Sunday, September 26th, 2004

Imola is the spiritual home of Ducati. Well, anywhere in Italy could be considered the spiritual home to be honest, but everyone refers to Imola that way so for the sake of convention we will too. It's a lovely circuit, full of twists, turns and natural undulations that make it one of the more interesting venues graced by a World Championship that seems to have railed against its critics and found new form. But before we look at the championship as a whole, it's worth looking at the riders. And of the current crop of SBK riders only one has tasted victory champagne here. And that one is Regis Laconi, who took his only win of the season for Aprilia in 2001.

Superpole saw the usual few upsets, as Frankie Chili had another of his visits from the gremlins to rule him out of the running. The Italian veteran stated from 16th, though he had better luck than both Walker and Haslam, both of whom had varying technical problems that prevented them from even qualifying for Superpole. Walker started 18th with Haslam one place behind him. But at the other end, Chris Vermeulen was showing just how good the Fireblade is, with a safe first position. Garry McCoy put the bad luck of some of his last meetings behind him to take the next slot with Nori Haga champing at the bit just behind him. Factory Ducati rider James Toseland came in next after a bit of a struggle. And as for Laconi? Well, that safe first place for Vermeulen turned out to be not so safe after all as the Frenchman deposed the young Australian and took pole by just a tenth of a second.

So with all four realistic title contenders at the front of the grid it was shaping up for a good one.

Race One

It's usually sunny at Imola, and this year was no exception. The wet weather that dogged practice had blown away and the track was dry and warm. Ideal racing weather, then.

There is, I suspect, a little greyhound in Chris Vermeulen's genes. I mean no offence to his family, of course, but I can't think of anything else that gets him off the line so fast. The lights changed and Vermeulen caught everyone else napping to take a decisive lead straight off the line. And so it stayed for most of the race. Vermeulen, pushing the Honda as hard as he could and holding off the relentless pressure of Regis Laconi, riding his best race of the season. Two laps from the end, Laconi muscled past an Vermeulen's tyres started to cry enough. Toseland had an unusually lacklustre mid race performance, seeming to wander off into a world of his own and dropping two places from his first corner third before waking up and fighting his way back past both Haga and McCoy to take the last spot on the podium. Haga made it into fourth with McCoy smoking the Xerox Ducati into a well earned fifth. Steve Martin brought the Sterilgarda Ducati - possibly the nicest looking bike on the grid - back in sixth while Frankie Chili fought an epic battle up from 16th at the start to finish well in the points in seventh place. Leon Haslam did pretty well too, with a tenth place finish from his lowly start but fellow Brit Chris walker had a dire race and retired on lap nine.

So that shuffled the championship around a little, with Chris Vermeulen the new leader, one point clear of James Toseland who himself was one pint ahead of Regis Laconi. Haga was still in with a shot, though some twenty points behind. Frankie Chili will have to content himself with fifth, I think, though he may yet be able to overhaul Haga for fourth.

Race Two

Race two got crazy before it even started. Chris Vermeulen somehow crashed out on the warmup lap. He managed to get a lift back to the pits but started, heavily bruised, from the back of the grid. So no greyhound start for the young Aussie this time. In fact it was the Ducati triumvirate of Haga, Toseland and Laconi who made the running for the first part of the race, with the Japanese rider seeming to have control but being pressured hard by Toseland, anxious to capitalise on Vermeulen's temporary absence. Haga was setting fastest lap times but couldn't shake off the factory pairing and, on lap nine, his bike developed a mechanical problem and spat him off. Toseland did a sterling job of avoiding both man and machine as they slid down and across the track in front of him, losing some momentum but still holding his newly acquired first position. And so it looked as though it would stay. Laconi was very close but not really threatening until, two laps from the end, Toseland got a little too much wheelspin and lost some drive onto one of the critical straights, allowing the Frenchman to close and to barge past at the same point that he passed Vermeulen in the previous race. But Toseland isn't a quitter, and fought back hard, closing the gap and lining up for a last gasp overtake on the final corner before the finish line. Getting fantastic drive, the young Englishman would have had victory in the bag were the line just a few metres further away. Touching Laconi's bike and overhauling him, just forty-one thousandths of a second separated the Englishman from a win. A third of a bike length. A long way behind the dueling Ducatis was a third Ducati. Steve Martin, taking third place ahead of Gianluca Nannelli and team-mate Garry McCoy. But in sixth place, incredibly, was none other than Chris Vermeulen, who had wheelied, smoked and positively thrashed his Fireblade through from the very back of the grid in an astonishing display of skill and controlled aggression. Frankie Chili, sadly, missed out, falling off the score sheets in the fifth lap but still receiving a hero's return from his legion of fans around the circuit as he walked back in.

So the championship, though still wide open, is really down to just two men. Regis Laconi leads his team-mate James Toseland by just four points. Chris Vermeulen is thirteen points off the lead, with Haga an unlikely twenty eight points behind him. Last year Toseland took superpole at Magny Cours and took fifth in the first race and second in the next. Laconi didn't fare so well, with a distant sixth in the first race and a tumble in the second. So the psychological advantage may be with Toseland, though going to the last round with a lead, however slim, must be a nice feeling. Whatever happens, though, this championship is going to go right to the wire.

Race One Result