RACE REPORT - 01/03/2009
Crutchlow and Foret fight hard for points in the first Supersport battle
Yamaha World Supersport riders Fabien Foret and Cal Crutchlow fought hard as part of the leading pack in what was an incredibly closely contested race for the opening round of the 2009 season. Both riders took turns to lead the race at times, whilst fighting in an incredibly close battle with Laverty, Pitt, Sofuoglu and West for the top spots. Ultimately two false neutrals in the closing laps saw Crutchlow drop to fourth position, taking valuable points with him to the next round in Qatar. Foret suffered from increasing pain caused by yesterday's shoulder injury following a highside in qualifying but managed to hold on and score an impressive seventh place.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"That was a really close race, really exciting. It has been great for me to come to Phillip Island and come fourth in my first World Supersport race on the Yamaha YZF-R6 although I was a little bit disappointed as I feel I had the potential to win. Unfortunately in the last lap I had two false neutrals, one going into Honda and the other going into the hairpin. I was closing to the guys in front, but it cost me some time. I guess that's the way racing is but I'm still happy, I'm coming away with a bag full of points and we're off to Qatar with high spirits!"
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"Wow, that was a really tough race for me! My shoulder was still in a lot of pain but I really wanted to get out and race for the first one of the season. The pack was really tight at the front so it was really exciting and I knew I had the speed to stay with the leaders. Unfortunately the pain in my shoulder got greater and greater and my arm started to go numb so it was starting to get very difficult to ride so I had to drop back a little. I'm still happy to have taken plenty of points and looking forward to going to Qatar with no injuries to fight for the podium!"
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team manager
"For Fabien I'm really happy, last night he was in pain so it's good for him to finish in seventh position. By the end of the race he couldn't ride properly, he couldn't roll off throttle as his arm was numb. Fourth for Cal on the Yamaha YZF-R6 was a really great finish, especially considering his two neutrals. In the end the front three managed to get away as Laverty held him up a bit, he took advantage of the false neutrals and took it past him but he caught up again by the last lap and he nearly caught the top three. It was the first time here for him so fighting with the front group was great, especially not knowing all the passing points on the track. All in all a great start for us, we're up there and when you see there is only one second between first and fourth you know we have the pace and are strong, the championship is going great to watch this year!"
World Supersport - Race results
1 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 33'42.156 (166,18 kph)
2 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.060
3 13 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 0.153
4 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1.097
5 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1.098
6 8 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 3.631
7 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 5.023
8 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 9.540
9 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 14.099
10 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 14.202
11 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 15.110
12 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 15.204
13 77 Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 15.263
14 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 26.607
15 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 29.707
16 96 Smrz M. (CZE) Triumph Daytona 675 29.876
17 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 30.157
18 7 Vostarek P. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 36.918
19 83 Holland R. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 42.324
20 30 Gunther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 45.388
21 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'01.742
22 28 Vos A. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1'02.450
23 78 Geronimi S. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R600 1'09.795
24 32 Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'09.839
25 88 Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1'19.097
RET 71 Morillas J. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6
RET 105 Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR
RET 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR
RET 5 Pradita T. (INA) Yamaha YZF R6
RET 19 Szkopek P. (POL) Triumph Daytona 675