Press Release
(2005 FIM Superbike World Championship)
YRC News
WSB : First win for R1 as Nitro Nori burns up Brno

Round: 7 - Czech Republic
Circuit: Brno
Date: 17 July 2005
Crowd: 31000
Temp: 30ēC
Weather: Sunny

Noriyuki Haga rode a sensational race two at Brno today to give Yamaha's YZF-R1
its first victory in the Superbike World Championship, the brand's first since
officially returning to the series this season.

The Japanese Yamaha Motor Italia star gave a magical display to charge through
from 16th place on the grid to take a lead he would never lose on lap seven,
overtaking series leader Troy Corser (Suzuki) and establishing more than a three
second lead at the chequered flag.

Haga's win, Yamaha's first in the class since the same rider won race two at
Assen in September 2000 on the YZF-R7, came after a troubled weekend in
qualifying that saw him starting way down the grid. However, even despite
missing out on superpole the 29-year-old maintained that the settings of his R1
were ideal for race conditions. A lack of grip held him back as he raced to a
still impressive seventh in the opening race, before using exactly the same
set-up and tyre combination to blast to victory in the second. 

Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt had a troubled weekend. Struggling for
front end grip he came home 10th in race one, before a clutch problem forced him
out of a points scoring position in the second, which had been restarted due to
an oil spill in the opening laps of the initial running.

Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe almost made it two R1s on the podium in race
two, narrowly missing out on third when passed by Chris Vermeulen (Honda) with
two laps remaining. It was the Japanese rider's best finish of his short
superbike career and equaled his best result at the Czech circuit, matching his
fourth place finish in the 2001 500cc Czech Grand Prix. Earlier in the day Abe
finished ninth while team-mate Sebastien Gimbert, still struggling with an
injured leg from a crash at Silverstone, was 19th and 17th.

Despite his win, Haga remains sixth in the championship - albeit with a reduced
gap to defending world champion James Toseland (Ducati) in fifth place. Abe
moved up to ninth, one place ahead of Pitt. Corser continues to lead the
championship with an extended advantage over second placed Vermeulen.

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)

"I am very happy for this win. I had some problem in the first laps when I
touched Chris (Vermeulen) and this made my brake lever go up in the air. I had
to hit it to put it back in place and this cost me some time but I was able to
make some very good lap times. All season I have been asking for more engine
power and I think that we will have a new engine with more power for Brands
Hatch. I won twice there last year so now I am very much looking forward to
going there."

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)

"We had the same problem in race two as we did at Misano. The clutch was
slipping so I was losing drive and although I was able to make some time going
into the corners the acceleration was not strong enough and eventually I had to
retire. I also didn't have enough grip from the front in either race which made
for a tough weekend."

<>Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)

"It certainly helped that I have been here before but the main difference
between race one and race two was not even the start but the fact that we put
more weight on the back of the bike to improve traction and a harder front tyre.
The changes almost allowed us to take a podium, but in the last five laps the
performance of my front tyre went down, and I could not push it any harder. I
still had a lot of spinning from the rear but we made the bike much better in
race two."

Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)

"In race two my brakes were not working properly and I discovered that it was
the adjuster on the left handlebar which was reducing our braking power. I
stopped, adjusted it back then jammed the adjuster by hitting it, so that the
brake would work. After that I was a second a lap faster."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)

"You have to ask Noriyuki about this race because I have no idea how he did it!
Maybe the temperature change had something to do with it because he had the same
set up on the machine from race one to race two. Obviously this is a huge morale
boost for the whole team and we will go back to Italy tonight very happy and
motivated for the next race."

Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France)

"The secret with our bike is to manage the lap times of the bike even when the
tyre is not brand new. Abe did this better in the second race and we almost got
a podium. This shows our level of potential performance."

