CORSER''S DOUBLE PODIUM AT MISANO
26 June 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser consolidated his series lead with a pair of hard-fought-for third positions in the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship at Misano today.

The high temperature and very humid conditions would have been testing enough if there had only been one 25-lap race, but to compete in two was an absolute feat of endurance.

At the end of the day, Corser was happy to survive, take two podiums and leave with a 73-point advantage over his nearest rival, Chris Vermeulen. Suzuki continue to lead the Manufacturer''s Championship with their GSX-R1000s earning 263 points so far, 63 ahead of Ducati.

Corser''s team mate Yukio Kagayama had a day that he will be happy to forget: He crashed out in the first race holding third place and, because his bike was too badly damaged, had to use his number two bike in the second race. But the number two bike had a different set-up and he struggled to keep up with the pace, ending up 12th.

Both races today were won by Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati), but he had to work hard for the wins: Vermeulen and Corser had challenged him throughout both 25-lappers, but Laconi was on a mission and would not be denied.

Troy Corser - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 3rd:

''That was without a doubt one of the hardest day''s racing of my life. One race in these conditions would have been bad enough. But two was murder. The heat was one thing, but today was much more humid then the past two days and that really sapped my energy. I had some clutch problems in both races today and I feel that prevented me from doing better. Our GSX-R had a bit of a clutch problem in the opening round, but we thought we had sorted that out. I know that the bike doesn''t like doing lots of starts, so the first race was always going to be tricky because the two-parter and a false start meant that I did three starts! So I spent most of the second part - 20 laps - without a clutch. That made it particularly difficult on the brakes when I was close to Chris and Regis.

''In the end, I decided third was better then trying for second and making a mistake. I also had clutch problems in race two and could get right up to Chris, but wasn''t confident that I could get past safely and make it stick, so I settled for another third.''

Yukio Kagayama - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 12th:

''I felt I was riding well today because I found a good feeling with my bike at this track which I did not have for the past two days. The first race was stopped after five laps and we had to start again and do a 20-lap race. I was in third place in that one and comfortable, but then I made a mistake exiting Tramonto when I got on the gas a bit too early and crashed. I was very angry - especially when I saw the damage to my bike. I could not use this bike again so I had to use my number two machine and the set-up was not as good. I had to do the 25 laps, try and stay upright and finish as high as I could. Before today, I really felt that I could get a podium or two, so I am disappointed how things turned out.''

WSB Results:

Race 1: 1 Laconi (I-Ducati), 2 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 3 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 5 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 6 Haga (J-Yamaha), 7 Chili (I-Honda), 8 Walker (GB-Ducati), 9 Nieto (E-Ducati), 10 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda).

Race 2: 1 Laconi, 2 Vermeulen, 3 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Toseland, 5 Chili, 6 Haga, 7 Muggeridge, 8 Martin (Aus-Petronas), 9 Lanzi, 10 Bussei (I-Kawasaki), 12 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra).

WSB World Points: 1 Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 254, 2 Vermeulen 181, 3 Laconi 162, 4 Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 148, 5 Toseland 124, 6 Haga 88, 7 Walker 87, 8 Chili 86, 9 Pitt 70, 10 Muggeridge 65.

SUPERSTOCK 1000:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Riccardo Chiarello used his head to win today''s Superstock 1000 race in style at Misano.

Didier Van Keymeulen (Yamaha) led the race for the first seven laps chased by Vittorio Iannuzzo (MV) and Chiarello and it was these three who pulled away from the crest of the field.

Iannuzzo took the lead on lap eight, but one lap later Chiarello made his move and hit the front. From then on in, despite massive pressure from Van Keymeulen, Chiarello held his nerve to run out a worthy winner. His margin of victory over Van Keymeulen was over six tenths of a second at the flag.

Riccardo Chiarello - 1st:

''I had a few little tyre problems in the early laps, but then I became used to what was happening and started to reel in the two ahead of me. When I took the lead, I felt pretty comfortable - even though I knew that Van Keymeulen would try and pressurise me. It was no big problem for me to stay in front and I was very happy to see the chequered flag.''

Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Riccardo Chiarello (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Van Keymeulen, 3 Iannuzzo, 4 Roccoli, 5 Polita, 6 Coxhell.

Superstock 1000 Points: 1 Roccoli 74, 2 Sofuoglu 66, 3 Van Keymeulen 64, 4 Coxhell 57, 5 Chiarello 38, 6 De Angelis 32.

EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK 600:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon crashed out of Saturday''s 12-lap race, but escaped without injury.

The young Belgian was in seventh place at the time but lost control of his bike when some oil went onto his rear tyre.

Xavi Simeon - DNF (3 laps):

''I am very disappointed to have crashed out of the race but, as it was not my fault or could do anything about it, I do not feel bad. Luckily I was not hurt, which is just as well because I had to get back to the pits and get ready for my GSX-R Suzuki European Cup qualifying! It''s quite a tough schedule and the very high temperatures made things very hard for me. But I have to live with it and I hope I can have a positive result in the GSX-R Cup race.''

Superstock 600 Results: 1 Corti (I-Yamaha), 2 Tiberio (F-Honda), 3 Colatosti (I-Honda), 4 Antonelli (I-Kawasaki), 5 Lorenzetti (I-Yamaha), 6 Colucci (I-Suzuki). Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) - DNF.

WORLD SUPERSPORT:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javier Fores took a hard-fought for seventh place at the sixth round of the Supersport World Championship at Misano today in swelteringly hot conditions.

The high temperature and humidity tested all riders throughout the 23-lap race, but 26 managed to complete the race.

Two Frenchmen (Sebastien Charpentier and Fabien Foret ) battled it out for glory, but in the end it was series leader Charpentier who took the chequered flag first.

Javi Fores - 7th:

''I am a bit happier today because seventh is not so bad - all things considered. Because of the heat and humidity it was a very difficult race and it didn''t help matters by not getting a good start because Nannelli crashed right in front of me and I had to take action to avoid him and that cost me some time. I tried my best to catch the group in front of me but my rear was sliding around a lot. Towards the end of the race the rear tyre was gone so I eased the pace so that I could make the finish. I am happy to finish the top Suzuki and hope that we can improve at the next race in Brno.''

World Supersport Results: 1 Charpentier (F-Honda), 2 Foret (F-Honda), 3 Fujiwara (J-Honda), 4Curtain (Aus-Yamaha), 5 Parkes (Aus-Yamaha), 6 Sanna (I-Honda), 7 Javier Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 8 Antonello (I-Kawasaki), 9 Migliorati (I-Kawasaki), 10 Lauslehto (SF-Honda),

World Supersport Points: 1 Charpentier 140, 2 Fujiwara 106, 3 Curtain 93, 4 Foret 74, 5 Parkes 60, 6 Chambon 46, 7 Fabrizio 42, 8 Nannelli 40, 9 Lauslehto 36, 10 Javier Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 36.

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