AUSTRALIAN CLASSICS: 1999’s Race 2 sees Corser pip Fogarty on the line
It was an extraordinary start to the 1999 season for Ducati, with teammates Fogarty and Corser duking it out – although Corser had a trick up his sleeve at home
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has always been exciting, and this season promises to be no different. However, in this final week of February – the traditional starting point for the WorldSBK season – we’re looking at some of the classics from the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the usual curtain-raiser. Having kicked the week off with the closest finish ever from 2010, we’re only one thousandth of a second behind in this one.
1999 had started in style for Carl Fogarty with a double in South Africa at Kyalami, but when the Championship went Down Under, it was Troy Corser who stole his thunder. The home-hero won Race 1 in fine style, but it was a hard-fought battle in Race 2. Setting a new lap record on the penultimate lap, Corser took the lead to the roar of the partisan Australian crowd at Turn 1, with Fogarty back into second. Through Turn 9, Fogarty was building but made a mistake, whilst Corser ran wide at Turn 10, allowing ‘Foggy’ to come through, the pair almost touching.
It was all down to a run to the line and with Fogarty providing the slipstream, Corser was able to draw alongside his teammate, crossing the line virtually together. A Ducati 1-2 was confirmed, but which way round was it given? Corser had pipped Fogarty by just 0.005s, making it the joint-closest finish ever seen in WorldSBK at the time. Corser took a double at home, his first wins in Australia since his rookie year of 1995, whilst he’d go on to win another four times at Phillip Island.
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