Troy Corser wheelies the 3-cylinder 900cc Foggy Petronas Superbike.

2003 SBKWorld Superbike Championship Round One

Troy Corser Makes Front Row on Foggy Petronas
at Valencia World Superbike Opening Round
as Neil Hodgson gives the new Ducati Fila 999F its first pole position

Valencia, Spain, Sat, March 1st: Neil Hodgson (Team Ducati Fila) powered the brand-new Ducati 999 to its debut pole position on his first appearance for the factory team, during today’s qualifying sessions for the opening World Superbike round at Valencia, Spain. Hodgson’s time of 1’34.863 around the 4.005 km Ricardo Tormo circuit earned him the eleventh Superbike pole position of his career and the 29-year-old British rider will line up on the grid for tomorrow’s two races with James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) alongside in second place. The front row was completed by Ducati Fila team-mate Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas).

Foggy PETRONAS Racing made a grand entrance onto the World Superbike stage today when Troy Corser made the front row for tomorrow’s firstrace of the season. The Australian maestro was third fastest in the morning’s final qualifying session, with team-mate James Haydon less than a second behind in ninth, before Troy clinched a front row slot with an impressive Superpole performance. And that was more than team owner Carl Fogarty had dared expect from a new bike and team which had only started their testing programme six months ago. He said: “I don’t think it has ever been done for a new bike to be on the front row at the first meeting. I think we have opened the eyes of the motorcycling world and this was more than I could have hoped for, so far. But I still feel a realistic hope for tomorrow would be for both bikes to finish in the top ten in both races.”

Troy said: “Before the start of the weekend I would have been happy with the second row, aiming for front
row by the middle of the season. The fact that we are there for the first race is testament to how well the
whole team is working together and the support from PETRONAS. My Superpole lap wasn’t perfect, but I
haven’t done one for 18 months! Now we just have to wait to see what tomorrow brings.”

Neil in the trenches contemplating his fate, preparing to go over the top. Bets anyone? Note the cinephotofeme.

“So far so good” declared Neil after Superpole, “but I’m not getting carried away because tomorrow is the big day. I’ve got the best ever race set-up I’ve ever had here and I’ve been racing for about thirteen years so I know I’ve got a great feeling with the bike. I seem to have overcome my notorious hatred for this circuit now that I’m on pole, and I actually quite enjoy riding around the place! I’ve got the track dialed, I know all the points, it doesn’t seem like an effort at all to go quick around here. Testing and practice has gone really well so far and I’ve fitted into the team. I had decided I was going to have to deal with everything one round at a time, but I’ve changed my tactics and it’s one session at a time now! So all that I’m thinking about is the morning warm-up and then the races tomorrow.”

“I feel a lot more comfortable on this track this year with the new Ducati 999” commented Ruben. “My Superpole lap time was not so bad but there was a lot of wind everywhere and it pushes you to one side a bit. For me it’s important to win the championship this year, not just do well in Superpole. The season is long and I can’t wait to get started tomorrow. Everything is new this year, a new bike, a new sponsor and
a new team-mate. For sure there ’s pressure at my home circuit, especially with Neil going well. The front of the bike is not working as well as last weekend and that changes my style of riding a bit, but I’m looking forward to racing tomorrow because I’m happy with my set-up on my race tyres.”

It was day of highs and lows for Corser’s team-mate James Haydon, who knocked half a second off his
best time in provisionally qualifying in ninth place. But a slow crash at the end of the afternoon’s final free
practice session preceded a difficult Superpole lap, in which he finished 14th fastest.

James said: “The morning went brilliantly. The team worked really hard to get my bike working well and I
knew I had more to come. I did good times on race tyres and qualifiers and then, in the afternoon,
suffered problems which meant I was down to only one bike and missed half a session. Then that bike
jumped out of gear into neutral and I ran into the gravel and tipped over. The tyre I had for Superpole just
didn’t work properly and I was two seconds down on times I had done on race tyres. I have just got to put
that behind me and concentrate on the race.”