Race classification WSB

Round: 7 - Czech Republic
Circuit: Brno
Circuit Length: 5403m
Lap Record: 2' 3.747 (Noriyuki Haga, 2005)

Race: 20 Laps

Pos. Rider           Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   T. Corser       Suzuki        AUS  41'42.829
 2   J. Toseland     Ducati        GBR     +6.592
 3   R. Laconi       Ducati        FRA     +7.477
 4   C. Walker       Kawasaki      GBR     +9.060
 5   P. Chili        Honda         ITA     +9.183
 6   L. Lanzi        Ducati        ITA    +10.778
 7   N. Haga         Yamaha        JPN    +13.760
 8   C. Vermeulen    Honda         AUS    +15.069
 9   N. Abe          Yamaha        JPN    +16.320
10   A. Pitt         Yamaha        AUS    +19.676
11   Y. Kagayama     Suzuki        JPN    +21.822
12   F. Nieto        Ducati        ESP    +24.782
13   K. Muggeridge   Honda         AUS    +25.830
14   M. Neukirchner  Honda         GER    +27.486
15   D. Checa        Yamaha        ESP    +31.003
16   J. Cardoso      Yamaha        ESP    +32.625
19   S. Gimbert      Yamaha        FRA    +50.526
21   G. Vizziello    Yamaha        ITA    +57.136
22   L. Alfonsi      Yamaha        ITA    +57.196
23   M. Praia        Yamaha        POR  +1'24.067

Race 2: 20 Laps

Pos. Rider           Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   N. Haga         Yamaha        JPN  41'43.525
 2   T. Corser       Suzuki        AUS     +3.233
 3   C. Vermeulen    Honda         AUS    +11.012
 4   N. Abe          Yamaha        JPN    +12.268
 5   P. Chili        Honda         ITA    +12.361
 6   L. Lanzi        Ducati        ITA    +13.511
 7   R. Laconi       Ducati        FRA    +14.141
 8   J. Toseland     Ducati        GBR    +16.439
 9   K. Muggeridge   Honda         AUS    +16.820
10   C. Walker       Kawasaki      GBR    +19.737
11   Y. Kagayama     Suzuki        JPN    +24.777
12   F. Nieto        Ducati        ESP    +25.244
13   I. Clementi     Ducati        ITA    +26.700
14   D. Checa        Yamaha        ESP    +28.119
15   G. Bussei       Kawasaki      ITA    +42.082
17   S. Gimbert      Yamaha        FRA    +48.776
20   L. Alfonsi      Yamaha        ITA    +56.694

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos.  Rider          Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   N. Haga         Yamaha        JPN   2' 3.747

Championship standings WSB

Pos. Rider                Manufacturer  Nat. Points
 1   Troy Corser          Suzuki        AUS   299
 2   Chris Vermeulen      Honda         AUS   205
 3   Regis Laconi         Ducati        FRA   187
 4   Yukio Kagayama       Suzuki        JPN   158
 5   James Toseland       Ducati        GBR   152
 6   Noriyuki Haga        Yamaha        JPN   122
 7   Pierfrancesco Chili  Honda         ITA   108
 8   Chris Walker         Kawasaki      GBR   106
 9   Norifumi Abe         Yamaha        JPN    83
10   Andrew Pitt          Yamaha        AUS    76
11   Karl Muggeridge      Honda         AUS    75
12   Max Neukirchner      Honda         GER    52
13   Lorenzo Lanzi        Ducati        ITA    50
14   Giovanni Bussei      Kawasaki      ITA    46
15   Fonsi Nieto          Ducati        ESP    32
17   Sebastien Gimbert    Yamaha        FRA    26

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

WSS : Brno woe for Yamaha Germany

Round: 7 - Czech Republic
Circuit: Brno
Date: 17 July 2005
Crowd: 31000
Temp: 28ēC
Weather: Sunny

What looked like being the Yamaha Motor Germany world supersport team's best
weekend of the season quickly turned to disaster as both Kevin Curtain and Broc
Parkes failed to finish today's seventh round at Brno.

Curtain led the early laps and was shaping up for a head-to-head dual for the
victory with championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) when he crashed
out uninjured on lap 15 of 18, a bitterly disappointing end to a weekend where
he looked likely to overhaul the absent Katsuaki Fujiwara for second in the
championship.

Curtain's retirement came just three laps after the end of Parkes' race. The
23-year-old had been closing in on Michel Fabrizio (Honda) for the final podium
position when he was forced to retire after his rear shock absorber started
leaking oil on lap 12.

