Second and third for Haga, less luck for Corser

Noriyuki Haga brought 36 more points and two podiums home for Yamaha in today's World Superbike Championship round at Valencia. Having battled to find the right set-up all weekend, Haga went out today and claimed second in race one, with Corser in fourth. He then had an excellent second race, finishing in third after a race-long battle with James Toseland.

In race one Corser made a good start and took the lead by the first turn until lap six when it became evident that he had a grip problem. He maintained as much pace as he could though, to stay in the four-way battle for top spot between Xaus, Haga, Bayliss and himself. Eventually Haga and Xaus dropped Bayliss and Corser and continued the battle, with Haga taking the fastest lap on lap eight before taking the race lead.

Corser and Bayliss fought for third place until Bayliss broke free to re-join the top two runners. A close race with Xaus, Haga and Bayliss saw all three of them dice for position but Xaus managed to take the win, with Haga second and Bayliss third. Corser held on to fourth with a decent margin back to Toseland in fifth.    In race two Nitro Nori, lived up to his name getting the hole-shot off the line to take the lead. Corser made a good start as well to follow up in second, with Xaus and Toseland again close behind. By the end of lap one Toseland and Xaus had both passed Corser and by the end of lap three Bayliss had managed the same move, pushing Troy back to fifth.

Ruben Xaus made it past Haga on lap four and Toseland and Haga touched fairings as the Honda rider also squeezed through. For the next ten laps all three riders swapped places at almost every turn until Bayliss ran briefly into the gravel after hitting the white line and dropping down to sixth. Haga and Toseland continued to fight for the win, with Noriyuki leading again from lap 19 until a mistake let James through on the penultimate lap.

Team Yamaha YZF rider, Shinichi Nakatomi, had a disappointing weekend after retiring in race one with tyre problems and finishing 16th in race two. The team has really felt the lack of winter testing this weekend, coupled with Nakatomi's lack of confidence with wet weather riding.

Noriyuki Haga (3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In race two I had a good start, getting the hole-shot from the start line into first place. During the race I was looking for a good pace - I was not concerned if someone came past me, I was watching them (Xaus and Toseland). But they weren't carrying the same speed as me, and slowed down the pace. I was fighting side by side with Toseland but also looking to save my rear tyre to push in the last five laps.

During the last two laps I had a good fight with Toseland for first place, and when I was planning to overtake James at the last corner I was not expecting Biaggi to be there, which prevented me from passing. For me, today was good but not perfect."    Troy Corser (9th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In race one I had a problem with our mapping choice, which is why I couldn't keep the pace with the front runners. But in race two the problem was different. I had exactly the same tyre as I had in race one, but I had absolutely no grip. I don't know why. I just can't believe my result today."    Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Troy's tyre problem aside, this was a positive weekend for me. We got some good points especially closing the gap to Biaggi and Suzuki in the Manufacturers' standings. The progress we saw in Donington, we saw again here. Nori rode very well, he lead 14 of 23 laps in the second race, always very focused. Two podiums is an excellent step towards our goal - the Championship.

Unfortunately Troy had tyre problems in race two. His rear tyre didn't seem to work very well, giving him no grip at all. Otherwise, we are sure he would have been on the podium today. I am sure he will be up there in Assen. I'm looking forward to the next race, we are confident in good results there."

Shinichi Nakatomi (18th - Team Yamaha YZF) "Race one was bad for me, we needed more test time to find the right tyre but we did not have it so made a wrong choice. Race two was not a good result, but it was better than race one at least. At least I know where we need to make improvements now. This weekend has been tough, I hope Assen is better."

Martial Garcia (Team Coordinator - Team YZF Yamaha) "In race one, we made the wrong tyre choice, which was too soft and had finished after only five laps. The tyre we chose for race two was much better, but it is just unfortunate we couldn't get into the points even with our improved lap times.

