WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP - DIABLO 666 ANNOUNCE 2006 TEAM LINE-UP

From left to right: James Hutchins, Marko Rohtlaan, Alex Cudlin.
 

February 27, 2006, London, UK:
Diablo 666, one of World Endurance Superbike’s most exciting teams, has signed up Australian Alex Cudlin for the 2006 season. Nineteen-year-old Alex will ride for UK-based team Kawasaki Diablo 666 alongside Englishman James Hutchins and Marko Rohtlaan of Estonia giving the team a new line-up of international appeal.
Alex will be making his debut in the World Endurance Series, but as the younger brother of Damian Cudlin, 23, he will no doubt be given some helpful tips from his sibling "Damo“, who rides for the Phase One Yamaha Team, finished the 2005 standings in 4th position after claiming a podium finish in Italy at the end of the season.
"Alex came over from Australia for some team testing with James and Marko in Jerez at the end of January and both Terry Rymer and I were very impressed not only with his speed around the track, but with his determination and focus,“ commented Team Manager, Miles Hutchins. "The whole team is excited to have Alex on board as we are a young and dynamic team and Alex fits the bill perfectly. He gels well with the other riders and the support team and to add to this, he is not content to languish in the shadow of his brother Damian’s success, so we are looking forward to a lot of fireworks and commitment from Alex in 2006."

Alex, from Blacktown in New South Wales, first raced back home in Australia in March 2003 and gained his racing experience in the Australian Superstock Championship. He is now delighted to have secured a ride in the Diablo 666 team which will see him racing in all seven events around Europe and Japan on the World Endurance Circuit which kicks off in April in Assen.

"To have secured a seat with the Diablo 666 Bolliger Team this season is a fantastic opportunity for me which I am really looking forward to,“ revealed Alex, who is a motorcycle mechanic in Taree when not racing professionally.

The Diablo 666 Bolliger are planning a test day at Brands Hatch on March 18 for some pre-season warm-up for the all-important the World Endurance Championship.

WORLD SUPERBIKES - ROUND ONE - QATAR!

The World Superbike and Supersport School Photo

...and guess who's on top in Superpole...

There's no need to tell you about qualifying and Superpole, you'll obviously get all that info from the www.worldsbk.com site. Just a couple of things, firstly The Foggy Petronas rider Craig Jones - he crashed on his out-lap of the morning session, suffering a flesh wound on his kneecap that needed multiple stitches. Despite a desperate attempt to record a qualifying time for that session, he missed recording a valid lap by just six seconds.

Rule changes for this season means that special soft qualifying tyres are not used during the two one-hour sessions, only in the one-lap superpole and preceding practice. Bayliss got pole (of course!) and Lanzi dragged himself spectacularly up from a first-qualifying bottom of the order into 2nd place - but the surprise really was Andrew Pitt punching the Yamaha Italia R1 into 3rd - Toseland has had a much better start this year, filling the remaining place on the front row but Karl Muggeridge fell in his Superpole lap after setting the second-fastest time in regular qualifying...and Corser starts the season OFF the front row...in 5th.

Muggeridge...“It cools down in the afternoon here and during Superpole it had become quite cool. We opted to put a slightly harder front tyre in but that was decided a couple of hours before. My last thought when I left the garage was, ‘should have gone for a softer one.’ I pushed and pushed but I was a little hot into the corner. It was the first of a group of three rights, and it’s fourth gear there, so it was a pretty fast crash. I tried to save it but I ran out of track"

Bayliss..."It feels great to be back in Superbikes and it's always nice to have pole position I did three years in MotoGP and it did me a lot of good so now I've come back as a stronger all round rider. I actually expected to do a little better in Superpole but I did enough to get pole and I'm happy with that. We'll see how things are looking tomorrow, but I'll try and get the best possible start and then play it by ear. There are two or three guys who can give me a few problems, starting with Lorenzo, who's going well at the moment but we mustn't underestimate Corser and Pitt as well."

In Supersport, Charpentier scored his 12th career pole position and his second in succession at Losail for the Winston Ten Kate team. A no less impressive feat for their new signing (last years Superstock sensation Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu) with his second fastest lap of the day, putting him in the very position he dreamed off after he set quickest time in Thursday’s wet qualifying session. He hoped to be second on the grid in dry conditions and this he got, thanks to a 2’04.089.

Despite there being 33 bikes involved in the final qualifying session, the Winston Ten Kate Honda team were simply head and shoulders above the rest, with Sofuoglu’s nearest challenger, Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain, 0.652 seconds behind the young Turk. Weather conditions for the 18-lap race on Saturday 25th are expected to mirror those in final qualifying, with warm ambient temperatures and a dry track surface.

