Alstare Suzuki finished the first round of the 2005 WSBK series in top form this weekend when racer Yukio Kagayama led the field to claim only his second win in the series.
Alstare Suzuki finished the first round of the 2005 WSBK series in top form this weekend when racer Yukio Kagayama led the field to claim only his second win in the series.
Rain before the race forced riders to go onto the damp track with slicks at the start and from the green light, Kagayama started well from fourth on the grid to take an early lead. Sebastien Gimbert and old favourites Regis Laconi and Troy Corser were hot on the Japanese’s tail before team-mate Corser took the lead until the race was halted on lap ten.
At the restart, Corser started from pole with Laconi second and Kagayama third, though on track, Laconi was still close enough to track down Kagayama’s two-second aggregate lead and finish just ahead in the race.
In the second race, Kagayama took his second ever WSBK race over Xerox Ducati’s Laconi and team-mate Corser.
Unfortunately, oil on the track near the start-finish line posed a problem for Corser as he fought to maintain control of his bike before receiving warning signals from his rear tyre. He was powerless to stop his team-mate from storming past him, and continued the race at a more comfortable pace.
Meanwhile a battle raged for fourth place between Andrew Pitt, Max Neukirchner, Pierfrancesco Chili, Norick Abe, James Toseland, Chris Vermeulen and Sebastien Gimbert, who had all broke away from the rest of the field by the 11th lap, Crash.net reported.
Vermeulen and Chili powered up the ranks to reach the chequered flag in fourth and fifth place respectively.
