Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser was involved in two fiercely-contested battles with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) in today's pair of 25-lap races at Brands Hatch, winning the first and finishing a close second in the final race.Corser and Haga were wheel to wheel from the start to the finish of the races and served up a feast of closely-fought action in front of more than 100,000 spectators.
Team mate Yukio Kagayama defied doctor's advice and the pain barrier to finish with a superb pair of hard-fought ninth places. The Japanese rider was competing with badly bruised ribs, but somehow managed to bring his GSX-R1000 Suzuki home in both races.
In race one, Corser and Haga swapped the lead several times, but Corser was in front on the last lap and held on to take his eighth win of the season. Regis Laconi (Ducati) took third ahead of Chris Vermeulen (Honda), Chris Walker (Kawasaki) and Karl Muggeridge (Honda).
The second race was almost a repeat of the first, but this time the results were reversed: Corser took the lead on the last lap but was forced to take to the grass when he outbraked himself going into Westfield. Somehow he managed to stay onboard, but by the time he had recovered, Haga had a clear run to the chequered flag. Third spot went to Vermeulen with Walker fourth, Laconi fifth and Pitt (Yamaha) sixth.
Troy Corser: Race 1: 1st - Race 2: 2nd:
"Although we had a good points lead before today, I'm a racer and if I can win, I want to win. The only time I feel I cannot win is if something is wrong with the bike and then I'll take whatever points I can get. But my Alstare Suzuki was working superbly here at Brands today and so I went out to win both races. Nori Haga was very strong, but it was great fun to race against him and, although we were very close at times, there was nothing dangerous.
"In the first race there was no way I was going to settle for second and that's why I charged so hard. It's what I wanted to do in the second and I nearly managed it. I followed Nori for most of the race and made my move on the last lap. I got past him but then was in to Westfield a bit too hot and had to ease off the brakes and take to the grass. I kept it upright, gassed it again and rejoined the track, but then Nori was gone. I suppose I must have worried Francis Batta, our Team Manager, when I went off the track, but I still managed to take second without any problem. It's my aim to win as many races as possible this year and finish on the podium in all the ones I don't."
Yukio Kagayama: Race 1: 9th - Race 2: 9th:
I am very happy and relieved that today is over because that was more then hard work. I had more checks in the Clinica Mobile this morning and I was happy that they told me I had not broken any ribs. My ribs were still very sore and I had much pain today, but at least I was able to get on the bike, ride and get some points. Today I removed the strapping and instead I had two soft sponges, to act as cushions, under my leathers. Both races felt very, very long, but at least I finished them. Now I am going for a long sleep and a lot of rest."
Results:
Race 1: 1 Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Haga (J-Yamaha), 3 Laconi (F-Ducati), 4 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda), 5 Walker (GB-Kawasaki), 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda), 7 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 8 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 9 Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 10 Neukirchner (D-Honda).
Race 2: 1 Haga, 2 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Vermeulen, 4 Walker, 5 Laconi, 6 Pitt, 7 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 8 Lanzi, 9 Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 10 Bostrom (USA-Honda).
Championship Points: 1 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 344, 2 Vermeulen 234, 3 Laconi 214, 4 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 172, 5 Haga 167, 6 Toseland 161, 7 Walker 130, 8 Chili 111, 9 Pitt 95, 10 Abe 88.
Source: Team Suzuki Press Office