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Team Roberts Will Retire From MotoGP without Major Sponsor Support
In a recent interview kenny Roberts revelaed his team does not have the sponsorship support to contest the full MotoGP Championship this season with kenny Roberts JT on the Honda powered KR racer.
Kenny admitted the team has been opeaarting at a loss the past few years, and he can no longer afford to add additional financial support our of his own pocket. At presnt it looks like they may be forced to pull out of the Championship some 1-4 ace into the race schedule if a major sponsor is not found.

Team Roberts leave Jerez in great shape as they head for Qatar and the opening GP of the season. The team technicians have developed the Honda powered KR212V to a very competitive standard during the series of arduous winter tests. The prototype KR212V covered 4,500 km over the winter and the Jerez test saw the team technicians establish a close to optimum machine balance that has eradicated the niggling front-end grip problems that rider Kenny Roberts Jnr identified as his only real concern. This was achieved by modifying the trail and suspension settings, without losing rear end grip.

At Jerez Kenny Jnr tested Michelin qualifying tyres for the first time with the latest version of the Team Roberts chassis and the results have confirmed the chassis – engine combination can run a full race distance at a fast consistent pace and perform equally well on qualifying rubber.

Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR212V: 1m 40.083s – 84 laps. “When we were satisfied with the chassis performance we basically spent the day tyre testing. I ran qualifying tyres for the first time and I’m happy with the results. We also put in a long run on development tyres and that was good too. Testing has been good for us and we are a long way ahead of where we were at this stage last year but you can have too much testing – now its time to go racing and we’re ready. I’m really looking forward to Qatar.”

Top Five for De Puniet in First Offical MotoGP Challenge
Feb 25th - Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet brought to an end the final pre-season test in fine style this afternoon, as he took a hard-fought fifth place during the annual 40-minute televised qualifying shootout at Jerez.

The 26-year-old Frenchman has been consistently in the top ten on the timesheet throughout the three-day IRTA test on race tyres, but despite finishing the timed qualifying session as the top Bridgestone rider today, de Puniet was convinced he could have gone faster had he not hit a false neutral on his final flying lap.

The Kawasaki pilot had planned to run with a fourth qualifying tyre late in the session, but a light rain shower with just five minutes left to run meant that he was unable to improve upon his previous best time.

After concentrating on refining the balance and set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR during the first two days of the final pre-season test, Olivier Jacque finally got to try a qualifying tyre on his 800cc Kawasaki during this afternoon's timed practice.

Surprised by the difference in available grip compared to the race tyres, Jacque was unable to use the first qualifier to maximum advantage, but with his second super sticky rear tyre fitted the Frenchman managed to reduce his lap time by a second.

With a better understanding of the performance of the Bridgestone qualifying tyres, Jacque headed out on a third qualifier, but was forced to abandon his lap after seeing spots of rain on his visor and screen.

First and second place on the timesheet for de Puniet and Jacque during this afternoon's final free practice session confirmed the potential of Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR, although both riders know that there is still some work to be done ahead of the opening race of the season, which will take place in Qatar on 10 March.

Randy de Puniet: 5th - 16 Qualifying Laps - Best Lap 1'39.832
"I am a little bit upset, not with the position I got at the official practice, but with my lap time. I improved with every qualifying tyre I tried, but in my last lap I hit a false neutral in the gearbox and that lost me some time. It also started to rain, but I just closed my eyes and pushed hard until the end. I'm sure that without the mistake I would have been into the low 1'39s bracket. Overall I am satisfied with the job we did during the session and these three days of testing. We made some changes to suspension settings and my feeling was much better this morning. Today the engine was smoother and this is important for race distance. I can't wait to arrive in Qatar for the first round."

Lanzi's Podium in Race One Saves the Day for Ducati at WSB Qatar
Losail (Qatar), Saturday 24 February: It was a difficult start to the year for the Ducati Xerox Team at the Losail circuit in Qatar. In the opening round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship, Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi could only manage one podium between them in the two races as Max Biaggi (Suzuki), making his Superbike debut, and James Toseland (Honda) took the first two wins of the year. Lorenzo clinched the final podium place in race 1 with a superb pass on Kagayama on the penultimate lap, and finished seventh in the second race, while Troy took a fifth and seventh.

