World Superbike
Imola: Team Alstare Suzuki preview
Troy relaxed and ready. Round 11, the penultimate round, takes place at the historic Enzo e Dino circuit in Imola , near Bologna in Italy. The 4.933 kilometre circuit has witnessed some terrific battles in the past, with the Colin Edwards/Troy ...
Edited: Sep 29, 2005, 1:43 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Troy relaxed and ready.
Round 11, the penultimate round, takes place at the historic Enzo e Dino circuit in Imola , near Bologna in Italy. The 4.933 kilometre circuit has witnessed some terrific battles in the past, with the Colin Edwards/Troy Bayliss confrontation for the title in 2002 one of the most memorable events in World Superbike history.
This year's season is reaching an exciting climax and, with just two rounds remaining, Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser knows that the title is tantalisingly close to his grasp. In recent races, his nearest competitor Chris Vermeulen (Honda) has managed to close the gap. Although Troy's lead is a healthy 60 points, there are still 100 points up for grabs and anything could happen, so Troy and the team are taking nothing for granted. Yukio Kagayama has never raced at Imola before, so once again he will have to learn the circuit. But, a fourth and fifth in the last hard-fought round at the EuroSpeedway Lausitzring has stemmed his previous run of bad luck and he is ready to attack the podium again.
Troy
I feel comfortable and ready for the last two rounds and, despite Chris Vermeulen's recent form, I know what has to be done. Imola is a bit of a difficult circuit because there are lots of ups and downs, so it is very important to have a good bike set-up if you want to put in good, consistently fast laps. I haven't had particularly good results at Imola in the last two seasons (though I did get runner-up spot in 2001), but the Alstare Suzuki is a completely different bike to the Petronas and a much better overall package, so I'll be looking for a couple of podiums for sure.
Yukio
I feel that Lausitz was good for me and my confidence. Maybe with a better grid position, I would have done even better and challenged for the podium. My aim for Imola is to learn the circuit quickly, make a good Superpole and qualify on the front row of the grid so that I have a chance of a podium. I know Imola is not the easiest of circuits and there are many variations, but I normally learn tracks pretty quickly, so I hope my final qualifying is going to be good. I want to end the season with good results in Imola and the last round at Magny-Cours. My team mate Troy-san has a very good chance of the title and I hope he succeeds. If he needs my help, I will do my best.
-tas-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Steve Martin to stay with Foggy Racing
Next article Imola: Ten Kate Supersport preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Troy Bayliss
Bayliss fractures vertebra in bicycle crash
World Superbike
World Superbike
Bayliss fractures vertebra in bicycle crash
Superbike legend Bayliss to make racing comeback aged 48
Other bike
Other bike
Superbike legend Bayliss to make racing comeback aged 48
Q&A with Troy and Oli Bayliss
World Superbike
World Superbike
Q&A with Troy and Oli Bayliss
Latest news
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
WRC
WRC WRC 40 min
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 2 h
Pedro Acosta proposes new idea for monitoring tyre pressure in MotoGP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe