KAGAYAMA CLAIMS FIRST DOUBLE	zurück

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama took his first ever World Superbike double victory at Brno in the Czech Republic today. In race one he stalked leader James Toseland (Honda) for 14 laps before making his move, and from them on in, he was never headed, taking the chequered flag by nearly four seconds.

Michel Fabrizio (Honda) took third after passing both Noriyuki Haga and Yukio’s team mate Troy Corser in the final two laps: Reigning World Champion Corser suffered grip problems throughout the 20-lapper but still managed to finish fifth just behind Haga.

Kagayama had to work much harder in race two but, after fighting his way up from eighth, he charged past Haga just two laps from the end to take his second win of the day. Second was Fabrizio, who had been in fourth place on the last lap, but then barged his way through Haga and Corser with less than two turns remaining. When Fabrizio made his move, Corser was forced to pick up his bike otherwise he would have collided with Fabrizio and Haga, as he would’ve been taken out as well. Haga ended up an angry third, with a very frustrated Corser fourth.

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: 1st, Race 2: 1st:

“I am so happy today and I want to thank my team for all the great work they have done. Also, thank you to Batta-san, who is not here today, but I hope was watching on TV. In both races, I had to use patience - and this is not my normal style - but it was worth it. I was close to Toseland from the start of race one so it was just a case of waiting to make my move at the right time and my plan worked perfectly.

“The second race was much more difficult because I had to pass many riders before I could attack the leader - my friend Nori-chan. In the closing stages of the race he knew that I was faster than him and he very kindly waved me through. After that I just concentrated on keeping a good pace and not making any mistakes. I have always thought of myself as a little crazy, but today I showed another side of Yukio. Maybe this will be my new style for the rest of the season!”

Troy Corser - Race 1: 5th, Race 2: 4th:

“Considering what position we were in on Friday and even Saturday morning, I guess that a fourth and a fifth is not too bad, but I’m not at all happy. I had some grip problems in the first race so we changed the balance and front and rear ride height for race two. It was a bit better but, because it was more or less Yukio’s set-up, it took me a while to get used to it - and by that time the leaders were gone. I managed to reel them back in and I thought that I’d get at least a third or maybe a second. I got past Haga and into second, but then Fabrizio came along with a couple of desperate moves. Honestly, if I hadn’t picked up my bike when he tried to make his move, I would’ve hit him and we’d both gone down, taking Nori with us as he was so close at the time. There’s racing and there’s desperation. He’s a young kid, but it could’ve ended very badly. After I had crossed the line in race two, I was so frustrated that I was sick - but luckily I opened my helmet first!”

Fabien Foret - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 20th:

“After Superpole, I really thought that I could get a couple of good top-10 finishes today. In race one, everything was ok for the first five laps and then I crashed! It took place at the same place where Toseland had crashed in the morning warm-up today and there was a lot of dust down to clear up the oil that had been spilled. Maybe I just hit some oil that hadn’t been cleared up properly - I don’t know. It was a slow speed fall so I didn’t hurt myself, but it was a very disappointing and early end to the race.

“In race two, my bike started feeling strange after a lap or so. It was juddering or something like that and I just couldn't push hard at all. I should’ve pulled in, but I wanted to keep going and see if I could score any points. When riders overtook me, I couldn’t do anything about it and so I finished outside the points. It turned out that the tyre was spinning on the rim and that was causing the problem.”

World Superbike Results:

Race 1: 1 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Toseland (GB-Honda), 3 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 4 Haga (J-Yamaha), 5 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 6 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 7 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 8 Nakatomi (J-Yamaha), 9 Abe (J-Yamaha), 10 Chili (I-Honda). Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) DNF.

Race 2: 1 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Fabrizio, 3 Haga, 4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 5 Toseland, 6 Nieto, 7 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 8 Bayliss, 9 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 10 Walker. 20 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra).

Points: 1 Bayliss 262, 2 Haga 189, 3 Toseland 188, 4 Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 173, 5 Barros 151, 6 Pitt 128, 7 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 106, 8 Lanzi 87, 9 Fabrizio 83, 10 Nieto 81. 18 Fabien Foret (Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 19.