"We knew that this weekend was going to be difficult for us but it turned out to be tougher than expected" declared Troy. "All weekend I'd been doing quite well on the race tyre so I was feeling quite confident, and was quite happy with the way race 1 went. I could have done a lot better but I would have had to put my life on the line so I settled for points. In the second race we thought we couldn't do any worse and tried something different, we put the hardest tyre in the front which we used last year and we made a change to the rear suspension. The biggest problem we had was at the rear however because we had no feeling at all. It's a long year ahead, it wasn't a good start but that's racing! For sure I'll feel much more confident at Phillip Island, where the track is normally pretty constant and I'm looking forward to that."

"In race 1 I succeeded in scoring a great podium finish" commented Lorenzo. "It was a good, hard-fought result because in the last few laps I had a great battle with Kagayama. For race 2 we changed the suspension a bit and my 999 worked a lot better. Unfortunately I got off to a bad start, which lost me a lot of time in the early laps. I am sure I could have finished fourth quite easily had the tyre not started to turn on the rim half-way through the race which created some ‘chattering' problems. Now that the Qatar race is over, we look forward immediately to Phillip Island, where we should go better.

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Max Biaggi (3) and James Toseland (52) dueled in the desert for both races at Qatar.

2007 SBK Corona Extra Superbike World Championship

Qatar Kicks off the 20th Year of the World Superbike Championship
Bax Biaggi and James Tosleland Trade Wins at Losail
By Andy Rixon

Losail (Qatar), Saturday Feb 24th - The opening 2-race round of the 2008 SBK World Superbike Championship's 20th season took place in dramatic style at the seaside track of Losail, Qatar, whih former MotoGP star Max Biaggi (Alstare Corona Suzuki) holding off former World Superbike Champion James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) to win Race One, and then in Race Two their 1-2 finishes were reversed. It was an exciting start to what is certainly to be to be one of the most competive World Superbike Championships ever with 6 major factories and 3 World Champions represented among more than 10 top riders who could win in any given race.

Toseland’s start-to-finish domination of race two was an impressive sight and despite a strong push from Biaggi in the final laps, Toseland held out to win by a 0.7 seconds, and they leave Qatar with an equal share of the championship lead. Now on 45 points, Toseland and Biaggi are 20 points clear of the rest of the chasing pack, headed by Lanzi on 25 points.

2-wheeled Infadels in the Qatar sandbox. Is it all about petrol dollars or just getting sideways?

The Warm Up
Wednesday 21st February: The Losail International Circuit in Qatar is the venue for the opening round of the 2007 racing season this weekend as the World Superbike Championship moves into its 20th year. Three former champions, and half a gridful of potential race winners, will line up for first practice at Losail on Thursday 22 February, all hoping to make strong starts to the season.Very little has changed for last year's championship-winning Ducati Xerox Team, which goes into the new season with renewed hopes of success, judging by the pace set during winter testing by double world champion Troy Bayliss and his Italian team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi, who line up together again. On the technical front the successful Ducati 999 machine, which enters its final year of world championship racing, also remains the same, apart from an updated version of the idle control in the electronics package. With title sponsor Xerox also on board for a third successive year, the Ducati Xerox Team is gearing up for what promises to be another splendid year of World Superbike racing.

Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) and Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) front the annual group picture at the Losail opening round. CLICK FOR BIG SCREENSAVER

And the opposition will not be lacking, coming once again from the four Japanese manufacturers, who will be present in 2007 with brand-new or updated machinery, but it is the rider front that gains the most with the arrival of four times 250cc world champion Max Biaggi in the Suzuki line-up, partnered by Yukio Kagayama. 2006 runner-up (and former world champion with Ducati) James Toseland is back on his Honda, this year partnered by Italian Roberto Rolfo. In the Yamaha Italia team, the ever-strong Noriyuki Haga is joined by double champion Troy Corser, while Kawasaki have Régis Laconi and Fonsi Nieto competing in a two-rider team. A strong outsider could also be Ruben Xaus in the Sterilgarda Ducati team, while two more Ducati 999s will be in the hands of Jakub Smrz (Caracchi) and Dean Ellison (Pedercini).

Bayliss has been setting the pace during the winter testing, the Australian resulting quickest in Qatar and smashing the unofficial lap record at his home circuit of Phillip Island, the venues for the opening two rounds.
Despite these exceptional performances the 37 year-old from Taree remains circumspect about this weekend's race.

