WSBK – Three breathtaking races! –

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Three breathtaking races !

WSBK - Three breathtaking races! -

Yesterday was the fourth round of the Superbike and Supersport World Championships. On their land, Ducati and Laconi intended to erase a difficult and therefore disappointing start to the season. Charpentier was aiming for a third victory. Completed contracts ?

The Monza circuit is renowned for its breathtaking finishes (read) and the 2005 vintage was no exception to the rule: in Superbike as in Supersport, the riders competed in three colorful races, concluded with final laps Dantesque.

The Italian sun is largely present on this Sunday afternoon, and many people have come to support Ducati, his reigning world champion James Toseland and his teammate Regis Laconi. And they really need it: since the start of the season, Suzuki has not ceased to undermine the transalpine firm.

In Supersport, the French Sebastien Charpentier is looking for a fourth consecutive podium. With his last two victories at Phillip Island and Valence (read), the Charentais wants to offer Honda his fourth consecutive victory. But will Fujiwara let it be so easy ?

First Superbike race

It was Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) who started from pole position after circling the track in 1’47”439 during the "super pole" on Saturday afternoon. Troy Corser (Suzuki Alstare) is in second position, 7 thousandths behind! First Ducati, Regis Laconi (Ducati Xerox) is classified third while Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) completes the first row. In the second row we find Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda), Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia), Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and James Toseland (Ducati Xerox). The third line is made up successively of Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda), Giovanni Bussei (Kawasaki Bertocchi), Nori Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati SC Caracchi). Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert of Team Yamaha Motor France Ipone are respectively 14 and 16th.

The start is given and Troy Corser takes the lead directly while Laconi passes the first corner in fourth position. Andrew Pitt performs the best operation since he is 2nd in front of Suzuki from Kagayama. Toseland is 7th after quickly passing Chris Walker. Vermeulen and Haga are placed between the two official Ducatis.

Corser tries to separate himself from the rest of the pack but is soon joined by Kagayama and Laconi. Decidedly, the Franco-Italian is in good shape and is literally carried by his audience! From the third round, Andrew Pitt was relegated to 3 seconds from the leading trio while Toseland came back on him. The latter does not take long to take 4th place in the straight line. He brakes very late, is forced to deviate from his path and apologizes to Pitt who becomes 5th. The world champion and his Ducati come back to the three leading men who seem to be in an observation phase, despite a sustained pace…

As the 6th lap approaches, Kagayama makes his Pirelli smoke in the parabolic which opens on the pit straight. Toseland and Pitt are 3.5 seconds behind and Chili and Walker 6 seconds! Regis passed Yukio Kagayama in the second chicane of the circuit – the Roggia – and set off to attack Troy. But the Moselle is the victim of the same excess of ardor as his teammate James Toseland, and comes out too wide in the first chicane: Kagayama returns to second. Toseland attacks hard on his Ducati n ° 1 but does not seem to manage to recover on a very fluid and efficient Laconi.

There are still ten laps – out of 18 in total – and Kagayama sets the fastest time in the race. The two Suzuki widen the gap on Laconi. But in the following lap, Regis hangs up the lead car at the cost of very heavy braking. For three laps, Yukio has shifted to the end of the straight line but does not complete his attacks: Troy is still leading. James Toseland is still 3 seconds behind the leaders. Laconi manages to pass Kagayama, but his English teammate is the fastest on the track.

Six more laps and Toseland continues the lap records! Kagayama passed Laconi again while Toseland was now 1.7 seconds behind Corser. Laconi is halfway there. Troy Corser keeps defensive trajectories and allows Laconi to come back to Kagayama. Toseland is only two lengths from the French. The finish promises to be tight! Despite a small error in the parabolic, Laconi kept the advantage over the reigning world champion thanks to his excellent braking at the end of the straight line. At the Roggia chicane, Regis tries to overtake Yukio but only manages to climb to his level in the middle of the pif-paf. Suddenly, he is outside during the go-around and cannot contain the assault of the Japanese 4-cylinder or even that of the twin-cylinder of his teammate … By seeking to pass 2nd, Regis finds himself 4th: hard ! Especially since this fight particularly benefits Troy who remains untouchable a few lengths.

