MIXED FORTUNES FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT BRNO: DOUBLE PODIUM IN RACE 1
AND DOUBLE DISAPPOINTMENT IN RACE 2

Brno (Czech Republic), Sunday 17 July: The Ducati Xerox Team pairing of James
Toseland and Régis Laconi had mixed fortunes in the Czech Round of the World
Superbike Championship at Brno, where the two wins went to Troy Corser (Suzuki)
and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha).

In race 1 both riders rode storming races to put their Ducati 999F05 machines on
the podium, Toseland finishing in second place ahead of Laconi after a terrific
scrap with Walker (Kawasaki). “It was a hard race, I had a problem with the
clutch at the start and that spoiled my whole race, but when I was catching
everyone I could see that their tyres were going off, so I had to catch them
before mine did as well and so I rode really aggressively. I enjoyed the race
but I’m a bit disappointed Troy won again because we just can’t afford to finish
second.”

“I am so happy to be on the podium because being ninth in Superpole was not so
good” declared Laconi. “I pushed very hard, I chose the softer tyre at the front
and the last few laps were very difficult. I tried to follow James but he was
faster than me at the finish and so I settled for third, but I am happy because
I took some points from Vermeulen and that’s what I need for today.”

Laconi and Toseland could only manage seventh and eighth in the second
appointment of the day after fading away from the leaders due to tyre problems.
This race, rerun over the full 20 laps and not on aggregate, had to be restarted
after a delay of 45 minutes to clean up oil on the track following an incident
but in the two laps before the red flags came out, Laconi had made a blistering
start to head the field and was leading from Corser and Toseland before the
interruption. Toseland continued: “In the first start the tyres were
unbelievably good and after all the effort we’d made I would have won that race
for sure, but there’s nothing good I can say about the second race. After lap 3,
the tyres were just not performing as well and there was nothing I could do.
It’s a pity because with Corser’s results today it looks as if we’re not going
to be able to win this championship now.”

Laconi added: “I struggled a bit with the gearing over the weekend, that was my
fault but we made a change and it was a lot better. After two laps I found
myself in the lead and that was fantastic but on the restart after half distance
the front started to slide a lot. I was trying my best just to stay on the bike,
because it was so hard. I finished seventh, which means I’m disappointed for
myself and Ducati because they’ve done a good job. Now I’m already thinking
about the next race, I will take my fight to Brands and do much better. The only
positive thing from this weekend is that I gained one point on Vermeulen!”

RACE 1:

 1. Corser (Suzuki)
 2. Toseland (Ducati Xerox)
 3. Laconi (Ducati Xerox)
 4. Walker (Kawasaki)
 5. Chili (Honda)
 6. Lanzi (Ducati SC)
 7. Haga (Yamaha)
 8. Vermeulen (Honda)

RACE 2 :

 1. Haga (Yamaha)
 2. Corser
 3. Vermeulen (Honda)
 4. Abe (Yamaha)
 5. Chili
 6. Lanzi
 7. Laconi
 8. Toseland

POINTS (after 7 of 12 rounds)

Riders
 1. Corser     299
 2. Vermeulen  205
 3. Laconi     187
 4. Kagayama   158
 5. Toseland   152
 6. Haga       122

Manufacturers
 1. Suzuki     308
 2. Ducati     230
 3. Honda      221
 4. Yamaha     163
 5. Kawasaki   119
 6. Petronas    17