Suzuki dominates World Superbike Championships

Klaus Klaffenböck, Klaffi Honda Team manager: “I nearly can’t believe what happened today. Max did a great job in qualifying and Superpole yesterday but I never thought that he would be able to achieve such impressive results. After the bad surprise with the broken collarbone Frankie is doing rather well again. Today he was absolutely busy with autographs for his fans. I think he will be fit for the Valencia round!” If you read German, you can get more detail at the Klaffi Honda web site

Norick Abe, Yamaha Motor France IPONE, sixth race 3, eighth race 4, sixth in title with 33 points: "It has been a long time since I rode or practiced in the rain, so I did not have the right rain settings. We made the suspension much softer for the race but it was not enough. It was not bad in race one. I am sixth in the championship and that's because I always make the most of things in the races. I think soon we can get to the podium." Martial Garcia, Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France IPONE: "Abe was not in a bad situation until the rain came. He was in with the front runners in the dry but when it rained he slipped back a little, as he couldn't get the grip. He is sixth in the championship so that's not so bad. An unhappy weekend for Sébastien (Gimbert), but there will be better ones."

Andrew Pitt, Yamaha Motor Italia, fifth race 3, DNF race 4, seventh in title with 31 points: "I feel like I've been in a boxing ring for 15 rounds. I was very careful through turn eight and I just touched the throttle, to get ready for the corner, and I went straight over the handlebars. It was the first lap, the tyre was new and cold. The same thing happened to Haga. The weather conditions, with so much wind and then the rain, were as bad as any I've ridden in here."

Massimo Meregalli, Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia; "Up to yesterday Andrew was pretty good and finished fifth in the first race. Then it started to rain and he fell in the first lap of the re-start, same place as Noriyuki. Both riders say that they don't know why and there were four riders off in total on exactly the same corner, so it seems strange. When it is wet anything can happen, but for me the dry result for Andrew was OK. Every time we ride with the new bike there is a small improvement."

James Toseland, Ducati Xerox Team, 14th race 3, DNF race four, last year’s champion and now eighth in the championship with 22 points: ”I’m going away from here with one point after working so hard this weekend. I was up there in top five in every practice on race tyres, so it wasn’t a coincidence. In Superpole the time I did would have put me second in every other session and I was tenth, then we had problems with the rear in race 1 and with Muggeridge who cut me up in race 2. What more can I say?”

Karl Muggeridge, ten Kate Honda, eighth race 3, DNF race 4, 12th in title with 15 points: “I didn’t feel so bad after the crash this morning but I got knocked about a bit and I’ve definitely felt better. The bike definitely didn’t feel as good this morning as it did during Superpole yesterday and warm-up didn’t help because it was wet anyway. It was getting pretty aggressive in that first part of race two but I was comfortable and the bike was feeling good, even though I hadn’t got a great start. I was battling with James Toseland and we got into a situation at turn 10 where I just had nowhere to go. It’s disappointing because we’d been making steady progress right through the weekend and had a pretty good qualifying and Superpole. After the crash in warm-up this morning I wanted a couple of good results for the team, who have worked really hard, but I guess that’ll have to wait until Valencia.”

Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha Motor Italia, DNF in both races 3 and 4, 11th in championship with 16 points: "We did not have a good weekend here. We chose the same wet tyre as this morning but the feeling was not the same as we had earlier. We just have to move on to Valencia and forget about today."

Steve Martin Team Foggy Petronas, running 25th in the championship with one point: “To qualify in second at my home circuit and to set my fastest lap here is something that I will remember for a long time. Both Garry and I are on the pace and that is good for PETRONAS and the team. When we get a bit more power, instead of just catching people we will be able to catch them and pass them. I got a better start in race two but was getting chewed up down the staights. After the restart I went into turn one as normal and, before I even got on the gas, the bike high-sided me and landed on top of me, driving me into the ground. I had a terrible start in the first race and Muggeridge made it hard for me to get past. The group in front had broken up by then but once I was past him I was able to pull a bit of a gap before I had to retire. They were the windiest conditions I have raced in.”

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