Bayliss Leads After Championship Opener in Qatar
February 23, 2008
Troy Bayliss leaves Qatar today with a 2-point lead in the World Superbikes Rider’s Championship after a solid performance in both of this afternoon’s races at the Losail International Circuit. The Australian finished the 2 races 1st and 4th respectively, with the second race giving Spaniard Fonsi Nieto his first win in 4 years.
On a predictably hot day in Losail it was Bayliss who took the early initiative, winning a race to the line with Max Biaggi to record the first race win of the season in a time of 36′11.468. Troy Corser, who posted the fastest time in qualifying, finished 3rd almost two seconds behind the winner.
The second race of the day saw a big surprise with Fonsi Nieto coming from nowhere to take the lead in the last few laps and then hold on to win his first race in about 4 years. The impressive Ruben Xaus was unlucky to only finish second, having led for much of the race. Max Biaggi completed the podium, finishing just over a second behind the two Spaniards.
The two results mean Troy Bayliss leads the Championship on 38 points, closely followed by a pack of three of Max Biaggi (36), Fonsi Nieto (34) and Ruben Xaus (33). Despite his dominant performance in qualifying yesterday, Aussie Troy Corser finished the day trailing slightly on 25 points. One of the big surprises of the day was the below par performance of one of the pre-season Championship favourites Noriyuki Haga. The Japanese rider finished the day on just 5 points, trailing the leaders by over 30 points already.
One of the more notable conclusions to draw from the day’s racing was the almost total dominance of the Ducati machines. The Italian manufacturer introduced the impressive new 1098 model recently and it has certainly more than met its expectations in its first World Championship race. There were worries in some camps that the sheer torque of the new machine would be too much for the tyres to cope but these fears were quickly quashed, and it seems more likely now that the Ducatis will incur a weight handicap in future races to keep the manufacturer’s championship competitive.
The next round of racing will take place at Phillip Island, Australia in just a week’s time on March 2.
World Championship Superbikes Round One - Results
Race 1
1. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 36′11.468
2. Max Biaggi (Ducati) +0.396
3. Troy Corser (Yamaha) +1.878
4. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +4.487
5. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) +7.505
6. Carlos Checa (Honda) +9.639
7. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +9.725
8. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +19.537
9. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) +23.156
10. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) +24.429
11. Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +27.595
12. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) +27.979
13. Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +28.237
14. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) +30.205
15. Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +31.882
Race 2
1. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) 36′12.963
2. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +0.301
3. Max Biaggi (Ducati) +1.321
4. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +6.452
5. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) +7.627
6. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) +9.117
7. Troy Corser (Yamaha) +10.806
8. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) +11.661
9. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) +13.269
10. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) +14.563
11. Carlos Checa (Honda) +15.953
12. Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) +16.748
13. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) +18.356
14. Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +26.311
15. Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +26.560
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