BLOG SBK

  I am a member of a distributed computing project called Folding @ Home. This works by using the idle time on you PC to run a program which helps to find possible cures for a lot of diseases. As a get a reasonable amount of visitors to this site I thought I might try to recruit a few of you for the cause.

If you want to participate, click on the image link above and go find out about it for yourself. If you would like to join my team it’s called The_Big_Lebowski and the team number is 84028. You don’t need to go with my team but if you do, try and choose the name of a character or quote from the Movie as your username.

Thanks. 

It looked serious for the two riders after Biaggi lost control of his bike right at the start of the race after clipping the rear of a bike in front of him. As you can see in the video Biaggi was lucky not to collect more riders than the unfortunate Kenan Sofuoglu on his way off the track. Both men took a heavy hit but managed to walk away from what could have been a disaster. In fact it was so spectacular that it actually got me to add it to my blog, the first entry in a while.

Carlos Checa’s final corner challenge in race one at Valencia could be considered either a tad over ambitious or just outright dangerous. What ever you think it was it has cost   Max Neukirchner a race win and a broken collar bone. The injury is going to keep him out of probably the next two races and ruin any chance he had of a good championship placing. While Checa pushed himself and the bike to the limit on the last two laps to give himself an opportunity to pass, that last chance lunge was very poor judgement to say the least. He must surely have to receive some sort of penalty perhaps a single meeting ban but the incident has so far been passed off as a racing incident. Checa did apologise to Max before race two, but this must be little consolation now that Max is out injured.

Troy Bayliss on the Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati took both races in the WSB second event of the year to claim his fourth double at the Phillip Island circuit. The first race got off to a horrendous start with two crashes but after the restart Bayliss rode smoothly off into the beautiful scenery and never looked like being caught.

Troy Corser not surprisingly came second on the motor Italia Yamaha and an amazing third by Fabrizio, who’d been hit so hard in the crash his boot was ripped off. Further down the field Haga again disappointed due to tyre wear after a hard riding first few laps. Carlos Checa made good this week after his Qatar disaster of a week ago and went on in the second race to clinch second, would we expect any less from the former GP rider.

Xaus, Nieto and  Neukirchner who finished 4,5 and seventh should all be crowding around for podiums and wins throughout the rest of the season. The Ducati riders will be an especially constant threat as they again took three of the top placing’s but the Suzuki’s impressive speed should keep it in contention.   

Race two looked to be a bit more of a challenge for Bayliss when Troy Corser took lead the and was pushing hard enough to have gapped himself and Bayliss from the field when he low sided off into the dirt. This left Bayliss with an insurmountable lead which he didn’t waste and even with Checa trying to chase him down he still went on to win by over a second despite his celebrations on the final lap.

One notable addition to the top rank was Gregorio Lavilla who came into eighth place after a strong and consistent ride, lets see if he can get any closer to a podium in the coming races.

This all leaves Bayliss with a commanding 27 point lead of Nieto after only four races and only twelve away from a perfect score. If he continues on in this vain it could all be over sooner than Superbike fan would want, but then again he’s a delight to watch.

The start of race one in the WSB Championship at Phillip Island was marred by two horrendous accidents. The first occurred after Fabrizio stalled on the start line and was hit twice from behind the second time so hard that it tore his book clean off. He managed to hobble from the grid but was chalk white after the incident and clearly in severe pain he then went to the medical unit for treatment. He returned after a check up to restart the race.

Ianuzzo the rider who rear ended Fabrizio was in a worse condition after his bike landed on top of him no news yet of how serious he is but he did not return for the restart.

The race was then red flagged which caused another accident this time Checa was rear ended at speed after he sat up on seeing the red flag, they both tumbled into the dirt but were not badly injured and restarted.

The two Troys not surprisingly have came first and second on their home track and look likely to fight it out for the win. Bayliss came home half a second faster than his countryman Corser after deciding to use a qualifier. Once back in race set up thing should be a little closer as they have been separated by around one tenth in both practice sessions.

The big incident of the Superpole was the failure of Biaggi even to attempt a lap after his gear lever dropped off. There were a few shameful crew faces after his return to the pit and he will now have to start from sixteenth.

The other Xerox Ducati 1098 F08 came in third and with Fabrizio improving at every stage he should be challenging for a podium this week at Phillip Island.

Carlos Checa claimed fourth and looks more like performing after last week where he came in 23 in race one and retired in two. He must be hoping for a bit more luck after such a disaster.

Fonzi Nieto has obviously gained a great deal if confidence after his amazing win in race two and a seventh in one. After seventy starts in WSB he has really come good on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and a fifth place on the grid given who is in front of him reflects this new found belief in himself.

Smrz is already settling  and has that top ten regular stamp on him so a sixth will do no harm to his reputation  no harm.

Haga has got to improve this week after his race one tangle with Biaggi and self induced fall  left him well down in 14th after a remount. The same typically over exuberant Haga pushed hard early on but probably due to the three falls he’d had was in no condition to keep at the sharp end of things. Lets hope it comes together for him this week he deserves to be in the mix.

One more who needs a mention is Neukirchner who led for a good few laps last week and got a fifth and eighth mainly falling back due to tyre wear will start this week in eighth.

The outcome of this week is pretty much going to favour the Aussie riders and the Ducati bikes but there are so many knocking at the door I wouldn’t like to gamble on the final result. One thing is for sure the racing is going to be as exciting as it was last week.

Go Check Out The Official World Superbike website.

