Oz Racers around the World - April 2007

Moto GP – Istanbul

Casey Stoner led every lap of the Turkish Grand Prix, but behind him all hell broke loose with a multi-rider pile-up, frantic passing manoeuvres and major problems for championship leader Valentino Rossi.
Stoner's second win from his first three races with Ducati has propelled the Australian back into the MotoGP World Championship lead, by 10 points over Rossi, on a day when - in complete contrast to qualifying - Bridgestone riders dominated the leading positions.

But Michelin-man Rossi lost the lead to Stoner through his own a mistake, the Italian pole-sitter running wide through the awesomely quick turn eleven as he pushed hard to break away on the opening lap. That dropped him to fifth but others weren't so lucky; just behind Rossi an out-of-control Olivier Jacque triggered chaos by slamming into the side of the Italian's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards on the entry to that turn - the Kawasaki rider taking out Dani Pedrosa's front wheel in the process, with Pedrosa's Repsol Honda in turn tripping up Chris Vermeulen.

Vermeulen's Rizla Suzuki was left literally on top of Pedrosa's RC212V, but the young Australian still managed to rejoin - the only rider to do so. OJ received brief medical treatment at the side of the track, while Pedrosa suffered a minor chest injury.

All of which left Stoner leading Ducati Marlboro team-mate Loris Capirossi with Suzuki's John Hopkins in third ahead of Gresini Honda's Toni Elias - who had rocketed up from tenth on the grid - then Rossi. The Doctor, fearing a Stoner whitewash, pushed hard to climb back up the order, but Elias and Hopkins are two of the best late-brakers in the business - and were also involved in their own battle. Elias' efforts to take third from Hopkins ultimately played into Rossi's hands as he darted past the distracted Spaniard on the exit of the last turn, then made a similar move on Hopkins one lap later. The former five-times MotoGP champion continued his recovery by neatly seizing second from Capirossi with nine of the 22 laps compete. But Elias hadn't been shaken and was also past Capirossi, then dealt Rossi's victory hopes a major blow by elbowing back past the #46 into the final chicane, bumping fairings as he went, before casually raising a leg to apologize. Rossi also briefly lost the front while trying to hold firm.

The second half of the race thus began with Stoner 2.3secs clear of Elias and Rossi a further 1.1secs back. In theory there was still time for Rossi to catch Stoner, but the Italian was soon suffering from a mysterious lack of speed - and within three laps had lost out to Capirossi, Hopkins, Marco Melandri and Alex Barros.

That quartet, like Stoner and Elias, were all on Bridgestones and the extent of the Japanese manufacturer's advantage became glaringly obvious in the closing stages as Rossi was left almost defenceless. However, breaking that convenient conclusion was reigning world champion Nicky Hayden, now lapping almost as fast as the Bridgestone riders and enjoying his most competitive race of the season.

While Rossi sank all the way back to tenth at the chequered flag, the Repsol Honda rider tagged onto the tail end of a thrilling five-way fight for the final podium position. Stoner casually glanced over his shoulder and wheelied across the finish line, two seconds later Elias began celebrating an excellent second, Capirossi then used all of his considerable experience to secure third.

Hopkins got the better of Hayden for sixth in the final turn showdown, while Randy de Puniet salvaged eighth for Kawasaki. Alex Hofmann also had the 'honour' of overtaking a limping Rossi in the closing stages on his way to ninth. Rossi duly clinched a disheartening tenth and was soon looking at his rear Michelin. Vermeulen finished seven-seconds behind Rossi after a brave comeback ride that saw him set the fastest lap of the race - and he can only wonder what might have been without that first lap fall.

Sadly, it is feared that Sunday's stunning race might have been the last Turkish Grand Prix for the foreseeable future, unless Dorna can agree terms with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who announced on Friday that he has 'taken over' running of the track. "It depends an awful lot on the position of Dorna," the Briton explained on Friday. "The contract runs out after this year, so we are not sure what they will or won't do. I am a big, big motorcycle supporter. I think motorcycle racing is super so whatever we can do [to help keep the MotoGP race] we'll do."

World Superbikes – Assen

Troy Bayliss took his second win of the season by the length of his recently amputated little finger, after a thrilling conclusion to race two at Assen on Sunday. The reigning double World Superbike champion had finished a disappointing fourth in race one, after front tyre problems. The pair were inseparable during the closing stages, with Toseland pulling a potentially race-winning move to pass the Ducati rider with only the final chicane to go. A defensive line saw Toseland emerge in front, but momentum was with Bayliss and the Australian edged ahead at the flag for his first win since Philip Island in early March.

Bayliss' race two victory moved him to fourth in the championship, but his race one result meant he still lost more points to Toseland at Assen and is now 68 behind the Briton.