We are paying for the lack of winter testing before this season. For Assen we hope for good weather and for Nakatomi to improve his confidence in riding in the wet."   Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 17 Crowd: 39,000 Weather: Cloudy     2007 WSB Valencia 15/04/2007 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 37'14.606 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'1.997 3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'6.330 4 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'8.780 5 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'17.040 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'24.272 7 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'25.822 8 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 0'26.087 9 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 0'28.778 10 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'32.754 11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'37.084 12 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'37.141 13 Giovanni Bussei Honda ITA 0'37.563 14 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'38.544 15 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'53.049

Race 2 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 James Toseland Honda GBR 37'35.825 2 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 0'0.287 3 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'0.375 4 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'6.637 5 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'7.991 6 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'10.210 7 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 0'10.861 8 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'14.366 9 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'15.511 10 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'19.716 11 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'25.287 12 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'26.437 13 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'34.992 14 Carmelo Morales Yamaha ESP 0'39.987 15 Giovanni Bussei Honda ITA 0'42.445 16 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'43.467

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'35.746

 Rider Standings 15/04/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. James Toseland Honda GBR 151 2. Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 138 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 124 4. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 101 5. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 90 6. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 87 7. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 83 8. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 55 9. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 46 10. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 37 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 33 12. Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 32 13. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 30 14. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 27 15. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 25 18. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 12

Manufacturer Standings 15/04/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 160 2. Suzuki 138 3. Yamaha 134 4. Ducati 132 5. Kawasaki 53

RACE REPORT 15/04/2007 Parkes brings it home in sixth, Curtain crashes out    Broc Parkes rode through the pain barrier today at Valencia to bring his R6 home in fifth place despite his recent collar bone injury. His team mate, Kevin Curtain, was not so fortunate, crashing out of the race on lap nine whilst battling for first place.

The wet conditions that had plagued much of the weekend's track sessions had cleared going into the Supersport race. With this in mind, both riders were confident of a good ride in the fourth round of the World Supersport Championship today but in the end they were to have quite different results. Kevin got off a good start and maintained his third place, moving quickly up to second on lap two.

Feeling comfortable with the bike and track conditions, he was able to put in a determined ride and was in a four-way battle for first place with Sofuoglu (Honda), Pitt (Honda) and Riba (Kawasaki). On lap five Kevin, showing no sign of discomfort from his broken collar bone, took the lead and temporarily set a new lap record. The battle continued until, on lap nine, Curtain and Riba collided catching Riba's brake lever and taking both riders out as well as Fujiwara

Parkes' race also got off to a good start with him climbing up to eighth place from his start position of 11th. His injuries though, pampered him throughout the race, with him straining to change direction in the twisty middle section of the circuit. He moved up to fourth position as a result of Curtain and Riba's accident and then found himself embroiled in the middle pack of riders for the remainder of the race. He fought on and finished the race in a very credible fifth position, considering the short recovery period he has had since Donington.

Massimo Roccoli, riding in the Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni squad, found himself alongside Parkes for much of the race, with the two riders swapping positions throughout. The dry conditions suited Roccoli's style more than the rain and he was able to much improve his start 16th start position to eventually finish in a solid seventh slot.  Following his crash Curtain was taken to hospital where it was confirmed that his collar bone injury has not been made worse. A long 20cm cut deep into his thigh, caused by his foot peg, has had to be stitched - it was close to an artery but missed it.

Following Curtain and Riba's collision the remaining to riders went on with Sofuoglu finishing in the top spot and ex-Yamaha WSB rider Pitt putting a good performance for second. Rounding up the podium positions was Nannelli (Ducati) who had a good fight with Pitt for second place and narrowly missed out.    Broc Parkes (5th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I was sore for sure during that race and when the pace picked up I had trouble keeping up because I couldn't change direction so easily due to my shoulder. I had a pack of riders around me for much of the race, which I didn't like as it would have been so easy to collide with one of them, like Kevin did. I'd rather have been in front of them, but I couldn't get past. At least I got some points, which I am happy about and kept it upright this weekend."

