CORSER RACES TO DOUBLE PODIUM	zurück

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser finished the 2006 World Superbike Championship season in style with two very hard-fought-for podiums on his GSX-R1000 at Magny-Cours in France today to secure fourth place in the series. The Australian was involved in a terrific dogfight for both of the 23-lappers but, although he didn’t get the win he wanted so badly, his third place in race one and second in race two was enough to move him up two places in the championship.

His team mate Yukio Kagayama suffered rear grip problems in both races, finishing fifth in the first race and ninth in the second to take seventh in the Championship.

Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Max Neukirchner put away his disappointment of the last round in Imola with two solid finishes. Despite lack of rear grip and a lot of wheelspin in both races, he kept the bike upright to finish 12th in race one and 14th in race two.

James Toseland (Honda) won the first race with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) second and Corser third after a battle that had the 61,000-strong crowd jumping up and down with excitement. Race two was yet another titanic battle, but this time newly-crowned champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took the win from Corser after fighting off Toseland in the closing stages.

Troy Corser - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 2nd:

“Today was a fantastic advert for Superbike racing and both races were awesome. It was great to be involved in both races and I’m sure the fans and TV audiences enjoyed them. The bike worked really well today and I always felt that I could get a couple of podiums or maybe even a win. The boys worked their socks off - just like they’ve done all year.”

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 9th:

“It was not such a good day for me and I am disappointed with the way things worked out. I had grip problems in both races and that meant I could not push hard at all. The rear grip was a problem in the first race so we made some adjustments to the bike for the second race. We used the same tyre but the feeling of the bike was worse! I didn’t want to pull in so I just kept going and tried to finish with some good points.”

Max Neukirchner - Race 1: 12th, race 2: 14th:

“I know the results don’t look too wonderful but I’m happy to end with two finishes following the crashes in the last round in Imola. I had some problems with grip in both races and the bike was spinning a lot. Also, it was difficult to change direction in the chicanes so today’s pair of races was not so easy for me. I think the bike has a lot of potential and all we need to do is work some more and keep developing it. Nothing has been finalised yet for next year but I’d really like to stay with the team and continue my work with this bike.”

World Superbike Results:

Race 1: 1 Toseland (GB-Honda), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 5 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 6 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 12 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra).

Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Toseland, 4 Haga, 5 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 9 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 14 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra).

Final Points Standings: 1 Bayliss 431, 2 Toseland 336, 3 Haga 326, 4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 254, 5 Pitt 250, 6 Barros 246, 7 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 211, 18 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 28.