Yamaha's world superbike riders overcame a lack of traction to bring home a good haul of points at round three of the series in Valencia today. Norick Abe was the leading Yamaha rider, ending the day with a pair of fourth places and only narrowly missing out on a podium finish in his second outing. The Japanese star was in superb form all weekend after his Yamaha Motor France squad brought along a new specification engine for the race. The team, which uses and is responsible for development of Yamaha's YEC kit parts, worked hard after below par performances in Qatar and Phillip Island. In both races Abe made good starts and worked hard to battle with fellow Yamaha rider Noriyuki Haga. In the afternoon's second race the two-time 500cc Grand Prix winner looked like coming home third for what would have been his first ever superbike podium, only to be passed by Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) on the final lap. Despite a little disappointment at missing out on third, Abe was delighted with the performance of his R1 and at being back running with the leaders. Yamaha Motor Italia riders Haga and Andrew Pitt had a tough day struggling with set-up problems. For Haga, the two races were virtually carbon copies of each other, holding third for much of the race but succumbing to Lanzi and Abe in the final few laps. The Japanese rider suffered electrical problems in both outings, affecting his machine's quick shift system and the power delivery of the engine. Despite the first race problems, Haga was able to bring his R1 home in fifth place. Set-up changes and the replacement of various electrical components brought hope of a better result in race two and, after a good start, Haga was challenging eventual winner Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in the battle for second. Unfortunately for Haga the problem reemerged and his lap times dropped off, drawing him into the clutches of Abe and Lanzi. Despite his disappointment at not battling for the podium, Haga had the consolation of moving up two places in the championship, leaving Valencia in fourth place. Pitt also had two similar races, unable to fix the front end grip problems he faced all weekend. The Australian came home tenth in the first race following a bad start and finished ninth in race two, at the back of a three-way battle for seventh with Kawasaki riders Chris Walker and Regis Laconi. Yamaha Motor France's improved fortunes allowed Shinichi Nakatomi to show his true colours. The Japanese newcomer grabbed two 12th places in a wonderful display of aggressive riding on his R1. After a somewhat lonely race one, the second outing saw Nakatomi was involved in an intense four-way battle for tenth that included no less than multiple Grand Prix winner Alex Barros (Honda) and former superbike world champion James Toseland (Honda). In the end Nakatomi finished just a tenth of a second behind Toseland, but claimed Barros as a scalp. Both Valencia races were won by Bayliss, with defending world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) second both times. In the championship, Bayliss extends his lead to 22 points over second placed Corser with Toseland third and Haga fourth. Pitt slips back one place to sixth, with Abe's 26 points taking him up to eighth place overall. The next round takes place at Yamaha Motor Italia's local Monza circuit in two weeks' time. Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Two good results today, so I am very happy with that. In the second race compared to the first I had a better feeling but in the beginning the top two were gone and in a different world. I caught up with Lanzi then tried so hard to catch Haga. When I passed him I tried to make a gap but by that stage the tyres were spinning a lot. I think the Ducati has good traction in that condition, because Lanzi was very fast at the end. So I am a little disappointed to miss the podium but the whole day was a big improvement over the first rounds, so I am very happy." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "After qualifying we knew that this was going to be a tough race but the problems we had today made it impossible to fight for the podium. In the first race the traction was not so good but I thought I could take third until the engine lost power. For the second race the feeling with the bike was better but the problem came back and there was nothing I could do when Abe and Lanzi came past." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the first race we also tried something different on the start and it didn't work, which gave me a lot of work to do. We made some improvements to the bike after qualifying and between the races but I was still struggling for front end grip. The bike was actually quite good for the first ten laps but when it went off I couldn't push as hard as I wanted to. I was able to run with guys like Toseland and Laconi but the confidence in the front end wasn't there and I couldn't make a pass." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I'm pleased to have two good races and score some championship points. The main difference this weekend was that the team has made the bike a lot better than at the first two races, so I could go fast and have some good battles in the second race. We had three days of testing here as well so that also makes a difference." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "We found the correct settings today and adapted well to the tyres. We made tests all winter with the old tyres but are now racing with the new ones, which are much better but they do increase chattering and sometimes that means we are lost in the set-up. In the Misano test we recovered confidence and we can see the results now." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "It has been a difficult weekend for us. Noriyuki's bike developed an electrical problem which caused some problems with the engine power. We replaced the sensors between the races but it did not fix the problem. Andrew had problems with front end grip but rode well to get some good points. To be honest, we know that Valencia is not one of our best circuits but we are an ambitious team with a goal of winning the championship so even though we came here knowing it would be difficult we are never satisfied with fifth places. On the positive side, Noriyuki has moved up the championship table to fourth and when you consider that he was seventh in the championship this time last year we are clearly going in the right direction." Race classification WSB Round: 3 - Spain Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005 Lap Record: 1' 35.007 (Neil Hodgson, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 34.633 (Neil Hodgson, 2003) Race: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 37' 4.634 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS +2.765 3 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +14.225 4 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +17.126 5 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +18.225 6 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +18.495 7 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +22.693 8 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +24.233 9 J. Toseland Honda GBR +28.799 10 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +28.946 11 A. Barros Honda BRA +34.558 12 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN +37.151 13 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA +43.368 14 D. De Gea Honda ESP +45.753 15 F. Foret Suzuki FRA +46.586 Race 2: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 37' 6.508 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS +0.790 3 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +15.133 4 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +16.004 5 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +16.929 6 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP +17.056 7 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +19.967 8 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +21.395 9 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +21.801 10 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA +32.166 11 J. Toseland Honda GBR +32.259 12 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN +32.355 13 F. Foret Suzuki FRA +32.648 14 A. Barros Honda BRA +33.875 15 S. Martin Petronas AUS +38.052 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1' 35.374 Championship standings WSB Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 125 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 103 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 86 4 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 64 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 62 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 58 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 47 8 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 40 9 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 34 10 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 33 11 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 32 12 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 29 13 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 24 14 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 22 15 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 21 20 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 8 23 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 3 Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Ducati 126 2 Suzuki 113 3 Honda 91 4 Yamaha 84 5 Kawasaki 40 6 Petronas 4 WSS : Curtain completes Yamaha's century of supersport podiums Round: 3 - Spain Circuit: Valencia Date: 23 April 2006 Crowd: 42000 Temp: 21ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha scored its 100th podium finish in the Supersport World Championship with a second place for Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain in Valencia today. Curtain's podium makes Yamaha the first manufacturer to reach that milestone in a class in which it has consistently been strong. Massimo Meregalli's win at Misano in 1997 was the manufacturer's first podium finish in the class and since then Yamaha has gone on to win three manufacturer and a rider's world title with Yamaha Motor Germany's Jörg Teuchert in 2000. Australian rider Curtain made a poor start in today's race, ending the first lap in fourth place but fighting his way through to second at the flag. After moving into second on lap four Curtain had something of a lonely race, six seconds behind race winner Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) but three ahead of third placed Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda). In a good day for Yamaha Motor Germany, Broc Parkes came home fourth in what is only the third race for the latest model YZF-R6. With showers throughout the weekend limiting the amount of dry practice time both Yamaha's Australian riders failed to find a perfect set-up for what turned out to be a dry race. Having worked hard to move through the pack, Curtain found his rear tyre was unable to provide the grip needed to close down Charpentier and was forced to settle for what was his third second place of the season. Parkes meanwhile had a problem of brake fluid leaking onto his footpegs after the top of the rear brake cylinder was displaced by the rider's boot. Despite not affecting the performance of his machine, Parkes understandably rode cautiously as he was unaware of the source of the fluid. Yamaha's third-generation YZF-R6 was well represented in the race, with six machines in the top ten and several young riders catching the eye. Nineteen-year-old wild-card Jordi Torres equaled his fine qualifying position with fifth in the race, while fellow Spaniard Xavi Fores, 20, ran second in the early laps but faded to eighth at the flag. Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello finished just behind Fores, ending the day ninth and tenth respectively. The race was led from lights to flag by world champion Charpentier to extend his lead over Curtain to 15 points in the championship. Parkes moves up to fourth in the points with three of the 13 races completed with Fores and Roccoli sharing fifth place alongside Yoann Tiberio (Honda). Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I didn't get the best of starts and by the time I made it through to second Sebastien had got away. I tried hard to catch him but I'd worked my rear tyre too hard and didn't have enough grip. I'm happy enough with the result though. Our bike is still developing and we lost a lot of set-up time here due to the rain. Fair play to Sebastien though, he was the best rider today and deserved to win. Hopefully we'll have a new specification engine at Monza, if not then by Silverstone, and Pirelli will be supplying a new front tyre which we have tested and works much better with our bike." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I suppose I got some points today but I'm not that happy. I realised in the middle of the race that there was some fluid leaking onto the bike and I thought it was maybe oil from the rear shock. It turned out it was the cap that had come off the rear brake master cylinder, but it was always in the back of my mind that something could maybe go on the tyre, so I had to hold back a bit." Jordi Torres (Speed Moto) "I was very nervous at the start of the race and in the first corner a lot of riders passed me. I regained my concentration and started to pass a few other riders. At the end of the race my tyre was pretty much finished but I tried to control the situation I was in and scored fifth place. I am very pleased about that because this is my first race in this championship, which is run at a very high level." