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BIAGGI IN PAIN AT RAINY SILVERSTONE |
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Team Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi had to fight pain and
atrocious in the opening World Superbike Championship
race at Silverstone but still managed to take a gritty
sixth position overall after the second race was cancelled
due to safety reasons.
His pain was caused in a dramatic
high-side, he went up into the air, but somehow was
able to land back on the bike, but as he did, his right
leg hit the footpeg with such force that the peg broke.
He also hit the inside of his left leg on the fairing
and was in discomfort for the rest of the race.
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The riders went out on their inspection
lap for race two, but standing water and a risk of aquaplaning
was enough for the start to be delayed. After a 30 minute
delay, the organisers decided that conditions had not improved
and so cancelled the race.
It was not a good day for Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama. He crashed in the race
and hurt his lower back in the process, forcing him to retire.
The first race featured a three-way fight
between Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and the Yamaha duo of Noriyuki
Haga and Troy Corser. Corser led the first part of the race,
but once Bayliss got in front that was more or less it. Haga
and Corser fought him all the way, but it was Bayliss who
splashed his way to victory after 28 difficult laps. Haga
took runner-up spot with Corser third.
Max Biaggi - Race 1: 6th, Race 2:
Cancelled:
“I think it was the right decision
to cancel the second race because there was a lot of standing
water on the track and the spray made it very hard to see
where you were going. At the start of the first race I was
behind Yukio and I could see he was having a lot of problems
when he was on the gas. The bike kept going sideways - especially
compared to the other riders. I nearly crashed myself and
was lucky to get away with it. I highsided and the bike went
one way and then the other. When I came back down on the bike,
my right leg hit the footpeg with such force that it broke
it. Today I brought the bike home and that is a big result
for me.”
Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF after
20 laps. Race 2: Cancelled:
“That was a very disappointing
day and to end it with no points and a very sore back is no
good. Where is my luck? Today my bike felt strange and I had
many slides. My crash was also not a normal one. I changed
my style and tried to ride smoothly. I wanted to understand
what was going on. I knew if I pushed hard I would crash,
so I rode more slowly and then suddenly I was highsided! If
I had been going fast, I would've understood, but I wasn't.
I hit the ground hard and injured my lower back and because
it was so painful, I knew that I couldn't keep going. And
with the second race cancelled, it meant I didn't score any
points today, which makes me disappointed and a bit frustrated.”
WSB Results:
Race 1:
1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Corser (Aus-Yamaha),
4 Rolfo (I-Honda), 5 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 6 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 8 Toseland (GB-Honda),
9 Xaus (E-Ducati), 10 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki). Yukio Kagayama
(J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF.
Championship Points:
1 Toseland 237, 2 Haga 214, 3 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 201, 4 Bayliss 189, 5 Corser 151, 6 Lanzi 116,
7 Xaus 113, 8 Rolfo 90, 9 Neukirchner 87, 10 Laconi 62. 11
Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 60.
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