Yamaha Keeps Championship Hopes Alive

In a day of dramatic racing, Yamaha came away with both their rider and manufacturer championship still hopes alive. Haga came third and fourth in today's races with Corser finishing in fifth in the second race after a DNF in race one. Race one had a spectacular start as Corser lost the front and crashed out on the first lap while Haga almost crashed but managed to move into third in front of Toseland. He then proceeded to take the fastest lap three times to catch Bayliss and Biaggi who were battling for first. Having caught Bayliss, Haga tousled and swapped places with him many times before Bayliss made it stick on lap 17. The battle up front had given Toseland the chance to catch up and challenge Haga for third position; a challenge which he eventually won. Race two was equally exciting with the usual suspects of Bayliss, Biaggi, Haga, Toseland and Corser up front and challenging for position. Bayliss took an early lead but Haga was quick to chase, along with Biaggi. Corser, in fifth, fought to get past Toseland until Toseland crashed allowing Corser to get on with catching the front runners up. The fight for first place turned into a three-way battle between Bayliss, Haga and Biaggi until Biaggi squeezed past the Yamaha rider for second place on lap 13. From there on the positions remained the same until the chequered flag. Shinichi Nakatomi had one of the best rides of his WSB career today, taking a pair of ninth place finishes. He made a good start in race one to move up to ninth, where he finished. Race two's start wasn't as good as he went down to 15th but he focused on the job in hand and managed to claim ninth by the end of the race. The outcome of today's races is that Haga now lies third in the championship, 4 points behind Biaggi and 33 points behind Toseland. With 50 points still up for grabs at the final round next weekend all three riders will be looking for the all-important win. Yamaha lies second in the manufacturer championship but only 3 points adrift of Honda. Both championships will be decided next weekend at Magny-Course.