Last round ! Kagayama still comes back to Corser and follows him like his shadow. The Japanese took the lead in the chicane, but – like Regis the lap before – had to give up the gas slightly so as not to go out: Troy found his place! Deconcentrated, Yukio takes too wide in the next turn and sees his advantage over James reduced to nothing as they enter the parabolic! The men are neck and neck but Kagayama caps Toseland on the finish line … Phew !

Corser wins his sixth race of the season ahead of his teammate Kagayama and Toseland. Laconi finished 4th, Pitt was comfortably in 5th position while Muggeridge passed Chili on the wire. Walker is 8th, Nannelli is 9th ahead of Abe and Haga. Sebastien Gimbert is 17th.

Supersport Race

Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) takes pole position for the fourth time! Stephane Chambon (Gil Motor Sport) is eighth on his Honda. Fabien Foret (Team Megabike) is banned from racing because he ran the Italian Supersport round at Monza last weekend! The consolation of having won the Italian event is very meager…

Fujiwara takes the lead ahead of Charpentier and Nannelli (Ducati SC Caracchi) who have just finished 9th in Superbike. What health ! Next come Veneman (Suzuki Nederland), Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany), Corradi (Ducati Selmat), Antonello (Kawasaki Bertocchi) and Chambon. From the start, the two CBRs of Team Ten Kate tried to widen the gap on their pursuers.

Nannelli passed Charpentier on the second lap. Fabrizio, who fell asleep – the word is correct – when he started in 4th place, sets the race record but is far from the leading group. In the third lap, Nannelli took the lead to the delight of the large crowd and Charpentier took the opportunity to go 2nd. Fujiwara loses two places at once! Sebastien Charpentier takes the lead in the Ascari chicane and engages very strongly in the parabolic. He loses his rear slightly and leaves his right footrest for a moment: hot! He is logically overtaken in the straight line.

In the sixth lap, Christophe Cogan (Moto 1 Suzuki) started 17th, fell but was warmly greeted by the public. In front, Fujiwara cannot pass Charpentier, just like Kagayama cannot pass Corser. Fabrizio seems to be in the middle of a qualifying session, attacks hard and goes up on Curtain, 4th.

Fujiwara ended up passing Charpentier in the aspiration but the latter did not let it go and made incredible braking at the entrance to the first chicane and managed to stay ahead despite a very tense trajectory. One of the most beautiful maneuvers of the weekend! In the following lap, Fujiwara returned to the straight line and his French teammate this time awaited the second chicane at Ascari to regain the lead. Behind, Fabrizio walks past the Australian Curtain. In the straight line, Nannelli doubles Charpentier: the crowd is delirious! But at the exit of Lesmo’s left, the Italian is too wide and lets General Lee (look at Charpentier’s helmet …) take the lead.

More than five laps: Nannelli and Charpentier engage in beautiful passes of arms. But Fujiwara, kept on the lookout, took the lead four laps from the end! Nannelli follows him but Charpentier can not get to the asp. The latter is obliged to pull out a braking from beyond the grave to pass in front. But this time around he came in too hard and has to widen his line, blocking Nannelli. Fujiwara immediately took the opportunity to lead !

After taking the lead again, Charpentier picked up the pace and soon, the two CBRs left the Ducati … Only two laps left and once again this season, the two Team Ten Kate riders are neck and neck! The last lap is phenomenal. Fujiwara crossed the line slightly in the lead, but Charpentier made him outside in the big curve which led to the second chicane. Sebastien therefore tackles the left-right chicane of the Roggia better since he is inside the trajectory. A yellow flag is waved at the entrance to Ascari due to the impressive fall of a wild card. Katsuaki comes out in front of the chicane but General Lee takes the lead again at the entrance of the parabolic! Sebastien is slightly too fast but valiantly keeps the gas. He is still passed by his Japanese teammate who is on a better trajectory. The Japanese pretend to prevent Sebastien from overtaking him with a lot of kicks but will not need it! Only 36 small thousandths separate the two friends. What a finish !

