WSBK – Marked Sunday at Brands-Hatch … –

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Sunday marking at Brands-Hatch…

WSBK - Marked Sunday at Brands-Hatch ... -

This weekend at Brands Hatch was held the English World Superbike event. A 2008 edition that will be remembered: in the SBK category thanks to a new double, but in Supersport because of the tragic accident of Craig Jones…

Declared "Wet", the Superpole event allows the 16 best drivers of the qualifying sessions to complete 12 laps instead of just one in dry weather. However, the English downpour on Saturday afternoon gave way to a nice clearing: suddenly, the Superbike riders were able to put on slick tires at the end of this somewhat special Superpole … and set excellent times. !

Thus, Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was able to beat his own record by completing a lap in 1’25.656. He is followed on the first row by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Italia), Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda Ten Kate) and Jakub Smrz, decidedly very fast in qualifying ‘on the handlebars of his private Ducati prepared by the Guandalini team..

On the second row are Troy Corser (Yamaha Italia), wild card Tom Sykes (Suzuki Rizla) and the two Max: Biaggi (Ducati Go Eleven) and Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare). In third place are the two other Suzuki Alstare of Kagayama and Nieto, the Honda Ten Kate of Carlos Checa and the second official Ducati, that of Fabrizio.

Note that Ruban Xaus (Ducati Go Eleven) will remain bedridden with a nasty fever. On the French side, Sebastien Gimbert will start from eighth place and his GMT94 teammate, David Checa, from 20th. As for Regis Laconi, he will occupy the second place on the grid … The Ninja n ° 55 will have work !

In Supersport, pole position is signed by Matthieu Lagrive! At the controls of his Honda Intermoto Czech, the French n ° 14 had a brilliant time of 1’28.003. It remains to be seen whether in the package, Matthieu will be able to hold out against other official Honda and Yamaha….

Jonathan Rea (Honda Ten Kate), Craig Jones (Honda Parkalgar) and Broc Parkes (Yamaha World SSP) complete the first row ahead of Karl Harris – replacing Fabien Foret on the second official R6 -, Joshua Brookes, Robbin Harms (both on Honda Stiggy) and Barry Veneman (Suzuki Hoegee).

First Superbike race

Troy Bayliss takes the best start ahead of Noriyuki Haga, Tom Sykes, Troy Corser – who overtook the English from the second corner -, Max Biaggi – who passed the English in the third corner -, Yukio Kagayama, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Fonsi Nieto.

In the lead, Bayliss tried to widen the gap on the first lap but his compatriot Corser did not intend to let the No. 21 Ducati slip away so easily! The Croco therefore doubled his teammate Haga and wasted no time in joining the pots of the 1098…

At the end of the first lap, the two Troys were just a second ahead of Haga, Biaggi, Sykes, Kagayama and Kiyonari. Then follow Nieto, Checa, Neukirchner, Smrz, Fabrizio, Lavilla, Sofuoglu and Muggeridge. From the second round, Kiyonari returned under the pots of Kagayama while Biaggi lost three places.

It was on the first braking of lap three that Kiyonari dived his No. 23 CBR under Kagayama’s No. 34 Suzuki. The Honda rider is now aiming for the No.66 Suz ‘of Sykes, which fails to find the fault on Haga … In front, Bayliss and Corser are driving solo.

In the peloton, the fight is not lacking: Smrz fights against Fabrizio and Muggeridge against Rolfo while the hunting group led by Haga goes slowly but surely back on Yam ‘n ° 11 … While Haga pretends to attack Corser, Kiyonari climbs dangerously back on Sykes.

Nitro Nori’s second attempt paid off: the Japanese overtook his Australian colleague just before completing the fifth lap. As for Kiyonari, starting the sixth loop he overtook Tom Sykes, repeating his superb braking attack on the corner at the end of the line – not so – straight.

From the baptized turn Surtees, Ryuichi virtually hoists his Honda on the third step of the podium behind Bayliss and Haga, ahead of Corser now threatened by Sykes, Kagayama … and Biaggi who overtakes the Japanese just before starting the seventh lap !

The three leading men are in the same second: we expect a superb fight … when suddenly, Noriyuki Haga loses the front of his Yamaha in Surtees and leave Kiyonari alone with Bayliss !