Massimo Roccoli (7th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I had a good start and jumped to sixth position. I was riding with the leading group and after a very difficult practice, I am pleased with my final result. I took some points and have saved the weekend."   Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 19 Crowd: 39,000 Weather: Cloudy     2007 WSS Valencia 15/04/2007 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 38'8.523 2 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 0'4.911 3 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'5.200 4 Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 0'5.619 5 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 0'12.776 6 David Salom Yamaha ESP 0'14.913 7 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'15.178 8 Joan Lascorz Honda ESP 0'25.356 9 Vesa Kallio Suzuki FIN 0'28.454 10 Craig Jones Honda GBR 0'29.885 11 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'30.422 12 Davide Giugliano Kawasaki ITA 0'30.810 13 Lorenzo Alfonsi Honda ITA 0'31.204 14 David Checa Yamaha ESP 0'35.273 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'37.610

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'37.570

 Rider Standings 15/04/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 95 2. Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 51 3. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 43 4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 39 5. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 30 6. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 27 7. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 26 8. Craig Jones Honda GBR 25 9. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 25 10. Pere Riba Kawasaki ESP 22 11. Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 20 12. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 17 13. Yoann Tiberio Honda FRA 15 14. Davide Giugliano Kawasaki ITA 14 15. Lorenzo Alfonsi Honda ITA 13 20. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 10 21. David Checa Yamaha ESP 9 22. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 9

Manufacturer Standings 15/04/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 95 2. Kawasaki 61 3. Yamaha 55 4. Ducati 30 5. Suzuki 24

RACE REPORT 15/04/2007 New boy Pirro shows his potential with a second place    Rookie Superstock rider Michele Pirro showed his race-winning potential today with a superb ride over a challenging two-part race to take second place. In contrast, team mate Corti had a difficult weekend, eventually finishing in 11th place. This result doesn't do credit to the actual first he got in the second half of the race - a bad first heat brought his overall finishing position down.

At the initial race start, Pirro got a good start to take the lead from his second qualifying place. He then proceeded to pull out a lead of almost six seconds by lap three before the rest of the pack regained their composure to attach back. British rider Mark Aitchison (Suzuki) took the lead on lap six but then the race was red flagged after Badovini (MV Augusta) crashed.

The race was re-started with a five-lap sprint to the chequered flag. Pirro once again got a good start, taking the lead briefly before Yamaha-shod rider Baiocco passed him. Corti came back from his first heat difficulties in the re-start to show the fighting spirit that got him second place in the 2006 Superstock Championship. A close battle ensued with van Keymeulen, Corti, Aitchison and Baiocco for the lead with Corti succeeding while van Keymeulen crashed out of second on the penultimate lap.

The final aggregate result, taking into account the re-start, put Aitchison in first place; Pirro in second and Canepa in third.    Michele Pirro (2nd - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I had no grip at the front with my front tyre destroyed. I tried to keep hold of first place but it was impossible. I am satisfied though, because my second position has put me back in the fight for the championship."    Claudio Corti (3rd - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "My big problem was the first start. I took a big risk and almost crashed at one point losing position. I had no such problems in the second heat though and I am pleased to have grabbed some points today."   Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 16 Crowd: 39,000 Weather: Changeable     2007 Superstock Valencia 15/04/2007 Race 1 - 10 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Mark Aitchison Suzuki AUS 18'4.561 2 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 0'0.566 3 Nicolo Canepa Ducati ITA 0'8.556 4 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'12.741 5 Ilario Dionisi Suzuki ITA 0'13.883 6 Xavier Simeon Suzuki BEL 0'14.606 7 Rene Mahr Yamaha GER 0'15.604 8 Matej Smrz Honda CZE 0'23.290 9 Cederic Tangre Yamaha FRA 0'25.773 10 Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 0'26.178 11 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 0'26.428 12 Denis Sacchetti MV Agusta ITA 0'29.667 13 Sheridan Morais Ducati RSA 0'33.732 14 Marko Rohtlaan Honda EST 0'34.541 15 Arne Tode Honda GER 0'41.693

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 1'38.369

 Rider Standings 15/04/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicolo Canepa Ducati ITA 41 2. Mark Aitchison Suzuki AUS 38 3. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 25 4. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 24 5. Ilario Dionisi Suzuki ITA 21 6. Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 20 7. Xavier Simeon Suzuki BEL 19 8. Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 16 9. Rene Mahr Yamaha GER 15 10. Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 11 11. Sheridan Morais Ducati RSA 10 12. Arne Tode Honda GER 9 13. Cederic Tangre Yamaha FRA 9 14. Matej Smrz Honda CZE 8 15. Marko Rohtlaan Honda EST 5

Manufacturer Standings 15/04/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 41 2. Yamaha 40 3. Suzuki 38 4. Honda 16 5. MV Agusta 4