June 16 : Haga and Corser steal the show as Yamaha dominate in Germany

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) stormed to a superb double win at the Nürburgring in Germany today, winning back-to-back 20-lap races to re-ignite his championship challenge. He also takes away the new lap record, thanks to a blistering 1'56.892, set on lap 11 of race two.
 

His team-mate Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
was unlucky not to score a podium in race one but was battling for the outright
win with Haga in an unbelievable race two, before the threatening rain fell and
the race was stopped for reasons of safety. Many fans held their breath for most
of race as Hager and Corser swapped places repeatedly with inches to spare between their bikes. By midway they were riding their own race, locked into a Yamaha duel
for the checkered flag.

The first race was delayed for 20 minutes because of a late fall of
rain but it was declared dry and indeed the sun came out in force asthe race started.
In the first race Haga took the win after an intense battle at the
front throughout, finally overcoming Troy Bayliss after pressurising
the Australian rider into a mistake on lap 19 Of 20. Corser was a close
fourth making it a successful first outing for the official Yamaha
team.

Race two was halted early by a light fall of rain on lap 15, and with
14 tours completed the race result was called from that lap, giving
The win to Haga even though Corser was in the lead when the race was
stopped.

Each Yamaha Motor Italia rider delivered awesome entertainment to the
41,000 weekend crowd, particularly in a tough and fully competitive
Race two, and each was rewarded with strong points scores as a result. Haga
is now fourth overall, on 172 points, with Corser only just behind, on
154 at the midpoint of the 14-round season.

Noriyuki Haga (1st and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"During the race the collarbone was no problem, just some muscle pain.
I had a great fight with my team-mate Troy in the second race, it was
very exciting, fun and fair, I really enjoyed it. I want to thank Dr
Ting for the operation on my collarbone, a big thank you to all the
Fans and congratulations to Troy for a great race. I'm so happy for the
win, and it's fantastic to go forward to Misano having closed the
championship gap a bit. Time to celebrate!"

Troy Corser (4th and 2nd- Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"With the weather conditions the way they were it was completely dry at
the top, and it was raining down at the bottom for the last two laps before
I put my hand up, it was getting wetter and wetter. Although I wanted to
win the race I just wanted to stay on the bike as well. Thanks to the boys on
the team, and thanks to Nori there as well, I had an amazing race with him,
fantastic riding. We're getting the bike better and better, hopefully we can
get some more great results before the end of the year."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"It's almost impossible to do better. We saw that even on Friday we
could get good results from both riders and after yesterday I was sure the
podium was possible for both riders. We got a double win from Nori and first
and second in race two; a fantastic achievement for the whole team.
I am lost for words about Nori, he is even better than before and
Troy is really back to his very best. Thanks to all the team because
they did a really good job here."


Race 1

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 39'19.427
2, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.025
3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'2.792
4, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'5.458
5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'10.225
6, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'10.462
7, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'17.018
8, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'20.520
9, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'21.162
10, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'22.650
11, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'22.845
12, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'25.555
13, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'25.879
14, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'26.288
15, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'32.824
16, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'42.157
17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'42.486
18, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'52.232
19, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'52.387
20, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'0.099

Race 2

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 27'26.594
2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.150
3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'5.316
4, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'7.651
5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'7.951
6, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'9.027
7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'9.420
8, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'9.916
9, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'12.862
10, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'13.559
11, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'13.960
12, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'16.172
13, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'17.946
14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'22.815
15, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'23.758
16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'24.127
17, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'24.421
18, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'25.356
19, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'25.729
20, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'28.846
21, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'33.107
22, Loic Napoleone, Yamaha, FRA, 0'54.255
23, Jason Pridmore, Honda, USA, 1'4.877
24, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, -1 Laps


Best Lap

Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'56.892
Rider Standings 15/06/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 227
2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 188
3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 176
4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 172
5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 154
6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 141
7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 110
8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 106
9, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 97
10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 89
11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 73
12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 65
13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 60
14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 59
15, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 56
20, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 16
23, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7
24, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 6


Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Ducati, 282
2, Yamaha, 251
3, Suzuki, 223
4, Honda, 207
5, Kawasaki, 64