Nannelli finished 3rd and got ready for the second Superbike race. Michel Fabrizio is ahead of Kevin Curtain by one hundredth. Stephane Chambon is 8th and Julien Enjolras (Tati Team Beaujolais Racing) misses the point of 15th place by 3.5 seconds. Nice performance all the same !

Championship side, Charpentier remains in the lead with 90 points. Fujiwara, as on the track, is just behind with 83 pts. Curtain (60 pts) is 3rd, ahead of Fabrizio (44pts) and Foret whose counter remains stuck at 38 pts. Parkes joined him in 5th place, while Chambon struggled to keep his 7th place against a very fit Nannelli (32 and 31 pts respectively).

Second Superbike race

The second 1000 cc race was calmer than the first, in terms of changing positions anyway. Because when it comes to getting started, it’s carnival … While the green flag flies at the back of the grid, the start is canceled because Chile is the victim of a technical problem: a liquid spills under its fairing . Nannelli for his part is forced to leave the pits. The teams join their drivers on the grid, the race is slightly delayed and cut by one lap – 17 in all.

After all these adventures and a second warm-up lap, the start of the second race finally took place. It was Laconi who took the lead in front of the two Suzuki Corser and Kagayama. The French was overtaken by Troy but quickly regained the advantage in the Ascari chicane. Vermeulen gets back on his teammate Muggeridge, slightly outdistancing Pitt and his R1. The group breaks up at each end of the straight line but nothing upsets the established order for a few laps.

Then Vermeulen overtook Muggeridge and took fourth place. Toseland manages to pass Walker and Pitt in quick succession. Corser passes Kagayama in the parabolic. The two Suzuki waste time fighting as Laconi picks up the pace. He ends up a second ahead in the tenth lap.

Chris Vermeulen passed Corser at the end of the straight line and thus potentially climbed on the podium. Then it’s the twist: Kagayama falls in the Lesmo curve! For the second time of the year, Suzuki will not put its two official motorcycles on the podium … With that, Muggeridge takes third place from Corser … Could it be that Suzuki does not climb at all on the podium ?

Meanwhile, Regis widened the gap on Vermeulen. The latter continues to attack and leaves his teammate Karl Muggeridge to explain himself with Troy Corser. Two laps before the checkered flag, Corser regained third place, but he was now 2 seconds behind the leaders who kept increasing the pace. Laconi is holding on, despite the frantic pace imposed on him by Australian Chris Vermeulen and his CBR !

Last round ! From the first chicane, Chris tries to surprise Regis, to no avail. It was in the Roggia chicane that the Australian overtook the Frenchman who led throughout the race. Laconi turns around and checks his lead on third: Corser is far behind, 3 seconds behind. Vermeulen wins in front of a Laconi who has the merit of having carried the Ducati colors high on his land. Troy Corser signs his 8th podium in a row, ahead of Muggeridge. Toseland and Pitt – first Yamaha – finished 5 and 6 with 10 seconds behind the winner. Chili finished 7th in front of Walker, again first Kawasaki. Haga is 9th while Nannelli finishes in 10th position after a superb comeback. Norick Abe is twelfth while Sebastien Gimbert does not finish his race.

In the championship, Troy Corser increases his lead over his teammate Yukio Kagayama, 182 pts against 130. Chris Vermeulen gradually climbs back up to 115 pts. Laconi is still 4th with 84 pts, Andrew Pitt has 60 pts, James Toseland 57. The Englishman is 3 pts ahead of Chris Walker and Norick Abe. Nitro Nori Haga is 9th with 52 pts and Chili is 10th with 44 pts. Distanced because of his two white results, Sebastien Gimbert is 14th.

Will the Ducati’s progress be confirmed outside Italian territory? Will the Australians continue to dominate Superbike? In Supersport, will Honda riders continue to win for a long time? To find out, see you on May 29 at the English circuit at Silverstone !

Matthieu BRETILLE – Photos DR and Site

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