WSBK – The season is off to a great start! –

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The season starts very strong !

WSBK - The season is off to a great start! -

The 2006 season is well and truly underway: for this particularly advanced start in the year, all the pilots found themselves in the middle of the Qatari desert at Losail. Exclusive report and comments by Sebastien Charpentier in video !

France is still partly in the snow, but the Mondial Superbike is already on its way! Fortunately, the 2006 season begins much further south of Le Mans or Magny Cours: on the Qatari track of Losail…

Last Thursday, an unexpected rain at the start of the day somewhat disturbed the Superbike riders. For their first official runs, they only benefit from a drying track. However, these perilous conditions allow two French people to shine: Regis Laconi (n ° 55 – PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Sebastien Gimbert (n ° 16 – Yamaha Motor France), respectively second and fifth at the end of this first day…
Doha, 02/26/2006 – Sebastien Charpentier wins the first race of the season. Video Interview Site.

On the other hand, in Supersport, the world champion Sebastien Charpentier (our opposite) ranks only twelfth.

But the next day, under a milder sky, the favorites reaffirm their supremacy … especially Troy Bayliss (n ° 21 – Ducati Xerox), who marks with great fanfare his return to the category by signing the superpole in 1 ‘59.696, in front of his young teammate Lorenzo Lanzi (n ° 57 – 2 ‘00.028).

Behind, an armada of Japanese is ready to assault the official Ducatis, with in the same second and in order: Pitt (n ° 88 – Yamaha Motor Italia) in 2 ‘00.110, Toseland (n ° 52 – Ten Kate Honda ) in 2 ‘00.112 followed by Corser (n ° 1 – Suzuki Alstare), Haga (n ° 41 – Yamaha Italia), Kagayama (n ° 71 – Suzuki Alstare), Muggeridge (n ° 31 – Ten Kate Honda), Martin ( n ° 99 – Foggy Petronas) and Barros (n ° 4 – Klaffi Honda) in 2 ‘00.960.

No French competed in the Superpole event since all of them were placed beyond sixteenth place. Laconi therefore starts in 17th position just ahead of Sebastien Gimbert 18th. Fabien Foret (n ° 15 – Alstare Suzuki) starts from 25th place.

In Supersports, Sebastien Charpentier (n ° 16 – Ten Kate Honda) resumed these good habits of 2005 by pocketing the pole, ahead of his teammate Kenan Sufuoglu by one second: 2 ‘03.093 against 2’ 04.089. Kevin Curtain (n ° 11) on his official R6 and Katsuaki Fujiwara (n ° 21) complete the first row. Then we find Parkes (n ° 23 – Yamaha Motor Germany), Fores (n ° 12 – SLM Racing Yamaha), Andersen (n ° 49 – Hoegee Suzuki) and the rookie Maxime Berger (n ° 27 – Gil Motor Sport Kawasaki)! The young Frenchman thus allows himself to get ahead of some big names such as Nanelli (n ° 69 – yet on Yamaha R6), Veneman (n ° 77 – Hoegee Suzuki) or Harms (n ° 127 – Stiggy Motorsports Honda).

Two other French people qualified: 24th position for Gregory Leblanc (n ° 38) at Vazy Racing Team Honda and 31st for Julien Enjolras (n ° 88) of Tati Team Beaujolais Yamaha.

First Superbike race

The first round of Superbike is marked by the superb confrontation of two Japanese: Noriyuki Haga and Yukio Kagayama. Unfortunately for them, the fight ends in a crash on the very last lap..

"It’s 100% my fault, Nitro Nori confided, in the last lap each driver attacks hard and I just braked harder than before". Haga trying to pass Kagayama loses the front of his R1 which comes to mow down the official GSX-R, right in its path !

Particularly fair play, Yukio will specify that he was not sure of winning because "Haga was very strong. Of course I had my chances, but when his bike hit me it was all over … for both of us. I’m disappointed, but it’s racing … we both just wanted to win", he concludes with philosophy.