While waiting for No.23 to join No.21, attention is drawn to their three pursuers located only a few lengths away: unable to pass Corser, Sykes cannot prevent Biaggi’s return. Kagayama was passed by Nieto who rides solo and must now contain Checa.

At the ninth pass through Druids, Sykes – the local of the stage – finally manages to slip his GSX-R inside Corser’s R1! Biaggi meanwhile does not take nine laps to overtake Corser: the Ducati n ° 3 passes in fourth position two turns later !

But on the next lap, Sykes was forced to abandon his first race in the World Superbike when he was in third place. !

Max Biaggi therefore took the third step of the virtual podium ahead of Corser and Nieto, lodged at n ° 11. The Japanese teammates are fighting for seventh place: Neukirchner passes Kagayama by the way, but for the German, second in the championship, the only valid target is Bayliss…

The Bayliss in question has a lot to do with Kiyonari. While not a dangerous opponent in the Championship, Ryuichi is one hell of a client when it comes to winning at Brands Hatch! So Troy continues to attack while he can..

At the exit of Druids, Kiyonari curiously swerves outside … to better melt under the official Ducati in the left double Graham Hill Bend ! But the Honda rider, a bit generous on the throttle, must let Bayliss pass again. The double world champion is warned !

In the next round, Troy makes sure to close the door on the edge of the left double! And subsequently, the Australian refined his trajectories and offered very few opportunities for the Japanese to point the tip of his Pirelli in front of that of the 1098…

Seven laps from the checkered flag, however, the No.23 CBR again surprises the No.21 1098 in Graham Hill Bend : Ryuichi makes no mistake on re-acceleration, but Troy and his twin take over command anyway !

Discreetly, as the fight rages on for first place, Max Biaggi alone in third position continues his ascent … And on the 21st lap, the Roman Emperor is only two seconds behind the leading duo…

Four laps from the end, Kiyonari is more aggressive: the Japanese brake later than Bayliss but the latter brakes harder, which allows him to retain control of the race. At the exit of Hawthorn, n ° 21 turns around … to find that Honda n ° 23 is literally glued to its wheel !

And from the next braking, Ryuichi Kiyonari takes the lead! Troy Bayliss does not lose focus and pursues the Japanese. But behind, Max Biaggi is still coming back: with three laps to go, the private Ducati of the Go Eleven team is only 1.5 seconds behind the official Ducati.

In the fourth round, the Italian came back very strongly over the Australian and the Japanese. So that by maintaining his final sprint to the end, Max could well win the race! But going from a two-time world champion and then a two-time English champion on the Brands Hatch pickup circuit is tough…

Finally, after a phenomenal final lap, Ryuichi takes his first victory: "I was very nervous in the very last laps", admits the double English champion who brilliantly takes over from James Toseland, double winner at Brands Hatch last year riding a CBR Ten Kate as well. !

The n ° 23 is ahead of Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi, who both perform a good operation in the championship: the first brings his lead to 90 points against Max Neukirchner who finishes "only" seventh, while the second separates from his " enemy brothers "Fabrizio and Xaus…

"I am really satisfied with my result in the first round, which allows me to finish on the podium for the third time in a row", underlines the famous n ° 3. See you in the second round for a fourth podium in a row? And for a double from Kiyonari ?

Supersport Race

John Rea jumped from his second place on the grid to take the lead from the first few meters while Matthieu Lagrive’s No. 14 CBR rebounded on its front wheel. A generous bit on the lever, Matthieu passed the first corner in fifth position behind Rea, Parkes, Harms and Brookes.

Hounded by Harris – Fabien Foret’s replacement – Lagrive pushes his CBR to its limits … So much so that it quickly makes him understand that it cannot keep pace: a little kick on the go-around and Matthieu must let the second official Yam ‘pass, then Andrew Pitt’s Honda…

At the start of the second round, Lagrive lost another place to the benefit of Briton Craig Jones. At the forefront, Rea retains the lead but it is now Harms who occupies the second position ahead of the two official R6s.

During the next two laps, the Yamaha were put to the test: Pitt doubled Harris then Parkes, while Jones passed Harris but ran into Parkes! For his part, Matthieu Lagrive closes the battle but does not manage to keep up with the pace set at the start of the race..

