Having seen his first R1 victory taken away by rain while leading at the Nurburgring, it was again a case of 'so close but yet so far' for
Troy Corser at Misano on Sunday.
After qualifying on pole, the double world champion fought back from a poor start in race one to pass Ruben Xaus for the lead on lap 15 of 24. However, Max Neukirchner surprised the paddock by turning tenth on the grid into a victory charge and took the lead from Corser just three laps later.
"Race one was looking really good until Max Neukirchner appeared," confessed Corser, who finished just 0.5secs behind the German. "When I was in the lead, I was comfortable and I really thought this would be my day and I would win.
"Max came past and although I tried to keep up with him, it just wasn't possible. If I had tried any harder, I would've crashed for sure. But it felt good to be leading a race and I was confident that I could win race two or get another podium at least," admitted the Australian.
The restarted second race saw Corser lead as early as lap five, and hold P1 throughout the middle stages, only to then be caught and passed by both
Troy Bayliss and
Ruben Xaus.
However, neither was able to get away and Corser retook second position from Bayliss on lap 19 - with Xaus just a few bike-lengths further ahead - but a bobble through the final turn then sent Corser off track. The #11 rejoined in fifth, where he went on to finish.
"The rear tyre was OK up to about fifteen laps, but then it became a bit of a struggle and I had to ride for the best finish I could get," revealed Corser. "It's possible that the second tyre had already had two heat cycles and normally that means that the performance drops. We couldn't think of another explanation for the difference in behaviour.
"I'm really happy with the way I'm riding at the moment and I'm giving everything I've got, but somehow a win eludes me," Corser continued, adding: "What do I have to do to win!"
Corser may have been left disappointed, but team manager Massimo Meregalli felt there were plenty of positives.
"We saw definitely that Troy is back," he declared. "He had a good weekend. He worked hard and was rewarded with a Superpole win, and a good podium finish for his efforts."
