Highs and lows for Yamaha at Monza

RACE REPORT 09/05/2010 Highs and lows for Yamaha at Monza With just four hundredths of a second between them, James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow shot out of the legendary Parabolica curve on the final lap of race one today in second and third respectively to deliver Yamaha Sterilgarda's first double podium of the year. Crutchlow, having qualified second, had initially got off the line in fifth with Toseland two places behind in seventh. They worked their way up as a pair, passing Fabrizio and Corser to take third and fourth by lap three. Toseland then passed his team mate for third on lap four at the end of the high speed start-finish straight, then closed down on Haslam and Biaggi at the front. A brief fight with Haslam with some heart stopping passes saw Toseland take second where he stayed tucked up behind race leader Biaggi. Team mate Crutchlow took second from him briefly on lap 14 having caught up again after a missed chicane dropped him to fourth. Toseland was quick to recover position however and got as far as a look up the inside of Biaggi coming out of Parabolica before settling for second less than three tenths from the front at the chequered flag. Race two was brought short for both riders. Another rider collided with Toseland going into the first chicane on the opening lap, causing a big crash leaving him with light concussion. He was awake following the incident but taken to hospital for a check up to assess if there was further injury. Team mate Crutchlow made a good start and was chasing Biaggi in second place just 0.1 seconds behind the leader. On lap 11 stones from Biaggi's rear wheel were flicked up, peppering Crutchlow's helmet, with one piercing his oil cooler. This caused him to low side going into the first chicane on lap 12. He was uninjured in the fall but unable to continue. After the Monza round Toseland remains in fifth position in the championship on 106 points, now just four points away from Rea in third. Crutchlow remains in tenth position on 65 points, just seven behind Sylvain Guintoli in eighth. James Tosland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, DNF) " The first race was a good strong race, I just want to congratulate the team, it's their home race and to get two of us on the podium is great. Max Biaggi rode a great race, he had a strong bike here and we expected him to go well, he didn't put a foot wrong. I was hoping on the last lap he was going to make a slight mistake, just enough for me to get alongside but he didn't so fair play to him. We're getting better with each race, moving in the right direction and it's getting frustrating finishing in second and third now!" Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, DNF) "I felt like I put together a really solid first race, we didn't get the best of starts but made up for it and got stuck in. All credit to Yamaha, they've done a good job to give James and I a competitive package so it was great for us both to deliver them the podiums here for their home round. It was a strong result and we rode well so I was looking forward to the second race. I started really well and didn't take long to get tucked in behind Max, I knew exactly what I was doing and had my strategy sorted to pass him on the last lap. Incredibly some stones flew up off his back wheel, I was so close behind I felt some hit my helmet and unfortunately a big one made a hole in my oil cooler. I made it through another lap, but coming into the first chicane it must have reached my back tyre and I went straight down." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "This has been a really mixed race weekend for us. From Valencia we have been stronger and stronger, it's clear by the podiums the riders have been delivering and the pace of both of them, especially this weekend and in Assen that we have a very competitive, strong bike. The first race was fantastic for us; to take two hard fought podiums at our home round is very special. The second race was incredibly frustrating; to have both riders out for reasons that were completely out of our control is disappointing when we have been the strongest team here. Following James's crash and concussion he was taken to hospital for scans as he complained of a pain in his neck. The first scan revealed no injuries, we are waiting for a second for confirmation. We expect to head to South Africa to fight for more podiums." Circuit Length: 5777 Temp: 20 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'42.937 (Cal Crutchlow, 01/01/2010) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'42.121 (Max Biaggi, 09/05/2010) Last Years Winner: Ben Spies 2010 WSB Italy - Monza 09/05/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 31'07.044 2 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'00.247 3 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'00.297 4 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'00.958 5 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'04.493 6 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'07.343 7 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'07.369 8 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'09.344 9 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'15.338 10 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'16.761 11 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'16.921 12 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'22.231 13 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'22.602 14 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'22.742 15 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'26.266 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 31'07.122 2 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'04.547 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'05.469 4 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'10.267 5 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'15.561 6 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'15.816 7 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'15.861 8 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'20.977 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'21.920 10 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'21.974 11 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'27.152 12 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'29.315 13 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki AUS 0'30.858 14 Roger Lee Hayden Kawasaki USA 0'47.160 15 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0'48.824 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'43.031 Rider Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 181 2. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 178 3. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 110 4. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 110 5. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 106 6. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 100 7. Troy Corser BMW AUS 92 8. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 72 9. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 70 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 65 11. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 62 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 58 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 47 14. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 35 15. Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 35 Manufacturer Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Aprilia 184 2. Suzuki 181 3. Ducati 149 4. Honda 119 5. Yamaha 113 6. BMW 95 7. Kawasaki 37 Yamaha Racing Communications Barentszplein 4B / 1013 NJ Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 E. office@yrc.nl W. www.yamaha-racing.com © Copyright Yamaha 2010 | Unsubscribe