Times: Superpole, World Superbike Championship Round One, Spain
1 Hodgson Fila Ducati 1:34.863; 2 Toseland HM Plant Ducati 1:35.429; 3 Xaus Fila Ducati 1:35.827; 4 Corser Foggy PETRONAS Racing 1:35.831; 5 Laconi NCR 1:35.831; 6 Martin DFX 1:35.927; 7 Chili Team PSG-1 1:36.114; 8 Walker HM Plant Ducati 1:36.145; 9 Pedercini Team Pedercini 1:36.473; 10 Borja DFX Racing 1:36.974; 11 Borciani DFX Racing 1:37.070; 12 Lavilla Alstare Suzuki 1:37.168; 13 Sanchini Kawasaki Bertocchi 1:37.927; 14 Haydon Foggy PETRONAS Racing 1:38.809

Saturday, afternoon Free Practice:
1 Hodgson (Fila Ducati) 1:34.633; 2 Xaus (Fila Ducati) 1:35.415; 3 Walker (HM Plant Ducati) 1:35.484; 4
Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) 1:35.718; 5 Laconi (Caracchi NCR) 1:36.142; 6 Chili (Team PSG-1)
1:36.246; 7 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:36.580; 8 Garcia (Caracchi NCR) 1:36.996; 9 Borja
(DFX Racing) 1:37.059; 10 Martin (DFX Racing) 1:37.180; 19 Haydon (Foggy PETRONAS Racing)
1:38.556.

Saturday Qualifying Practice
1 Xaus Fila Ducati 1:35.069; 2 Hodgson Fila Ducati 1:35.142; 3 Corser Foggy PETRONAS Racing 1:35.200
4 Toseland HM Plant Ducati 1:35.347; 5 Walker HM Plant Ducati 1:35.548; 6 Martin DFX Racing 1:35.552
7 Chili Team PSG-1 1:35.741; 8 Laconi NCR 1:36.150; 9 Haydon Foggy PETRONAS Racing 1:36.176
10 Bussei UnionBike 1:36.492.

Hodgson Lays down the Gauntlet by Andy Rixon

Sunday, Race One
Valencia Spain March 2nd: Neil Hodgson put on a dominant display at Valencia this morning in the 2003 World Superbike Championship season opener. The Englishman christened the brand new Ducati 999 F03 with it’s first race win at it’s debut. Hodgson, despite having surgery on his wrist during the off season, has been in stunning form during pre-season testing. Only last weekend he smashed the lap record at Valencia. Despite dropping back to fourth place at the start Hodgson soon pulled the pin and on lap five he took the lead and never looked back. He eventually took the chequered flag just under five seconds ahead of his team mate Ruben Xaus.

Xaus had looked very strong and was the only rider able to stay with Hodgson. However towards the end of the race he had a few problems with the rear setup of his bike and was unable to challenge his team mate for the win.

James Toseland was the rider who got the holeshot at the start. The HM Plant Ducati rider stormed away at the start followed by Xaus and then Chris Walker on the second HM Plant machine. The front four soon started to pull away from the chasing pack. On the fifth lap Hodgson and Xaus passed Toseland and Walker and tore away into the distance. Walker, who has not been on a Ducati for a number of years, was determined to put on a good performance and put his team mate under huge pressure.

On lap 12 Walker’s determination paid off when Toseland made a mistake allowing Walker to take third place.
Despite a monument effort from Toseland he wasn’t able to pass his team mate and Walker took the flag for the final podium position.

All eyes were on the Foggy PETRONAS team to see how they would do on their race debut. During qualifying Troy Corser had stunned the paddock by putting his machine on the front row of the grid in fourth place. No one had expected the bike to be on the pace so quickly and it’s a testament to the determination and professionalism of the team that it’s up there already. Unfortunately Troy ended up in the gravel on lap ten after he experienced so traction problems and a short run off area left him no choice but to drop the bike.
His team mate James Haydon was left to carry the flag for the team. Despite not having a setup he was fully
happy with, Haydon completed the race in twelfth place to give the team their first race finish.

Another machine making its debut on the grid was the Suzuki GSX 1000R of Gregorio Lavilla. The four cylinder machine running with a restrictor on the air box put on a good showing. After riding the 750cc Suzuki last season Lavilla is obviously enjoying the increased competitiveness of this new machine. He took the bike all the way to the flag finishing in seventh place. Without the air box restrictor this bike would be a front runner for sure.