On the fifth pass through Paddock hill – the turn at the end of the straight line – the three leading Honda riders are neck and neck. Finally, Johnny Rea keeps the controls but Pitt wins against Harms. But the Danish has not said his last word and from the next braking, he recovers his due !

In this fifth lap, Craig Jones finally manages to get rid of Parkes and hoists himself under the pots of his little winged brand comrades … Rea is still firmly camped in the lead of the race ahead of Harms and Pitt when, still in this fifth round, the young Irishman raises his left hand !

Would the rain that has been threatening since this morning fall on the circuit? The commissioners are not of this opinion and do not show the red flags. Rea did not lose focus and completed this fifth lap still in the lead … Nevertheless, in Druids, Robbin Harms goes on the attack and overtakes Jonathan !

Behind the quartet of CBR, the R6 are now threatened by the Honda of Brookes … and that of Lagrive! The French did not take long to pass Brookes then Harris and found himself, at the start of the eighth lap, in sixth position only a few lengths behind Parkes..

In front, Robbin Harms gives himself a slight lead as the rain begins to appear. Craig Jones is currently on the third step of the podium, but is undoubtedly aiming higher. It was then that Matthieu Lagrive fell: n ° 14 picked up his machine which had fallen into the gravel and set off again, but "his" race was over for him….

In the ninth round, at the level of Surtees, Rea and Jones switch places twice in a row and again Jonathan raises his left hand! Does he want to apologize to Craig – yet the fight between the two men is clean – or does he want to push the marshals to stop the race because of the rain? ?

At the exit of Surtees, we can only find three Honda in the lead of the race: Harms fell, losing the front in the middle of the curve! A few moments later, the red flags are waved: the race is interrupted in this ninth lap, after the fall of another driver in the same turn as Harms…

"This is the second race in a row where I manage to establish a good performance on the track but I do not score any points … It is very frustrating and disappointing", notes Robbin Harms, deprived of the second run for a dark history of shortcut during his return to the pits…

Second start. Once the downpour was over, the race started again on a track that had become completely dry again. The order of the grid is established according to the classification at the end of the eighth loop, i.e. Rea on pole ahead of Jones (0.141 sec), Pitt (0.379), Parkes (1.981), Brookes (2.068), Veneman (2.678), Harris (3.754) and Rocolli (at 8.296 sec). Remember that the final result will take into account the differences observed at the end of the "first race".

Matthieu Lagrive having crossed the finish line on the eighth lap despite his crash, our only representative therefore started from 31st place and was 40 seconds behind the leader of the race. Getting into the points will therefore already be good !

The order of the grid is respected in the first corner: Rea leads ahead of Jones, Pitt and Parkes. A good battle ensues between Jones and Pitt, but the Englishman gets rid of the Australian before starting the second loop. In Surtees, the black and white Honda even turns at the front of the race.

A few bends later, however, Johnny takes back the lead … Each time they pass the pits, the two Britons are fairings against fairings. The two Australians cannot get involved in the fight and behind them, a third Englishman points the end of the fairing of his R6: Harris is fifth.

The fight between the two leading young men continues with a vengeance: Jones sets the fastest time of the race, but Rea stays in his wheels … back and front! At the start of the sixth lap, the Honda n ° 65 seems to take off but the n ° 18 stuck it back on the end of the course…

The three leading Hondas are decidedly inseparable, as are the two Yamaha following them a few lengths away … until Harris makes a mistake: in the middle of Surtees, the Yamaha # 5 lies down on its left side and slides off the track. Karl gets up immediately and even sends a piece of his torn glove waltz in spite … "Everything is fine", so !

The race continued and Brookes inherited a distant fifth place. In front, Rea and Jones have calmed the game and no longer double down. Pitt remains on the asphalt and Parkes is only a few lengths away, ready to pounce on the podium at the slightest gap of one of his opponents…

But at the time of completing the ninth lap, while the bikes are "full load" at the exit of the last named curve Clarck, Jones’ CBR n ° 18 slips from behind … Expert in this exercise, Craig tries to control the drift but his Honda very quickly finds himself in an irreversible situation…

Jones knows not to cut the throttle and his CBR tilts inexorably on his right flank. He fell in slow motion, but he was violently hit by Pitt’s motorcycle, which was then lodged in its wheel … The British rider lost consciousness and like a puppet, dangerously ended his slide on the circuit…

The red flags are instantly out and the race definitively stopped: the concern wins the Parkalgar team and the whole public … We will unfortunately learn of the death of the pilot this morning (read)…

Jonathan Rea was declared the winner of the race ahead of Craig Jones – who was then struggling between life and death – and Andrew Pitt, while Broc Parkes finished fourth ahead of Joshua Brookes and Barry Veneman. "It’s ugly to win a race when my friend Craig Jones gets injured"said Rea immediately after the race….

