The opening round of this year’s Superbike World Championship was one of mixed emotions for Troy. After taking a superb Superpole yesterday, Troy was in line for a pair of good results today. Tyre problems in the first race ruined his chances of kicking off the season in style, but Troy more then made up for it by taking a hard-fought for third place in race two.
Former GP star, Max Biaggi (Suzuki) won the first race, with James Toseland second and Lorenzo Lanzi third. Troy had started well but his bike started vibrating badly after a few laps and he was forced to drop the pace. The vibration was bad enough for Troy to think about pulling bin, but he decided to keep going and salvage as many points as possible. In the end he finished ninth. Troy used the same type of tyre in race two, but this time there were no such problems and he was able to compete with the top runners. This time, Toseland took the win, with Biaggi second, with Troy a safe third.
TROY Race 1: 9th, Race 2: 3rd
I suppose I’m disappointed really, because I thought I could get a couple of podiums for sure today - especially after Superpole yesterday. I’m not exactly sure what caused the vibration in race one, but it was so bad on the fast straights that I could hardly see where I was going! I did think about pulling in, but when I looked round there was nobody close by so I just kept going as best I could.
For race two, we used the same tyre but didn’t experience any problems. My bike seemed a tad slow on the straights (compared to the Suzuki and Honda) and I was having to regain as much ground as I could in the turns. In the end, third is pretty good, but the whole day could’ve been so much better if it were not for the problems in race one. We’re off to Phillip Island next and I think my Yamaha will work really well there. It’s a track I really like (in common with most riders) and I think we can bag a couple of good results there for sure. It’s a pity about the first race today, but that’s how it goes sometimes. We’ll make up for it in Phillip Island, don’t you worry!
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