Haga and Corser on the Brands Hatch podium

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) took second and third places respectively after impressive performances in the second Brands Hatch race, both riders changing their tyre choices from race one. An unhappy outcome to a promising first race saw Haga fall on lap seven while Corser dropped back from the leading group to go eighth, on a track surface that had started off slick after a fall of rain shortly before the scheduled 12 midday kick-off. The second race proved to be a great battle for Haga, the determined Yamaha rider fighting almost to the very end of the 25 laps, but he had to give best on the day to Ryuichi Kiyonari. In the second outing Corser rode determinedly and ended up a lonely but safe third, eight seconds from the win. Corser is third in the overall rankings, only ten points behind second thanks to his Brands finishes. He now has 242 points, with leader Bayliss on 334. Haga is fifth, on 230 points. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 17th and 20th in today's races, Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) suffered a technical retirement in race one and made up for it with 19th in race two. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) missed out on riding after injuring his wrist in a qualifying fall. Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 2nd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "I am happy to take a second place in race two because in the first race my rear tyre choice was not so good, and I was disappointed with that. In the second race I just changed the rear tyre and I had a good feeling with that one. I had a good battle with Kiyo but he was faster than me in some places, then I would catch him up. Congratulations to Kiyo and also my team, because they made a good job to allow me to finish second." Troy Corser (8th and 3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Race two was better than the first race, we made some changes to the tyre choice and the bike and they worked well. I just could not run the pace of the guys at the front because they just pulled away. I had a bit of a battle with Bayliss and it took a bit of time for me to get past him, but I am content with third. I'm out there trying to win races but podiums will have to do for now." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We did not get what we expected in the first race but we did a really good second race as a team, with both riders on the podium. We made the wrong tyre choice for both riders on the first one, so in race two one rider went softer and the other one harder. Obviously each choice was a good one! It was a difficult first race because of the weather delay, but we made up for it well in race two. Well done to everyone in the team." Race 1 - 25 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 36'18.607 2, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'0.137 3, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'0.180 4, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'5.733 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'6.499 6, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'6.984 7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'8.300 8, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'10.732 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'16.547 10, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'16.569 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'18.366 12, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'22.308 13, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'26.788 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'26.856 15, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'32.877 16, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'38.329 17, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'46.868 18, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'48.417 19, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'58.986 20, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'6.028 21, Luca Morelli, Honda, ITA, 1'9.475 22, Jason Pridmore, Honda, USA, 1'9.475 23, Christian Zaiser, Yamaha, AUT, 1'22.214 Race 2 - 25 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 36'14.904 2, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'1.848 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'8.883 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'11.180 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'12.928 6, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'13.696 7, Tom Sykes, Suzuki, GBR, 0'13.872 8, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'14.009 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'19.065 10, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'19.864 11, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'20.479 12, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'20.479 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'20.722 14, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'24.512 15, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'32.090 16, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.207 17, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'32.815 18, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'33.648 19, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'35.382 20, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'44.866 21, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'53.969 22, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'0.875 23, Jason Pridmore, Honda, USA, 1'1.104 24, Luca Morelli, Honda, ITA, 1'4.329 25, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 1'27.461 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 1'26.560 Rider Standings 03/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 334 2, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 252 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 242 4, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 233 5, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 230 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 183 7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 166 8, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 165 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 161 10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 148 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 109 12, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 94 13, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 91 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 83 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 64 20, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 29 24, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7 25, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 7 Manufacturer Standings 03/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 403 2, Yamaha, 345 3, Suzuki, 303 4, Honda, 297 5, Kawasaki, 64 ---------- RACE REPORT - 03/08/2008 Parkes fourth after a confused WSS race Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) finished in fourth position in what was an aggregated race at Brands Hatch - started late because of an earlier race delay, stopped at one stage due to rain, with the second leg finally also halted early after a red flag due to a high-speed crash. In the aggregate results Parkes was just off the podium, in a race won by Jonathan Rea. Andrew Pitt was third and now Rea is ahead of Parkes in the standings, with Pitt on 149 points, Rea on 117 and Broc on 113. Parkes was closing in on the front group before Craig Jones fell during the second leg of the race and the race was red-flagged, with the result declared after a combined 15 laps. Harris fell in the restarted second leg of the race, and was not classified with a finish, despite running strongly in the first few places in each sector. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) scored eighth place and now has 48 points, which gives him a share of ninth in the series standings. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) went 21st today. Broc Parkes (4th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It was a bit of a mixed bag today, even if near the end of the first race we were riding around in the rain. It wasn't really a good race, but that second one was a lot better. I didn't really have the pace to match the front guys and I had a little problem with my front brake. I adjusted it and started to catch them back up and then I saw Craig crash right in front of me going into the straight. It was not a good day at the office really." Karl Harris (DNF - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I felt really good out there but I had a vague feeling from the front end. It was the same in the first half of the race and I actually preferred that setting. We went with an SC1 front tyre but it didn't feel that good at all. I'm gutted to have fallen but I was running up the front in my first WSS racing for a few years." