Superbike Round 10, 11 & 12

Bayliss maintained the pace to dominate Superpole, James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda ), Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Italia) and team mate Andrew Pitt completing the front row. Troy Corser's (Alstare Corona Suzuki) Superpole time was only good enough for a second row start.

RACE 1
Despite the race being declared wet, Bayliss bolted to lead the field away, but it all came to nothing when the champ-in-waiting lost control on lap five, rejoining the circuit well down the field in 21st place. This left Haga and Alstare Corona Suzuki team mates Corser and Yukio Kagayama to fight it out for the lead. Toseland also ran off the circuit mid-race, rejoining behind a charging Bayliss, who had fought his way up to eighth. Bayliss ran off the circuit again in an effort to overtake his team mate Lorenzo Lanzi, but he did recover to finish seventh - the result not enough to secure the title. Kagayama won from Haga, with Corser third in a welcome form turnaround after a wretched season.

Race 1: 1. Kagayama, 2. Haga, 3. Corser, 4. Pitt, 5. Barros, 6. Muggeridge, 7. Bayliss, 8. Lanzi, 9. Toseland, 10. Nieto.

RACE 2
Toseland took a lights-to-flag victory in front of 50,000+ spectators after a difficult race one. The Brit was out to set the record straight and did just that by holding off Haga and Bayliss. Haga took second place but pushed Toseland hard all the way to the line.

Bayliss decided to be more careful in race two saying, "I was more cautious this time. We ran a different front but the same rear and I struggled with rear grip. I wanted a win but had to settle for third."

Toseland was over the moon with his result, "We made a decision to go with a different tyre in race one and it was the wrong decision. It is good to be racing at the front, I made some hard moves on Nori but he can take it. Good to be back at the front and take a win", the Brit said.
Corser and Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) were both hit with ride through penalties for jump starts. Both Pitt and Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) crashed out of the race unhurt.

Race 2: 1. Toseland, 2. Haga, 3. Bayliss, 4. Kagayama, 5. Muggeridge, 6. Lanzi, 7. Nieto, 8. Fabrizio, 9. Xaus, 10. Walker

Triumph and tribulations for the Aussies at Imola with Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) hoisting the champion's trophy after race 1, while neither Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Suzuki) or Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas FP-1) completed the first race, the former suffering gearbox problems. Josh Brookes (Bertocchi Kawasaki) highsided late in Saturday practice, ending the session early, much to the consternation of riders looking to put in some fast times to make the Superpole session. Bayliss proved to be untouchable in Superpole, his time a full 1/2 second faster than the next best.

The front row of the grid was completed by James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda), Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Italia) and Corser.

Superbike round 11

RACE 1
The race win went to Alex Barros on the Klaffi Honda giving him his first win of his rookie World Superbike season.
"The race was tight for me as I get a terrible start," said Barros, "I lost some time so I got my head down and got it back. I saw where I could pass and I was able to over take the guys."

Toseland took a hard fought second place and did lead the race for a number of laps before Barros got the better of him. Pitt rounded out the podium with a superb ride and also led the race briefly. Podium results aside, the race really belonged to Bayliss, his fifth place finish enough to secure him the 2006 World Superbike championship.
"That was a long race!", Bayliss said, "I was thinking a lot, and a lot of people have been telling me all weekend what I need to do. I did what I needed to. I finished fifth and that was enough".

Race 1: 1. Barros, 2. Toseland, 3. Pitt, 4. Haga, 5. Bayliss, 6. Lanzi, 7. Nieto, 8. Muggeridge, 9. Abe, 10. Laconi.

RACE 2
With the championship secure, Bayliss could afford to go for broke in race two. In hot conditions, Bayliss was even hotter, bolting away in the opening laps, Haga, Corser and Pitt in close pursuit. Bad starts from both Toseland and Barros buried them in the pack early in the race, although the latter would fight his way back through the field to take the second podium slot, halving a 3+ second lead from Bayliss in the process. With a few more laps, the Brazilian may well have recorded a double win.

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

SUPERSPORT
The Winston Ten Kate Honda pair of Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu ran away with the Supersport race, the duo finishing almost 10 seconds clear of Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). The result cut Curtain's championship lead to 18 points going into the final round.

Superbike round 12
The Superbike title may have already been decided going into the final round, but the Supersport championship was set for a dramatic and history-making finale. In World Superbike, second place in the championship was still up for grabs, James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Italia) the contenders for the runner-up slot.

Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Suzuki) took some early solace in the fastest Superpole time, James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda) second fastest, with Lorenzo Lanzi (Xerox Ducati) and Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) completing the front row. Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) qualified sixth fastest behind Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Italia), with Haga's team mate, Andrew Pitt, ninth quickest.

RACE 1
Corser was swamped off the line, but the Aussie got a reprieve when Ivan Goi (Emmebi Team Honda) crashed, bringing out the red flag for a restart. Second time around, Corser held the lead after Toseland ran wide. Pitt lowsided on the second lap, but remounted to join at the back of the field.

Through the middle part of the race, the lead shifted dramatically, and often, between Toseland, Haga and Corser. Bayliss wasn't far behind, though, and was determined to get into the podium positions at the expense of Corser.

The recently-crowned 2006 SBK champ ran wide on lap 20, giving Corser some breathing space to chase down Haga, but Corser couldn't make a pass before the finish. Pitt circulated in 18th, behind Josh Brookes (Bertocchi Kawasaki) in 15th, while Muggeridge DNF'd.

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

RACE 2
After a rough and tumble first race, Muggeridge kept it on two wheels and up near the pointy end of the field early in race 2. In another close-fought affair, Muggeridge had Bayliss, Corser, Haga and Toseland for company.

The race then developed into two separate battles - Haga v Bayliss and Corser v Toseland - for the next few laps, before Bayliss made his move. In the closing stages, Toseland allowed the two Aussies to duke it out for the lead, content to preserve third for the race, securing second overall for the championship in the process. Bayliss held Corser out for the win. Corser's double podium weekend meant he finished ahead of Pitt in the final championship standings.

Steve Martin's final fling on the Foggy Petronas FP-1 ended with a whimper rather than a bang - a DNF result for both races. Martin's team mate Craig Jones also DNF'd the final race, amid speculation over the future of Carl Fogarty's involvement in World Superbike competition.

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

Points after 12 of 12 rounds:
Bayliss 431, Toseland 336, Haga 326, Corser 254, Pitt 250, Barros 246, Kagayama 211, Lanzi 169, Walker 158, Nieto 139.