planetearth
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Number of posts : 3271
Registration date : 2007-02-03
 |  Subject: Title rivals head for Valencia - without Toseland.  Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:27 am | |
| - Quote :
- The 2007 WSBK title contenders will be hoping to gain an advantage over current leader James Toseland during a two-day Valencia test, which the Briton will miss.
Toseland has won two of the four races held so far this season, handing the former world champion a 16 point lead, but both he and Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate Robby Rolfo will miss the Spanish test - held this coming Sunday and Monday - due to 'logistical reasons'.
In Toseland's absence, two famous names from the world of motorcycling will be seeking to find an advantage over the #52 for the forthcoming rounds; reigning double world champion Troy Bayliss and former MotoGP star Max Biaggi.
Both have joined Toseland on the top step of the podium with a win each this year, placing Alstare Suzuki rider Biaggi closest to Toseland in the championship standings, with Ducati Xerox superstar Bayliss a further 10 points back in third.
Bayliss will be teamed up as usual with his ever-improving team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi at the test, while Biaggi's team-mate on the all-new GSX-R1000, Yukio Kagayama, is hoping to be fit after a big crash in qualifying at Phillip Island.
The 2006-spec Suzuki Germany GSX-R1000 of Max Neukirchner will also be going for another giant-killing performance, while the similar spec machine of Superstock champ Alessandro Polita will power him back into the European season in his rookie SBK campaign.
After much early promise from the all-new Yamaha Motor Italia R1 machines of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser, podiums have proved difficult but not impossible to achieve, and thus the latest Valencia tests is of great importance for the top Yamaha team. Yamaha Team YZF's Shinichi Nakatomi is also set to be in attendance at Valencia, as is R1 privateer Jiri Drazdak.
PSG-1 Kawasaki's Fonsi Nieto will be back on his native Spanish soil at Valencia, while his team-mate Regis Laconi will be looking to find a more repeatable machine set-up with which to enter the next two rounds at Donington and Valencia. Crash | |
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