ALSTARE SUZUKI SUFFERS AT ASSEN	zurück

Reigning World Champion Troy Corser and team mate Yukio Kagayama both fell victims to the weather conditions at today’s World Superbike Championship round at Assen in Holland, crashing out of the opening race. And Corser left the event point-less after being taken out on the first corner of race two. After two days of dry conditions, the circuit was soaking wet by the time the first race got under away today. A lot of oil had also been spilled in the morning warm-up and the cleaning trucks

had gone out twice before the riders felt confident enough to venture out in the rainy conditions.

In race one, Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra’s Corser and Kagayama both fell foul of the slippery surface and were out of contention by eight laps. Corser crashed because his visor fogged up and he couldn't see where he was going and Kagayama crashed when he hit a large puddle of standing water. The race was one of attrition and in the end only 15 riders out of 28 finished. Amongst the casualties were three of the top four in the title chase.

Chris Walker (Kawasaki) started from last place but stormed through the field, mastering the difficult conditions to take his maiden World Superbike win. Second was Andrew Pitt (Kawasaki) with Michel Fabrizio third.

By the time the second race started, the track was virtually dry, though there were still a few damp patches waiting to catch the riders out.

Corser’s race lasted only to the first turn. His front wheel was hit by Haga’s bike, destroying the rim and damaging the disc in the process and when he tried to hit the brakes nothing happened and he crashed.

Kagayama led for a substantial part of the race until his tyres went off. After that, all he could do was keep going and try and bring his GSX-R1000 Suzuki safely home. In the end, he took a hard-fought-for fourth behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Andrew Pitt and Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki).

There was good news for Alstare Engineering Corona Extra: Max Neukirchner started in almost last position in the first race but rode steadily throughout the 22-lapper to take sixth place and 10 championship points. Despite the terrible conditions and several lurid slides, the young German somehow kept the bike upright and ignored all the mayhem around him. At the end he was less than half-a-second off fourth place. In race two, he was one of the riders caught out by a damp patch. He lost control and fell, fortunately without injury.

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 4th:

“I am not so happy today because I believed I was going to get two podiums. The rain ruined everything and all I managed in the end was just one fourth place. The first race was very difficult because there was so much water on the track. In the beginning I was very careful in the new first section of the track because it felt very slippery there. I got into third place by lap seven and thought maybe I could stay in that position. I was particularly careful on the corner where Troy-san crashed, but maybe that was my undoing because I then crashed on the next corner! I hit a big puddle and the bike aquaplaned and that was it!

“In the second race I made a good start and had a good battle with Bayliss. I think I Ied the race for maybe seven laps and then my tyres started to go off a lot. When Bayliss passed me, I could do nothing about it and from then to the end of the race I had to try and keep going as best I could.”

Troy Corser - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF:

“I guess you could say that today was one to forget and the only good news is that I never hurt myself in the two crashes. The first race started well enough and I managed to lead Bayliss in the wet for a couple of laps. But soon my visor started fogging up and I was having to try and look out of the side of it just to see where I was going! At the kind of speed we were going, that isn’t good enough and when I looked up one time, I was off line and heading into a large patch of water. Next thing I knew I was down and my race was over.

“In race two, there was an even bigger disaster: Haga was next to me off the line and heading toward turn one I think he missed a gear and then hit me. At first I didn’t know what happened and I tried to brake for the turn, but nothing happened. I went down and it was only when I looked at the front of my bike that I realised that the impact had broken my front wheel rim and damaged one of the brake discs. What a frustrating and disappointing day it has been - especially after taking Superpole yesterday. If today had been dry, I feel I would’ve taken two podiums for sure, but that’s racing.”

Max Neukirchner - Race 1, 6th, Race 2: DNF:

“Maybe starting at the back wasn’t so bad because I could take my time and see how the track was without doing anything silly. The conditions were treacherous and I had lots of slides, but I tried to ride as smoothly as I could and, as the race went on and riders kept falling, I began to pick up places. Towards the end, I was happy because I knew I has scored some good points, but it was one of those races where you had a 50 per cent chance of finishing and a 50 per cent chance of crashing. Fortunately for me, I finished!

“Race two was not so good. Most of the track was dry, but there were a couple of places that were quite damp and I got caught out and down I went - simple as that. But this has been a great learning experience for me and now I’m looking forward to a track I know well- Lausitz - and continuing my learning curve.”

World Superbike Results:

Race 1: 1 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 2 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 3 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 4 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 5 Abe (J-Yamaha), 6 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra), 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 8 Rolfo (I-Ducati), 9 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 10 Toseland (GB-Honda). Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF. Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF.

Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Pitt, 3 Nieto, 4 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 5 Xaus (E-Ducati), 6 Lanzi, 7 Barros (Bra-Honda), 8 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 9 Toseland, 10 Fabrizio. Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF. Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF.

Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 332, 2 Toseland 232, 3 Haga 230, 4 Pitt 197, 5 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)193, 6 Barros 175, 7 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 139, 8 Walker 123, 9 Lanzi 115, 10 Nieto 112, 18 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 19.