(World SuperBike Release) TOSELAND SETS PERSONAL BESTS AND EDGES AHEAD AGAIN - LOCAL RIDER DOUBLE SENDS 126,000 STRONG CROWD WILD After the wettest summer ever in the UK, the local British crowd got to worship their latest local sun god in perfect conditions at Brands Hatch, as James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) basked in the glow of his first ever World Superbike double win, scored his first ever wins at Brands Hatch, and took a huge 66 point lead into the final three rounds, which appear after the traditional summer break.

Toseland’s wins were his seventh and eighth of the year, and he has now won three of the last four races.

RACE ONE Toseland led from lap three onwards, but for the pole man Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) disaster awaited on lap five when he fell at Druids, after being passed by Toseland and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia). The Japanese was to run on himself at Surtees and finish seventh, not his expected second or first, leaving the consistently fast Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) 1.5 seconds down on Toseland at the flag, with astonishingly effective Brands debutant Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) third. Max’s team-mate Yukio Kagayama, who was also on for a podium at one stage, fell at high speed at Clearways, and was lucky to escape serious injury.

RACE TWO Toseland had to wait for more time to get to the front in race two, pursued by Haga and Corser, but when he did get into clear air he made the best of it and took a triumphant win, by 1.6 seconds. Haga scored second for his only podium of the day, Corser secured his second Brands podium after finishing a close third. In fourth place, eight seconds down on Toseland, Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) was impressive again, holding off Kagayama. Biaggi made a jump start and was penalised with a ride-through penalty which saw him restart well down but recover to take eighth in race two.

XAUS THE TOP DUCATI RIDER ON A DESPERATE DAY FOR BAYLISS AND LANZI Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) was the top scoring twin-cylinder rider in each race at Brands, running out fourth and sixth, while the highest place for Bayliss was a disappointing seventh in race two. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) was only 9th and 12th. For Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) a sixth an 11th place were poor rewards for a strong push, with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) tenth on two occasions.

KAWASAKI MEN SCORE POINTS Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) each scored points at Brands, with Laconi the more effective, with an eighth and ninth place finish. Nieto, who had to recover from a crash in qualifying, was only 12th and 13th, at a circuit he is not particularly keen on.

PRIVATEERS HAVE A BUSY DAY AT BRANDS For the majority of the pure private riders, Brands held few rewards, but notable rides came from Steve Martin (Yamaha YZF) in race one, as he scored 11th in his comeback event, but he used a different spec machine in race two and took a 16th place. Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda) ran out of fuel in race one and struggled with a poor front tyre option in race two, finishing 14th. Jakub Smrz (Ducati Caracchi) was 14th in race one, as wild card Brit Marty Nutt (Nuttravel.com) took a point for 15th in race one.

POS NO. RIDER BIKE TIME
1 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 36'34.177 (151,847 kph)
2 41 Haga N. (JPN) Yamaha YZF-R1 1.686
3 11 Corser T. (AUS) Yamaha YZF-R1 1.760
4 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 8.456
5 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 8.988
6 111 Xaus R. (ESP) Ducati 999 F06 9.470
7 21 Bayliss T. (AUS) Ducati 999 F07 18.313
8 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 19.116
9 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 20.501
10 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K6 20.586


Championship Standings: 1. Toseland 355 2. Haga 289 3. Biaggi 286 4. Bayliss 258 5. Corser 227 6. Xaus 163 7. Lanzi 161 8. Rolfo 146 9. Neukirchner 123 10. Kagayama 116

WORLD SUPERSPORT - SOFUOGLU CHAMPION! In finishing second at Brands Hatch Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) did enough to take his first ever World Championship crown, putting himself out of reach of his closest rivals with three races to spare. His remarkable year - still unfinished - has included six wins, two seconds and one third, and he now has 206 points to second place rider Fabien Foret’s (GIL Kawasaki) total of 126.

Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) won his first race of the season, and is now fifth overall, with Sofuoglu the runner-up today and Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) third, just ahead of Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda).

Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was supposed to start from pole but a late change of machine put him at the back of the starting grid, and he had to fight through the entire field to go 15th - later disqualified for not entering Parc Ferme after the race.

Early leader Craig Jones (Revè Ekerold Honda) fell on lap five, with the top British finisher being wild card rider Tommy Hill (Yamaha World SSP racing) in fifth.

In the championship Sofuoglu is 80 points up on Fabien Foret (GIL Kawasaki) who was only sixth today, with Brands non-finisher Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) still third.

SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP - CANEPA WINS Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) scored a clear win after an early fight in the Superstock race, with Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki) scoring second and Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) third, after losing his early lead. Championship top man Matteo Baiocco (Umbria Bike Yamaha) was fourth, and retained his championship lead. Mark Aitchison (Celani Team Suzuki Italia) had to start from the back of the grid but still finished eight. He set a new lap record on lap four, with a 1’29.317.

In the championship itself, Baiocco has 128 points, Simeon 116, Aitchison 108 and Canepa 105.

SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - BERGER BELTS OUT ANOTHER In the second Superstock race of the weekend, Frenchman Maxime Berger (team Trasimeno) put a significant 26 points between himself and second place championship rider Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Corse) who was fourth in the second Brands Hatch race. Andrea Antonelli (Team Italia Megabike) was second in race two, and now sits third overall, 37 points from Berger. The local crowd had something to cheer about as Greg Black (Capaul Black Racing Yamaha) was third. Domenico Colucci (Ducati Xerox) broke his right femur in a crash and was whisked to hospital for restorative surgery.