But what fine actions from the two Japanese who undoubtedly deserve the congratulations of the jury for having literally knocked out the arch-favorites, Corser and Bayliss !

Also in better shape than the two Australians in this first race, James Toseland therefore inherits the victory after having made a superb comeback. According to him, the British benefit from a quieter winter preparation: "everyone was talking about Barros, Bayliss and all that, so it was good that in the midst of a change of team and bike I could work in the shadows", assures James.

The two Japanese fallen, Troy Bayliss scored a new podium on his record ahead of his compatriot Andrew Pitt, who reached it for the first time! But the Australian, who is driving the official R1 for the second year in a row, still has to improve his limit: "Nori and I were slipping a bit at the end when the others still had grip", Andrew complained in particular.

The reigning world champion Troy Corser finished in fourth place, following a missed start which severely damaged his clutch. Behind him, three rookies signed a good performance: Michel Fabrizio (n ° 84), Alex Barros and Roberto Rolfo (n ° 44).

Results first race SBK Qatar:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Toseland J. Winston Ten Kate Honda 36 ‘31.339 18
2 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 36 ‘31.427 18
3 Pitt A. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘33.729 18
4 Corser T. Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 36 ‘33.938 18
5 Fabrizio M D.F.X. Honda Treme 36 ‘38.338 18
6 Barros A. Klaffi Honda 36 ‘46.056 18
7 Rolfo R. Ducati SC – Caracchi 36 ‘46.563 18
8 Chile P. D.F.X. Honda Treme 36 ‘52.522 18
9 Borciani M. Sterilgarda – Berik 36 ‘53.789 18
10 Neukirchner M. Team Pedercini 36 ‘55.271 18
11 Abe N. Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 36 ‘56,155 18
12 Muggeridge K. Winston Ten Kate Honda 36 ‘56.982 18
13 Laconi R. PSG-1 Kawasaki Corsica 37 ‘00.478 18
14 Gimbert S. Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 37 ‘01.316 18
15 Xaus R. Sterilgarda – Berik 37 ‘08.014 18
26 Drill F. Alstare Eng. Corona Extra 12 ‘30.807 6

Supersport Race

The world champion Sebastien Charpentier (our above) could not have made a better recovery: pole, victory and best time in the race (2 ‘03.921), the Charentais won everything this weekend! On a CBR600RR which no longer holds any secrets for him, General Seb manages the feat of turning during the race below the qualifying time of his own teammate !

There is nothing Kevin Curtain who drives the brand new R6 can do. "we didn’t have a lot of dry time during practice and I wasn’t sure my front tire would do the whole race … In the end it was good, but I didn’t want to risk a crash", explained the Australian who had to let Sebastien fly during the very last laps.

Rookie Kenan Sufuoglu is on the third step of the podium, using a similar method. After having fought well with Curtain, the Turkish prefers to give up the gas and ensure a promising podium…

Charpentier’s former teammate did not experience the same success since in the fifth round, the Japanese Katsuaki Fujiwara fell heavily. Result: a broken scaphoid and the inability to run next weekend at Phillip Island … "I should be well for the Valencia test", consoles the Japanese.

Replacing David Checa within the French team GMT94 (read), the Australian Anthony Gobert (n ° 49) is taking a little time to make his mark on the R6. "I struggled at the start but once in the rhythm, it was. Time to adjust and I was 24th but I gradually climbed up to 12th place", will rejoice the interim pilot of Christophe Guyot.