Fonzi Nieto thrust his way to victory on the Alstare Suzuki GSX R1000 after coming 7th in the first race and leaving a line of five Ducati’s behind him. Nieto had taken the lead from Xaus in the later stages of the race and held on to win holding off Xaus’ last lap push. This is Nieto’s first win in seventy Suberbike starts and while he’s been performing well in testing appears now as a bit of a dark horse in the championship.

Positions two to six being taken up by the Ducati’s again confirms their dominance and must be shoo in favourites for the manufacturers Championship.

The race started as a duel between Corser and Haga but Haga soon began to drop back down the order after some over exuberant riding eventually finishing in 13th. Corser stuck with it longer probably by keeping things smooth and ended 7th.

The first two race have set up a bit of a pattern with the suzuki’s and Yamaha’s leading the way around for the first third then the Ducati’s come stronger as the race progresses. You have to think this is due to the Ducati power distribution and how it is applied through the tyre giving them an advantage once they have warmed up. A prime example of this was Troy Bayliss who came good mid-race but finished in 6th. Biaggi was probably the most consistent throughout and finished third after leading or challenging for the lead for a good portion.

Other than the Nieto win I don’t think there were to many surprises today as all the men at the top of the standing are the ones expected. The one exception was Haga who must have been a favourite for a podium going into race one but ended with a championship placing of 14th. The standings with Troy Bayliss leading from Biaggi then (the interloper, only joking) Nieto followed by Xaus and Corser are all where they were expected to. We will just have to wait for a few more races and it will be interesting to see who can build up a head of steam as the season pans out.

Troy Bayliss riding the Xerox  Ducati 1098 F08 won the first race of the round of the WSB 2008 season for 2008. Bayliss played a waiting game staying within reach of the lead until three to go then wound in Biaggi . The last lap was a to and fro affair with Bayliss getting it on the last corner and looking back at Biaggi as he passed him to take the win. Bayliss looked like he was determined to throw it all away on lap 9 after taking to the astro turf twice and a total of four times during the race.

Bayliss had little to say after the race other than he was happy with the win and looking forward to race two.

During the cool down lap Biaggi failed to congratulate Bayliss but with the prospect of race two in the offing perhaps he wanted to keep the competition at arms length.

Troy Corser took third 1.5 second behind Biaggi and was not in the race for the line at the end. He had ridden well throughout the race to come closer to the front in the later stages of the race

The race had began as expected with most riders falling into line and waiting to see how the race was going to develop. Max Neukirchiner soon showed his smooth riding style by leading for most of the race early on . He would later slip back down the field with suspected tyre wear problems and end up fifth.

Ruben Xaus came into forth giving the Ducati 1098 08 and F08 machine three of the first four places. The Ducati dominance had been forecast well before the race and they didn’t disappoint although Neukirchiner’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 had shown it is no slouch and getting the tyre choice right could allow him to stay at the front.

Carlos Checa came from ninth on the grid into 6th riding the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda which for his first race since coming from MotoGP must be seen as a small victory. Whether the Honda CBR1000R can compete against the yamaha’s and the Ducati’s remains to be seen.

The big incident of the race was down to a Haga, Biaggi clash yet again with Hagg clipping the rear end of Biaggi. This would a been a minor event but Hagga decided to start shaking his fist at Biaggi before he regained control of the Yamaha. The bike whipped around and he high sided landing on top of his head in a repeat of Thursdays crash. He did however remount and to his credit came in a respectable 14th. 

Troy Corser beat his own best time and lap record for WSB of last year by four tenths of a second in 1′58.053 to take his 41st Superpole for the first race of 2008. Corser put in a in a smooth lap of the Losail circuit going -0.28 and .25 under the time of Xaus at the first two sectors then stretched that a little to -0.36  but the Finish line. Corser later attributed his amazing form to the Yamaha working well around Losail despite problems with finding a tyre that would do the job. He also added, "I am now confident after a good test and just need to keep it consistent". Corser went against the grain of the session which was dominated by the Ducati 1098 R8 08 machines that took three of the top five places.

Second place was Ruben Xaus and his  Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati looked like they were going to hold on to the pole position till the last Superpole last man  Corser took 0.6 of a second out of his time. Xaus looked disappointed with the outcome saying, "what can I say, I’m now just looking forward to the race".

Max Biaggi  was third and less than one tenth behind his teammate Xaus and was also a little happier with his placing.  Biaggi put in a very clean lap and came back in the last sector to clinch what was at the time second. He said after the session that "it’s all or nothing in one lap and I felt I made a couple of mistakes early on". He also said that he was confident as he has continued to improve time after time throughout testing.

Overall the Superpole session was uneventful in that there were no big moments and no one coming off.

Go to the Official Hannspree WSB web site for all the latest news.

  Troy Corser posted the fatsest time today in the first practice at the Losail circuit.  Despite   Corser later said, "That is probably the windiest conditions I have ever ridden in.". He attributed his success today to his will to win saying, "today was all down to how much you wanted to push". Corser is now confident leading into the first race as he is happy with the bike and his team are working well together.

After ending last season in fifth well behind his teammate Haga Corser must be looking to gain a few more point and challenge for the top spot again.

  Noriyuki Haga ended the day fourth after a particularly vicious high side. He had crashed head first into the track which left him thinking that, "before the crash I was half a centimetre taller". He is still in pain but is looks forward to the next session as he feels that the whole package is just right.

Placing second in the championshiip to the now absent Toseland, Haga must be thinking that he will be favorite to claim the tilte for the first time. But it won’t be easy with Corser and Bayliss both former winners and both in form. 

Check out the WSB Yamaha web site for more info.