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Phillip Island Race Review |
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by Damon Spencer, 2nd March 2008
 Last weekend saw the 2008 season kick off in earnest at Losail in Qatar. With just a week to move the paddock from the middle east to Australia, round two took place at Phillip Island in Australia with local hero Troy Bayliss taking a Championship lead home.
It was the other Troy, Corser, who set the early pace but Bayliss proved to be fastest in final qualifying and again in Superpole. Corser would have to wait for his 42nd pole position but secured a healthy second place on the grid. Fabrizio grabbed third place, just in front of Checa – an improvement over Losail for both riders and their new teams. Surprise winner from Qatar, Nieto, headed up the second row ahead of Smrz, Haga and Neukirchner. The biggest surprise was the performance of the Sterilgarda Ducati riders who were so competitive in Qatar. Xaus struggled and Biaggi’s gear change lever broke – incidents which left both riders down the grid with a lot of work to do.
Race one got off to the most dramatic start when Fabrizio stalled his Ducati on the grid. Most riders were able to dodge him but it got progressively harder for the riders further down the grid as their speeds increased with less time to react. As Fabrizio stood aboard his bike he was clipped first by Sofuoglu and then hammered into by Iannuzzo, who was unsighted until the last second. Fabrizio was tossed clear of his Ducati and his right boot was ripped off as the unlucky Iannuzzo landed hard off the side of the track.
When the inevitable red flag came out the riders were around the far side of the circuit. As if one crash wasn’t enough, Checa sat up upon seeing the flag and was crashed into by the rider behind, sending them both bouncing onto the grass. Sofuoglu was again involved and forced to take the grass to avoid the pile-up.
Thankfully Fabrizio and Checa were relatively uninjured in their crashes and were able to take part in the race restart. It got underway with Bayliss keeping the lead ahead of Corser, Haga, Nieto, Neukirchner, Xaus and Fabrizio. Positions were held under the first corner of lap two when Haga ducked underneath Corser. Neukirchner then got by Nieto as the first five pulled out a few bike lengths on the chasing pack.
Neukirchner took Corser at turn one on lap three and then did the same to Haga the next lap, to move into second position. As Bayliss began to try and build a lead at the front Biaggi was busy making his way through the pack after a starting position of sixteenth.
By the fifth lap Checa had closed the gap on the leading group, dragging the riders behind along with him. He was quickly underneath Nieto as Haga began to drop backwards, being passed by several riders. Meanwhile, Corser was able to get back in front of Neukirchner for second place.
Checa was able to get past Neukirchner and then, on lap seven, Corser. Following him through though was Biaggi who dropped into fourth place as Corser re-took Checa. It wasn’t long before Biaggi past Checa and then, within a lap, Corser too. Bayliss held a 2.7 second lead.
Biaggi was able to pull away from the crowd, chasing Bayliss, as positions changed hands corner by corner behind them. Checa dropped a couple of places and then Corser lost his place when he ran wide.
 Nieto , Fabrizio, Xaus, Checa and Corser battled for third position with Xaus eventually managing to fight his way to the front of the group. Whilst trying to catch Bayliss, Biaggi pushed too hard and crashed out. This left the Aussie with a big lead over the rest of the field.
Corser had climbed back up to just behind Xaus when a big moment almost saw him highside his Yamaha. He was able to hang on as Fabrizio took advantage and moved up a place. Undeterred, it wasn’t long before Corser managed to catch Fabrizio again and pass him to move back into third.
Bayliss was commanding an eight second lead over Xaus, who was being harassed by Corser and Fabrizio. Slightly back from them a no-holds barred battle for fifth place raged between Checa, Neukirchner and Nieto.
Corser made his move on Xaus with three laps remaining by passing him on the finish straight. The Spaniard was demoted further still after some close racing with Fabrizio in which the two Ducatis tried their best to swap paint schemes.
Bayliss was able to coast on the final lap and cross the line to extend his Championship lead ahead of his compatriot. Fabrizio took the final podium position – a great result considering how the ill-fated first race start began for him. Ominously, once again Ducati had dominated with the new bike, collecting three out of the first four positions.
| Race One Results |
| Rider |
|
Team |
Time |
| 1. Troy Bayliss |
AUS |
Ducati Xerox |
|
| 2. Troy Corser |
AUS |
Yamaha Motor Italia |
+4.221s |
| 3. Michele Fabrizio |
ITA |
Ducati Xerox |
+4.738s |
| 4. Reuben Xaus |
SPA |
Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati |
+5.171s |
| 5. Fonsi Nieto |
SPA |
Suzuki Alstare |
+5.543s |
| 6. Carlos Checa |
ESP |
HANNSpree Ten Kate Honda |
+5.895s |
| 7. Max Neukirchner |
GER |
Suzuki Alstare |
+5.964s |
| 8. Noriyuki Haga |
JPN |
Yamaha Motor Italia |
+14.826s |
| 9. Ryuichi Kiyonari |
JPN |
HANNSpree Ten Kate Honda |
+18.899s |
| 10. Roberto Rolfo |
ITA |
HANNSpree Honda Althea |
+20.633s |
 Race two began with a number of riders looking like they’d jumped the start. Bayliss held the lead from Nieto, Corser, Haga, Xaus, Smrz and Checa. Nieto took the lead on the straight at the end of the first lap only to see Corser come past shortly afterwards (as he past Bayliss in the same move). Bayliss climbed back to second place by passing Nieto on the next lap.