SSP Qatar race results:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Carpenter S. Winston Ten Kate Honda 37 ‘30.955 18
2 Curtain K. Yamaha Motor Germany 37 ‘36.351 18
3 Sofuoglu K. Winston Ten Kate Honda 37 ‘42.612 18
4 Fores J. SLM Racing Yamaha 38 ‘09.097 18
5 Stigefelt J. Dark Dog Stiggy Mr. Honda 38 ‘10.123 18
6 Harms R. Stiggy Motorsports Honda 38 ‘16.502 18
7 Roccoli M Yamaha Team Italia 38 ‘18.586 18
8 Zaiser C. LBR Ducati Racing 38 ‘18.637 18
9 Vizziello G. Yamaha Team Italia 38 ‘19.530 18
10 Brookes J. Ducati SC – Caracchi 38 ‘20.769 18
11 The Grelle S. Legrelle – Honda Belgium 38 ‘25.464 18
12 Gobert A. Yamaha – GMT 94 38 ‘25.657 18
13 By Angelis W Intermoto Czech Klaffi Honda 38 ‘28.317 18
14 Tunstall T. Hardinge Ice Valley Mr. Honda 38 ‘34.391 18
15 Nannelli G. Kopron Edo Racing Yamaha 38 ‘36.437 18
23 Enjolras J. Tati Team Beaujolais Racing Yam 39 ‘17.455 18
30 Berger M Gil Motor Sport Kawasaki 14 ‘59.684 7

Second Superbike race

Stung in the first round, the two Troys (Corser and Bayliss) react for the second. If all the leaders stay on their wheels, the end of the race is no less thrilling !

Corser and Bayliss are engaged in a fierce battle, the former using all his talent to maintain the advantage. "Towards the end of the race I could hear a Ducati and I suspected it was Bayliss … The tires were more or less flushed for the last two laps and I almost missed out on the last corner", explains the reigning world champion.

Behind him is indeed Troy Bayliss. After another failed start, the Australian remained on the lookout for the first two thirds of the race before going overdrive. Back on Corser two laps from the end, Bayliss however lacks pace: "I lost my rhythm a bit and he did well. Today the best I could do was second so I’m pretty happy with my results".

The fight is even tighter for third place: 1.6 cm or 1 thousandth of a second … that’s what separates Toseland from Haga at the finish! Nitro Nori therefore prevents the Honda rider from appearing on the podium for the second time in a row.

After spraying his Ducati in the first round, Lorenzo Lanzi signed a satisfactory second race. "Physically, I was not 100% for the second round, but I got a sixth place, which is good given the conditions.", welcomes the Italian who despite a knee and a painful hip beat Alex Barros.

Results second race SBK Qatar:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Corser T. Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 36 ‘20.395 18
2 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 36 ‘21.420 18
3 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘23.857 18
4 Toseland J. Winston Ten Kate Honda 36 ‘23.858 18
5 Pitt A. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘24.745 18
6 Lanzi L. Ducati Xerox 36 ‘40.005 18
7 Barros A. Klaffi Honda 36 ‘40.943 18
8 Fabrizio M D.F.X. Honda Treme 36 ‘41.578 18
9 Muggeridge K. Winston Ten Kate Honda 36 ‘43.593 18
10 Xaus R. Sterilgarda – Berik 36 ‘46.928 18
11 Abe N. Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 36 ‘47.249 18
12 Nieto F. PSG-1 Kawasaki Corsica 36 ‘48.527 18
13 Rolfo R. Ducati SC – Caracchi 36 ‘48.530 18
14 Borciani M. Sterilgarda – Berik 36 ‘54.571 18
15 Gimbert S. Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 36 ‘55.790 18
27 Laconi R. PSG-1 Kawasaki Corsica 4 ‘12.838 2
28 Drill F. Alstare Eng. Corona Extra 2 ‘10.998 1

SBK provisional general classification:

Pilot Team Points
1 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 40
2 Corser T. Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 38
3 Toseland J. Winston Ten Kate Honda 38
4 Pitt A. Yamaha Motor Italia 27
5 Fabrizio M D.F.X. Honda Treme 19
6 Barros A. Klaffi Honda 19
7 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 16
8 Rolfo R. Ducati SC – Caracchi 12
9 Muggeridge K. Winston Ten Kate Honda 11
10 Lanzi L. Ducati Xerox 10
11 Abe N. Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 10
12 Borciani M. Sterilgarda – Berik 9
13 Chile P. D.F.X. Honda Treme 8
14 Xaus R. Sterilgarda – Berik 7
15 Neukirchner M. Pedercini Ducati 6
17 Laconi R. PSG-1 Kawasaki Corsica 3
18 Gimbert S. Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 3

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