GREAT COMEBACKS
Andrew Pitt, James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen make their comeback in the World Superbike Championship, contributing to make the starting field richer.
All of them are previous winners (Pitt 1 win, Toseland 16, Vermeulen 10) and James Toseland was crowned champion in the 2004 and 2007 seasons.
Among the 26 fixed starters of the 2010 championship, fourteen of them boast at least one win, whereas in 2009 this value was eleven winners out of 32 starters.
THE LAST AND THE FIRST
Michel Fabrizio won the last race of the 2009 season and he is called to repeat himself, winning the opening race of the following championship, an event which occured only three times in WSBK history:
1992-1993, Giancarlo Falappa won the last 1992 race in Manfeild and the first one of 1993 in Brands Hatch, in both cases with a Ducati 888;
1993-1994, Carl Fogarty won in Estoril with the Ducati 888 and the following one the opening race in Donington with the Ducati 916 R;
1997-1998, the same Fogarty with the 916 R closed successfully the 1997 season in Sentul and opened the 1998 championship in Phillip Island (Ducati 996).
SIXTEEN AND FIFTEEN
Long distance records for Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga, they are respectively at their sixteenth (total of 330 races) and fifteenth (260) season. The only rider in history to have participated in more season is Steve Martin, which counts eighteen season after the two races he ran for BMW in 2009.
It’s worth remembering that Mr. Superpole, Troy Corser, beginning the 2010 season, counts almost the double value of pole positions compared to his rivals (42 versus 22).
AUSTRALIANS IN AUSTRALIA
In 2009 a singular occurrence happened in Phillip Island: none of the local riders was able to win at least one of the two races, which were won by Noriyuki Haga and Ben Spies. This didn’t happen since 2003, when Neil Hodgson won both races. There are only two other occurrences when the local riders were not among the winners: in 1998 (Fogarty/Haga) and 1997 (Kocinski/Slight).
The Australian riders won 23 of the 37 races run in Phillip Island.
PHILLIP ISLAND PERSONAL SCOREBOARD
• Max Biaggi for the first time in his WSBK career will race with the same bike manufacturer he ran for the year before. In 2007 with Suzuki he was third and fourth, he fell twice with Ducati in 2008, when he was respectively second and third and last year he fell out of the top ten, in eleventh and fifteenth position after qualifying in second place. He won the race with Yamaha in the 2000 500cc./MotoGP race. In the 250cc. championship he won both the 1994 and the 1996 editions, and started from pole from 1995 to 1997;
• Shane Byrne fell in both races in 2009 at his WSBK debut in this track;
• Carlos Checa clinched his maiden WSBK podium (second) in the second 2008 race, at his fourth race start, while last year he wasn’t able to reach the top-10, finishing twelfth and thirteenth, starting from seventh place. He was third in two Motogp/500cc. races: in 1996 with the Honda NSR and in 2005 with the Ducati Desmosedici;
• Cal Crutchlow was fourth in the 2009 Supersport race, starting from the same grid position;
• Troy Corser started 29 times in Phillip Island in his WSBK career, stage of his debut in 1992. Troy won seven times, the last one in 2006 race one (his last win to date) and was able to start from pole four times in a row from 1998 to 2001. He was able to start from the front row from 2005 to 2008, before being caught off-guard in 2009: Troy used race tyres in the first qualifying stint, being cut-off from the second knockout. Starting from the seventeenth place he was nevertheless able to finish eighth in race one and was able to record the maiden fastest lap for BMW;
• Michel Fabrizio scored one podium out of eight races run in Phillip Island, finishing third in race one in 2008. In 2009 he was just shy of the podium, finishing fourth and fifth. 2008 was the year when he reached his best grid spot, third, his only presence on the front row on the Australian track;
• Noriyuki Haga won in Phillip Island last year in race one after a wait which started back in 1998 when he won for the first time here in race two. The Japanese counts six podium placements out of twenty races run and only three retirements. Noriyuki goes on the points here uninterruptedly since 2006. His qualifying performances however are below par: only two starts from the front row, the last one in 2007, last year he qualified thirteenth;