QATAR - RACE ONE RESULTS

On the last lap, Haga tried a pass on race leader Kagayama but lost the front wheel into the corner, taking them both out. Toseland had closed the gap on the first five riders (Haga, Kagayama, Pitt, Bayliss and Corser) and passed three of them before the last lap crash. The Ten Kate Honda rider won the first race after the leading pair crashed - and it was a richly-deserved win. The combination of Winston Ten Kate Honda and James Toseland is looking to be the surprise early package of the World Superbike season.

1	Toseland J.	Winston Ten Kate Honda.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'31.339	18
2	Bayliss T.	Ducati Xerox.	Ducati 999 F06	36'31.427	18
3	Pitt A.	Yamaha Motor Italia WSB.	Yamaha YZF R1	36'33.729	18
4	Corser T.	Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra.	Suzuki GSXR1000 K6	36'33.938	18
5	Fabrizio M.	D.F.X. Treme.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'38.338	18
6	Barros A.	Klaffi Honda.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'46.056	18
7	Rolfo R.	Ducati SC - Caracchi.	Ducati 999 F05	36'46.563	18
8	Chili P.	D.F.X. Treme.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'52.522	18
9	Borciani M.	Sterilgarda - Berik.	Ducati 999 F05	36'53.789	18
10	Neukirchner M.	Team Pedercini.	Ducati 999 RS	36'55.271	18
11	Abe N.	Yamaha Motor France-Ipone.	Yamaha YZF R1	36'56.155	18
12	Muggeridge K.	Winston Ten Kate Honda.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'56.982	18
13	Laconi R.	PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse.	Kawasaki ZX10R	37'00.478	18
14	Gimbert S.	Yamaha Motor France-Ipone.	Yamaha YZF R1	37'01.316	18
15	Xaus R.	Sterilgarda - Berik.	Ducati 999 F05	37'08.014	18
16	Nakatomi S.	Yamaha Motor France-Ipone 2.	Yamaha YZF R1	37'08.834	18
17	Iannuzzo V.	Celani Team Suzuki Italia.	Suzuki GSXR1000 K6	37'37.793	18
18	Martin S.	Foggy Petronas Racing.	Petronas FP1	37'37.933	18
19	Battaini F.	Kawasaki Bertocchi.	Kawasaki ZX10R	37'43.141	18
20	Pedercini L.	Team Pedercini.	Ducati 999 RS	38'14.419	18
21	Al Naimi T.	D'Antin MotoGP.	Yamaha YZF R1	37'17.531	17
22	Kagayama Y.	Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra.	Suzuki GSXR1000 K6	34'28.903	17
23	Haga N.	Yamaha Motor Italia WSB.	Yamaha YZF R1	34'28.909	17
24	Nieto F.	PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 2.	Kawasaki ZX10R	18'32.918	9
25	Walker C.	PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse.	Kawasaki ZX10R	14'30.609	7
26	Foret F.	Alstare Eng. Corona Extra.	Suzuki GSXR1000 K6	12'30.807	6
27	Clementi I.	Team Pedercini.	Ducati 999 RS	8'25.635	4
28	Lanzi L.	Ducati Xerox.	Ducati 999 F06	6'09.545	3
29	Jones C.	Foggy Petronas Racing.	Petronas FP1

QATAR - RACE TWO

Ivan Clementi stalled at the sighting lap and had to start from pit-lane but once again Pitt and Haga got away first with Bayliss in third but Corser was faster this time around, gradually passing riders to take the lead and breaking away from the Haga/Pitt battle...until Bayliss started his charge 6 laps from the end of the race, closing down Corser and passing him twice on the last lap...but it was obvious that the Suzuki had more horsepower and Bayliss just couldn't make it stick, Corser taking the win. Haga slipstreamed Toseland out of the final corner to snatch back 3rd place at the chequered flag.

But Troy Bayliss leads the World Championship by 2 points.

1	Corser T.	Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra.	Suzuki GSXR1000 K6	36'20.395	18
2	Bayliss T.	Ducati Xerox.	Ducati 999 F06	36'21.420	18
3	Haga N.	Yamaha Motor Italia WSB.	Yamaha YZF R1	36'23.857	18
4	Toseland J.	Winston Ten Kate Honda.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'23.858	18
5	Pitt A.	Yamaha Motor Italia WSB.	Yamaha YZF R1	36'24.745	18
6	Lanzi L.	Ducati Xerox.	Ducati 999 F06	36'40.005	18
7	Barros A.	Klaffi Honda.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'40.943	18
8	Fabrizio M.	D.F.X. Treme.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'41.578	18
9	Muggeridge K.	Winston Ten Kate Honda.	Honda CBR 1000RR	36'43.593	18
10	Xaus R.	Sterilgarda - Berik.	Ducati 999 F05	36'46.928	18
11	Abe N.	Yamaha Motor France-Ipone.	Yamaha YZF R1	36'47.249	18
12	Nieto F.	PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 2.	Kawasaki ZX10R	36'48.527	18
13	Rolfo R.	Ducati SC - Caracchi.	Ducati 999 F05