"Honestly one of the hardest races of the year is going to be the first race in Qatar" declared Troy. "I'm not going to keep my hopes up too much because I know how difficult it's going to be for us. If we happen to win both races, we will certainly be in a great position because it's going to be nearly impossible to do that. Testing there in December looked great on paper but if I come onto the straight first and there's somebody within half-a-second, they're going to pass me. I have to make a break and that's very hard to do. You can try as hard as you can to get away, but you chew your tyres, it's going to be a difficult situation."

"We've basically got the same package as we had last year with a few minor changes but I would say that the team has worked really hard on the settings over the winter. We've had really good tests since we stopped at the end of last year and Pirelli have worked well and come up with some new tyres. Now we're just waiting for the first race but we're confident we can do a good job with what we've got."

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) may have swept to victory in his comeback year in 2006 but few observers feel that he will have as clear a path this season. With his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) making serious strides in winter testing, and the riders of the latest generation of four-cylinder 1000cc powerhouses from Japan showing strongly over the winter months, Bayliss faces threats to his supremacy on many fronts. Ducati will field another proven SBK race winner in the shape of Ruben Xaus (Team Sterilgarda 999F06) plus the exciting new SBK talents of Jakub Smrz (Team Caracchi Ducati SC 999F05) and Dean Ellison (Team Pedercini 999RS). Ellison has competed in SBK races before, as a wildcard at previous British rounds, but this is his first full season.

Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) will have his first ever SBK race, at Losail, on February 24th, with the four-times 250GP champion looking make as strong a start as possible in the tough SBK world. Sometimes fast in testing, Biaggi will be looking to Losail to get good early points on the board, before the championship moves onto another of his favourite circuits, Phillip Island in Australia, right after Qatar. His team-mate, Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) cannot be thinking of anything less than a podium place for the Qatar meeting, as his past record at the track is one of tremendous achievement, interspersed with simple bad luck when in leading positions. Suzuki’s participation in 2007 includes the limitlessly talented Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) and the reigning Superstock 1000FIM Cup champion, Alessandro Polita (Celani Team Suzuki Italia).

The list of potential 2007 champions features all three previous SBK champions still active in the series, and as runner up on 2006, James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) is in with a real chance to repeat his championship win in 2004. Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) will possibly be looking to the future rounds to try and take his first win in SBK, but his move from privateer Ducati to factory Honda machinery will have helped his cause no end. Honda are impressively armed with talent in 2007, with Steve Martin and Michel Fabrizio on DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR machines, while a very welcome new name in SBK racing, Alto Evolution Honda, field 2004 World Supersport Champion Karl Muggeridge and former WSS race winner Josh Brookes to complete a powerful Honda line-up.

A total of four full-time Yamaha riders will be in attendance at the 13-rounds of World Superbike this year, with the Yamaha Motor Italia team featuring one old hand (Noriyuki Haga) and one two-time SBK champion (Troy Corser) on the all-new Yamaha R1s. Further Yamaha entries come from Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha YZF team) and Jiri Drazdak (Yamaha Junior Pro SBK team).

Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) return to their 2006 team and the latest version of the ZX-10R, each with high hopes of their best ever season on four-cylinder machinery. Laconi has the better long-term SBK formbook but the ever-improving Nieto is tipped by some to be not far away from race-winning pace this season, with increased support from Kawasaki as a manufacturer.

Austrian Christian Zaiser from the LBR team has the honour of becoming the first full-time MV Agusta entry to the SBK championship, although he will be running in a one-man privateer team.

SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Few seasons in the World Supersport Championship are ever set to be as closely contested as the forthcoming one, despite Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) making history last year by becoming the only man ever to retain the title.

His own team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu is mounted on the same new CBR600RR as Charpentier in 2007, and is in superb form after testing, while Yamaha R6 competitors Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes (Yamaha SSP Racing) are as formidable foes as any that could be imagined.

A whopping 36 riders will compete in this class this year, and adding to the strength in depth, the GIL Kawasaki team will field former champion Fabien Foret and Pere Riba, while the Lightspeed Kawasaki squad from Italy will run rookie Davide Giugliano. Gianluca Nannelli (Team Caracchi Ducati SC 749R) will no doubt ride the best-placed Ducati in the opening two rounds, while Suzuki can count on Barry Veneman and Vesa Kallio from the Hoegee Suzuki team.

The Yamaha team looked quick as Haga topped Thursday Practice.