Regis Laconi on the Caracchi NCR Ducati returned to the Superbike series after a season on the Aprilia in
MotoGP. The Frenchman put on a good performance passing Corser on alp three for fifth place and staying there to the flag. Australian Steve Martin on the DFX Ducati continued last season’s good form to finish in sixth place. Martin has been consistently quick all weekend and should be a strong challenge for the whole season.

Results Race One: 1 GBR Hodgson Neil Ducati Fila Ducati Ducati 999F03 23 36'56.205 2 ESP Xaus Ruben Ducati Fila Ducati Ducati 999F03 23 37'00.905 3 GBR Walker Chris HM Plant Ducati Ducati Ducati 998F02 23 37'08.582 4 GBR Toseland James HM Plant Ducati Ducati Ducati 998F02 23 37'08.887 5 FRA Laconi Régis Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'20.273 6 AUS Martin Steve D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'23.211 7 ESP Lavilla Gregorio Alstare Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki GSX 1000R 23 37'35.997 8 ITA Pedercini Lucio Team Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'45.867 9 ITA Borciani Marco D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'52.405 10 ESP Garcia David Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 38'02.533 11 ITA Clementi Ivan Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX7RR 23 38'05.344 12 GBR Haydon James Foggy PETRONAS Racing Foggy Foggy FP1 23 38'05.746 13 ITA Russo Nello Team Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 38'10.655 14 ESP Borja Juan Bautista D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 38'10.917 15 ESP Fuertes Sergio MIR Racing Suzuki Suzuki GSX 1000R 23 38'19.050 16 ESP Isaac Martin Benito Acumoto Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 22 38'03.534 RT ITA Chili Pierfrancesco Team PSG-1 Ducati Ducati 998RS 20 33'23.396 RT ITA Bussei Giovanni UnionBike GiMotorsp. Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 14 23'13.745 RT ITA Gramigni Alex UnionBike GiMotorsp. Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 14 23'37.336 RT ITA Foti Serafino Team Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998RS 10 17'24.078 RT AUS Corser Troy Foggy PETRONAS Racing Foggy Foggy FP1 9 14'44.875 RT ITA Tortoroglio Walter White Endurance Honda Honda VTR 1000 SP2 9 15'14.566 RT ITA Sanchini Mauro Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX7RR 4 6'41.626

Hodgson does the Double

Race Two
Neil Hodgson on the Ducati Fila took the chequered flag to race two to complete his perfect weekend. Hodgson had been the fastest man in normal qualifying all weekend and took the pole in Superpole. These combined with his two race wins and a new lap record gave him a clean sweep. The British rider had admitted to nerves during the opening laps of the first race but these were not in evidence at the start of the second race as Hodgson got the holeshot and never looked back.

“Fastest in every practice session”, said Hodgson. “Pole, lap record, double win on my worst track so I’m so pleased with everything. I made one mistake in race 2, when I was braking into the first corner with a back-marker on the inside. He moved to the outside and nearly pushed me off the track so I was screaming in my helmet, thinking it was all over.”

Ruben Xaus was forced to stare at the exhaust pipes of his team mate again as the Spaniard was unable to catch an on-fire Hodgson. Xaus had been battling setup problems for most of the weekend and wasn’t 100% with his race settings but was happy to finish the meeting with two second places.

“The set-up was not 100% and half-way through the race I lost Neil, so I just settled for second place,” said Xaus. “There wasn’t much I could do today about my Ducati Fila team-mate, who rode two excellent races. It’s been a hard weekend for me with the front not quite right, but I came away with two seconds and 40 points, which is good for the championship.”

James Toseland and Chris Walker decided that they were going to continue their race one conflict only this time it was James Toseland who got the better of his HM Plant Ducati team mate. Toseland, who made a mistake in race one allowing Walker through, was determined not to lose out this time despite starting the race on his number two machine.

“I was disappointed in the first race,” said Toseland. “But I knew I could do it in this race. We pulled out the second bike and I knew that if it was good I’d be on the podium."

Carl Fogarty has much to be pleased with this weekend after Troy Corser took seventh place in ace two for the Foggy PETRONAS team. The Australian was determined to give the team a top ten finish after a fault rim caused him to crash in race one. He pushed hard and eventually decided to settle for seventh place, a well deserved result for the team after all the hard work and long hours that have been put in just to get the bike on the track.

