Corser on the podium in San Marino

Pole position starter Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) looked set for his first win of the 2008 season on two occasions at Misano but he had to settle for a second in race one and a good points score of fifth in race two after running off track and ultimately avoiding a crash. He also set a new lap record, 1'37.580, on lap two of race two, which he led for 10 laps. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) struggled hard in qualifying and the first race, finding himself only 19th after one lap. He recovered to gain six points for tenth. In race two Haga felt he had a better technical package and he made real progress from his grid position of 14th, to hold off his team-mate by just over a second. In the opening 24-lap race Corser looked on for his first win of the year in race until Max Neukirchner surprised the whole paddock by turning a tenth place in qualifying into a race win. Haga was struggling through the race and finished just behind Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) who had two great races in the points, ninth and then 15th. Race two was taken by Ruben Xaus, from Max Biaggi. In the championship itself, Haga is now fourth, on 191 points to championship leader Troy Bayliss's 259, while Corser is fifth, only six points from Haga. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 15th in race one and 16th in race two, while Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) just missed a point in race one and retired in race two. Troy Corser (2nd and 5th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Race one was looking really good until Max Neukirchner appeared and our whole weekend hasn't been bad in general. Our rear tyre moved about a bit more in the second race than the first, especially under braking. We had made a couple of little changes to the front suspension for the second one, but not enough to affect the rear in any way. I ran on when the bike jumped out of gear in the second and lost some time, and the chance of a second podium." Noriyuki Haga (10th and 4th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We got caught in race one when Laconi crashed and I had to avoid him so to come from so far back was not easy. Race two was better and I got good points, but it has been a very hard weekend for me. I have not been able to do the same running training I would do normally, because of my injury. In this heat it made a difference and I didn't have my normal strength." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We saw definitely that Troy is back. He had a good weekend. He worked hard and was rewarded with a Superpole win, and a good podium finish for his efforts. Nori didn't find the set up he was looking for until the 2nd race where he showed us that even when it wasn't possible to win he rode to get the best result, had he started further up the grid, the result would possibly have been more points. He is still always competitive. With six races still to run everything is still possible. Shinichi Nakatomi (9th and 15th - Team YZF Yamaha) "On Friday, we could not find the right setting, even if we tried many different possibilities. I did not have enough feeling. On Saturday, we had a much better set up. I had a good start on race and I could follow Lavilla, but I made some small mistakes. I pushed really hard. I am happy with race one. In race two, the temperature was hotter. It was difficult for me to follow the riders who have traction control, because I don't have any and I had to accelerate later than them. The tyres started to move a lot after 10 laps, front and rear. I am happy with race one because I had a lot of stress because of previous not-so-good results. Today, it was better."" Martial Garcia (Team YZF Yamaha Team Manager) "After difficult practice sessions, we found a good set up during the warm up. This result is fantastic! Shinichi finishes ninth only 19 seconds behind the winner, and in front of Noriyuki Haga. This is the opportunity to score seven points and to make a progression of one position in the championship. Shinichi had a good start in race two, but unfortunately it was black flagged because of Muggeridge's crash. At the restart, Nakatomi was blocked and it was difficult to pass. He still finished 15th, with one championship point. I am happy because everybody could see the progression we made this weekend." Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 39'27.918 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.542 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.249 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'3.028 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'5.408 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'5.518 7, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'6.202 8, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'18.279 9, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.072 10, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.132 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'28.098 12, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'34.385 13, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'34.572 14, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'34.902 15, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'39.979 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'44.669 17, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'49.290 18, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'59.304 Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 39'19.710 2, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'1.035 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'4.158 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'5.466 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'6.759 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'13.468 7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'15.221 8, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'16.687 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'17.030 10, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'17.681 11, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'21.356 12, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'28.676 13, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'31.304 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'32.339 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'33.716 16, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'34.171 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'40.638 18, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'41.136 19, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'49.699 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1'37.580 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 259 2, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 210 3, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 207 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 191 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 185 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 151 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 148 8, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 117 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 111 10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 94 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 82 12, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 80 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 75 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 72 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 59 19, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 24 23, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 7 24, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 323 2, Yamaha, 284 3, Suzuki, 257 4, Honda, 226 5, Kawasaki, 64 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Foret fights hard for fourth Despite finishing the first lap in 15th position, after being run wide in the first chicane by another rider, Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) battled back to finish fourth and retain his second place in the championship after seven rounds. Broc Parkes looked like a sure podium finisher until he lost the front end on lap nine of the Misano World Supersport race, dropping from second to 17th, before re-starting his stricken machine. Each of the two top Yamaha riders had started from the front row, but in a race littered with crashes and retirements, and conducted in temperatures of 33°C, few pre-race plans came to a satisfactory climax in the Misano cauldron. Parkes leaves the Misano round with both the circuit best WSS lap, set in qualifying, and the new official lap record, 1'40.187, set on lap three of the race. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had work to do after qualifying on the fourth row, but recovered his speed and composure in front of his home fans to record seventh in the race, and jump up to ninth in the championship. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) fell on lap three, after tangling with another rider. Fabien Foret (4th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I got pushed wide by another rider in the first corner and that put me way back in the order. Things could have been much better because I didn't come here to finish fourth. This morning our set-up was good but it was a little bit more difficult this afternoon. I think the bike may have been a bit more sensitive in the heat. I could not find the same rhythm after the first chicane incident. The biggest problem was at that point, but in the traffic you slow down and afterwards it was difficult to get a good rhythm again." Broc Parkes (10th -Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We got out of the gate good and put some laps together but I didn't want to keep pulling Andrew along. When I went into the last right on the ninth lap I crashed as I released the brake, and the bike was gone very quickly. I thought it was just a small front-end slide but when I got on the gas I was already on my way to the ground. I picked the bike up and the handlebar was out of position, but I continued to get as many points as possible." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "This is Misano, we know there is a narrow line here and a few people crossed it. Fabien was pushed wide by another rider in turn one after his start had been not that bad. Lascorz went into him and hit him really hard so Fabien was quite angry. I think he went to 15th place but he rode a good race from then on to get fourth. Fabien is second overall still and Broc third but it's hard to say anything about today except that we are disappointed with the results, after such good qualifying performances." Massimo Roccoli (7th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I had a hard time at the start because of my qualifying position, then getting involved in a fight with another rider. When I got past him I could make up ground. From a row further forward I really think I could have got a top five or maybe even top four finish today." David Salom: (DNF - Yamaha Spain) "I started quite good and in the second lap I was behind Foret, so I wanted to go with him. Suddenly Lagrive passed me, but he crashed and hit my bike.I couldn´t avoid crashing. It's a real pity because I am sure we could fight for a top ten finish. Luck is not with us this season." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 37'8.387 2, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'5.347 3, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'9.183 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'13.784 5, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'15.863 6, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'15.967 7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'21.689 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'24.070 9, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'26.075 10, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'30.387 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'32.578 12, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'34.648 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'36.040 14, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'37.896 15, Danilo Marrancone, Yamaha, ITA, 0'40.167 16, Roberto Lunadei, Honda, ITA, 0'40.841 17, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0'40.960 18, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.302 19, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'45.275 20, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'47.944 21, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 0'49.173 22, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0'49.431 23, Alessandro Brannetti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'51.984 24, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'52.547 25, Javier Hidalgo, Yamaha, ESP, 1'6.850 26, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 1'10.227 27, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'13.881 28, Attila Magda, Honda, HUN, 1'29.572 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'40.187 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 113 2, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 97 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 87 4, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 85 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 81 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 80 7, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 67 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 50 9, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 34 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 33 11, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 12, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 28 13, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 27 14, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 23 15, Mark Aitchison, Triumph, AUS, 20 24, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 165 2, Yamaha, 125 3, Triumph, 48 4, Suzuki, 36 5, Kawasaki, 35 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Pirro second at Misano Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) remains the top Yamaha YZF-R1 rider in the championship after a fine second place at his home round in Misano. He sits on 63 points, 21 points from leader Xavier Simeon. Race winner Alessandro Polita is only four points up on Pirro, who led the first lap and was always in contention for the podium places over all 14 laps. Claudio Corti Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was unable to match his set-up to the Misano circuit and thus finished 12th in the race, and is now 10th in the championship. Claudio Corti (12th - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I had real problems finding a set-up this weekend and that made things difficult for me today. I'm disappointed but I think there is nothing more I could have done today." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 23'37.092 2, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'1.471 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'2.382 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'5.234 5, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.999 6, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'7.826 7, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'11.349 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'13.493 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'14.110 10, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'15.238 11, Luca Verdini, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.081 12, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.546 13, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'18.799 14, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 0'23.705 15, Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'23.818 16, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'25.024 17, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'29.595 18, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 0'30.075 19, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.504 20, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'38.389 21, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'38.575 22, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'39.211 23, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 0'40.034 24, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 0'49.273 25, Rene Mahr, Yamaha, GER, 0'49.442 26, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 0'50.200 27, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 0'51.785 28, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'52.191 29, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 0'59.213 30, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'12.140 31, Lorenzo Baroni, Ducati, ITA, 1'18.718 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'40.044 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 84 2, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 76 3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 67 4, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 63 5, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 59 6, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 48 7, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 40 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 29 9, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 28 10, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 25 11, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 24 12, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 24 13, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 20 14, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 15 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 14 25, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 4 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 104 2, Suzuki, 92 3, Honda, 81 4, Yamaha, 75 5, Kawasaki, 17