changes for the second race and used the same tyres as the other guys. I felt really strong and was able to pass Kagayama and catch up to the leaders when I just touched the kerb with my footrest. That caused the weight to come off the back and I just slid off. I tried to get going again but the handlebar was broken off. I'm disappointed but the fact that Barros and Corser didn't score many points has limited the damage and I know that we will bounce straight back in Imola."

Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We had a lot of small problems in race one so it was hard to ride and I couldn't even get a point. Between the races we changed the bike balance by raising the rear and it was much better than race one. My lap times were much better and I kept them better all the way to the end, so I am quite happy."

Shinichi Nakatomi   

Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I like the track but it was impossible to get the right setting, lots of bumps and tyre spinning. Between race one and race two I changed the settings but it did not make so much difference."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "The first race was very good for us, with both riders taking points from Toseland in the championship. We came here with the target of getting second and third in the championship by the end of the year, but now Andrew has dropped to fifth. Overall, though, we can leave here with many positives. The championship is still alive and Noriyuki had scored a lot of points despite his injury. Andrew was a little unlucky but has ridden well and I am sure that both our riders will be able to continue fighting at the front in Imola."

Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "We got a little bit lost because it was a long distance for the tyres to last, so we changed the settings for the second race and Norick could fight for tenth position after that. We have improved after the test here because we lost a lot around here at that time, and we have made it up a lot. I think this track is very delicate for set-up. I am happy - no crashes, some points and now ready for Imola."

Circuit Length: 4265 Temp: 23 Crowd: 51400 Weather: Sunny     2006 WSB Lausitzring 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 39'57.421 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'1.239 3 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'1.436 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'8.725 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'8.975 6 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'13.804 7 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'23.569 8 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'23.846 9 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'27.217 10 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'28.712 11 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'29.543 12 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'29.869 13 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'31.275 14 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 0'34,783.000 15 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'37.010 16 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'46.339 17 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'58.227

Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 James Toseland Honda GBR 39'58.796 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'0.210 3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'3.056 4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'7.396 5 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'11.653 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'21.386 7 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'26.620 8 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'26.736 9 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'29.428 10 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'29.544 11 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'29.779 12 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 0'38.463 13 Craig Jones Petronas GBR 0'45.259 14 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'45.922 15 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'58.393

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'38.635

 Rider Standings 10/09/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 357 2. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 270 3. James Toseland Honda GBR 264 4. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 211 5. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 210 6. Alex Barros Honda BRA 186 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 177 8. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 134 9. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 133 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 127 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 117 12. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 103 13. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 97 14. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 93 15. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 84 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 33 21. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18

Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 376 2. Yamaha 339 3. Honda 328 4. Suzuki 320 5. Kawasaki 196 6. Petronas 19

RACE REPORT 10/09/2006 Curtain closes in on supersport crown   Kevin Curtain, Kenan Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret   

Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain took a step closer to winning the 2006 Supersport World Championship after extending his lead to 27 points at EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

The Australian, who had been fastest in all of the weekend's practice sessions, made a good start from pole position and led for 19 of the 23 laps. Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) pressurised the Yamaha rider all the way and eventually took the lead on lap 20. Curtain still had some opportunities to retake the lead but, with the championship at stake, chose the discretionary option to take home a safe 20 points and his eighth podium finish of the year - crossing the line just one-tenth of a second behind Sofuoglu. With title rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) retiring from the battle for fourth, Curtain leaves Germany with a larger than expected advantage going into the final two races.

Fabien Foret, standing in for the injured Broc Parkes on the second Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6 rode a superb race to take the final podium position. The Frenchman had not even sat on the Yamaha prior to arriving in Germany, but the former world champion improved with each practice session and made a good start from the second row of the grid. Foret found himself fourth into the first turn but quickly passed Christian Zaiser (Ducati) to ride to a somewhat lonely third place, ten seconds behind the winner.

Gianluca Vizziello   

Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello had one of his best results of the season, ending the day sixth. Team-mate Massimo Roccoli overcame a disappointing qualifying to bring his R6 home in a points scoring 12th by the flag.

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I really never expected to leave here with a 27 point advantage. I thought that maybe it would be possible to take four or five points from Sebastien today, so to take 20 is unbelievable. I knew that Kenan was with me all the way and I knew that he would be strong here. I tried to make a break but he stayed with me and I decided to ride for the championship. My team let me know exactly what was happening, so I knew that Charpentier was out. It was quite an easy decision for me in the end. I had the choice of settling for a safe 20 points or risking them for another five. From a championship point of view I've exceeded all my expectations and we can go to Imola and just keep doing what we're doing."

