World Superbike Championships - Corser and Suzuki take the title

Troy Corser is the 2005 Superbike World Champion following the penultimate round of the series held at Imola, Italy here today. Corser finished a very close second to his nearest rival Chris Vermeulen (Honda) in the first race of the day, which took part on a drying track after earlier rain. But, just before the start of the second race, the heavens opened and deluged the 4.933 kilometre circuit. The riders and officials waited and inspected the aging circuit which still has the original racing surface in some places and decided it was too dangerous to hold the event under the conditions and decreed the race cancelled. The cancellation meant Corser’s points lead was unbeatable in the remaining races, giving him and Suzuki’s GSX1000R this year’s championship!

For Corser, it was an unfortunate way to win the title – ten years after his first World Superbike Championship, he has proven over the years that he is a fierce competitor and he wanted to win the championship on the racetrack.

“It’s great to be World Champion”, he said, “but it hasn’t happened the way I wanted. “

“The organisers definitely made the right decision by cancelling the second race because the conditions were diabolical. It was unbelievably dangerous out there as there was so much standing water on the track and, if we had raced, I’m sure there would’ve been a lot of crashes for sure.

“It was the best decision for the safety of the riders without a doubt.

“The groundwork for our success started in our very first test back at the end of last year. Since then the whole team have worked hard and given me a wonderful package of a bike and the results have come. In the past few years, I never lost faith in my own ability and Francis and Batta realised that and gave me a chance to prove that I could be Champion again. I want to thank them, the whole team and also all the hospitality staff who have looked after me during the year.

“I want to dedicate this victory also to our good friend Kirk McCarthy. I’m sure today he was watching over me, cheering me on and probably drinking a Corona at the same time,” said Corser, paying tribute to an Australian racer who lost his life to the sport.

Runner-up in the series and one of the rising stars of world motorcycle racing Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) scored a magnificent race win in pressurised circumstances in the first race. Needing to win to keep his title chances alive, he fought a one-on-one battle with Corser throughout the first race before securing the win but when the rain came, he lost his slender chance of taking the championship battle to the final round at Magny Cours one week hence.

Torrential and incessant rain arrived before the start of the delayed Superbike race two, and after several track inspections, the race organisers decided to cancel the second race. Despite Vermeulen’s win, in what transpired to be the only Superbike race of the day, new World Champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) finished a close second, gaining Vermeulen only five points, leaving an impossible deficit of 55 for Vermeulen to make up.

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