CORSER FLOORED AT SILVERSTONE	zurück

Reigning World Superbike World Champion Troy Corser and the Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team suffered a disappointing day at the Silverstone fifth round today as the Australian was knocked off in race one then took sixth in race two. Corser was hit from behind at the first turn on the opening lap of race one and crashed, but fortunately the race was red-flagged and he was able to take part in the restart. He crashed in the final chicane on the second lap, but remounted and got going again in last place, then, after a series of lurid slides, he was forced to retire.

His team mate Yukio Kagayama was riding in severe discomfort after crashing heavily yesterday, but grittily kept going to finish 14th in race one and 13th in race two.

Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret also had a day to forget: A DNF after a heavy fall in race one when he hit his head hard detuned him for race two and, because he could not keep his concentration, he retired after 15 laps.

After five rounds, Corser holds second place in the series with Kagayama 16th and Foret 19th.

Troy Corser - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 6th:

“By our standards, that was a day to forget. It didn’t start well when I was hit from behind in the first turn on the opening lap of the first race! I was lucky because the race was red-flagged and I was able to get back to my garage and jump onto the spare bike for the restart. But we had only done about four laps in the dry on it and, although it should’ve been the same, it felt very different. The front tyre was too hard and I lost control in the final chicane after one lap. I got back on and tried to carry on but it was no use.

“In race two I had problems with the throttle response and that made the bike very difficult to ride. I just could not get the power on when I wanted and every time I tried to do what I do normally, I nearly crashed. We had a similar problem last season, so now we’ll have to sit down and work out how to solve it. I suppose the only good news is that in my two falls today I never hurt myself.”

Yukio Kagayama -Race 1: 14th, Race 2: 13th:

“I am not so happy today, but my problems began when I crashed yesterday. This morning my back and right hand didn’t feel so good. In both races I found it hard moving around on the bike and because my right hand was injured I could not push hard exiting the fast turns. In race one, I lost touch with the group in front of me and once that happened I couldn’t catch them again. The second race was a little better, but not that much and I would honestly prefer to forget this weekend completely.”

Fabien Foret - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: DNF:

“It has been a very bad day - no, it has been a bad weekend. We didn’t have enough time to get a good dry set-up for the bike and we suffered as a result. Then I had a heavy crash in the first race and hurt my head and body. I wasn’t feeling too good and maybe I should not have started the second race, but I wanted to try. I just couldn’t concentrate and I didn’t want to do anything silly or cause a crash, so I pulled into the pits and stopped.”

Race 1: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Toseland (GB-Honda), 4 Xaus (E-Ducati), 5 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 7 Laconi (F-Kawasaki), 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 9 Barros (Bra-Honda), 10 Abe (J-Yamaha). 14 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) DNF. Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF.
Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Haga, 3 Toseland, 4 Pitt, 5 Barros, 6 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 7 Xaus, 8 Walker, 9 Muggeridge, 10 Nieto (E-Kawasaki). 13 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF.

Championship Points: 1 Bayliss 200, 2 Troy Corser 139, 3 Toseland 113, 4 Haga 113, 5 Barros 102, 6 Pitt 90, 7 Lanzi 62, 8 Xaus 47, 9 Abe 46, 10 Rolfo 46. 16 Yukio Kagayama 26. 19 Fabien Foret 10.