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I rode quite nervously in the opening laps but by lap five I had settled down and was able to make up some positions. With about five laps to go the bike seemed to be straining a bit and although I was still able to have a good battle with Fores I could not quite pass him. We definitely improved our set-up from yesterday and I am quite happy with the result, although I know we must still work harder." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I was having a good race in front of Massimo until close to the end, when I lost some grip at the front. I had a lot of front end slides and twice saved a crash on my knee. Massimo was able to pass on one of these moments and when I looked behind and saw no-one close I backed off and took a safe finish." Race classification WSS Round: 3 - Spain Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005 Lap Record: 1' 38.664 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.664 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Race: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 38' 12.713 2 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +6.537 3 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN +9.454 4 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +11.750 5 J. Torres Yamaha ESP +15.964 6 R. Harms Honda DNK +17.007 7 Y. Tibero Honda FRA +19.548 8 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +22.400 9 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +22.513 10 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +24.708 11 B. Veneman Suzuki NED +25.317 12 J. Brookes Ducati AUS +27.194 13 W. De Angelis Honda ITA +31.740 14 T. Lauslehto Honda FIN +37.082 15 S. Le Grelle Honda BEL +41.951 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 1' 38.664 Championship standings WSS Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 75 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 60 3 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 31 4 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 29 5 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 22 6 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 22 7 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 22 8 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 20 9 Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 20 10 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 16 11 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 16 12 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 16 13 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 15 14 Jordi Torres Yamaha ESP 11 15 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 11 21 Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 2 Manufacturers standings WSS Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 75 2 Yamaha 60 3 Ducati 22 4 Kawasaki 8 5 Suzuki 5 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup: Corti eighth on Superstock 1000 debut Round: 1 - Spain Circuit: Valencia Date: 22 April 2006 Crowd: 42000 Temp: 20ºC Weather: Sunny European Superstock 600 champion Claudio Corti gave a good display on his first race in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, finishing eighth on his Yamaha Team Italia YZF-R1 SP. Starting 12th on a circuit dampened by overnight rain, the 18-year-old Italian steadily worked his way through a field of more experienced riders, pipping local rider Alex Martinez (Kawasaki) across the line and almost catching South African superbike champion Sheridan Morais (Suzuki) and the battle for sixth place. After a thrilling race-long battle for the lead, it was Italian Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) who stood on the top step of the podium after a sometimes frantic battle with Spanish wild-card Ivan Silva (Kawasaki). Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta) was third with Spaniard Enrique Rocamora the leading Yamaha rider, finishing fourth on his YZF-R1 SP. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "This has been a difficult race for me as we have found it difficult to get traction all weekend and I could not ride as well as I would like. When I consider this is my first time racing the R1 then this is not so bad, but I am still disappointed with the result. The next race is at Monza, which is my local track, and I am sure that if the team can make some progress then I can go for the win there." Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Round: 1 - Spain Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005 Lap Record: 1' 39.034 (Massimo Roccoli, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.034 (Massimo Roccoli, 2005) Race: 13 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Polita Suzuki ITA 22' 4.712 2 I. Silva Kawasaki ESP +0.303 3 A. Badovini MV Agusta ITA +3.751 4 E. Rocamora Yamaha ESP +5.418 5 L. Scassa MV Agusta ITA +5.729 6 D. Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA +9.290 7 S. Morais Suzuki RSA +9.409 8 C. Corti Yamaha ITA +10.143 9 A. Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP +10.149 10 S. Saltarelli Kawasaki ITA +13.128 11 M. Baiocco Yamaha ITA +18.002 12 R. Cooper Honda GBR +25.076 13 D. Dell'omo Suzuki ITA +27.910 14 R. Chiarello Kawasaki ITA +29.890 15 I. Dionisi Yamaha ITA +29.983 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Polita Suzuki ITA 1' 39.789 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup championship standings Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 25 2 Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 20 3 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 16 4 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 13 5 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 11 6 Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 10 7 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 9 8 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 8 9 Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 7 10 Simone Saltarelli Kawasaki ITA 6 11 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 5 12 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 4 13 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 3 14 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 2 15 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.