In the championship, Andrew Pitt (149 points) therefore remains in the lead, but his young teammate Jonathan Rea (117) jumps from fifth to second place thanks to his second consecutive victory! Broc Parkes retains third place with 113 points just ahead of Joshua Brookes with 112 points.

In the provisional manufacturers’ classification, Honda continues its breakaway: the winged brand totals 215 points (out of 220 max!) Against 151 for Yamaha, 58 for Triumph, 57 for Suzuki and 40 for Kawasaki.

Second Superbike race

For the second time, Bayliss retains his advantage by arriving at the end of the straight line. But this time, he is followed by Haga! Corser slips out of Kiyonari and takes third place ahead of Japanese and young wild card Sykes.

From the second corner, Corser tries to make the outside to Haga: the Australian wedges on the left of his teammate in Druids and take advantage of the next left to grab second place! In Druids always, Kagayama sees his hopes fall into the gravel pit…

"I was hit by Tom Sykes on the first lap on entering Druids", explains n ° 34:"his bike took my brake lever, it blocked my direction and I had to pull straight through the gravel … where I fell !". Left far away last, the Japanese will be keen to finish the race for his English fans. Nice attitude !

Behind, Biaggi struggles in the peloton to reach the outposts. At the end of the first lap, the Italian is seventh behind Nieto and ahead of Neukirchner. In front, a quartet formed but Tom Sykes, again first Suzuki man, did not say his last word…

It was then that Max Biaggi, on a better start than in the first run, decided to make it difficult for himself: he went off the track at Graham Hill Bend, climbs up very high in the grass and finds the track long seconds later. "When I left I was second to last, but I made a nice comeback that ended in second place", relativizes Max…

Bayliss is still in the lead and behind him, Corser manhandles his R1 ahead of Haga, Kiyonari and Sykes. Sliding from the rear under braking, the flame licking the ends of the pots and then the rear wheel momentarily protruding into the dirt under acceleration, the old crocodile and his Yamaha n ° 11 put on the show !

But in the third lap, Noriyuki calmed the ardor of his teammate Troy by beating him on the brakes of Surtees ! Very quickly, n ° 41 left n ° 11 to join the pots of n ° 21 … But n ° 23, winner of the first round, is lurking in fourth position !

It was on the fifth pass in front of the pits that Kiyonari shifted and managed to brake Corser! Behind, Sykes watches and learns. Then we find Nieto and Neukirchner while Carlos Checa is eighth ahead of Lanzi and Muggeridge.

When braking Druids, Corser recovers his third place, but Kiyonari takes it back in Surtees… So as not to lose it anymore! Up front, Haga does not leave Bayliss by a sole. In the sixth lap, the Japanese even managed to overtake the Australian, with just braking and a curve….

Further on, the fight for sixth place between Nieto and Neukirchner is just as lively. But when Haga takes the reins of the race, passing Bayliss in the semi-straight, the public has eyes only for the leaders. !

"For the second run, I just changed my rear tire and got a good feeling", explained the n ° 41 simply, confirming the importance of the choice of tires this weekend….

Then Kiyonari jumps to second place a few seconds after Haga nabbed first from Bayliss! At the start of the seventh lap, Noriyuki and Ryuichi lead ahead of the two Troy and Tom (Sykes), who remain only a few lengths behind the world elite.

In Druids, Corser gave himself a great fright when he hit his compatriot’s rear wheel! This touch allows the two Japanese to move away and the English to get closer to the two Australians, fortunately still in the race.

After showing the end of its fairing at the end of the straight line – really straight, this one – of Pilgrims Drop, Kiyonari took the lead, passing the pits for the ninth time. But at the end of this lap, the Honda rider almost lost the front end of his CBR and had to let the Yamaha rider pass with a more stable R1..

