Foret wins at Monza

From Yamaha Racing

Both Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes posted heroic performances in race conditions at Monza on Sunday, with Foret taking his first World Supersport win of the 2008 season, by 1.199 seconds, and Parkes finishing third.

Parkes was unsure if he could even ride on Wednesday, so his podium finish, his second of the year, was an impressive performance from the tough Australian rider.

Foret pulled through from fifth after an imperfect start to overhaul early leaders Josh Brookes and Parkes, and after taking a firm grip on the lead on lap 9 the winning result was never really in doubt.

"I am very pleased to win here," Foret said. "After a tough time in round 1 at Qatar, I needed points - but I also wanted to win. This was my race; I love this track. I was a bit nervous after problems with my start in previous races so I didn't push it for a bit, but then it started to happen for me. I tried to push every lap from then on."

Parkes had a pretty lonely race after putting up a spirited defence of his early leading position, fighting with Brookes for much of the time. He finished only six seconds from victory, and five seconds ahead of the next best rider, Andrew Pitt.

"I had an accident on my mountain bike a short while ago and my arm's still quite sore," admitted Parkes. "That made it very difficult today. It was good for the first half of the race, but then it just got harder and harder to push under braking and during changes of direction. Considering how things were a few days ago, I'm happy to take the points and move forward."

Foret's win places him second in the championship on 71 points to Joan Lascorz's 77, with Parkes third on 65.

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a fighting ride at his home track, taking seventh after riding in a group of warring riders looking for fourth place.

Yamaha Spain rider Angel Rodriguez had a solid 10th place but his teammate David Salom just missed out on a point again, going 16th for the second race in succession.

Results
1. Fabien Foret (Yamaha) FRA 29:38.261
2. Joshua Brookes (Honda) AUS +1.199
3. Broc Parkes (Yamaha) AUS +6.736
4. Andrew Pitt (Honda) AUS +11.398
5. Robbin Harms (Honda) DNK +11.477
6. Craig Jones (Honda) GBR +11.716
7. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha) ITA +11.757
8. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda) FRA +12.186
9. Joan Lascorz (Honda) ESP +14.847
10. Angel Rodriguez (Yamaha) ESP +15.175
11. Mark Aitchinson (Triumph) AUS +21.256
12. Cristiano Migliorati (Kawasaki) ITA +24.899
13. Gianluca Nannelli (Honda) ITA +25.077
14. Vesa Kallio (Honda) FIN +25.160
15. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki) JPN +26.429

Best Lap
Fabien Foret 1:50.430

Point Standings
1. Joan Lascorz (Honda) 77
2. Fabien Foret (Yamaha) 71
3. Broc Parkes (Yamaha) 65
4. Andrew Pitt (Honda) 63
5. Joshua Brookes (Honda) 63
6. Craig Jones (Honda) 49
7. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 41
8. Robbin Harms (Honda) 39
9. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda) 28
10. Gianluca Vizziello (Honda) 26
11. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha) 25
12. Gianluca Nannelli (Honda) 20
13. Chris Walker (Kawasaki) 20
14. Mark Aitchinson (Triumph) 20
15. Barry Veneman (Suzuki) 19