Corser Podiums and takes second in the championship

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) finished the 2008 WSB season second in the championship standings after securing a podium finish in the first race at Portimao, then following that up with a safe sixth in race two.   The all Yamaha battle for the runner-up spot behind champion Troy Bayliss saw Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) drop out of contention after serving a ride-through penalty for jump-starting in race two, having already been forced out of race one. Both races were won by three-time champion, Troy Bayliss.   In the first 22-lap race Corser was in the leading mix from the start and rode aggressively in the messy early laps to stay in contention, but could not quite get back on terms with second place rider Carlos Checa towards the end. Haga was also looking good for a podium finish until he was forced out on lap 18, having started to slow on lap 16.   Race two put Corser in with the leaders again for some time but he eased up when he realised that overall second place was safe, particularly in a race filled with determined wild cards. Each race was run in the dry, but on a relatively slippery track surface, which was still recovering from a largely wet first two days of action.   Haga was looking good for a strong result in race two until he had to pull in for his penalty, but he recovered to post a 14th place finish and score two championship points. He was thus 15 points behind Corser after 28 individual races, and third overall.   Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) went 13th in race one, but 17th in race two. He ended his last WSB season 19th, top Yamaha rider behind Corser and Haga.   David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) and Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) finished the season on 12 points apiece, as neither scored at Portimao.  Troy Corser (3rd and 6th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "All I had to do in race two was finish near Nori and that was all I was doing. Once he went out, all I had to do was stay consistent and not crash. We all worked so hard to get to second this season I was not prepared to take too many risks. The bike was actually better in race one than the second, as we had good front grip then. We changed the bike and had less grip in the rear, so I had to modify the way I was riding completely. Finishing second in the points means more than trying to finish on the podium in race two and risk crashing. Second is better than third and both of those finishes are better than nothing. The action was scary sometimes today and it can be like that when the tracks have a lot of undulations. The asphalt was pretty slippery in some places because of all the rain and mud washed on it during practice."   Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 14th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In race two they said I jump started and for sure I moved a bit, but before the lights changed I stopped again. Overall, in the first race we had a problem and I had to pull out. But I had the chance to do a bit of work on the suspension setting for race two, and we went one step harder on the rear tyre too. It worked better but we still had some chatter. We lost a lot of practice time, unfortunately, because of the rain. Our pace in race two was much better. I have to say thank you very much to all the Yamaha staff for the past four years, it has been very enjoyable and we have had many great days. I wanted to get a victory for them but that was the most I could do today." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Today's overall results are so-so but in the championship we finished second and third and most importantly, we had the top four-cylinder riders. We had some good and some not so good results this year but still very positive, because nobody else made the same. We had seven wins, a lot of podiums from both riders, sometimes in the same race. As a team we did a really good job. Thanks to everyone in the squad for this year, to Yamaha and for all the support from our sponsors and fans."   Shinichi Nakatomi (13th and 17th - Team YZF Yamaha) "In the first race I lost some grip from the rear tyre and in the second race I got a bad start but tried to progress. Thanks to the team for three years of competition in WSB."     Race 1                  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 38'48.373 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'2.207 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'6.972 4, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'15.228 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'16.126 6, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'18.152 7, Leon Haslam, Honda, GBR, 0'18.939 8, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'20.942 9, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'32.018 10, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.871 11, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'36.778 12, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'36.848 13, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'41.667 14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'41.806 15, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'48.337 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'50.295 17, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'50.840 18, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'5.928 19, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 1'6.813 20, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1'7.007 21, Luis Carreira, Suzuki, POR, 1'48.681   Race 2                  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 38'26.125 2, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'3.638 3, Leon Haslam, Honda, GBR, 0'4.356 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'4.983 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'6.775 6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'7.403 7, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'7.578 8, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'16.113 9, Cal Crutchlow, Honda, GBR, 0'16.284 10, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'16.446 11, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'21.633 12, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'22.098 13, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'24.089 14, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'24.117 15, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'31.003 16, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.136 17, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'31.330 18, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'32.272 19, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'34.049 20, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'35.028 21, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'41.669 22, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'44.889 23, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'47.366 24, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'48.733 25, Thomas Bridewell, Suzuki, GBR, 1'7.702 26, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'14.242 27, Luca Scassa, Honda, ITA, 1'34.781     Best Lap   Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'43.340   Rider Standings 02/11/2008   Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 460 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 342 3, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 327 4, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 313 5, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 311 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 256 7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 238 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 223 9, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 206 10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 178 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 154 12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 135 13, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 117 14, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 109 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 77 19, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 51 28, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 12 29, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 12       Manufacturer Standings 02/11/2008   Pos., Manufacturer, Points   1, Ducati, 570 2, Yamaha, 487 3, Honda, 415 4, Suzuki, 408 5, Kawasaki, 94 ---------- RACE REPORT - 02/11/2008   Parkes fifth after tough fight at new circuit   After running in the leading pack for some of the 20-lap race at Portimao Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) could not stay in contention for the podium and finished fifth.   The Australian rider had been slowed by a crash which happened right in front of him and after that he was unable to catch the leading group again and slowly dropped back as his tyres lost optimum grip. He held off a late challenge to finish in the top five and end his season fourth overall, on 150 points, with one win to his credit.   Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) could not get into contention after starting 16th on the grid and despite finishing tenth, he was disappointed by his final raceday of the 2008 season. He also scored a single win in the championship chase this year, and despite missing four races through injury, he was sixth overall, on 111 points.   Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) crashed out of contention on lap five, remounted, but eventually retired in the pits, ending his season in overall 12th place. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) only just missed out on a point for 16th place today.   Broc Parkes (5th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I really wanted to win the last one for Yamaha and I tried my best. I got caught up with the crash of Veneman and got separated from the front bunch. Once I had lost them, I basically had to keep my position. At the end I was losing some time when I started losing rear grip, and I had to work hard to keep Nannelli behind me, but I beat him to the line. I gave it my best."   Fabien Foret (10th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "The track was very challenging in the dry over the full race and to be honest I was not expecting a great result after qualifying. I wanted to ride, find some feeling from the bike and have fun but it was not so easy. I am not happy with how the set-up was. I am just happy that this season is now over and I can start working to 2009 now."  Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "A very disappointing race of course for us, rear tyre grip dropped quite dramatically and Broc couldn't do anything to keep up with the first three. It was the same story for Fabien, we saw that the rear tyre is really bad at the moment, for our bike especially. Qualifying was ok, but after eight or nine laps the tyre went off very hard, we've not had that so bad this year."   Massimo Roccoli (DNF - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "It was very disappointing not to finish and it has not been the happiest experience this weekend, especially at this new circuit. I lost the front end and tried to continue after but it was not possible. The gear linkage was too badly broken and I would have got no points."     Race 1                  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   1, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 35'39.851 2, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 0'3.844 3, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'7.403 4, Josh Hayes, Honda, USA, 0'7.445 5, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'17.271 6, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'17.297 7, Simone Sanna, Honda, ITA, 0'25.803 8, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'29.749 9, Mark Aitchison, Triumph, AUS, 0'29.960 10, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'30.155 11, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'30.697 12, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'30.719 13, Garry McCoy, Triumph, AUS, 0'40.033 14, Russell Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'40.839 15, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'44.266 16, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'45.672 17, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'46.765 19, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 0'51.626 20, Patrick Vostarek, Honda, ITA, 0'57.092 21, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'57.584 22, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 1'4.848 23, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'26.940 24, Chris Martin, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'27.010     Best Lap   Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 1'45.156   Rider Standings 02/11/2008   Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 214 2, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 164 3, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 162 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 150 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 121 6, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 111 7, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 100 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 92 9, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 79 10, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 71 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 60 12, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 58 13, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 56 14, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 39 15, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 36 30, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 9       Manufacturer Standings 02/11/2008   Pos., Manufacturer, Points   1, Honda, 315 2, Yamaha, 203 3, Suzuki, 102 4, Triumph, 77 5, Kawasaki, 46 ---------- RACE REPORT - 02/11/2008   Pirro fourth in Portugal and fifth overall   Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) rode to within less than a second of a podium position at Portimao and in earning 13 points he finished fifth in the championship rankings, the top YZF-R1 rider on show. Pirro also set the new best lap in practice, a 1'48.466.   Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was eighth today, having started on the sixth row, and battling through the pack for the after a couple of early problems.   In the final rankings, Brendan Roberts was champion on 147, Maxime Berger second on 140 and Alessandro Polita third with 137.  Michelle Pirro (4th - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I started the race with dry tyres and early on that was a bit of a problem because there was still some water around and I was sliding in some places. But it improved as the race went on and I made a good finish."   Claudio Corti (8th - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I went straight on under braking a couple of times but I rode very aggressively to recover and really enjoyed it today. I made up a lot of places and I think it was the best I could do today."   Baz and Rea battle it out as the Superstock finale sees a Yamaha 1-2-3 podium Gino Rea (Stonebaker Yamaha) and Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) ended up battling for the win in the ten lap Superstock 600 contest, and after a seriously combative final lap the English rider took the win, by a mere 0.060 seconds.   In third place, Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was also on a YZF-R6, three seconds off the win. In the final rankings, Baz has 186 points, Bussolotti 134 and Rea 132.   Loris Baz: "It was a very hard race and I ran off on the last lap and had to work really hard to bet back to Gino. I won the championship last time out and I wanted to win here to finish the season in the perfect way."     Race 1                  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 22'23.040 2, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'2.995 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'3.938 4, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'4.773 5, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'17.166 6, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'17.482 7, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 0'19.452 8, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'19.878 9, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'22.892 10, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'23.050 11, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'31.698 13, Franck Millet, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'35.502 14, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'37.798 15, Sheridan Morais, Kawasaki, RSA, 0'42.098 16, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'45.953 17, Rene Mahr, KTM, GER, 1'0.432 18, Ondrej Jezek, Honda, CZE, 1'0.595 19, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 1'2.708 20, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 1'4.134 21, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 1'5.601 22, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 1'12.642 23, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 1'12.690 24, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 1'12.821 25, Niccolo Rosso, Honda, ITA, 1'18.918 27, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 1'24.144 28, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'26.189 29, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 1'28.272 30, Pauli Pekkanen, KTM, FIN, 1'28.903 31, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 1'28.989 32, Tommaso Lorenzetti, Suzuki, ITA, 1'32.965     Best Lap   Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'48.466   Rider Standings 02/11/2008   Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 147 2, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 140 3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 137 4, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 136 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 102 6, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 84 7, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 72 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 62 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 60 10, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 57 11, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 57 12, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 39 13, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 32 14, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 30 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 26 16, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 22       Manufacturer Standings 02/11/2008   Pos., Manufacturer, Points   1, Ducati, 195 2, Honda, 182 3, Suzuki, 166 4, Yamaha, 139 5, Kawasaki, 50 6, MV Agusta, 13 7, KTM, 2