THE CIRCUIT
Name: Losail International Circuit, Length: 5.380 km
Pole Position: right, Finish line length: 1068 metres
Race distance: 2 x 18 laps/96.840 km

STATISTICS: Best lap: Bayliss (Ducati), 1m59.696s (2006). Lap record: Haga (Yamaha), 2m00.061s (2006). Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati), 1m59.696s (2006).

2006 RESULTS: Race 1 - 1. Toseland (Honda); 2. Bayliss (Ducati); 3. Pitt (Yamaha). Race 2 - 1. Corser (Suzuki); 2. Bayliss; 3. Haga (Yamaha).

Thursday Practice: Haga Sets the Early Pace for Saturday's Race
Thursday Feb 22nd - Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) proved to be the fastest rider in the first session of the weekend at Losail, after carving 0.6 seconds from the previous best SBK lap of the 5.4km circuit. A close session saw James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) ride to within 0.037 seconds of Haga, and edge out SBK 'rookie' Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) to third. Biaggi was the early pacesetter, proving an instant hit when the first competitive laps were played out under the hot sun in the Qatari desert.
The overnight front row four was completed by 1996 and 2005 World Champion Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia), in his first competitive SBK ride for his new employers.

Given his speed during testing, the biggest surprise of the day was reserved for the news that Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was not only not the fastest rider, but also that he was also outperformed on the day by his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi. The top two Ducati riders were fifth and sixth respectively. Former Qatar race winner Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) earned seventh fastest time, and the big seven were the only ones within a second of provisional pole. The second row was completed by multiple SBK race winner of years gone by, Ruben Xaus (Team Sterilgarda Ducati), a welcome sight in the top eight. British rider Dean Ellison (Team Pedercini 999RS) was 18th from 23 entrants.

Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) is far enough along his Honda learning curve to be ninth fastest after the first day of qualifying, and also did well enough to ace the top Kawasaki rider on show, Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) who was tenth. Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was only 13th but is almost sure to make improvements on day two. The private riders placed well behind the best of the officially supported machines, as Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) completed the overnight third row.

Alto Evolution Honda rider Josh Brookes scored 14th best time on his CBR1000RR, but a double bike failure for his fellow Aussie and Alto Evolution rider Karl Muggeridge prevented him from setting even a single qualifying lap. The last two riders into the top 16 today were lone Yamaha YZF Team rider Shinichi Nakatomi and DFX Corse Honda rider Steve Martin. New SBK inductee Jakub Smrz (Team Caracchi Ducati SC) was a battling 17th, one place up on Ellison.

Just a reminder to our Pit Lane race fans, because of religious considerations in Qatar the Feature Races will take place on Saturday, Feb 24th, with Final Practice and Superpole on Friday 23rd.

Thursday Practice: 1. Haga (Yamaha) 1m59.019s; 2. Toseland (Honda) 1m59.056s; 3. Biaggi (Suzuki) 1m59.369s; 4. Corser (Yamaha) 1m59.440s; 5. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m59.459s; 6. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m59.507s; 7. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m59.805s; 8. Xaus (Ducati) 2m00.244s; 9. Rolfo (Honda) 2m00258s; 10. Nieto (Kawasaki) 2m00.309s; etc.

SuperPole winner Corser returns to the Yamaha pit garage

Troy Corser Ousts Biaggi to Score SuperPole Win #39 - Extending all-Time Recrd
Saturday Feb 24th - Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) overcame two practice crashes earlier in the weekend to score his 39th Superpole win at Losail, after qualifying second quickest in regulation practice. Corser's lap of 1'58.402 was the fastest of the weekend, and was set on race tyres, in his first ever meeting for his new Yamaha team.

A stunning lap by Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) in his first ever Superpole contest was a remarkable feat for the new SBK force, and looked for some time like his 1'58.724 would be the Superpole winner. He was only 0.322 seconds from Corser in the final analysis, and ran qualifying tyres in his flying lap. Pre-Superpole fastest rider James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was last rider away but he made a couple of small errors in his Superpole lap, losing the chance of the win. In scoring third place he nonetheless earned a coveted front row start. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) went fourth fastest on his new R1, and joins the cream of the Superpole crop on the front row for Saturday's two 18-lap races.

