SUZUKI DOMINATES QATAR SUPERBIKES
26 February 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Suzuki leads the World Superbike Championship after a sensational double victory by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama at today’s opening round in Qatar.

It was a dream debut for the former World Champion and British Superbike number three as they made history on their GSX-R1000 machines: For the first time, Suzuki won both races on the same day.

Corser raced to victory in the opener ahead of his team mate - a two-part race after rain fell after 10 laps - and Kagayama clinched the second with Corser third.

Kagayama now leads the series on 45 points ahead of Corser on 41 with Ducati''s Regis Laconi third with 36 points.

YUKIO KAGAYAMA - Race 1: 2nd. Race 2: 1st:

”Today I am a very happy man. I did not dream that I would win a World Superbike race so soon or that I would be leading the Championship after the opening round. I want to thank my team for all their help and support and this win is for all of us. I was happy to be on the podium in the first race, so after the win in the second, I am twice as happy!

“I think I was a bit lucky in the first race when it was stopped because for the re-start, I was able to make some small adjustments and my GSX-R1000 felt much better.

“In race two, the track temperature was lower and I felt that my bike would work better and it did! When Troy ran wide, I passed under him and took the lead and from then on I was able to pull out an advantage. Troy had gone wide because of some oil on the track and nearly lost control and I also felt a bit of a slide, but I carried on ok. At the end, I just had to watch my pit board and keep steady for the win.”

TROY CORSER - Race 1: 1st. Race 2: 3rd:

“I found it pretty easy in the first race and felt relaxed and comfortable up front. The bike was working great and the only problem was when it started raining. I knew that we would have to stop because we were all on slicks, so I put my hand up and the race was red-flagged. By the time we got going again, the track was dry again so I think we were all on slicks once more.

“Yukio made the break and I just hung with Regis Laconi knowing that I didn’t have to beat him to take the win. It’s been a long time since my last win in 2001, but I hadn’t forgotten the winning feeling.

“In the second race I was leading and then the oil flags came out on the approach to turn one so I ran a bit wide and eased off the throttle. I still nearly crashed, but Yukio dived underneath. I tried to catch him straight away, but he’d pulled out a bit of a gap. My front was a bit chewed up and I knew I couldn’t stay ahead of Regis, so I let him past.

“It’s great to win and it’s great to be on the podium with a perfect start for our team. The only thing that would have been better is if I had won both races! But my favourite circuit, Phillip Island, is next so maybe I can do a double there.”

World Superbike Results (after 1 of 12 rounds):

Race 1 (aggregate) : 1 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Laconi (F-Ducati), 4 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 5 Haga (J-Yamaha), 6 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 7 Silva (E-Yamaha), 8 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 9 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 10 Abe (J-Yamaha),

Race 2: 1 YUKIO KAGAYAMA, 2 Laconi, 3 TROY CORSER, 4 Vermeulen, 5 Chili (I-Honda), 6 Toseland, 7 Abe, 8 Neukirchner (D-Honda), 9 Pitt, 10 Gimbert (F-Yamaha),

World Championship Points: (after 1 of 12 rounds): 1 KAGAYAMA (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 45, 2 CORSER (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 41, 3 Laconi 36, 4 Vermeulen 21, 5 Pitt 20, 6 Toseland 20, 7 Haga 16, 8 Abe 15 , 9 Chili 11, 10 Silva 9.

WORLD SUPERSPORT:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fo res finished a hard-fought eighth in the opening round of the 2005 Supersport World Championship aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 in Qatar today.

The young Spaniard was in the running for a top six finish at one stage, but when Alessandro Antonello (Kawasaki) crashed, he had to take avoiding action and so lost touch with Stephane Chambon (Honda) and Broc Parkes (Yamaha).

JAVI FORES - 8th:

”Today, I think we all had some tyre problems and to finish eighth in the first race is not so bad. There was a chance of a top six place for a while, but that disappeared when I had to avoid Antonello’s crash. It was a very interesting race and I enjoyed my big fight with Antonello before he fell. I’m happy because we have done a lot of good work here and I know that we will improve in the next race.”

World Supersport Results: 1 Fujiwara (J-Honda), 2 Charpentier (F-Honda), 3 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 4 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha), 5 Foret (F-Honda), 6 Parkes (Aus-Yamaha), 7 Chambon (F-Honda), 8 JAVI FORES (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 9 Nannelli (I-Ducati), 10 Lauslehto (SF-Honda)

World Championship Points: 1 Fujiwara 25, 2 Charpentier 20, 3 Fabrizio 16, 4 Curtain 13, 5 Foret 11, 6 Parkes 10, 7 Chambon 9, 8 JAVI FORES (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 8, 9 Nannelli 7, 10 Lauslehto 6.

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