Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
10/05/2008
Magny-Cours, France
Ducati Xerox's Troy Bayliss and Yamaha Motor Italia's Nori Haga (Photo: Ducati Corse)
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Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) clinched the FIM Superbike World Championship for the third time today after finishing third in race 1 at Magny-Cours in front of 78,000 spectators. The Australian rider then celebrated his title in the best possible way by winning race 2. Victory in race 1 and second place in race 2 went to Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), who moves into second place in the table, with just the final round at Portimao (Portugal) remaining on November 2.
Race 1
The race was dominated by Haga, with his third win in a row, the Japanese rider finishing 6" ahead of Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare), who had a good race to finish runner-up, and Bayliss, who stayed out of trouble to take the title. Fourth went to Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati), who came on strong towards the end. Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) was sixth, followed by Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who faded with tire problems after a good early part. Three laps from the end Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) crashed out while fighting for a podium place with Nieto and Bayliss, while Frenchman Régis Laconi took his PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki to a respectable eleventh place.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB): "It's a great result, the bike is working very well. During this weekend the weather was not so good but my team made a good set-up on the bike for me and I had a very comfortable feeling riding it. I want to say thanks to Yamaha, congratulations for Nieto and of course Troy for winning the title."
Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare): "For sure it was a really hard race with these conditions, it was very cold on the track. I tried to push at the beginning on a full fuel tank, but I had a lot of problems. In the end I came past Troy, I didn't want to make him crash because he was fighting for the championship. I love this track and it's great to be on the podium again."
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox): "This last championship has been up and down the whole year, everyone has been fast but a little bit inconsistent and that made it easier for me. Halfway through the year we were very confident but it was a case of not losing the title rather than winning it. I did what I set out to do and win three titles on three different Ducati machines, so that's a great achievement. Finally it's done and I can go out and relax a bit more and see if I can win race 2!"
Results: 1. Haga N. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 38'33.367 (157,878 kph); 2. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R1000 6.223; 3. Bayliss T. (AUS) Ducati 1098 F08 6.875; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Ducati 1098 RS 08 7.237; 5. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R1000 8.925; 6. Corser T. (AUS) Yamaha YZF-R1 10.714; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 16.176; 8. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 22.661; 9. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR1000RR 27.224; 10. Lavilla G. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 31.300; 11. Laconi R. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35.558; 12. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 35.774; 13. Gimbert S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF-R1 36.078; 14. Nakatomi S. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 36.289; 15. Walker C. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 40.472; 16. Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 40.497.