Troy Corser gets down to business to on the R1 to claim SuperPole for the season opener at Losail

Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) slipped and slid to fifth fastest time in Superpole, and was one place ahead of a strangely subdued Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox), who only went sixth. Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) once more rounded out the top seven after a hot day of qualifying at the 5.380km Losail circuit. A quite brilliant second day for Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) saw him take a 2006 specification GSX-R1000 to a second row start. in eighth place, impressing all who watched with his maturity in the pressurised scenario of Superpole.

Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) only rated his fitness at 75% today but he punched hard in Superpole to take ninth best time out of 23 riders, despite his machine suffering from chatter and requiring a high degree of steering effort. Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) set a workmanlike lap to earn second spot on row three at Losail - and the last place inside the psychologically important top ten. Ruben Xaus (Team Sterilgarda Ducati) went 11th, with the hard pushing style of Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) taking him to a third row starting place.

The new generation of DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres confirmed the results of the Pirelli tests at Losail in December. The best lap of last year was just destroyed by James Toseland in regulation qualifying, dropping the record on race tyres by 1.4" (after a 1'58.6 lap). Then In Superpole Troy Corser scored an even better time, also on race tyres. After the second SBK qualifying session, the free sessions were saved for 'long runs', which indicated that with Pirellis and the right setup it's possible to compete for the whole race at record pace. In Superpole, the riders earned first row starts using both qualifying rubber (Biaggi, Toseland) and race tyre solutions (Haga, Corser). If raceday temperatures will allow it, some riders could race with the same tyre choice as Superpole, confirming the incredible level of performance reached by Pirelli's race tyres, thanks to the development carried on during the off-season.

600cc World Supersport Qualifying
The top four Supersport riders put clear distance between themselves and their peers in the 600cc division, with Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World SSP Racing) taking only his third career pole, with an impressive new WSS best lap of 2'02.081. Close behind, only 0.102 adrift, was reigning double champion Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) with first-day provisional pole man Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) now third, even after improving on his Thursday time. Fourth, and last man on the front row of the grid, was Charpentier's team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda).
The second row of the grid will be led away by GIL Kawasaki pairing Fabien Foret and Pere Riba (GIL Kawasaki) in an outstanding showing for the all-new ZX-6R.
Broc Parkes (Yamaha World SSP Racing) and Gianluca Nannelli (Team Caracchi Ducati SC 749R) finished of the second row, with the fastest GSX-R rider on show being Barry Veneman (Hoegee Suzuki) 11th.
Every one of the 36 riders in the field qualified for Saturday's 18-lap race.

Max Biaggi, after a year in exile from MotoGP racing, wins his first ever World Superbike race.

Biaggi and Toseland Trade Opening Championship Round Wins

Superbike Race One: The Emperor Reigns in Qatar.
Max Biaggi, the Roman Emperor, took his maiden win in the World Superbike Championship in his first race in the series. Biaggi on the Alstare Suzuki rode a determined race and saw off a serious challenge from James Toseland on the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda. Toseland took the second position with Lorenzo Lanzi rounding off the final podium place. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss could only manage 5th place just behind Biaggi's team mate Yukio Kagayama.

Ex champion Troy Corser and his team-mate Nori Haga who were so dominate in practice and SuperPole were only able to finished 9th and 8th respectfully. They had looked powerful at the start, taking the first and second position through the first corner. Toseland was in the fray as well and Biaggi was in 4th after running wide at the first corner whilst in 1st place which caused him to drop back a bit.

Biaggi (3) moves past Corser (11) and Haga (41) in Race One to reel-in on Toseland

Toseland powered his way through taking the lead on the 3rd lap. His Honda had impressive power leaving the two Honda riders looking up his tail pipes on consecutive laps. Biaggi was biding his time hanging onto the back of the front three. On the 5th lap Max moved up past Haga and then put a move on Corser. The Australian wasn't going to give up without a fight and came straight back at the ex MotoGP rider. It was a foregone conclusion though and Biaggi made the move stick for second place on the next lap.

The battle for second place that was being waged allowed Toseland to pull out a gap but any breathing space the Honda rider thought might be coming was soon over as once Biaggi cleared Corser he reeled in the Englishman and by the next lap he was all over him.

Biaggi and Toseland proceeded to beat each other up and swap places. Biaggi favoured a move on Toseland at the end of the main straight but three times he overcooked it into the corner allowing Toseland to slip past. Biaggi rides a very neat style indicative of his 250cc days where it's important to be neat and carry corner speed. This style allowed him to pull away a little from Toseland in the corners but the Honda would be straight back at him on the exit of the corner.

