2007 SBK Corona Extra World Superbike Championship Round 2 Philip Island, Australia, 4th March Race Report
BAYLISS AND TOSELAND SHARE RACE WINS DOWN UNDER
Philip Island provided the perfect backdrop for two of the best superbike races ever witnessed at the classic track, with Troy Bayliss ( Ducati Xerox ) winning the first race from James Toseland ( Hannspree Ten Kate Honda ), then Toseland took the second race win from Bayliss . Up too five riders were involved in the fight for podium places, with each race coming down to man-man fight over the last few laps. James Toseland now leads the championship by 16 points, 90 - 74 , over Max Biaggi ( Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra ).
RACE ONE. The 22 lap race saw a three rider fight for the win then became a two rider battle nearer the end, but the first race of the day became the property of Troy Bayliss, who beat James Toseland by just over two seconds with a late spurt of pace. Third came Max Biaggi after early leading light Troy Corser ( Yamaha Motor Italia ) dropped down as tyre wear affected his Yamaha more than some other machines. He finished fifth , behind team-mate Nori Haga. Troy Corser set a new lap record of 1'31.826 seconds which would last the day.
RACE TWO. A second race rolling maul at the front saw James Toseland get his revenge over Troy Bayliss with a sudden burst of pace from the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda machine which Troy Bayliss could not match and kept the current world champion at bay to take the race victory by a mear 0.274 seconds. Behind a superb battle for the final place on the podium between Haga, Corser and Biaggi of which Nori Haga got the better of and claimed his first podium of the season and saw team-mate Troy Corser demoated to fifth behind Biaggi. It was a tough weekend for Yukio Kagayama ( Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra ) and Karl Muggeridge ( Alto Evolution Honda ) as both riders did not start the race due to injuries in qualifying.
WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP
A superb win for 2002 World Champion Fabien Foret ( GIL Kawasaki ) at the Philip Island circuit saw him leap to second place in the championship , after giving Kawasaki its first World SuperSport win since the 2003 season. Second place man at Philip Island, Kenan Sofuoglo ( Hannspree Ten Kate Honda ) , extended his championship lead to seven points over Foret, and a first podium of the year came for long - time leader Broc Parkes ( Yamaha SSP Racing ). Sebastien Charpentier ( Hannspree Ten Kate Honda ) went fourth in the race with Althea Honda rider Katsuaki Fujiwara fifth and Pere Riba ( GIL Kawasaki ) sixth. In the championship Sofuoglu has a seven point advantage over Foret 45 points - 38. Fujiwara is third with 27 points, Charpentier set a new lap record 1'34.976 seconds on lap two.
ROUND THREE OF THE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP IS A DONINGTON PARK IN THE UK ON APRIL 1ST.