“In the second race I could have pushed harder towards the end” said Corser. “But I didn’t have the acceleration to catch the two in front and the guy behind was quite far away, so I wanted to bring the bike home safely rather than risking it at the limit. The Michelin front tyre is excellent and the rear was better than any I have had before, and quite consistent. I’m really happy for a result like this in our first race, and also to be racing again.”

The unluckiest man of the day has to be Frankie Chili. In race one the Italian was forced out after his rear wheel hub broke. In race two he was given a ten seconds stop/go penalty for jumping the start. When the veteran rider came into the pits for his punishment it was judged that he hadn’t stopped for long enough and he was awarded another ten second penalty. Chili rejoined the track but retired on lap 14.

Gregorio Lavilla on the Suzuki GSX 1000R had another good race showing what the new Suzuki is capable off. He was involved in a long duel with Steve Martin on the DFX Ducati and it was Australian Martin who crossed the line first this time. NCR Ducati rider Frenchman Regis Laconi had to retire on lap five and was unable to emulate his race one performance.Tropy Corser’s team mate James Haydon had a disappointing second race having to retire with handling problems on lap 10.

Results Race Two: 1 GBR Hodgson Neil Ducati Fila Ducati Ducati 999F03 23 36'46.191; 2. ESP Xaus Ruben Ducati Fila Ducati Ducati 999F03 23 36'48.810; 3. GBR Toseland James HM Plant Ducati Ducati Ducati 998F02 23 36'59.659 4 GBR Walker Chris HM Plant Ducati Ducati Ducati 998F02 23 37'09.617 5 AUS Martin Steve D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'22.730 6 ESP Lavilla Gregorio Alstare Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki GSX 1000R 23 37'24.785 7 AUS Corser Troy Foggy PETRONAS Racing Foggy Foggy FP1 23 37'29.160 8 ESP Borja Juan Bautista D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'37.816 9 ITA Pedercini Lucio Team Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'39.015 10 ITA Borciani Marco D.F.X. Racing Team Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'40.912 11 ITA Bussei Giovanni UnionBike GiMotorsp. Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 23 37'46.701 12 ESP Garcia David Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 37'48.305 13 ITA Sanchini Mauro Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX7RR 23 37'48.584 14 ITA Clementi Ivan Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX7RR 23 37'56.076 15 ITA Russo Nello Team Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998RS 23 38'03.888 16 ITA Tortoroglio Walter White Endurance Honda Honda VTR 1000 SP2 23 38'14.711 17 ESP Isaac Martin Benito Acumoto Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 22 37'59.558 RT ESP Fuertes Sergio MIR Racing Suzuki Suzuki GSX 1000R 16 26'29.904 RT ITA Chili Pierfrancesco Team PSG-1 Ducati Ducati 998RS 13 22'12.149 RT GBR Haydon James Foggy PETRONAS Racing Foggy Foggy FP1 9 15'10.863 RT FRA Laconi Régis Caracchi NCR Nortel Net. Ducati Ducati 998RS 5 8'07.142 RT ITA Foti Serafino Team Pedercini Ducati Ducati 998RS 2 3'46.803 NS ITA Gramigni Alex UnionBike GiMotorsp. Yamaha Yamaha YZF R1 0

Championship Points: 1. GBR N. Hodgson Ducati 50 25/25; 2. ESP R. Xaus Ducati 40 20/20; 3 GBR J. Toseland Ducati 29 13/16. 4 GBR C. Walker Ducati 29 16/13; 5 AUS S. Martin Ducati 21 10/11; 6 ESP G. Lavilla Suzuki 19 910 7 ITA L. Pedercini Ducati 15 8/7; 8 ITA M. Borciani Ducati 13 7/6; 9 FRA R. Laconi Ducati 11 11/ 10; ESP J. Borja Ducati 10 28 11 ESP D. Garcia Ducati 10 64 12 AUS T. Corser Foggy 9 9 13 ITA I. Clementi Kawasaki 7 5/2; 14 ITA G. Bussei Yamaha 5 0/5; 15 GBR J. Haydon Foggy 4 0/4; 16 ITA N. Russo Ducati 4 3/1; 17 ITA M. Sanchini Kawasaki 3 3; 18 ESP S. Fuertes Suzuki 1 1.

---