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WSS : Roccoli tops the R6s in Monza
Round: 4 - Italy
Circuit: Monza
Date: 7 May 2006
Crowd: 90000
Temp: 22ºC
Weather: Sunny
Italian youngster Massimo Roccoli had his best result as a world supersport rider, bringing his Yamaha YZF-R6 home fourth at Monza today.
The Yamaha Team Italia rider survived a last lap scare when he touched Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) as he entered Parabolica corner for the final time. The pair, who had an intense battle in last year's superstock 1000 race at Monza, crossed the line side-by-side with the Yamaha man getting the verdict by just two-tenths of a second.
Roccoli had been running a quiet race just behind the leading group for much of the 16 laps, only to be caught as he succumbed to arm pump in the latter stages of the race. He was unable to fend off the challenge of championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who was charging through the field after a ride-through penalty, but successfully defended his place from Sofuoglu and the intense race-long battle between Yamaha Motor Germany's Broc Parkes and Ducati rider Stuart Easton.
After qualifying down in 11th position Parkes had a difficult race. He found himself baulked at the first chicane and after picking off a few places he was unable to find a way past Easton and came home a disappointed seventh.
It was day that promised so much but delivered so little for Yamaha Motor Germany. Kevin Curtain led for much of the way, until a technical problem halted him with four laps remaining. The Australian had been involved in a thrilling battle with eventual winner Yoann Tiberio (Honda) when his engine expired at the end of the home straight. Despite failing to score Curtain retains his second place in the championship standings. Third place for Charpentier sees him extend his lead over Curtain to 31 points with second-placed Monza finisher Robbin Harms (Honda) a further eight points adrift in third. Parkes remains fifth in the championship with Roccoli sixth.
Roccoli's team-mate Gianluca Vizziello was another rider to leave Monza without any points. The Italian had been in sparkling form to qualify second but he spectacularly crashed out of sixth place after being baulked by another rider on lap three.
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I got a good start and felt that I could fight for the podium today, but in the end I had some problems with my arm. When Charpentier came past me I wanted to try and stay with him but he was just too fast and I had to concentrate on getting the best result possible. The pain in my arm made it hard for me when entering the corners but I was determined to get a good result and when Sofuoglu passed me I fought straight back. I'm happy to get a good result today and finishing so close to the podium has only made me more determined."
Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The main problem was qualifying back on the third row. I was able to make some good progress until I came across a Ducati that I had difficulty getting past. Sometimes I was able to get past on the brakes but I was never quite able to make enough of a break to stop him coming back at me down the straights."
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It's disappointing not to be able to take advantage of Charpentier's penalty and to take some points back but that's life and no one will go through a season without some bad luck, so hopefully this is ours for the season. There are still a lot of positives to take from this weekend and we just have to work hard and focus on Silverstone."
Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm not happy because I knew that I could fight for a good position and possibly the podium today. Someone cut across me going into Ascari so I had to brake hard and this made me crash out with Fujiwara."
Race classification WSS
Round: 4 - Italy
Circuit: Monza
Circuit Length: 5792
Lap Record: 1' 51.403 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 51.403 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006)