The race was won by Charpentier with Fabrizio second and Gianluca Nannelli
(Ducati) third. Charpentier's championship lead extends to 59 points over
Fujiwara, with Curtain 72 adrift in third and Parkes slipping back one place to
sixth in the championship.

Kevin Curtain

"I felt that I was faster than Charpentier through all of the fast corners at
the back of the circuit and although I'd lost the front end a few times in the
laps before I went down, I had never had any problems at the corner where I
crashed. The bike was absolutely perfect this weekend, we couldn't have made it
better, but in the end I pushed the front tyre too hard and paid the penalty."

Broc Parkes

"I really believe that I could've won here this weekend. The race was going
good, I was saving my tyres and catching the front guys when the oil from the
shock started going on my back wheel. It's really disappointing but I can only
look ahead to the next race with a positive attitude. The lowest I was all
weekend was fourth in qualifying and in the race I was sure I'd at least make
the podium, so other than the result it has been a good weekend for us."

Race classification WSS

Round: 7 - Czech Republic
Circuit: Brno
Circuit Length: 5403m
Lap Record: 2' 7.316 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever:  2' 6.283 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005)

Race: 18 Laps

Pos. Rider           Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   S. Charpentier  Honda         FRA  38'44.765
 2   M. Fabrizio     Honda         ITA     +4.429
 3   G. Nannelli     Ducati        ITA     +5.366
 4   R. Harms        Honda         DNK     +7.973
 5   X. Fores        Suzuki        ESP     +9.589
 6   C. Jones        Honda         GBR     +9.782
 7   S. Chambon      Honda         FRA    +18.814
 8   A. Corradi      Ducati        ITA    +22.238
 9   W. Daemen       Honda         BEL    +22.409
10   B. Veneman      Suzuki        NED    +24.494
11   J. Stigefelt    Honda         SWE    +25.446
12   T. Lauslehto    Honda         FIN    +25.762
13   C. Migliorati   Kawasaki      ITA    +36.836
14   M. Lagrive      Suzuki        FRA    +38.506
15   S. Le Grelle    Honda         BEL    +41.909

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider           Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   S. Charpentier  Honda         FRA   2' 7.316

Championship standings WSS

Pos. Rider                  Manufacturer  Nat. Points
 1   Sebastien Charpentier  Honda         FRA   165
 2   Katsuaki Fujiwara      Honda         JPN   106
 3   Kevin Curtain          Yamaha        AUS    93
 4   Fabien Foret           Honda         FRA    74
 5   Michel Fabrizio        Honda         ITA    62
 6   Broc Parkes            Yamaha        AUS    60
 7   Gianluca Nannelli      Ducati        ITA    56
 8   Stephane Chambon       Honda         FRA    55
 9   Xavi Fores             Suzuki        ESP    47
10   Tatu Lauslehto         Honda         FIN    40
11   Barry Veneman          Suzuki        NED    33
12   Johan Stigefelt        Honda         SWE    27
13   Robbin Harms           Honda         DNK    18
14   Alessio Corradi        Ducati        ITA    16
15   Sebastien Le Grelle    Honda         BEL    15

Manufacturers standings WSS

Pos. Manufacturer Points
 1   Honda         175
 2   Yamaha         93
 3   Ducati         67
 4   Suzuki         58
 5   Kawasaki       21

European Superstock : Gritty Sofuoglu makes stunning comeback

Round: 5 - Czech Republic
Circuit: Brno
Date: 17 July 2005
Crowd: 31000
Temp: 31ēC
Weather: Sunny

Yamaha Motor Germany rider Kenan Sofuoglu made a heroic return from injury to
finish second and keep his hopes of lifting the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup alive at
Brno.

Still suffering the effects of the broken left hand he sustained a month ago,
the 21-year-old Turk was not confident he could complete race distance, let
alone finish on the podium.

Typically, the young superstock riders put on a great show for the Czech fans
with Sofuoglu and fellow Yamaha riders Massimo Roccoli (Team Lorenzini by Leoni)
and Belgian rider Didier van Keymeulen (Yamaha Motor Germany) pulling away from
the pack at over a second a lap, leaving only Australian Craig Coxhell (Suzuki)
able to maintain the pace of the R1s.