On the 13th lap Biaggi made a move on Toseland and managed to make it stick and despite a monumental effort Toseland wasn't able to do anything about it and the Italian eventually took the flag just under 1.5 seconds clear of Toseland.

The threat from Corser and Haga melted away as the two Yamaha riders found themselves swallowed back into the pack with what looked like tyre wear problems. Haga is notoriously hard on tyres but Corser can conserve them so it was unusual for them both to fade at the same time.

Their disappointment allowed Bayliss, Kagayama and Lanzi to fight for the final podium position. Bayliss had battled with Kagayama through much of the race with the current champion in the unusual position of battling for 5th place. Kagayama got the better of the Ducati rider and looked good for the final podium position however a late surge from Bayliss's team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi saw the Italian rider surge past both Bayliss and Kagayama to give Ducati something to cheer about.

"What a fantastic start to my new (Superbike) experience, exclaimed a jubliant Max Biaggi. "To begin with a win is wonderful and I dedicate it to our Team Boss, Francis Batta, who couldn’t be here with us today. I’m sure he watched it on TV and it must have made him wish he was here. This championship is tough and for sure there are a lot of good riders, so I don’t think it’s always going to be like this. I want to thank my team for all their hard work and support over the past few months, which has made all this possible." Special mention to Kawasaki riders Regis Laconi and Fonsi Nieto who managed to take each other out on the 13th lap and then proceeded to hug each other. I doubt that their team manager will be giving them such a warm welcome. He's probably kicking himself that he elected to get rid of Chris Walker who was his best rider last year.

And Christian Zaiser brought the MVAugusta F4 home in 16th place in their first race.

The Ducati's riders are going to find it tough this year as all the other teams are doing a huge amount of development on their bikes, including playing catch up with traction control software were Ducati had held an advantage up until now. Now Ducati is stuck running last year's 999F06 machine whilst they wait to see if the SBK regulations allow them to run the new generation 1088 bike next year.

SUPERBIKE Race 1: (Laps 18 = 96,840 Km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Team / Time / Gap
1 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36'10.115 /
2 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 36'11.598 / 1.483
3 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 36'24.021 / 13.906
4 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36'24.934 / 14.819
5 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 36'27.420 / 17.305
6 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki Germany / 36'35.046 / 24.931
7 / R. ROLFO / ITA / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 36'35.280 / 25.165
8 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36'37.435 / 27.32
9 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36'41.352 / 31.237
10 / R. XAUS / ESP / Team Sterilgarda / 36'41.784 / 31.669
11 / S. MARTIN / AUS / D.F.X. Corse / 36'52.470 / 42.355
12 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF / 36'56.960 / 46.845
13 / A. POLITA / ITA / Celani Team Suzuki Italia / 37'09.322 / 59.207
14 / J. SMRZ / CZE / Team Caracchi Ducati SC / 37'10.411 / 1'00.296
15 / D. ELLISON / GBR / Team Pedercini / 37'31.158 / 1'21.043
Fastest Lap 7° Max Biaggi 1'59.275 162,381 Km/h

Superbike Race Two: Toseland Triumphs in Race Two
James Toseland took the win in Race Two at Qatar after a determined ride and pressure from debutante Max Biaggi. Toseland had taken the lead on the first lap and then put his head down and tried to pull away from the chasing riders. Haga, Corser and Biaggi were again the riders at the front and this time the Yamaha's lasted a lot longer before suffering from the tyre wear that curtailed their threat in race one.

It was Biaggi that finally broke away after a charging Toseland. The Italian tried to close the gap to Toseland but it was looking unlikely as Toseland managed to maintain a gap of around 2 seconds. However with 3 laps to go
Biaggi started to cut into Toseland's lead and on the final lap was close enough to taste his exhaust fumes but it wasn't enough and Toseland took the flag 0.7 seconds ahead of Biaggi.

Corser and Haga had done everything they could to stay with Toseland and it looked as if they would be able to last the distance but again Haga's front tyre and Corser's rear tyre started to go off dropping them back. Haga was throwing his R1 into the corners showing an almost supernatural ability to keep the front end from tucking in which was stunning given his lack of front end grip in the first race. Despite his white knuckle antics he was
passed by his team-mate on lap 9 and was unable to stay with Corser. Troy managed to conserve his tyres better than his team-mate this time and the rear tyre problem from the first race didn't seem as bad and after Haga
dropped away he rode a lonely last third of the race to take a well earned third place.