• Leon Haslam scored points in three races out of four and last year in race two he was able to climb on the lower step of the podium;
• A cursed track for Vittorio Iannuzzo: two retirements in 2006, a bad accident at the start of 2008 (broken elbow) and double retirement also in 2009. In five races the unlucky italian rider was able to complete only 30 laps out of 110;
• Lorenzo Lanzi was able to finish in the top-10 twice in the 2007 races with a sixth and a seventh place, out of eight starts. His last races here were run in 2008, when he was thirteenth and twentieth. In 2006 he was able to reach his best grid spot, ninth;
• Max Neukirchner scored in Australia his maiden WSBK podium in 2005, race two, while in 2009 he scored his best result in this track, finishing second in race one behind Haga. Max scores points here since 2007 and was able to finish all the races he started, missing the points only in 2006, race one;
• Broc Parkes after the fifth place in 2001 wasn’t able to reach the top-10, missing on the points in both 2009 races. In the Supersport championship he scored two third places in 2006 and 2007 out of six races started;
• Andrew Pitt in his home track scored two wins and two more podium places out of five Supersport races run here, while in his four Superbike starts he scored two fifths as his best result, in 2005 race one and 2006 race two;
• fifth place is the limit for Jonathan Rea: he was fifth in the 2008 Supersport race and fifth in the first Superbike race in 2009. Last year he was able to start from the front row in third behind Ben Spies and Max Biaggi;
• Luca Scassa hasn’t scored points in Australia, he was twentieth in both 2009 races;
• Jakub Smrz scored his best results here last year, finishing ninth and seventh. These are his only top-10 placements out of six starts;
• Tom Sykes was tenth in both 2009 races;
• only one points finish out of four races for Makoto Tamada. The Japanese was able to finish fourteenth in race two in 2008- He enjoyed better luck in the MotoGP championship, where he finished twice eighth ad twice tenth out of ten starts. He was even able to start in fifth in the 2004 edition behind Gibernau, Rossi, Capirossi and Edwards;
• James Toseland in his four Superbike races in Phillip Island was always able to finish on the podium, winning race two in 2007, the year in which he obtained his best grid spot, second behind Bayliss. In his MotoGP experience on this track he was able to finish sixth and fourteenth;
• four races, three podium finishes and a fourth place as his worst result are the scorecard of Chris Vermeulen on his home track in the World Superbike Championship. He adds to these a second place in the 2006 MotoGP race and a win in the 2003 Supersport race;
• Ruben Xaus in 2009 lived his worst year in Australian soil, ending up nineteenth and eleventh, putting an end to a ten-race string of finishes in the points. His points streak was alive also in the MotoGP championship, with an eleventh place in 2004 and a twelfth in 2005.
OTHER NOTES ABOUT THE PHILLIP ISLAND RACES
• Aprilia won here in his debut year, 2000 (race two), but after that they weren’t able to climb on the podium. Since then their best result is a sixth in race one in 2001 and 2002 race two;
• Ducati is able to put a bike on the first or second spot of the podium uninterruptedly since 2006 race two and won eleven of the last sixteenth races run in Phillip Island. Ducati dominates the total wins count per team with eighteen wins versus nine for Yamaha;
• Yamaha’s 2009 pole came after a wait of thirteen years on this track and after three years where only Ducati scored poles here. In the last ten years Yamaha won only last year in race two with Ben Spies;
• the last win from Honda in Phillip Island dates back 2007 (Toseland);
• Kawasaki counts one more win than Honda (five versus four) but the last time a Kawasaki won in Phillip Island was back in 1996, in both races thanks to Anthony Gobert. The last podium and last start from the front row in this track are from the following year;
• Suzuki won three straight race starting from 2005, since 2007 they were able to clinch the podium only four times.