Notification was quickly made of jump starts from Corser, Smrz, Fabrizio and Rolfo, meaning that they’d all need to perform a ride-through penalty. If it seemed harsh on leading rider, Corser, who had gained no advantage from his start then it was soon proved academic. He lost control of his Yamaha and skidded into the gravel, ending his race.
As in the first race Biaggi was quickly making his way through the field and it wasn’t long before he was up to third after a fight with Laconi, Haga and Xaus. He slipstreamed Nieto down the finish straight, looking for a move into turn one. He pulled out and then seemed to realise that there was no room. The resultant heavy braking on the front end began a wobble which ended with him and his Ducati hitting the deck and bouncing for a long way across the grass before ending up in the gravel.
The battle for the lead was being won by Bayliss from Nieto, Xaus and Checa. A two second gap separated them from Rolfo, Sofuoglu, Haga and the rest of the field.
After nine laps Checa pushed his way by Xaus, before waving something of an apology. The next lap he, and Xaus, were able to pass Nieto.
Sofuoglu was holding fifth position but was coming under increasing pressure from the pack of riders around him. Neukirchner past him on the straight with eight laps remaining and then Haga, audaciously, rode around the outside of him several corners later. The reigning Supersport Champion was dropped further down the order as he succumbed to passes Kiyonari, Lavilla and then Holland.
Nieto got back in front of Xaus as the race neared its climax. Things got worse for Haga as Neukirchner and Kiyonari squeezed him out in the closing laps.
At the front Bayliss was, once again, comfortable in taking the win and completing the double at his home round – his final race there before retirement at the end of the season. Checa collected Ten Kate’s first Superbike podium of the season ahead of Nieto, with another good ride for the Alstare Suzuki team. Xaus had to make do with another fourth position to add to that from the first race.
The five week gap to the next round, at Valencia, gives the teams time to regroup and work over any problems after such a busy start to the season. It also affords time for certain riders to reflect on their opening performances and some notable names will be looking for a vast improvement when the series touches down in Europe. Bayliss has already amassed a 27 point Championship lead on the impressive new Ducati is looking good to regain the title in his final season.
| Race Two Results |
| Rider |
|
Team |
Time |
| 1. Troy Bayliss |
AUS |
Ducati Xerox |
|
| 2. Carlos Checa |
ESP |
HANNSpree Ten Kate Honda |
+1.127s |
| 3. Fonsi Nieto |
SPA |
Suzuki Alstare |
+4.395s |
| 4. Reuben Xaus |
SPA |
Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati |
+6.621s |
| 5. Max Neukirchner |
GER |
Alstare Suzuki |
+11.550s |
| 6. Ryuichi Kiyonari |
JPN |
HANNSpree Ten Kate Honda |
+11.620s |
| 7. Noriyuki Haga |
JPN |
Yamaha Motor Italia |
+12.049s |
| 8. Greorio Lavilla |
SPA |
Vent Axia VK Honda |
+12.134s |
| 9. Russel Holland |
AUS |
D.F. Racing |
+13.462s |
| 10. Karl Muggeridge |
AUS |
D.F. Racing |
+15.519s |
|
Rider Championship Standings |
| Rider |
|
Team |
Points |
| 1. Troy Bayliss |
AUS |
Ducati Xerox |
88 |
| 2. Fonsi Nieto |
SPA |
Suzuki Alstare |
61 |
| 3. Reuben Xaus |
SPA |
Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati |
59 |
| 4. Troy Corser |
AUS |
Yamaha Motor Italia |
45 |
| 5. Carlos Checa |
ESP |
HANNSpree Ten Kate Honda |
45 |
| 6. Max Neukirchner |
GER |
Alstare Suzuki |
39 |
| 7. Max Biaggi |
ITA |
Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati |
36 |
| 8. Michele Fabrizio |
AUS |
Ducati Xerox |
34 |
| 9. Noriyuki Haga |
JPN |
Yamaha Motor Italia |
22 |
| 10. Greorio Lavilla |
SPA |
Vent Axia VK Honda |
18 |
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