The battle of Troy

FACTORY Aprilia rider Troy Corser holds a two-point lead over fellow Australian Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in the 2001 Superbike World Championship following round two at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa yesterday.

But the biggest winner on the day was American Ducati rider Ben Bostrom, who claimed pole position and won both race two and the overall round honours after a tenacious tussle with race one winner Colin Edwards (Honda).

Corser, the 1996 Superbike world champion, suffered a bout of food poisoning during the lead-up to the race and admits the fast, concrete-lined circuit is not one of his favourites, but was quick enough in qualifying to put his RSV1000 on the front row beside Bostrom, Edwards and Bayliss.

Defending champion Edwards put in his first convincing ride of the season after passing early leader Bayliss on lap three to win the race from the Australian by 1.8 seconds.

Corser was fastest of the leading four riders in the closing stages, finishing just over four seconds behind in third. Bostrom never recovered from a poor start to claim fourth with Superbike veterans Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) and Frankie Chili (Suzuki) taking fifth and sixth respectively to make it five brands in the top six.

Young Australian Ducati privateer Broc Parkes claimed 12th place while Aussie stalwarts Steve Martin and Marty Craggill came 19th and 21st respectively on their Ducatis.

Bostrom came out determined to prevent another Edwards whitewash in race two, which was run at a far more frenetic pace. The Ducati rider led from early in the race, holding out a determined Edwards until the American slipped by in a nail-biting move around mid-distance.

But the Honda rider's lead was shortlived. Mechanical failure struck the VTR1000 on lap 12, forcing Edwards out of the race almost as soon as he claimed the lead from Bostrom. It was an embarrassing gaffe for Honda, whose number two bike, ridden by 500cc grand prix Tadayuki Okada, failed to finish either race following electrical problems.

Bostrom went on to win the race in commanding fashion, claiming only his second SWC race win.

"I guess we got given that win in race two to some extent but I'll take anything we get," he said.

"Colin came past me and just about scared me to death, but right after that I thought he missed a gear or something. Then I looked back and I saw a red Ducati and I thought I had the race then.

"We changed some of the settings on the suspension for race two and that made the bike slide more - which is just how I like it - feeling like I'm right back on a dirt tracker." Edwards, whose championship hopes have taken a battering, was circumspect.

"Race one was about as perfect as a race can get. Michelin gave us a really good race tyre and there was no way I was going to waste it on the first few laps in a rush to get to the front and get away," he said.

"I don't know what happened to the bike in race two but it just went kaput. I suppose it's possible to look on the bright side and say that, 'well, we won a race'." Bayliss held on to finish second just 4.3 seconds behind Bostrom, with Corser's Aprilia again filling third place to make it an all-Italian rostrum. Britain's Neil Hodgson took fourth with another Ducati rider, Rubens Xaus, fifth in his debut season.

Parkes went one better with an 11th place in race two while Martin was the only other Australian to finish, back in 17th place.

Bayliss and Bostrom's strong South African performances have allowed Ducati to creep ahead of Aprilia in the manufacturers' pointscore while Corser's two third placings see him retain the Superbike World Championship lead, albeit a slender one following Bayliss' two seconds.

The pair is now set for what should be a fierce home-turf showdown at the third round at Phillip Island on April 22.

Championship points: 1 Corser, 82 2 Bayliss, 80 3 Bostrom, 54 4 Edwards, 485 Lavilla, 456 Chili, 367 Laconi, 318 Yanagawa, 299 Xaus, 2610 Hodgson, 24 Manufacturers' points: 1 Ducati, 852 Aprilia, 823 Honda, 494 Kawasaki, 475 Suzuki, 366 Yamaha, 4