Pole sitter Van Keymeulen led for most of the race but the result was decided by
a frantic last two laps what saw Coxhell intelligently pick his way through to
take the win, with the unfortunate Belgian shuffled back to fourth.

With half of the ten rounds completed Roccoli leads the series with 90 points,
ahead of Sofuoglu on 86 and Coxhell a further four behind in third. Van
Keymeulen remains in contention for the title with 77 points.

Kenan Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motor Germany)

"Those last three laps were very hard work. I've not been able to train since my
injury and it was not just my hand that hurt, my whole body was aching at the
end. I did feel that I could pass Coxhell on the last lap, but I got involved in
a fight with Roccoli and Didier which made the gap too big. But I am very happy
to finish on the podium because I was not sure I could last the race distance.
Now I am just four points behind Roccoli and I know that if I win the next race
then I will move back into the championship lead."

Massimo Roccoli (Team Lorenzini by Leoni)

"I knew that here would be difficult as Brno is a local race for Yamaha Germany.
Again I slid around a lot under acceleration; this is the usual problem as I am
too light for the power of the R1! I gave it my best and I wanted to win, or at
least be in front of the other Yamahas, but I cannot complain because I am still
leading the championship and will be ready to attack in Brands Hatch!"

Didier van Keymeulen (Yamaha Motor Germany)

"Having been fastest all weekend I'm disappointed to finish fourth. The other
guys seemed happy to follow me for most of the race and then make their move on
the last lap. In the end I got tripped up by Kenan and Roccoli and that gave
Coxhell some space. But I'm not disappointed like I was in Silverstone. There I
had a gap between me and the leaders but here I have proved to myself I have the
speed. I won't be changing my style or my tactics because I know that if I keep
riding like this I can win races."

Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup

Round: 5 - Czech Republic
Circuit: Brno
Circuit Length: 5403m
Lap Record: 2' 6.980 (Didier Van Keymeulen, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever:  2' 6.461 (Didier Van Keymeulen, 2005)

Race: 12 Laps

Pos. Rider             Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   C. Coxhell        Suzuki        AUS  25'42.576
 2   K. Sofuoglu       Yamaha        TUR     +0.649
 3   M. Roccoli        Yamaha        ITA     +0.830
 4   D. Van Keymeulen  Yamaha        BEL     +0.902
 5   P. Solli          Yamaha        NOR    +16.085
 6   A. Polita         Suzuki        ITA    +16.539
 7   R. Chiarello      Suzuki        ITA    +16.857
 8   I. Dionsi         Suzuki        ITA    +16.988
 9   E. Rocamora       Suzuki        ESP    +18.645
10   R. Cooper         Honda         GBR    +18.709
11   W. De Angelis     Yamaha        ITA    +18.842
12   A. Badovini       MV Agusta     ITA    +23.157
13   A. Martinez       Yamaha        ESP    +25.144
14   V. Iannuzzo       MV Agusta     ITA    +25.626
15   L. Scassa         Yamaha        ITA    +26.464

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider             Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   D. Van Keymeulen  Yamaha        BEL   2' 6.980

Championship standings FIM Superstock 1000 Cup

Pos. Rider                 Manufacturer  Nat. Points
 1   Massimo Roccoli       Yamaha        ITA    90
 2   Kenan Sofuoglu        Yamaha        TUR    86
 3   Craig Coxhell         Suzuki        AUS    82
 4   Didier Van Keymeulen  Yamaha        BEL    77
 5   Riccardo Chiarello    Suzuki        ITA    47
 6   William De Angelis    Yamaha        ITA    37
 7   Alessandro Polita     Suzuki        ITA    36
 8   Vittorio Iannuzzo     MV Agusta     ITA    30
 9   Alex Martinez         Yamaha        ESP    28
10   Ilario Dionsi         Suzuki        ITA    27
11   Denis Sacchetti       Kawasaki      ITA    22
12   Richard Cooper        Honda         GBR    21
13   Fabrizio De Marco     MV Agusta     ITA    18
14   Luca Scassa           Yamaha        ITA    18
15   Enrique Rocamora      Suzuki        ESP    17
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