2006 SBK Corona Extra World SuperBike Championship Round 9, Assen, Holland, 3rd September Race Report

  WALKER WINS RACE ONE IN SPECTACTULAR FASHION

Britains Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) drove the strong british contingent in the Assen crowd wild after taking his first win of his World Superbike career. Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) may have crashed out of race one at Assen but after an assured display of riding to win race two, he left with an increased championship points lead of 100 points and with three rounds to go. His main championship rivals had virtual disasters in the wet first and dry second race, but despite only finishing tenth and a ninth James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) regained overall second in the championship title hunt. Nori Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) both fell in races and scored no points. In the Championship battle, Bayliss now leads Toseland by 100 points, 332-232, with Haga third on an unchanged 230 points.

RACE ONE. An astonishing 22-lap contest gave Chris Walker hie first ever World SuperBike race win, as the Nottinghamshire based rider overcame the atrocious wet weather and slippery track conditions to go from dead last (and into the gravel trap at turn one of lap one) to take the race win in front of the drenched Assen crowd. It was kawasaki's first race win in SBK since a double successfor Hitoyasu Izutsu, at Sugo in Japan in 2000. Walkers' last podium finsh was in Valencia in Spain in 2005. In second place came Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda in third after starting from 14th on the grid.

RACE TWO. in the second race, on a dry track Troy Bayliss took another of his assurred race wins, after an early fight with eventual fourth place rider Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). He was almost ten seconds ahead of second place rider Andrew Pitt, who now sits in fourth place in the championship on 197 pointsafter two runner up rides. In a strong day for PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider Fonsi Nieto, a fourth in race one followed up by a third in race two and his first ever podium in his SBK career.

WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP

Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) rode the race of his life in wet conditions in a two part aggregate supersport race to secure the race win from clear championship leader Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). After 21- laps of high risk taking, another new star was born, Kai Borre Anderson (Hoegee Suzuki) , who gave his team its first ever podium in WSS, finishing third, ahead of Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda). Local rider Aire Vos (J&E Sports Ten Kate Racing Honda) went fifth, with the Hoegee Suzuki team having a successful day, as Barry Veneman scored sixth. In the championship chase itself , Curtain has 151 points, Charpentier 144 and Broc Parkes 119. Parkes running to a clear early lead in the wet track conditions of race one, fell heavily and suffered what tests have concluded to be three brocken ribs and a possibly fractured shoulder and a puntured lung. After his race win at Assen Kenan Sofuoglu now sits in fifth overall, only teo points behind Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda)

ROUND 10 OF SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GOES TO THE EUROSPEEDWAY IN LAUSTZ IN GERMANY ON THE 10TH SEPTEMBER.