Round 8 Brands Hatch

Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) topped Superpole, sharing the front row of the grid with Haga and the Winstaon Ten Kate Hondas of Karl Muggeridge and James Toseland. Corser and Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Italia) started from fifth & sixth respectively.

RACE 1
Race 1 turned into a real arm wrestle between Haga and Bayliss, the pair swapping for the lead throughout the opening laps, before Bayliss broke away on lap 15, holding off both Haga and eventual second place getter Toseland, securing Ducati's landmark 250th World Superbike win in the process.
Muggeridge's front row start came to nothing when the Aussie crashed out after clipping a kerb on lap five. Corser held down third place for the first three laps, but was progressively overtaken by Toseland, Pitt and Kagayama (Alstare Corona Suzuki). The Foggy Petronas effort keeps - slowly - grinding on for its final few outings, Steve Martin dragging the FP-1 to 17th & 16th place finishes. Josh Brookes had a similarly miserable UK sojourn, a 20th in race 1 his best result. An announcement on Brookes' riding future in 2007 is expected in the coming month - watch this space!

Race 1: 1. Bayliss, 2. Toseland, 3. Haga, 4. Pitt, 5. Kagayama, 6. Corser, 7. Walker, 8. Barros, 9. Laconi, 10. Xaus.

RACE 2
Muggeridge's woes continued in race 2, again crashing out on lap 5, while Haga and Bayliss played leapfrog for the lead.
As in race 1, Corser's tyres went off early and he couldn't keep pace with the leading pack, dropping back to finish sixth. Pitt strung together a chain of fast laps to pass Toseland and a hard charging Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) to claim the final podium slot behind Haga and Bayliss.

Race 2: 1. Haga, 2. Bayliss, 3. Pitt, 4. Laconi, 5. Toseland, 6. Corser, 7. Kagayama, 8. Walker, 9. Barros, 10. Xaus.

Points after 8 of 12 rounds:
Bayliss 307, Haga 230, Toseland 219, Corser 193, Barros 166, Pitt 157, Kagayama 126, Lanzi 96, Walker 96

SUPERSPORT
Broc Parkes scored his first win of the year, Yamaha Motor Germany team mate Kevin Curtain making it an Aussie 1 - 2. Curtain and Sebastien Charpentier are now tied on 131 points apiece for the championship.

Super Troy!
. . . and Super Lorenzo, too.
As part of the cinema release of 'Superman Returns' in the UK, both Ducati Xerox riders donned special 'Superman' leathers for the Brands Hatch round. Their Ducati 999 F06 bikes carried similar livery, as did their helmets, Suomy creating a special lid for both of them for the weekend.
The Xerox Ducati team mechanics got into the spirit too, all donning Superman capes on the start grid!