Fabien Foret   

Fabien Foret (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The jump from superbike to supersport was not so easy, especially after being off a bike for some time, but the team is really good, the bike too, and I soon remembered what a 600 was like to ride. At the end it was a good result so I have to give big thanks to the team for giving me the chance of this ride."

Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am very satisfied. Every race I am making more progress and so is the team, our understanding of how everything works is improving all the time. Lausitz is very good for my style and the bike has felt good all weekend, and also at Assen last weekend. Sixth is good for the championship and I hope to move up some more places in the last two races."

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I had a problem getting enough traction out of the slow corners, I think because I am so light, and I had to settle for scoring as many championship points as I could. I'm not particularly happy that I could not ride aggressively but I think I was correct in riding for the points."

Circuit Length: 4265 Temp: 22 Crowd: 51400 Weather: Sunny     2006 WSS Lausitzring 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 39'29.099 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'0.130 3 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 0'9.654 4 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'10.564 5 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'19.925 6 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'24.288 7 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 0'24.980 8 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 0'25.058 9 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'30.289 10 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 0'34.854 11 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 0'35.811 12 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'36.092 13 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 0'36.430 14 Chris Peris Yamaha CAN 0'36.845 15 Tatu Lauslehto Honda FIN 1'0.846

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'42.090

 Rider Standings 10/09/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 171 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 144 3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119 4. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 117 5. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 107 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 90 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57 9. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 56 10. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 11. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 30 12. Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 29 13. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29 14. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27 15. Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 24

Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 227 2. Yamaha 208 3. Ducati 65 4. Kawasaki 55 5. Suzuki 36

RACE REPORT 10/09/2006 Corti win keeps superstock championship alive   Claudio Corti   

Yamaha Team Italia youngster Claudio Corti took his third win of the season today to keep his hopes of winning the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup well and truly alive. The Yamaha YZF-R1 SP rider won by over three seconds as his title rivals all suffered disasters in Lausitz, moving him to within 22 points of the series lead with two races remaining.

The superstock race was delayed and cut back to just nine laps after championship leader Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) lost control of his machine in the original running. The Italian's machine rebounded onto the circuit, causing a spectacular accident as countryman Ilario Dionsi (MV Agusta) ploughed into the stricken bike. With carnage strewn across the track, officials had no choice but to red flag the race and reschedule it after the afternoon's supersport race.

In the restart, Corti was involved in a fight for the lead with Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta), who arrived in Germany second in the championship. The Yamaha rider pushed his fellow countryman hard and when Badovini lost the front end at the start of lap six, he was able to cruise home to a comfortable win.

Corti's second win in as many weeks sees him move up to third in the championship, ahead of Badovini. Polita rode to take tenth place in the restarted race and continues to lead the series with 137 points. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta) is second, on 118 points, with Corti just three points further adrift.

Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I felt very comfortable running behind Badovini and felt that there were several places where I would be able to pass him if I needed to. I could also see that he was pushing hard and sliding around a lot, so I was almost waiting for his crash. I am very satisfied because we have been strong throughout the practices and the bike has been very good. I cannot think about the title because Polita still has a big points advantage, although finishing in the top three is a very achievable target."

Circuit Length: 4265 Temp: 23 Crowd: 51400

  2006 Superstock Lausitzring 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 9 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 15'39.363 2 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 0'1.082 3 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'4.486 4 Dominik Lammert Suzuki GER 0'4.631 5 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 0'4.943 6 Roberto Lunadei Yamaha ITA 0'13.107 7 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'13.273 8 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'13.404 9 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 0'14.004 10 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'14.763 11 Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 0'16.773 12 Herve Gantner Yamaha CHE 0'19.372 13 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'20.271 14 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'21.320 15 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 0'27.726

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 1'42.744

 Rider Standings 10/09/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 137 2. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 118 3. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 115 4. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 109 5. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 68 6. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 62 7. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 60 8. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 9. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 44 10. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 41 11. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 40 12. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 31 13. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 14. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 29 15. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27

Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 164 2. MV Agusta 140 3. Yamaha 133 4. Kawasaki 80 5. Honda 42