NIETO STORMS TO 5TH FROM 16TH	zurück

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Fonsi Nieto started from 16th place on the grid and put in storming performances in both races at today's World Superbike Championship final round in Portugal to grab a pair of fifth places. But it was a mixed day for Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner, who crashed out of race one but then recovered to take a hard-fought-for fourth in race two. For Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama, it was a weekend to forget: He ended 15th in the first race and an even-more disappointing 23rd in the second.

Troy Bayliss (Ducati) brought the curtain down on his remarkable WSBK career today with a pair of runaway victories. Carlos Checa (Honda) was second in race one, with Troy Corser (Yamaha) third. In race two, his team mate Michel Fabrizio was second with 'wild card' Leon Haslam (Honda) third.

Fonsi Nieto - Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 5th:

"In this championship it is so hard to get a good result if you have to start anywhere lower than the second row of the grid. So, I am one person who is happy that there will be no Superpole next year! I think that to get two fifths from 16th on the grid is not so bad and when you consider that I was six seconds behind Bayliss on lap two of race and ended the race six seconds behind at the end, it means I was lapping at the same pace.

"We only made some small clicks to the bike from race one to race two and used the same tyre. At the start it was better, but at the end it was worse. I have really enjoyed this track and it is such a good design and very challenging. I wish that I had managed better in Superpole because I am sure that I could've finished on the podium at least one time. I would like to thank Francis and Patricia Batta and the whole team for all their support and hard work in this amazing year. I would like to be involved with them again next year and continue this great experience."

Max Neukirchner - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 4th:

"I think that most of this weekend is about my youth and lack of experience. Other riders, with more experience, can get a good set-up in less time than me and this is what I am learning all the time. I am not sure why I crashed in race one because the telemetry doesn't show me doing anything different or going any faster than the laps before. We changed the front fork rebound for race two and the bike felt much better, but I was still losing a lot of time in the last corner and that prevented me from catching and passing Fabrizio.

"I am a little angry because I really thought that I could finish second or third in the championship halfway though the season. But the last four or five races have had mixed weather conditions and my lack of experience has meant that I didn't have the perfect bike set-up for race day. My mechanics and I are a young team and we are learning all the time. They have all worked hard and I think our season has been a pretty good one, all in all."

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 15th, race 2: 23rd:

"Today was not a good day for me. For sure we needed more good dry track time, but I am a little confused because I could do 1:44s yesterday but today I could not! Tyres were a bit of an issue for me today and although the feeling was not so bad, the result was really bad. I am going to spend a lot of time analysing all the data from this season and try and work out what has been going wrong and how to make changes. It may be that I have to change my riding style, but I should not be finishing in the kind of positions I have finished today, so something has to be done. I feel that this year's bike is more difficult to work with and understand than my 2006 bike. We have to try and improve the whole package and then we can look forward to better results. I want to say thank you to all my staff and also say sorry to them because I have not given them any podiums. No podiums for me is a shock and I do not want to have this kind of shock next year!"

Race 1: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 2 C Checa (E-Honda), 3 Corser (Aus-Yamaha), 4 Rea (GB-Honda), 5 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare), 6 Lavilla (E-Honda), 7 Haslam (GB-Honda), 8 Kiyonari (J-Honda), 9 Xaus (E-Ducati), 10 Laconi (F-Kawasaki). 15 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare). Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) DNF.

Race 2: 1 Bayliss, 2 Fabrizio (I-Ducati), 3 Haslam, 4 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki), 5 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare, 6 Troy Corser (Aus-Yamaha Motor Italia), 7 C Checa, 8 Lavilla (E-Honda), 9 Crutchlow (GB-Honda), 10 Laconi. 23 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare).

Final WSB Points Standings: 1 Bayliss 460, 2 Troy Corser 342, 3 Haga 327, 4 C Checa 313, 5 Max Neukirchner 311, 6 Fonsi Nieto 256, 7 Biaggi 238, 8 Fabrizio 223, 9 Kiyonari 206, 10 Xaus 178, 11 Yukio Kagayama 154.