RACE ONE; James Toseland on the Honda took the race one win at Assen for round five of the Superbike World Championship. He wheelied over the line and was meet by celebrations from his team on the pit wall. The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team are based near the Assen race track and this is the team's home round, so a race win at “home” was exactly what Toseland had hoped for.

Following him over the line in second place was Noriyuki Haga on the Yamaha who got an awesome start going from fifteenth to seventh on the first lap, the remaining step of the podium belonged to Ruben Xaus.

Toseland shot straight into the lead from pole position and was immediately tasked with fending off the Ducati's of Troy Bayliss, Lorenzo Lanzi and Ruben Xaus, who wasted no time in getting a move on and soon secured second place. Bayliss was battling with his team-mate Lanzi when he had a big moment which was enough to allow Haga to rush by the pair of them. Haga was on a roll and moved into second place ahead of Xaus and followed that up by taking the lead off Toseland.

Just five laps in Haga had worked his way through fifteen places to take the number one spot, Xaus passed Toseland for second while Lanzi and Bayliss continued their in-fighting. One lap later there was a new leader, the tall Spaniard managed to hold it for three laps while trading places with Haga. Toseland muscled his way back into second place relegating the Samurai of Slide to third place.

The action increased on lap eight when Corser tried to go round the outside of Bayliss but to no avail. Bayliss then dived under Haga to take third place behind Toseland who wasn't hanging about and promptly took the lead back off Xaus. Bayliss decided he was going to follow Toseland and passed Xaus for second place. The order remained the same for four laps with Toseland leading from Bayliss, then Xaus, Haga and Corser. On lap fourteen Bayliss briefly took the lead into the chicane but by the time he was on the exit, Toseland was back in front.

On lap seventeen Haga took second place from Bayliss who seemed to have a problem as he dropped right off the pace allowing Xaus and Corser to pass him. It was now Toseland from Haga from Corser with Xaus and Bayliss at the back of the pack. On the final lap Corser crashed out and although he did walk away he looked in pain. Toseland was overjoyed with his win and was already celebrating before crossing the line.

RACE TWO; James Toseland was denied a double victory in Assen by Troy Bayliss who beat him by just 0.009secs at the fifth round of the Corona Extra Superbike World Championship. Toseland was hoping for a double for his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team at their home round but the hard riding Xerox Ducati rider wasn't having it. They were joined on the podium by Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki's Max Biaggi who is second in the championship behind Toseland.

Troy Corser was the only one of the two Yamaha Italia's to finish as Haga retired after five laps. Corser finished fourth following his crash in race one which left him winded. Roberto Rolfo, team-mate to Toseland had a better outing in race two finishing in fifth place.

AMA

The top two Superbike racers in America continued their heavyweight clash for supremacy at California Speedway, as Mat Mladin responded to Ben Spies’ Saturday triumph with a powerful counterpunch on Sunday. The six-time AMA Superbike king fought back a determined challenge from the defending series champion to beat him to the checkered flag by a scant 0.035 seconds.

The race developed into three distinct sections. In the early stages, Mladin appeared to be in a class of his own, dropping the field led by his teammate at a rate of several tenths per lap. His advantage peaked out at 3.2 seconds following 16 of 28 laps and then the tide started to turn. Despite his superior speed late, Spies was unable to take over the race. Mladin did an incredible job controlling from the front despite dealing with some late race tire woes. For a brief moment on lap 23, Spies swung around the outside of Mladin and into first heading into the Turn 3 chicane, but the experienced pilot immediately ducked back through in heavy traffic to re-secure his lead. The move proved pivotal as it’s questionable whether or not the Australian would have been able to strike back if he had allowed the Texan to find his rhythm with a clear track in front of him. For the remaining five laps Spies harassed the leader, showing him a wheel on several occasions, but he never again found a way into first. His last ditch effort to power alongside Mladin at the flag fell short by just fractions of a second.

“Honestly, if we’d got stuck behind, it would’ve been very hard to get back past,” Mladin said of the importance of keeping Spies behind him over the crucial last several laps. “The edge of the rear tire -- we were missing some rubber with about seven or eight laps to go. On the very side in the left-handers it was very, very difficult. A bit of vibration. I was just trying to hang off more and more, and hold the bike upright as much as I could. I knew if Ben got in front of me and got a clear lap, it was going to be very hard for me to get a drive with him. I had to get back past, and then just make it as wide as possible.”

World Supersport

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team had a good run at their home track with Kenan Sofuoglu taking the race win and Andrew Pitt finishing second at this round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen. The final step of the podium was occupied by Fabien Foret on the Gil Motorsport Kawasaki.
Pole sitter and the reigning world champion, Sebastien Charpentier, made his return to the action now that he has recovered from the injuries he sustained at Donington Park. He brought his Hannspree machine home in sixth place, giving the Ten Kate team three top ten finishes.

Steve Martin who was brought in to replace the injured Kevin Curtain on the SSP Yamaha finished tenth while his team-mate Broc Parkes crashed out.