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "Technically we didn't have a lot of problems in the race. Karl tried to do his best and he was doing a lot under braking to keep up with the guys, but finally he went out. In the first race they should have flagged it three laps before, and Broc had more rain on his visor than he would have liked to see, so he lost two seconds to the guy who won the first heat. He was there with the group but he had some difficulties. Everybody was sliding about a bit to be honest. The final result is very disappointing." Massimo Roccoli (8th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I took some time to get started in both the first and second legs of the race but when I did get up to speed the bike and everything was OK. But by that time the leading group was gone, so I could not catch them up." Race 1 - 15 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 22'29.935 2, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'0.209 3, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 0'0.664 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'2.816 5, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'6.789 6, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'9.094 7, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'15.048 7, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'15.048 8, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'15.623 9, Robert Frost, Triumph, GBR, 0'18.393 10, Hudson Kennaugh, Yamaha, RSA, 0'19.528 11, Steve Plater, Triumph, GBR, 0'20.034 12, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'22.696 13, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0'25.049 14, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'27.102 15, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'35.504 16, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'39.023 17, Midge Smart, Honda, NZL, 0'40.820 18, Pawel Szkopek, Triumph, CZE, 0'43.635 19, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'46.776 20, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'47.298 21, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'47.353 22, Denis Sacchetti, Honda, ITA, 0'48.191 23, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 0'49.480 24, Javier Hidalgo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'54.083 25, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0'59.436 26, Ruggero Scambia, Triumph, ITA, 1'20.165 27, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 1'44.305 28, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'55.509 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 1'28.399 Rider Standings 03/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 149 2, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 117 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 113 4, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 112 5, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 100 6, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 97 7, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 83 8, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 51 9, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 50 10, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 48 11, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 48 12, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 41 13, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 36 14, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 36 15, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 23 24, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 9 Manufacturer Standings 03/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 215 2, Yamaha, 151 3, Triumph, 58 4, Suzuki, 57 5, Kawasaki, 40 ---------- RACE REPORT - 03/08/2008 Pirro fights hard for sixth place A four way fight in a race that started wet but finished dry saw Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) take a sixth place finish in the Superstock 1000 class. Pirro's 83 championship points put him fifth overall, with Brands race winner and new championship leader Maxime Berger now on 109 points. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was eighth today, winning his own personal battle with Chris Seaton. Corti is 11th overall, on 33 points. Michelle Pirro (6th - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "The pace that Berger and Baiocco set today in the first laps I could not match and so I had to just go as fast as I could. Sixth was the best I could do in this situation and at least we scored some points." Claudio Corti (12th - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I had a little problem in braking at the start and that made me run off the track early on. But I got back on, remained calm and went as fast as I could to the end." Baz wins and takes the championship lead Loris Baz (Yamaha YZF Junior Team) took the win at Brands Hatch and in doing so he went into a more comfortable series lead, as his main rival Patrick Vostarek did not score today after crashing. Baz now has 142 points, to Vostarek's 110. Gino Rea was third, for the third time in 2008, and is now fourth in the championship, on 77 points. Loris Baz (1st - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "It is great to win again and I really like this circuit. It was a hard race, but our championship position is much better now, and that is the main thing to take from this weekend." Race 1 - 14 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 21'56.050 2, Sheridan Morais, Kawasaki, RSA, 0'4.172 3, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'5.808 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'18.391 5, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'18.629 6, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'19.049 7, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'19.468 8, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'24.682 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'26.331 10, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'38.554 11, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'43.675 12, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 0'43.891 13, Rene Mahr, Yamaha, GER, 0'44.375 14, Pauli Pekkanen, KTM, FIN, 0'46.011 15, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'48.886 16, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 0'51.075 17, Peter Hickman, Yamaha, GBR, 0'54.111 18, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'59.631 19, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 1'5.063 20, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'5.938 21, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'7.391 22, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 1'7.391 23, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 1'10.313 24, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'13.534 25, Robert Gianfardoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'15.792 26, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 1'25.570 27, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 1'26.518 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Sheridan Morais, Kawasaki, RSA, 1'31.448 Rider Standings 03/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 109 2, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 109 3, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 95 4, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 94 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 83 6, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 57 7, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 55 8, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 48 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 36 10, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 35 11, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 33 12, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 30 13, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 24 14, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 24 15, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 21 26, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 4 Manufacturer Standings 03/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 137 2, Honda, 131 3, Suzuki, 110 4, Yamaha, 95 5, Kawasaki, 40 6, KTM, 2