MIXED FORTUNES FOR YAMAHA AT ASSEN
 Both Haga and Corser suffered a day of ups and downs in today’s round
of the World Superbike Championship at Assen. Haga took second place in
race one but suffered a technical failure in race two and was forced to
retire. Corser suffered a mechanical fault in race one causing him to
crash at high speed but rode through pain in race two to take fourth
slot.
Race one started so well for Haga, who
had qualified in 15th following a mistake during his Superpole lap
yesterday cost him valuable seconds. By the end of the first lap he had
already pushed through the field to take seventh and he then carried on
through to first place but settled back in fourth with team mate Corser
just behind in fifth. On lap 15 Haga made another charge for the front
of the pack and overtook Bayliss for second place with only two laps to
go. He also contended for first place but had to settle for second.
Corser put in a strong performance and
was in a comfortable fifth place for much of the race, moving up to
third on the penultimate lap when he overtook Bayliss and Xaus. Both
riders were on track for podium finishes but Corser suffered a broken
radiator hose clip causing fluid to spray over his rear tyre and making
him high-side at a fast part of the circuit.
Both riders got a good start in race two
with Corser moving up to fourth and Haga taking fifth slot on lap one.
Haga went through to challenge Lanzi and then Bayliss using his usual
wild sliding riding style. Haga then focused on closing the gap between
him and front man Toseland and he took the lead on lap nine. The two
riders were battling for first place when Haga had to pull off the
track on lap 11 with an electrical-based engine problem.
Corser spent the main part of the race
in a battle for fifth place with Lanzi but took fourth when Lanzi
crashed out. The Australian fought the pain of his injuries received in
race one to bring his bike home in fourth.
The weekend finished on a good note for
Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi with him finishing in the
points in both races. Settings alterations made throughout the weekend
gave the team one of their best results so far this season with the
Japanese rider taking seven points away from Assen.
The weekend’s results means that Haga
goes to Monza third in the championship, 20 points behind Biaggi who is
in second. Corser lies in fifth in the championship.
Noriyuki Haga (2nd and DNF – Yamaha Motor Italia)
“In race
one I got a good result considering where I started. From the fourth
row to the podium isn’t bad for one race! The bike was feeling good and
the suspension modifications we made worked well. In race two I made a
good start but then a problem forced me to retire which is unlucky as I
was on target to get a good result again. This has been a bit of a
mixed day but I am sure Monza will be better.”
Troy Corser (DNF and 4th – Yamaha Motor Italia)
“The
incident in race one was so unlucky. I can’t believe that such a small
part can do that – it shouldn’t have happened. That just put me out of
serious contention for race two. I have a very sore left hip which has
been X-rayed and they say nothing is broken. I am going to get further
checks tomorrow as I can’t believe how sore it is. Everything else
feels okay at the moment, we will see.”
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia)
“Race one was going very well until a really minor problem on Troy’s
bike cost him a podium position and caused him some injuries. In the
same race Haga got a really good start from fifteenth to finish second.
It was a very mixed result for the team.
In race two Haga was making similar
progress as he had done in the first race but a different problem to
Troy’s forced him to retire and lose valuable points. Corser did a good
job under the circumstances in race two. After his race one crash he
had to have painkillers and was still in pain during the second race.
He has definitely shown his determination today.”
Shinichi Nakatomi (13th and 12th – Team Yamaha YZF)
“In race
one I got a good start, gaining a couple of positions until I nearly
had a high-side on the back part of the circuit. For race two we
changed the front tyre compound and it was better. I am confident the
next race will be better as we are working on some modifications which
are sure will help.”
Martial Garcia (Team Manager, Tam Yamaha YZF)
“Race one was satisfying, we are starting to bear the fruits of our
hard work. We had the second top speed of the race even though we made
a wrong choice for the front tyre. The bike is working well and
Nakatomi’s confidence is much improved. For race two we made some small
modifications which helped further. Shinichi has better confidence with
the frame and the engine now.”
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