Haga had dropped further behind and as the race came to the end he found himself under pressure from Fonsi Nieto on the Kawasaki. Keeping his head down Haga managed to fend off the charging Kawasaki and crossed line in fourth place just ahead of the Spaniard.

Biaggi's Team-mate, Yukio Kagayama, had a race long battle with Nieto and Lanzi. The Alstare Corona Suzuki rider had been pushing Troy Bayliss until Bayliss made a mistake and dropped back. On the 13th lap Kagayama passed Nieto and kept ahead of him for 3 laps but he couldn't maintain his position and Nieto passed him on the 16th lap. Kagayama pushed his squirming Suzuki but couldn't hold onto the back of Nieto and crossed the line 0.8 seconds behind the Kawasaki.

Troy Bayliss's day didn't get any better in race two. He dropped back to 12th place on lap 6 and then had to fight his way back to finally finish in 8th place. His Ducati team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was unable to duplicate his podium finish from race one but will be happy in the knowledge that his 7th place in race two means he beat his team-mate and current world champion in both races.

Fonsi Nieto on the PSG-1 Kawasaki had a steady race starting in 5th position and finishing in 5th position after his battle with Kagayama. He could see Haga dropping back towards him in the closing stages of the race but despite his best efforts he was unable to catch the Yamaha that crossed the line just under 0.5 seconds ahead of him.

Steve Martin and Michel Fabrizio on the DFX Honda will have mixed emotions about today. Martin finished in 18th in race two and Fabrizio in 12th. Both riders have suffered from a lack of testing time and will only improve as the season progresses.

Toseland, the only rider to stay with Biaggi in Race One, was a popular Race Two winner. “I have had a great weekend,” said a jubilant Toseland. “I was quickest on Friday morning and in the top three in all sessions. My lowest position was sixth and that was in the warm up this morning. I was quite disappointed with the first race, but in the second race we set the pace and got to the front. The last two laps were difficult but we made it and got first place. This is my seventh year in World Superbikes and I am fitter than ever. We deserve to be at the front after a winter of hard work and to get there in the first race weekend is brilliant.”

And for Biaggi, "This racing is fun! I wished I had discovered this championship years ago. In the second race, I was catching James (Toseland) and I think I could’ve caught him if there had been three or four more laps. We made a small adjustment to the bike for the second race and maybe it wasn’t the right thing, but we still nearly managed to win it! Now we are off to one of my favourite tracks, Phillip Island. I’m looking forward to it and having more fun."

There's no rest for the teams as next weekend sees the championship at Philip Island in Australia. Corser and Bayliss in particular will be keen to do well at their home round and it's also a circuit that Max Biaggi knows
well from his MotoGP days. Was Biaggi's performance a flash in the pan? Will Toseland continue to do
well? Will the Ducati's get back on the pace? Will the Kawasaki's take each other off again? All that and more will be answered right here at FastDates.com next week.

SUPERBIKE Race 2: (Laps 18 = 96,840 Km)
1 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 36'09.433 /
2 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36'10.171 / 0.738
3 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36'16.819 / 7.386
4 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 36'24.417 / 14.984
5 / F. NIETO / ESP / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 36'24.466 / 15.033
6 / Y. KAGAYAMA / JPN / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 36'25.344 / 15.911
7 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 36'26.097 / 16.664
8 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 36'32.682 / 23.249
9 / R. XAUS / ESP / Team Sterilgarda / 36'33.715 / 24.282
10 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki Germany / 36'42.913 / 33.48
11 / R. LACONI / FRA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 36'43.437 / 34.004
12 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / D.F.X. Corse / 36'46.730 / 37.297
13 / J. BROOKES / AUS / Alto Evolution Honda / 36'51.497 / 42.064
14 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Alto Evolution Honda / 36'51.792 / 42.359
15 / A. POLITA / ITA / Celani Team Suzuki Italia / 36'55.639 / 46.206
Fastest Lap 4° Max Biaggi 1'59.194 162,491 Km/h
Record Lap: 2007 Max Biaggi 1'59.275 162,380 Km/h
Best Lap: 2007 T.Corser 1'58.402 163,580

Superbike Riders Championship Standings:
1 TOSELAND 45, 2 BIAGGI 45, 3 LANZI 25, 4 CORSER 23, 5 KAGAYAMA 23, 6 HAGA 21,
7 BAYLISS 19, 8 NEUKIRCHNER 16, 9 XAUS 13, 10 NIETO 11, 11 ROLFO 9, 12 LACONI 5,
13 MARTIN 5, 14 FABRIZIO 4, 15 NAKATOMI 4.

