Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) had an outstanding raceday at Vallelunga, scoring a double win and promoting himself to third in the championship after two 24-lap races of full drama.
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) also had a successful raceday, taking two podium finishes in third, and making up ground on long time points leader Troy Bayliss. The Ducati rider fell in race two, without injury, and in doing so scored no points, despite restarting.
Corser now has 290 points to Bayliss's 369, with Haga equal on points with Max Neukirchner, on 280. The overall result of the Vallelunga weekend is that each Yamaha rider is still capable of winning the championship, with four races and 100 points left.
In the first 24-lap race Haga and Corser were ever-present in the fight for podium places, with long time race leader Haga taking the reward of victory, by 0.129 seconds from Max Biaggi. Corser looked capable of winning himself as he finally made up all the ground he lost in the mid section of the race in the last few laps, but was unable to get close enough to Biaggi to secure second.
Race two was a classic three-way fight in the early laps, with Haga, Corser and Bayliss close together. Later in the race Haga and Bayliss swapped the lead repeatedly, but on the final lap Bayliss crashed and Haga went on to win by 1.5 seconds, from Michel Fabrizio, and Corser, who was another second behind.
Haga continued to use the new Ohlins electronic rear shock for both Vallelunga races, the system worked well for the Yamaha rider, an improvement on the standard shock.
Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) had his best result of the year with an eighth place finish, followed by tenth.
David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) went 17th in race one and ran off on race two, finishing 20th. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) retired in race one but scored two points for 14th in race two.
Noriyuki Haga (1st and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I could hear Biaggi's bike all the way but my bike was working very well and I am very happy with the result. In race two I had a very big fight with Troy Bayliss, and I am sorry for his crash. But I enjoyed our battle while it lasted. It was a great day today for our team and thanks to all the team and the fans for the reception. For sure we will be pushing hard at the next round, as we did at this one."
Troy Corser (3rd and 3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"In race one I got a good start, pushed hard and the tyres were working well, so I felt comfortable. Then I had a bit of a moment when I lost a place to Checa. I went for second gear but hit a neutral and that lost me some time. I was lucky to stay on and I lost a lot of ground to the leaders. I got past Checa again and caught them but I could not get past the leaders. In race two we changed the bike a bit but I lost some time through the Esses. It was a shame for Troy crashing but it kept the championship alive for us."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Another great raceday after a strong weekend for our team, which shows how well we work. Noriyuki had another magic weekend and took full points. Troy rode well and two podiums is a good result. Our riders are second and third in the championship and it is not over yet. I am sorry for Troy Bayliss because he is a fantastic racer, and does not want to give up, but the championship is not closed yet."
Shinichi Nakatomi (10th and 8th - Team YZF Yamaha)
""Yesterday, we had problems with the settings. This morning, the feeling was better. We made more changes in the right direction. The first race was good. In the second race, I lost a lot of time in the beginning because of Biaggi's early crash. Then I progressed forward. On the average, it's not so bad. The test we did in July at Vallelunga was useful. I hope to have a good result at the next race in Magny-Cours because this is my French team's home track."
Circuit Length: 3200
Temp: 19
Weather: Sunny
2008 WSB Italy - Vallelunga 21/09/2008 Race 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 39'25.030
2 Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 0'0.129
3 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'0.535
4 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'5.188
5 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'6.693
6 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'7.993
7 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'16.976
8 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'18.359
9 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'19.214
10 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'19.386
11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'21.230
12 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 0'24.956
13 Matej Smrz Honda CZE 0'25.186
14 Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 0'31.799
15 Ayrton Badovini Kawasaki ITA 0'33.949
17 David Checa Yamaha ESP 0'34.665
Race 2
1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 39'10.265
2 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'1.507
3 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'2.268
4 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'11.813
5 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'17.922
6 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 0'18.281
7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'19.368
8 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'19.717
9 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'23.868
10 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'24.198
11 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'25.426
12 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'28.384
13 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 0'30.436
14 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'36.490
15 Chris Walker Honda GBR 0'42.903
20 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'18.547
Best Lap Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1'37.537
- Yamaha -
