Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner raced to a double podium in the seventh round of the Superbike World Championship at the Nurburgring today.
Conditions were difficult with the first race, delayed because of rain and hailstones, but fortunately the track dried out and the 20-lapper got under way without further interruptions.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) won the race with Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second and Neukirchner third. Fonsi Nieto struggled throughout the race but hung on determinedly to finish eighth.
The second race started in the dry but, when the rain began to fall seriously on the 14th lap, the organisers decided to red flag it. Although Troy Corser (Yamaha) was in the lead on the track, the victory was given to Haga who had been in the lead when he had crossed the line on the lap the race was stopped.
Yukio Kagayama suffered concussion and broken fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand in yesterday afternoon’s crash in free practice. He was taken to hospital in Adenau and kept in overnight for further tests. This morning he was re-scanned and X-rayed again, where it was discovered that he had sustained a fracture in his left hand. Normal recovery time is three to four weeks, but he intends racing in the next round in Misano in two week’s time.
Max Neukirchner - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 3rd:
“I am really happy to get two podiums in front of my fans here in Germany. It’s been great to see all the German flags and here the noise of the crowd and it is a very special feeling. Of course, I would have liked to have won a race here today, but Nori, Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss were very strong today. In race one, my bike was not so bad, but we were losing time in the first sector and the handling wasn’t so good. We changed the bike’s front fork set-up for the second race to try and improve the first sector but I found that I could not brake so late. I tried my very best today, but just couldn’t get the win I wanted.”
Fonsi Nieto - Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 9th:
“The first race was not so good because of our tyre choice and I couldn’t brake well into the turns and the rear was also spinning and sliding. For me, the bike balance was not right. We changed the set-up and balance for race two, and also used a harder front tyre and the bike felt much better. I didn’t make such a good start and it took some time to catch the race pace, but the last five or six laps were very good and I was catching Xaus and Biaggi quite easily. If the race had not been red-flagged, I’m sure I could have passed both of them. Today’s results were not good for me, but the second race was a positive improvement and the bike was much more rideable, so now I can look forward to Misano.”
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