MILESTONES IN PHILLIP ISLAND
• 1990, race 2: first win for Rob Phillis. The Aussie counts a total of 4 wins and two final placements in the Championship at third place in 1991 and 1992. In the same weekend Peter Goddard records his only pole position and in race 1 the 10th fastest lap for Yamaha is recorded by Fabrizio Pirovano;
• 1994: first win and first podium for Anthony Gobert in race 1, the australian goes on winning his first race in race 2;
• 1998: 25th win for Yamaha by Noriyuki Haga in race 2; 10th pole for Troy Corser;
• 1999: 25th pole position (and 50th front row start) for Troy Corser, that in race 1 records his 50th podium finish;
• 2000: first win and first fastest lap for Aprilia by Troy Corser in race 2;
• 2001: first fastest lap for Ruben Xaus and first podium for Tadayuki Okada;
• 2004: first win for Garry McCoy (in race 2), first podium for Chris Vermeulen (in race 1);
• 2005: 25th win for Troy Corser (in race 1), first pole (the 10th for Suzuki) for Yukio Kagayama, 10th podium for Chris Vermeulen (in race 1) and first podium for Max Neukirchner in race 2;
• 2007: tenth win for James Toseland in race 2;
• 2008: 250th fastest race lap for Ducati, scored by Max Biaggi (race two);
• 2009: Ben Spies scored his maiden pole in his debut race (seventh in history) and won race two. Maiden fastest lap for BMW. Excluding the first race of the Championship (Donington 1988), it was the first time a manufacturer was able to set the fastest lap in its maiden race. Win number 275 for Ducati in race two by Noriyuki Haga.
SUPERSPORT FLASH DATA
• Kevin Curtain, Chris Vermeulen and Joshua Brookes are the only Australians who won a race in their home track out of ten races held here;
• Since 2003 Honda was able to win all the races in Phillip Island except for the 2007 edition, when Fabien Foret took the Kawasaki at the top step of the podium;
• the only riders which were able to score more than one pole and win on the same race in Phillip Island are Sébastien Charpentier (2005 and 2006) and Andrew Pitt (2002 and 2008);
• in the last five editions the polesitter always won the race. The last winner who didn’t set pole was Joshua Brookes in 2004 (fourth in grid);
• since 2001 the win always came from the front row of the grid. Jamie Whitham made an amazing race in 2000: he won a two leg race starting from the 21st grid spot.
2007 – Before the race the main concern was tyre performance over the distance and all riders opted for the softer compound. The worries made everyone extremely cautious and the leading group in race 1, composed by Toseland, Bayliss and Corser seemed to run in slow motion, without anyone taking chances or trying to pull away. Towards half race Corser was the first to slow down due to tyre performances dropping and in the final stages Bayliss was able to leave Toseland behind, winning with a good margin. After the race Toseland declared that he pushed too hard in the first part and then he hadn’t any tyres left to follow the australian. In race two the same trio of Bayliss, Corser and Toseland set up in front, while Biaggi once more had problems in the first turns and lost vital positions (and time), finding himself trapped behind Haga and Xaus. Toseland went in the lead, but caution -as in race one- reigned and the Briton kept a fairly slow pace, with his rivals quiet behind him. James changed pace after seventeen laps, and only Bayliss was able to follow him, while behind them a small group of three riders: Biaggi, Corser and Haga, fought for third. Toseland’s pace was so good that Bayliss was never able to attack him in the closing stages. James won, and after only two race weekends had a 26 points-lead over the second in the standings, Biaggi.
2008 – In Phillip Island Bayliss took pole despite a fall that required him to take eight stitches in his left elbow. Definetely a troublesome year for Bayliss in his home track since he broke a collarbone in testing here in january. A troublesome start of the weekend also for Biaggi, who had to start 16th after a gear lever failure during the Superpole session. This raised eyebrows about the rules, as if a rider falls during Superpole, loses only one row in the starting grid, while for a failure he is dropped in 16th. At the first start there was a major problem with Fabrizio stalling on the front row. The Italian didn’t signal his problem and tried to move his bike with his feet. This resulted in a major accident: first David Checa hit him slightly on the left side, then soon afterwards Iannuzzo rammed Fabrizio from behind, ripping apart his boot. Iannuzzo lost control of his bike, went on the grass where he fell and his bike fell over him fracturing his arm. The race was red flagged, but before the bikes were back on the grid another major accident saw the Honda Ten Kate on the ground, maybe for the distraction caused by the waved flags on the left hander that leads to the hairpin. At the restart everything went well and Bayliss was able to take the lead and pull away. His only rival was Biaggi, who quickly recovered from the 16th spot and set in pursuit of Troy, but after fifteen laps the Italian fell at the hairpin and Bayliss won all alone. The second race was again a total Bayliss domination and…another fall for Biaggi, a nasty one. The italian blocked his front wheel at the end of the main straight, lost control of the bike and slid in the runoff area. His bike somersaulted and nearly hit him. The accident was very similar to the one that took Nagai’s life back in 1995 in Assen, but fortunately Biaggi was able to walk away with only minor injuries.
2009 – The new qualifying format made its first victims in the first race weekend in Phillip Island, when Noriyuki Haga was only thirteenth and Max Neukirchner just behind him. The good news were at the front: Ben Spies took pole at his first attempt, behind him Max Biaggi with the brand new Aprilia RSV4, then Jonathan Rea and Jakub Smrz, who completed an atypical front row. The start of the first race however scrambled the order right at the second corner, when Spies and Biaggi collided: the American took to the gravel, while Max lost only a couple of places. Mayhem continued two turns later, when Kyionari fell after another contact. This left Rea in the lead in front of Laconi and Haga, who was able to recover ten positions in only one lap. The trio set out in front but the situation was far from clear as Haga was able to snatch second at the hairpin and after a couple of laps Haga passed Rea at turn one to take the lead followed by Laconi, who passed the Honda rider after a couple of turns. In the meanwhile Neukirchner emerged from the pack and joined the leaders, snatching third from Rea at the fifth lap. Soon afterwards the Ten Kate rider made a small mistake which cost him several places and lost contact to the leading trio. Neukirchner was determined to fight for the win: he passed Laconi for second at the seventh lap and took the lead from Haga two laps later. It was soon clear that in the second part of the race the only ones able to fight for the win were Neukirchner and Haga, who carved a small gap over Laconi and Kagayama, who in turn were followed by Rea. The situation was then unchanged until the eighteenth lap, when Haga made his move at turn one and took the lead. He tried to pull away but Neukirchner was able to stay with him until the last lap, when he took the lead again on the main straight. Max was on the limith though and after a couple of small mistakes lost the rear on the left hander leading to the hairpin, allowing Haga to take the lead and the win a couple of turns later. There were no dramas at the start of the second race and Biaggi took the lead from Spies, but the American fought back and snatched it back on the outside of the second corner. Haga worked wonders once more and by the second lap was already third, passing his team-mate Fabrizio. The Japanese immediately pulled away from Michel, passed Biaggi, and set after Spies. Four laps into the race and Spies and Haga were already on their own, but as soon as Noriyuki challenged Ben the two lost some ground and Biaggi, Fabrizio and Haslam were able to catch up. Haga then tried to speed up the proceedings passing Spies and trying to pull away on the sixth lap. He managed to carve an advantage of half of a second in one lap, but Spies and Biaggi were soon back on his tail and the American took the lead on the eleventh lap. Haga was back on top on the thirteenth lap, but there was no hint he was able to leave Spies, while Biaggi fell back and soon was in the clutches of Fabrizio and Haslam. On the nineteenth lap Spies showed his true pace: he passed Haga at the first turn and immediately pulled away, going on to a solitary maiden win in front of the powerless Japanese. Behind them the fight for third was a last lap dash among Haslam, Biaggi, Fabrizio and Laconi. The final outcome favoured Haslam, while Biaggi had to take a trip on the gravel after a contact with Laconi.
