News

Australian Troy Corser's race day at Monza turned sour before it had really begun. After his best qualifying performance all year with 11th position, the luckless Corser was involved in a dramatic incident in race one after Japan's Makota Tamada fell seconds after the start at the right-left chicane, with his bike cannoning across the grass and onto the track. Corser, fellow Australian Brendan Roberts and Germany's Max Neukirchner were among those to get caught up in the ensuing carnage, and the race was immediately red-flagged.

Corser was winded in the crash before making it back onto the grid for the restart, but then added to his woes with a nasty crash on lap one at the famous Parabolica curve. After such a brutal few minutes, Corser then sat out race two as a precautionary measure.

"I got hit by another bike on the first lap of the first race and was lucky not to get hurt," said Corser. "I was on my knees and a bike caught the back of my head and forced my helmet down on to the tarmac and gave it a big thump. I managed to get off the track and on to the grass. I just wanted to get my breath back, but the marshals insisted on putting me on a stretcher and taking me to the ambulance. As soon as I had got my breath back, I got up and walked back to the pits for the restart of the race. The team didn't put any pressure on me to start the race, but I felt okay and decided to try. Unfortunately, I got sucked into a four or five-rider draft going into the Parabolica and found myself going in a bit too hot. I felt pretty bruised and battered and we decided not to risk anything by starting the second race. It was all a big shame because I thought we'd get some good results today."