Corser ends year with warm-up lap crash.

After a long, hard season for Troy Corser, the final round of the 2003 World Superbike Championship at the French circuit of Magny Cours, ended in disappointment when the 1996 World Champion crashed out of the second race on the warm-up lap, costing him a top ten spot in the final rider's standings.

After a long, hard season for Troy Corser, the final round of the 2003 World Superbike Championship at the French circuit of Magny Cours, ended in disappointment when the 1996 World Champion crashed out of the second race on the warm-up lap, costing him a top ten spot in the final rider's standings.

Never before in his lengthy WSBK career had the Australian born rider crashed out of a race before it had officially started and his, and the Foggy Petronas Racing team's misery was compounded as he dropped from a tie for tenth in points to twelfth as Mauro Sanchini and Lucio Pedercini scored crucial points in the final race of the year.

The day had started well for Corser and the FPR team as he rose from the outside of the fourth row on the grid to eighth by the chequered flag in the opening 23-lap battle of the day, narrowly losing out to countryman Steve Martin in a battle for seventh place.

So, the season that started so promisingly at Valencia back in March, ended not according to plan and Corser's front row qualifying slot for the first round of the series in Spain and his fifth place effort in the third race of the year at Phillip Island remain his best showings from Foggy Petronas Racing's maiden year of competition.

"I'm not sure if that sums up our season or not," said a crestfallen Corser, who watched helplessly from the sidelines as Pedercini finished tenth and Sanchini eleventh to push themselves above Corser in the final table. "I had to work hard in the first race, fighting with Martin and I almost beat him to the line. But I didn't manage to block him in the last corner and he just sneaked ahead.

"I'm really not sure quite what happened in race two. The bike just came round so fast; I didn't have a chance at all. I was lucky that he bike landed behind me, but then it started pushing me into the fence, so I had to scramble to get it out of the way before it hit the wall!

"I've never crashed on a warm-up lap in my life and we still don't know what it was, though it felt a bit similar to my incident on my Superpole lap yesterday. But, it's done and dusted and now I have to look forward to next season.

"This year has been a development year really and we have all made a lot of progress - probably more then many people expected. We're all confident that 2004 is going to be a good year for us."

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