Assen; Suzuki Team News
Added on Monday, April 30th, 2007 by Carole Nash Editor
Assen; Suzuki Team News
Max Biaggi put the Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSX-R1000 on the rostrum at today’s Assen World Superbike Championship round in Holland – his seventh top-three position in five rounds.
The Italian took a hard-fought-for sixth in the first race and then followed it up with third place in the second race, as team mate Yukio Kagayama struggled in both races, finishing seventh in race one and 11th in race two.
The first race was won by James Toseland (Honda) with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) second and Ruben Xaus (Ducati) third.
The second race witnessed one of the greatest battles in WSB history with Toseland and Troy Bayliss (Ducati) wheel to wheel for almost the entire race. In the end, it came down to the final turn when Bayliss got through an impossible-looking gap and took the win by just 9000ths of a second.
Max Biaggi – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 3rd:
“We’ve been struggling a bit all weekend getting the right set-up for the bike and although we improved it from the first practice it still wasn’t right at the end. We played around with the engine braking and the bike’s balance and we made improvements for sure, but we had some problems during the races, so I’m very happy that we managed a podium after the difficulties we went through. In the first race I had some issues with traction, handling and engine braking so we made some adjustments for race two and I was much happier with the bike. I stayed with the leaders in race two early on, but when they pulled away I just couldn’t keep the same pace. I rode as hard as I could and I’m happy, but not happy – if you know what I mean.”
Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 7th, Race 2: 11th:
“It has been an unhappy, disappointing and frustrating weekend for me and I did not get the points I was expecting. In race one I was catching the lead group ok and then, after about 15 laps, my front tyre went off and I could not push any harder. The first seven laps or so of the second race were ok and my lap times were better than the first race. But then, as I was going into turn one, it felt like my rear wheel had locked up and I nearly crashed. It was a very strange sensation. I lost quite a few places and I had to try and recover them again. Then the engine feeling was not so good either and all I could do was to ride and finish as high up as possible. We are going to have to sit down, look at the data and see what to do next. There are a few areas that need attention, so we know there’s more to do.”
WSB Results:
Race 1: 1 Toseland (GB-Honda), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Xaus (E-Ducati), 4 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 5 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 6 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 8 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 9 Rolfo (I-Honda), 10 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki)
Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Toseland, 3 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha), 5 Rolfo, 6 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 7 Neukirchner, 8 Nieto, 9 Smrz (CZ-Ducati), 10 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 11 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra).
World Championship Points: 1 Toseland 196, 2 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 164, 3 Haga 144, 4 Bayliss 128, 5 Corser 114, 6 Xaus 99, 7 Lanzi 98, 8 Neukirchner 71, 9 Rolfo 64, 10 Nieto 46, 13 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 41.
SUPERSTOCK 1000:
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavi Simeon left Assen disappointed with his eighth place finish in the third round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup.
The young Belgian rider had started the race well and was in a steady fourth place, but after five laps he started experiencing many slides and a spinning rear tyre. He tried to hold his position, but in the end lost four places.
Italian Michele Pirro (Yamaha) won the 13-lap race with Claudio Corti (Yamaha) second and Didier Van Keymeulen (Yamaha) third.
Xavi Simeon – 8th:
“I am a bit unhappy and frustrated today because I know that I should have got a fourth place. I was happy with the bike in the early stages of the race – up to five laps or so, but then my tyres let me down and once the slides began it was impossible to push any harder. It was not a good feeling seeing other riders pass and not being able to do anything about it, but I tried my best and that’s all I can do. I hope for better luck in the next round.”
Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Pirro (I-Yamaha), 2 Corti (I-Yamaha), 3 Van Keymeulen (B-Yamaha), 4 Dionisi (I-Suzuki), 5 Baiocco (I-Yamaha), 6 Canepa (I-Ducati), 7 Roberts (Aus-Ducati), 8 Xavi Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 9 Smrz (CZ-Honda), 10 Dell’Omo (I-MV).
Championship Points: 1 Canepa 51, 2 Pirro 45, 3 Corti 45, 4 Aitchison 38, 5 Baiocco 35, 6 Dionisi 34, 7 Van Keymeulen 32, 8 Xavi Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 27, 9 Mahr 18, 10 Smrz 15.
