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DOUBLE PODIUM FOR YAMAHA MOTOR GERMANY
05 March 2006 - Yamaha Racing

Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes took their first double podium finish of the year at round two of the Supersport World Championship in Philip Island.

Round: 2 - Australia
Circuit: Phillip Island
Date: 5 March 2006
Crowd: 55000
Temp: 24ºC
Weather: Sunny

The Australian riders were involved in a race-long battle with world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), with the two R6 riders breaking the lap record in the opening stages as they applied pressure to the Frenchman. Parkes demonstrated the new R6''s speed by setting a new lap record on lap three, just minutes after Curtain had lowered Katsuaki Fujiwara''s three year old record. Curtain passed Charpentier at MG corner to take the lead on lap five. However the two Yamaha riders succumbed to rear end traction problems in the later stages of the race, allowing Charpentier to take the win, while the Yamaha men rode sensibly to bring their machines home for valuable championship points.

Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello brought their R6s home in tenth and 13th places respectively. FIM Superstock 1000 Cup champion Didier van Keymeulen finished 14th, with Javier Fores gaining a point for 15th. Former world superbike race winner Anthony Gobert ran as high as fifth on his GMT94 entered R6 but retired with set-up problems.

Charpentier''s win extends his championship lead to 10 points over second placed Curtain. Parkes'' 16 points for third place moves him to fifth in the standings with two of the 13 races gone.

Round three of the race takes place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit close to Valencia in Spain on April 23. Prior to that, the Yamaha Motor Germany squad will undertake tests in Misano and Valencia, where they plan to have new parts to increase the competitiveness of their machines.

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany)
I got in front of Charpentier a couple of times but every time I thought I could get a break on him, he came past again. It was close racing but always fair, because Sebastien and I trust each other. It''s the first stage of race development for our new R6. So after Qatar and here, I think we can say that the first stage is going pretty well. I can''t wait for the second stage - can''t wait to get to Valencia now.''

Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany)
''It''s not my best result but I''m really happy to be on the podium here, because it''s my first one in Australia. Having only done a lap last week this was really my first race of the season. I struggled to get my lines flowing today and I probably geared the bike a bit too low. I was able to run with Kevin and Seb in the opening laps, but when I was in the slipstream the bike was hitting the rev-limiter, which I knew wasn''t good. I tried to stay with them but in the end it was better to take the third than try anything silly. I''m looking forward to Valencia as it is a track that suits my style.''

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia)
''I am quite satisfied to finish in the top 10 in my first race at this circuit. I had a small problem with my braking, which meant that I could not brake as hard as I like into the hairpin but we have no problem with the traction and otherwise the bike was very good.''

Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia)
''I am happy to get some points today. The front of the bike was sliding quite a lot and this meant I could not push as hard as I liked in the fast corners. So, some points are definitely better than none!''

Anthony Gobert (Yamaha GMT94)
''I had excessive chatter in the front, but I felt like I could still get into the top five. It got so bad I had to stop. We looked at the bike and everything seemed OK, but the chatter just continued and I had to retire.''

Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany)
''The early season results have gone well for us. Always our plan was to get as many points as possible in these opening races so to get three podium finishes is as good as we can expect. We expect to have our next performance step for the Valencia race and as the championship goes to Europe we must now target race wins.''

Race classification WSS

Round: 2 - Australia
Circuit: Phillip Island
Circuit Length: 4448
Lap Record: 1'' 36.399 (Broc Parkes, 2006)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'' 35.291 (Chris Vermeulen, 2003)

Race: 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 34'' 1.822
2 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +1.361
3 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +7.796
4 Y. Tibero Honda FRA +16.788
5 R. Harms Honda DNK +16.798
6 J. Brookes Ducati AUS +21.250
7 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE +21.344
8 D. Thomas Kawasaki AUS +26.309
9 C. Zaiser Ducati AUT +26.515
10 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +26.515
11 S. Le Grelle Honda BEL +29.839
12 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA +34.988
13 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +36.328
14 D. Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL +37.402
15 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +38.574
19 V. Ivanov Yamaha RUS +1'' 15.849
20 C. Peris Yamaha CAN +1'' 23.477
21 D. Garcia Yamaha ITA +1'' 29.998

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'' 36.399

Championship standings WSS

Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 50
2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 40
3 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 21
4 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 20
5 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 16
6 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 16
7 Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 16
8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 15
9 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 15
10 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 14
11 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 13
12 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 10
13 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 10
14 Dean Thomas Kawasaki AUS 8
15 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 4
20 Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 2
21 Gianluca Nannelli Yamaha ITA 1

Manufacturers standings WSS

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Honda 50
2 Yamaha 40
3 Ducati 18
4 Kawasaki 8

www.yamaha-racing.com


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