Haga gives Yamaha Motor Italia plenty to cheer in Monza

Noriyuki Haga gave the Tifosi plenty to cheer about with a fine podium finish at Monza today. The ever-popular Yamaha Motor Italia star equaled his best ever result around the historic circuit with third place in race two to the delight of his locally based team and a large and passionate crowd. Race one saw Haga involved in a three-way battle for second place with Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Alex Barros (Honda), which ultimately saw him finish fourth at the end of 18 grueling laps. For race two the Japanese star made some small changes to the suspension of his YZF-R1, allowing him to lead the way with Corser and Troy Bayliss (Ducati) until a lack of grip in the closing stages forced him to consolidate his podium finish. Team-mate Andrew Pitt also gave two stirring performances despite failing to get off the line cleanly. The Australian found himself boxed in at Monza's notoriously slow first chicane, which meant that he was unable get away with the leading group. In both races Pitt was able to run similar lap times to the leaders, allowing him to work his way up to the second group. In both instances he was able to finish at the head of the pack, for fifth place in race one and sixth in race two. Bayliss won both races to extend his lead in the championship to 36 points over Corser, who was third and second in today's races. Haga lies fifth in the championship but with a reduced gap to third. The Yamaha rider is just four points behind James Toseland (Honda) and two adrift of fourth placed Barros. Yamaha Motor France's riders had mixed fortunes in Monza. World superbike rookie Shinichi Nakatomi continued to impress with a season best tenth in race one and 12th in race two. The Japanese rider came from 20th on the grid and was dicing with illustrious company throughout the races, one of whom was team-mate Sebastien Gimbert, who finished 12th in race one before retiring with clutch problems in the second. But Norick Abe suffered a nightmare in Monza and received no reward for a gritty performance. After missing the Saturday practice sessions through injury, Abe must have wished he had stayed in his motorhome after becoming one of seven riders to go down in a first corner pile-up in race one. For race two he came from 27th on the grid to finish the race 16th, a fine performance for a rider suffering neck and wrist injuries but unfortunately not one which brought any championship points. Despite his failure to score, Abe remains in the championship's top ten, dropping just one place to ninth. Nakatomi moves up to 17th and Gimbert 22nd. The next race takes place at the Silverstone circuit in three weekend's time. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm very happy to finally get on the podium in Monza. We had two hard races and in the second I thought that I could stay with Bayliss and Corser but I had a small problem with rear grip. Our bike has worked very well this weekend and I am pleased for that I can make this good result at the home race of my team. I am now looking to get another good result in Silverstone as this is a track I like very much and where we had the first podium for the R1 last year." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "It was all about making a good start and unfortunately in both races I couldn't get cleanly through the first chicane. I thought that I rode well and my lap times were the same as the guys in the front group but they had already made a break and it was impossible to catch them. I'm disappointed as I expected more and thought we could be on the podium today but in both races I beat the guys I was racing with and that's about as much as I could do." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I was too far behind on the start but on the track I could catch people. After ten or 11 laps I was catching again but l missed a gear and lost about five positions. After that, I had to work very hard but we got some points in both races. It was a positive for us." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "It was a difficult weekend, for the team and for me. We had big problems with the clutch. In the first race it was not so bad but the second race was no good for me." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We had very bad luck this weekend. My big crash on Friday was my mistake but also caused by the rainy conditions. So in first race I made a good start but somebody made a big mistake and many riders went out. That one was not my fault. In race two my right hand was in more pain than the first race and we didn't not have ideal settings because we had to miss practice sessions." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "On Friday we felt that a podium was possible and although it didn't go so well in final qualifying I was confident that both riders could challenge after a good performance in the warm-up this morning. I'm pleased for Noriyuki because on Thursday he said to me that he never finishes on the podium here. Andrew also rode well and has been strong all weekend, so we can go to Silverstone confident of challenging for the podium again." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Nakatomi confirmed his good result of the first race in the second one, although this time there was no big crash like in race one, so more riders finished. Gimbert had a big problem with the clutch so he could not ride the bike. For Abe the situation was clear and he only rode for the team, only for us, so true thanks to him. He tried his heart out but missed a point by only one position in race two." Race classification WSB Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 46.815 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 46.815 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Race: 18 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  32' 23.100  2   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +3.982  3   T. Corser Suzuki  AUS  +4.216  4   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +4.395  5   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +13.605  6   K. Muggeridge Honda  AUS  +13.665  7   R. Laconi Kawasaki  FRA  +14.066  8   R. Rolfo Ducati  ITA  +19.170  9   L. Lanzi Ducati  ITA  +25.729  10   S. Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN  +28.350  11   C. Walker Kawasaki  GBR  +29.639  12   S. Gimbert Yamaha  FRA  +30.354  13   F. Foret Suzuki  FRA  +43.838  14   L. Alfonsi Ducati  ITA  +44.312  15   I. Clementi Ducati  ITA  +44.530  Race 2: 18 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  32' 17.705  2   T. Corser Suzuki  AUS  +1.916  3   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +6.479  4   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +10.227  5   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  +11.910  6   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +17.551  7   K. Muggeridge Honda  AUS  +17.720  8   F. Nieto Kawasaki  ESP  +17.825  9   C. Walker Kawasaki  GBR  +22.873  10   R. Rolfo Ducati  ITA  +31.603  11   L. Lanzi Ducati  ITA  +31.610  12   S. Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN  +34.282  13   F. Foret Suzuki  FRA  +35.273  14   M. Fabrizio Honda  ITA  +35.306  15   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +40.552  16   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +51.516  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  1' 46.815  Championship standings WSB Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Troy Bayliss Ducati  AUS 175  2   Troy Corser Suzuki  AUS 139  3   James Toseland Honda  GBR 97  4   Alex Barros Honda  BRA 95  5   Noriyuki Haga Yamaha  JPN 93  6   Andrew Pitt Yamaha  AUS 79  7   Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati  ITA 59  8   Roberto Rolfo Ducati  ITA 46  9   Norick Abe Yamaha  JPN 40  10   Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki  ESP 37  11   Michel Fabrizio Honda  ITA 36  12   Ruben Xaus Ducati  ESP 34  13   Chris Walker Kawasaki  GBR 33  14   Regis Laconi Kawasaki  FRA 31  15   Karl Muggeridge Honda  AUS 30  17   Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN 18  22   Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha  FRA 7  Manufacturers standings WSB   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Ducati 176  2  Suzuki 149  3  Honda 124  4  Yamaha 113  5  Kawasaki 57  6  Petronas 4  WSS : Roccoli tops the R6s in Monza Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Date: 7 May 2006 Crowd: 90000 Temp: 22ºC Weather: Sunny Italian youngster Massimo Roccoli had his best result as a world supersport rider, bringing his Yamaha YZF-R6 home fourth at Monza today. The Yamaha Team Italia rider survived a last lap scare when he touched Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) as he entered Parabolica corner for the final time. The pair, who had an intense battle in last year's superstock 1000 race at Monza, crossed the line side-by-side with the Yamaha man getting the verdict by just two-tenths of a second. Roccoli had been running a quiet race just behind the leading group for much of the 16 laps, only to be caught as he succumbed to arm pump in the latter stages of the race. He was unable to fend off the challenge of championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who was charging through the field after a ride-through penalty, but successfully defended his place from Sofuoglu and the intense race-long battle between Yamaha Motor Germany's Broc Parkes and Ducati rider Stuart Easton. After qualifying down in 11th position Parkes had a difficult race. He found himself baulked at the first chicane and after picking off a few places he was unable to find a way past Easton and came home a disappointed seventh. It was day that promised so much but delivered so little for Yamaha Motor Germany. Kevin Curtain led for much of the way, until a technical problem halted him with four laps remaining. The Australian had been involved in a thrilling battle with eventual winner Yoann Tiberio (Honda) when his engine expired at the end of the home straight. Despite failing to score Curtain retains his second place in the championship standings. Third place for Charpentier sees him extend his lead over Curtain to 31 points with second-placed Monza finisher Robbin Harms (Honda) a further eight points adrift in third. Parkes remains fifth in the championship with Roccoli sixth. Roccoli's team-mate Gianluca Vizziello was another rider to leave Monza without any points. The Italian had been in sparkling form to qualify second but he spectacularly crashed out of sixth place after being baulked by another rider on lap three. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I got a good start and felt that I could fight for the podium today, but in the end I had some problems with my arm. When Charpentier came past me I wanted to try and stay with him but he was just too fast and I had to concentrate on getting the best result possible. The pain in my arm made it hard for me when entering the corners but I was determined to get a good result and when Sofuoglu passed me I fought straight back. I'm happy to get a good result today and finishing so close to the podium has only made me more determined." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The main problem was qualifying back on the third row. I was able to make some good progress until I came across a Ducati that I had difficulty getting past. Sometimes I was able to get past on the brakes but I was never quite able to make enough of a break to stop him coming back at me down the straights." Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It's disappointing not to be able to take advantage of Charpentier's penalty and to take some points back but that's life and no one will go through a season without some bad luck, so hopefully this is ours for the season. There are still a lot of positives to take from this weekend and we just have to work hard and focus on Silverstone." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm not happy because I knew that I could fight for a good position and possibly the podium today. Someone cut across me going into Ascari so I had to brake hard and this made me crash out with Fujiwara." Race classification WSS Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 51.403 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 51.403 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Race: 16 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   Y. Tibero Honda  FRA  30' 14.618  2   R. Harms Honda  DNK  +1.924  3   S. Charpentier Honda  FRA  +4.255  4   M. Roccoli Yamaha  ITA  +7.224  5   K. Sofuoglu Honda  TUR  +7.499  6   S. Easton Ducati  GBR  +9.015  7   B. Parkes Yamaha  AUS  +9.117  8   J. Stigefelt Honda  SWE  +10.866  9   X. Fores Yamaha  ESP  +10.997  10   S. Chambon Kawasaki  FRA  +21.842  11   T. Lauslehto Honda  FIN  +25.332  12   S. Cruciani Honda  ITA  +25.478  13   D. Checa Yamaha  ESP  +26.654  14   V. Kallio Yamaha  FIN  +34.012  15   K. Andersen Suzuki  NOR  +38.406  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Charpentier Honda  FRA  1' 51.403  Championship standings WSS   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Sebastien Charpentier Honda  FRA 91  2   Kevin Curtain Yamaha  AUS 60  3   Robbin Harms Honda  DNK 52  4   Yoann Tibero Honda  FRA 48  5   Broc Parkes Yamaha  AUS 38  6   Massimo Roccoli Yamaha  ITA 36  7   Xavi Fores Yamaha  ESP 30  8   Johan Stigefelt Honda  SWE 28  9   Kenan Sofuoglu Honda  TUR 27  10   Joshua Brookes Ducati  AUS 21  11   Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha  ITA 17  12   Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda  JPN 16  13   Christian Zaiser Ducati  AUT 15  14   Sebastien Le Grelle Honda  BEL 12  15   Stuart Easton Ducati  GBR 10  25   David Checa Yamaha  ESP 3  26   Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha  BEL 2  Manufacturers standings WSS   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 100  2  Yamaha 73  3  Ducati 33  4  Kawasaki 14  5  Suzuki 7  European Superstock : Corti tenth in Monza Round: 2 - Italy Circuit: Monza Date: 7 May 2006 Crowd: 90000 Temp: 22ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti finished tenth in today's second round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at his local Monza circuit. Starting from tenth on the grid following a gear selection problem in the second qualifying session, the YZF-R1 SP rider made a superb start to lie third at the end of the opening lap. The 18-year-old from Como struggled for traction and slipped back into a fierce battle for seventh place but found himself slipstreamed across the finish line. In a photo finish, fellow R1 SP riders Ilario Dionsi and Matteo Baiocco passed Corti across the line - the three Yamahas covered by just one hundredth of a second at the finish. Emilio Rocamora was 11th on another Yamaha, a further two hundredths of a seconds behind. Italian Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) led from start to finish to take his second win of the season, with Riccardo Chiarello (Kawasaki) and Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta) making it an all Italian podium. With two of the ten rounds gone, Polita leads with a perfect 50 points, 18 ahead of second placed Badovini. Corti is the top placed Yamaha rider, with 14 points in ninth place. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start but after a few laps I lost all feeling with the bike. From then all I could think about was getting some points for the championship. It's not good but at least I have scored some points today."   Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Round: 2 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 51.212 (Alessandro Polita, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 51.212 (Alessandro Polita, 2006) Race: 11 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   A. Polita Suzuki  ITA  20' 31,118.000  2   R. Chiarello Kawasaki  ITA  +0.357  3   A. Badovini MV Agusta  ITA  +9.079  4   A. Martinez Mas Kawasaki  ESP  +9.449  5   L. Scassa MV Agusta  ITA  +9.531  6   D. Dell'omo Suzuki  ITA  +10.066  7   D. Sacchetti Kawasaki  ITA  +15.548  8   I. Dionisi Yamaha  ITA  +16.711  9   M. Baiocco Yamaha  ITA  +16.714  10   C. Corti Yamaha  ITA  +16.725  11   E. Rocamora Yamaha  ESP  +16.979  12   L. Napoleone Suzuki  FRA  +19.278  13   S. Saltarelli Kawasaki  ITA  +25.388  14   M. Jerman Suzuki  SVK  +28.751  15   P. Solli Yamaha  NOR  +30.366  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   A. Polita Suzuki  ITA  1' 51.212  Championship standings FIM Superstock 1000 Cup   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Alessandro Polita Suzuki  ITA 50  2   Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta  ITA 32  3   Luca Scassa MV Agusta  ITA 22  4   Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki  ITA 22  5   Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki  ESP 20  6   Ivan Silva Kawasaki  ESP 20  7   Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki  ITA 19  8   Enrique Rocamora Yamaha  ESP 18  9   Claudio Corti Yamaha  ITA 14  10   Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki  ITA 13  11   Matteo Baiocco Yamaha  ITA 12  12   Ilario Dionisi Yamaha  ITA 9  13   Simone Saltarelli Kawasaki  ITA 9  14   Sheridan Morais Suzuki  RSA 9  15   Richard Cooper Honda  GBR 4