World SuperBikes - Nieto and Xaus post Losail wins

World SuperBikes: Nieto and Xaus post wins

41 POLES FOR CORSER – The Australian rider started the season in style at Losail with his 41st pole position. Troy was already the leader of the all-time pole chart, but now he has an advantage of 20 over the second rider, Fogarty, who ended his career with 21. Corser is the only rider in SBK history to have recorded pole positions in 11 different seasons. In race 1 Corser scored his 116^th podium, and the Australian is the only rider in history to have scored podium finishes in 12 different seasons.

NOTES ON THE LOSAIL GRID

Ruben Xaus scored second place, a result he hasn't obtained since Valencia 2007;

Troy Bayliss started the 2008 season with the same grid spot he recorded at Magny-Cours 2007 (7^th). These are the two lowest positions for Bayliss since Misano 2006, when he started seventh on that occasion too;

Disappointing start for Honda and Kawasaki; the first Honda on the grid was Checa's, in ninth. To find another race with such a lowly starting position for the first Honda on the grid, we must go back to Valencia 2006, when Toseland was the first rider for the Japanese manufacturer in ninth. The same can be said for Kawasaki, whose best rider was 16^th on the grid (Badovini): the last time this happened was at Imola, 2005, when Chris Walker started from the same spot.

A GOOD YEAR – Current World Superbike riders get better year after year and in race 1 in Losail the highest average age on the podium was recorded: Bayliss, Biaggi and Corser had an average age of 37 years, 3 months and 5 days, beating the previous record set at Vallelunga last year with 35 years, 9 months and 12 days (Bayliss, Biaggi and Haga).

FIRST WIN – In race 2 Fonsi Nieto became the 56th rider in SBK™ history to score a win. He managed it at the age of 29 years, 2 months and 21 days (37^th in the age rank) on his 70^th attempt. Nieto is the second Spaniard to record a WSBK™ win after Ruben Xaus. Fonsi in race 2 also managed to set his first fastest lap. The Spanish rider hasn’t had a world-class win since July 13^th 2003, when he won the 250cc race at Donington.

A DOUBLE FOR SPAIN – In race 2 Fonsi Nieto and Ruben Xaus posted the first double win for Spain. The last time two Spanish riders climbed on the podium was in race 2 at Imola, 2003, when Xaus was the winner and Gregorio Lavilla finished third.

GOLDEN TIMES FOR DUCATI – The Italian manufacturer scored a debut win for its new 1098 model and in race 2 monopolized the results, placing five bikes in the first six places. The last time Ducati was able to record a similar performance was in Magny-Cours 2004, race 2, when the finishing order was: Haga, Toseland and Laconi with Ducati machinery in the first three places, followed by Gimbert (Yamaha) and then another couple of Ducatis, Chili and Leon Haslam.

HAGA – In race 1 the Japanese rider recorded his 42nd fastest lap and reached in the all-time second place list his team-mate Troy Corser, who scored his last fastest lap in Brno, race 2, 2007. The absolute record of 48 fastest laps, held by Fogarty, is getting closer.