Max Biaggi won the World Superbike race 1 at Vallelunga, a comfortable 6 seconds ahead of second placed Troy Bayliss. After a ten lap challenge with his closest championship rival Noriyuki Haga, James Toseland was third . The race was action packed form the start, with Corser and Xaus both crashing out on the first lap. Biaggi’s win puts him into joint second place in the championship with Haga.

Troy Bayliss would win race 2 at Vallelunga, after leading from the first lap. Biaggi finished second only challenging Bayliss on lap 17 and losing time thath he never recovered. Nori Haga was third sliding behind Biaggi in both this race and in the championship standings, with Corser fourth and Rolfo fifth. Toseland crashed on lap 9 under pressure from Corser, but he managed to remount and rejoin the race in 12th place, eventually recovering to 11th at the end of the race. Toseland leads the championship by 29 points with 50 available from next weekend’s season finale at Magny Cours. Can’t wait!

(from WSBK)

RACE ONE A spectacular display of front running after passing early leader Bayliss delivered Max Biaggi the first ever Vallelunga SBK race win, and his third victory of the year. Behind him the battle went all the way for the podium places, with Bayliss a solid second and Toseland a patient third, waiting for the penultimate lap to get past Haga once and for all, and secure an important finish. Haga scored fourth, with local rider Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda Corse) fifth. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) was forced to retire after a crash on lap one.

RACE TW0 When it looked like a Biaggi double was on the cards, in stepped Bayliss to hold off the second charge of the local hero, and record his seventh race win of the year. Biaggi almost fell in his attempt to pass Bayliss at one stage and finished race 1.4 seconds adrift, with Haga third, Corser fourth. In a dramatic turn-up, Toseland crashed out on lap nine and had to restart, finishing only 11th. Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was the highest placed Honda finisher in race two, fifth.

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Troy Bayliss snatched the pole position for tomorrow’s World Superbike race when James Toseland crashed during his Superpole flying lap. Bayliss, with a time of 1:35.890, was the only rider to dip below the 1:36s. Troy Corser (1:36.016) was second fastest, with Ruben Xaus (1:36.737) third and Max Biaggi (1:36.925) rounding out the front row. Haga (1:36.996) was fifth, Lanzi (1:37.428) sixth and Fabrizio (1:37.430) seventh. Championship leader Toseland will start from eighth place.

Watch tomorrow’s races live on www.WorldSBK.tv or www.italia.worldsbk.tv

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Vice President Development and Model Lines BMW Motorrad, stated at the Mondial du Deux Roues Motorcycle Show in Paris on Friday, September 28th:

“In 2007 BMW returned to road racing with the sports boxer after more than 50 years. In 2008 we will continue our activities in the Endurance category. At the same time we will be preparing our entry into the Superbike World Championship in 2009 with great intensity.”

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WSBK 1st Qualifying - Summary

Troy Corser put laid down the fastest lap of this afternoon’s first qualifying session, with a time of 1:37.537. The only rider to come close was Troy Bayliss on 1:37.578. Nori Haga had topped the timing screen in the early part of the session but eventually finished third on 1:37.951, with Max Biaggi (1:37.962) fourth and James Toseland (1:38.111) fifth.

Final qualifying takes place tomorrow, 29th September, at 11:00 CET, with the starting grid positions for the top sixteen riders decided by Superpole at 16:00 CET.

Supersport 1st Qualifying - Summary

Sebastien Charpentier has landed the provisional pole position after he was the only rider to lap below 1:40 today during the first World Supersport qualifying session at Vallelunga with a time of 1:39.733. Second fastest lap time today was Gianluca Vizziello (1:40.339), with Kenan Sofuoglu (1:40.626) third, Katusaki Fujiwara (1:40.775) fourth and Tommy Hill (1:40.815) in fifth place.

This morning’s sessions were slightly delayed due to heavy rain showers which followed a thunderstorm last night, but the forecast for the rest of the weekend is good. Final qualifying takes place tomorrow, 29th September, at 13:45 CET.

STK1000 Qualifying - Summary

The Superstock1000 provisional pole position has gone to Mark Aitchison, with the best lap time of 1:41.742 during the rain interrupted session. Aitchison was the only rider to make it into the 1:41s. Second went to Ayrton Badovini (1:42.063), third to Claudio Corti (1:42.203), fourth to Xavier Simeon (1:42.430) and fifth to Brendan Roberts (1:42.645) . Final qualifying takes place tomorrow, 29th September, at 16:50 CET.

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Toseland can wrap up the World Superbike Championship this weekend if he plays it safe and settles for points finishes, or Will Biaggi do the double for the first time at his home circuit? Can Haga keep his championship challenge alive? The 4.110km circuit, located north of Rome, has been undergoing preparations for months to get the paddock and facilities ready for the biggest event at the track. The Italian circuit features unique challenges for both locals and the World Superbike competitors. The circuit includes slow and ultra-fast corners. Despite most of the top teams and riders having tested at Vallelunga at some stage, this will be a new experience for many of them in real race conditions.

It should be an exciting weekend in all classes!

Friday 28th September

• Free practice and qualifying for Superbikes, Supersport, Superstock1000 and Superstock 600

Saturday 29th September

• 11:00 - 12:00: World Superbike Final Qualifying
• 12:15 - 12:45: Superstock600 Final Qualifying
• 13:45 - 14:30: World Supersport Final Qualifying
• 16:00: World Superbike Superpole
• 16:50 - 17:15: Superstock1000 Final Qualifying
• 17:40: Superstock600 Race

Sunday 30th September

• 10:40: Superstock1000 Race
• 12:00: Superbike Race 1
• 13:20: Supersport Race
• 14:20: Kawasaki Support Race
• 15:30: Superbike Race 2

Live timing is available for all track sessions this weekend, on www.worldsbk.com/livetiming.php
Saturday’s Superpole, Sunday’s Superbike, Supersport and Superstock1000 races will all be shown live on www.WorldSBK.tv. Qualifying and race highlights, exclusive interviews and behind the scenes footage will also be available.

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