Sofuoglu Wins 600cc Supersport First Time Out on new Honda CBR600RR
A crash while leading dropped 2005 and 2006 World Supersport Champion Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) out of the points entirely, and allowed his closely following team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) to secure the first WSS race win of 2007. Riding a new Honda CBR600RR this season, Sofuoglu was some 3.4 seconds up on second place rider, and pole man, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha SSP Racing). The only consolation for Charpentier was a new lap record, 2m 02.949s, set on lap three.

A good start from the leading three riders meant that third place man Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) was too far back to make any real impression on the podium, until Charpentier fell and pushed the Japanese up to third. It was nonetheless a good weekend in general for Fujiwara and his team. Fabien Foret and Pere Riba (both GIL Kawasaki) raced to the line to battle for fourth place, with the Frenchman, who had survived a brake induced crash in the morning warm-up largely unscathed, just beating Riba in a near photo finish.
The top Ducati was that of Gianluca Nannelli (Caracchi Ducati SC) in eighth place, with Barry Veneman (Hoegee Suzuki) the top 600 Suzuki rider in ninth place. Only 24 riders finished, from 36 starters.

“I knew I could be challenging for the podium,” said Sofuoglu, who is no stranger to wins in WSS. “Kevin went away in front very fast but after only three or four laps I knew I could increase my speed and make an attack. I could ride at a high pace consistently, as could Sebastien, and for sure if he did not crash we would have fought for the win. I am really happy because last year Sebastian was better than me but I think this year we are more like the same.”

SUPERSPORT: (Laps 18 = 96,840 Km
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap
1 / K. SOFUOGLU / TUR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 37'22.452 /
2 / K. CURTAIN / AUS / Yamaha World SSP Racing / 37'25.865 / 3.413
3 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Althea Honda Team / 37'28.680 / 6.228
4 / F. FORET / FRA / Team Gil Motor Sport / 37'36.211 / 13.759
5 / P. RIBA / ESP / Team Gil Motor Sport / 37'36.309 / 13.857
6 / R.HARMS / DEN / Stiggy Motorsport Honda / 37'36.986 / 14.534
7 / M.ROCCOLI / ITA / Yamaha Team Italia / 37'41.102 / 18.65
8 / G.NANNELLI / ITA / Team Caracchi Ducati SC / 37'41.227 / 18.775
9 / B. VENEMAN / NED / Team Hoegee Suzuki / 37'41.743 / 19.291
10 / V. KALLIO / FIN / Team Hoegee Suzuki / 37'43.047 / 20.595
11 / J. FORES / ESP / HP Racing / 37'43.269 / 20.817
12 / C. JONES / GBR / Revè Ekerold Honda Racing / 37'44.850 / 22.398
13 / L. ALFONSI / ITA / Althea Honda Team / 37'49.355 / 26.903
14 / D. SALOM FUENTES / ESP / Yamaha Spain / 37'51.020 / 28.568
15 / G.VIZZIELLO / ITA / RG Team / 37'56.968 / 34.516
Fastest Lap 3° Sébastien Charpentier 2'02.949 157,529 Km/h
Lap record: 2006 S.Charpentier 2'03.921 156,290 Km/h
Best Lap: 2007 K.Curtain 2'02.081 158,650

Supersport Riders Championship Standings:
1 SOFUOGLU 25, 2 CURTAIN 20, 3 FUJIWARA 16, 4 FORET 13, 5 RIBA 11, 6 HARMS 10,
7 ROCCOLI 9, 8 NANNELLI 8, 9 VENEMAN 7, 10 KALLIO 6, 11 FORES 5, 12 JONES 4,
13 ALFONSI 3, 14 SALOM 2, 15 VIZZIELLO 1

SBK CIRCUS MAKES A BREATHLESS DASH TO OZ FOR ROUND TWO
A mere eight days after the first round of the World Superbike championship gets underway at Losail on 24th February the second round will take place on Sunday 4 March, at the spectacularly-appointed Phillip island circuit in Australia.

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