Still third, Bayliss struggles to make the connection with the two leading 4-cylinders. Behind him, two other 4-legged follow him closely: those of Corser and Sykes! "In the last laps of the first heat, the rear rubber was in bad shape and that’s why we chose to change the tire for the second heat. Unfortunately, it was a bad calculation and I couldn’t do anything after the first few laps", will regret n ° 21…

In the eleventh lap, Kiyonari enjoyed an excellent exit from Surtees to overtake Haga in the descent of Pilgrims Drop. The two Japanese then completed two cleaner laps and moved away from Bayliss, Corser and Sykes. Two seconds from this hunting group is Neukirchner, himself two seconds ahead of the peloton made up of Fabrizio, Checa, Nieto, Lanzi and Muggeridge.

In the following laps, Ryuichi and Nori continued their clear round and practically stuck to their direct competitors for a second per lap. With ten laps to go, the two Japanese are just over 3.5 seconds ahead of Corser and Sykes, both of whom have passed Bayliss !

In the next round, Max Neukirchner in turn overtakes Troy Bayliss: for the first time in five rounds, the young German is able to regain points from the championship leader. !

While the # 23 Honda quietly takes down the # 41 Yamaha, the # 11 Yam ’moves away from Sykes’s # 66 Suz. The wild card driver is threatened by another GSX-R: that of Neukirchner, who now seeks to put as many drivers as possible between him and Bayliss !

Seven laps to go, Neukirchner wins new points by overtaking Sykes. "The first race was not great because we used too soft a rubber which slipped a lot and lacked grip", points out n ° 76, much more comfortable with his harder tire in the second run.

On the contrary, Bayliss loses a few points the next round because of his own teammate Fabrizio! The # 21 Ducati is no longer able to keep pace with the best and the end of the race will be tough for Troy…

In the lead, Kiyonari continues to dominate Haga but Nitro Nori remains in Ryuichi’s asp … With four laps to go, nothing has yet been decided and only Corser seems certain to climb to the third step of the podium.

Like the first round, the second ends with a superb final sprint that Kiyonari easily wins! Behind, Corser signs a new podium on the handlebars of his Yamaha and will still have to wait to climb the highest step…

"The team worked very hard to give me a great bike in both rounds and in the end we have one victory – well two! – to celebrate "", rejoices Ryuichi, who thus won his last three races contested on the all-new CBR, counting his victory at the Suzuka 8 Hours. !

After a fine end to the race – this is his specialty – Fabrizio finished fifth behind Nieto. First Ducati, he regained points from Max Biaggi in the fight for the "best second Ducati" behind the untouchable Bayliss … who nevertheless finished this race in a disappointing eleventh place, just ahead of the Roman Emperor.

"I’m still happy to be on the podium in the first run and these 20 points allowed me to increase my lead, even if it was only a few points.", Bayliss remark:"the race this morning was superb, congratulations to Kiyo who was fantastic today !"

After increasing his championship lead to 90 points following the first round, Troy Bayliss has 82 points more than his rival Max Neukirchner. Ten points behind the German, Troy Corser secures his third place with 242 points on the clock, while his teammate Noriyuki Haga increasingly threatens the fifth position of Carlos Checa (230 points against 233).

Fonsi Nieto (183 points) remains in sixth place in the provisional classification ahead of Max Biaggi (166) who sees Ryuichi Kiyonari (165) fall on him. !

For the second time in a row, Christophe Guyot’s French team leaves without registering any points … But "however, the results are not catastrophic", we reassure on the official website of GMT 94:"we found an interesting solution in terms of the engine and in terms of performance, we are 34 seconds behind the winner after 25 laps. The Mondial Superbike is very tough this year and we are going in the right direction". Revenge at Donington Park ?

On the constructors side, Ducati is still leading the way with 403 points ahead of Yamaha (345) and Suzuki (303). Honda gets closer to Suzuki thanks to its new double (297), unlike Kawasaki which scores its third consecutive white result…

August is synonymous with holidays for all pilots: the next World Superbike meeting is scheduled for September 5, 6 and 7, on the Donington Park track for the "European" round of the championship. Be connected, because "The Show Must Go On" !

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