From a press release issued by FGSport:

SUPERPOLE QUALIFYING

CORSER TAKES PETRONAS FP-1 TO HISTORIC SUPERPOLE WIN

History Men: The first-ever Malaysian Superbike, the unique and technologically advanced Petronas FP-1 triple, powered Troy Corser to a lap time of 1:27.687 and his 29th career Superpole win – although it was a much more significant development for the manufacturer than for the 1996 World Champion Corser. Having endured some hard times in the past the Foggy Petronas Team took their first ever Superpole triumph in a mood of elation, as Corser stuck in the fastest lap of any qualifying session, with eight riders still to set their single flying lap. The second Petronas of Chris Walker finished Superpole with a second row grid start, and seventh best time.

Fast By Noriyuki: After some disappointments since his Valencia race win back in February the squat and powerful figure of Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999RS) rocketed back into global focus after Superpole, another rider like Corser leaping up the grid order after a disappointing regular qualifying session. Haga was second in Superpole, after being eighth in practice. His team-mate Leon Haslam was a disappointed 12th, on the third row for Sunday’s pair of 28-lap Superbike races.

First and Second – Rows: Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) had another eventful day in World Superbike, as he had one engine fail and one crash in the final untimed regulation qualifying session, eventually running Superpole on his repaired crashed machine. He would finish third on the Superpole stopwatch and will also receive a penalty of a pit lane ride through in race one tomorrow, after his engine kill switch failed to work after his crash. His penalty means that he will be flagged in for a slow speed run down pitlane after five laps, rejoining the race immediately afterwards. The penalty only applies to race one. James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) struggled with machine set-up and will start the race from the last place on the second row, in eighth.

Frankie Front Row: On the pace all weekend, Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998) will start the Oschersleben races from the last slot on the front row, clawing his way to the upper echelon after a tough competition in the wake of Corser’s dominance. Injured privateer Ducati rider Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) swept his way forward to sixth.

Toiling Hondas: The Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR of Chris Vermeulen proved to be a difficult machine to set-up at such an endlessly twisting circuit, and the young World Supersport champion could only finish fifth in Superpole, with much work to complete in morning warm-up.

Privateer Party: After an excellent fifth place in regular qualifying Alpha Technik Honda CBR1000RR rider Michael Shulten took a ninth best time in Superpole, having not had any experience of the Pirelli 16.5 inch qualifying tyre in a previous session. His team-mate Jurgen Oelschläger went 11th quickest overall.

McCoy Middling: Garry McCoy, a rookie to the Oschersleben circuit, just managed to finish inside the top ten of Superpole, sandwiched by Schulten and Oelschläger. The fastest Kawasaki on show was the Bertocchi ZX-10 of Mauro Sanchini, 13th.

Supersport: Karl Muggeridge secured his fourth pole position of the five Supersport races so far this season – and in fine style, his lap of 1:29.288 a best ever Supersport mark at the 3.667km Oschersleben circuit. The new king of qualifying did not earn his title in an undisputed fashion, although overnight pole man Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) could not improve on his first day time, being pushed to second by Muggeridge’s charge.

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) took his R6 to third place on the grid, while Fabien Foret (Yamaha Italia) roared to fourth spot, the last on the front row for Sunday’s 28-lap race. Roman Stamm (Suzuki Swiss) was an impressive wild card rider, going fifth fastest, ahead of Muggeridge’s team-mate Broc Parkes, who experienced misfire problems in the final timed outing.


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda Racing:

Muggeridge Takes Fourth Pole In Five Attempts

In the final qualifying session of the Oschersleben race weekend Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) took full advantage of the improvements his crew made to his machine set-up overnight, scooping his fourth pole of the year on the way to the fastest ever Supersport lap of the 3.667km German track, a1:29.288.

His team-mate Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) experienced unexpected technical glitches on the final day of qualifying, a factor is his qualification in sixth place, earning a start on the second row. He nonetheless improved his first day lap time with his final session 1:30.340.

The Oschersleben front row consists of Muggeridge, Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) and Fabien Foret (Yamaha).

Said a self-effacing Muggeridge after his fourth pole of the year; “I suppose four out of five isn’t bad for an old guy like me! We did a lot of work on the rear shock, did all we could with it only to discover it was more to do with the front fork. We worked on that and it is better. It’s hard to get it perfect because there are some areas of really hard braking and then some long, tight corners. With a Supersport bike it’s always a compromise. But we can lap reasonably fast with the race tyres we tested, so we’ll see what happens.”

Parkes acknowledged that things did not go his way on this particular day. “We had a problem on my preferred bike and that meant we had to change to the other bike. That was enough to stop me doing the times I could have done on my number one machine.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate explained the first day’s experiences. “We are very happy with pole position, even more happy with the consistent fast times Karl was doing today, so I think we have things pretty well organised for the race tomorrow. We have some small details to test to make life easier for him in the race. Broc had some small problems today, with a misfiring bike – a big surprise to us and we will look into that later. It looked like he would get onto the front row until near the end of his last lap, but we know he is much more a racer than a qualifier. It will be tough for everyone tomorrow anyway.”

World Supersport Championship
Round Five – Oschersleben, Germany
28 – 30 May 2004
Final Qualifying
1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.288
2. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.644
3. K. Curtain, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 1:30.014
4. F. Foret, FRA, Yamaha YZF R6, 1:30.088
5. R. Stamm, SUI, Suzuki GSX 600R, 1:30.106
6. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.340
7. C. Kellner, GER, Yamaha YZF R6, 1:30.568
8. M. Neukirchner, GER, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.594
9. I. Macpherson, GBR, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.626
10. K. Fujiwara, JPN, Suzuki GSX 600R, 1:30.666


Vermeulen Starts From Second Row At Oschersleben

Having found the job of obtaining an optimum set-up for the slow and twisty Oschersleben circuit a difficult one, Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) ended his Superpole qualifying run in fifth place, having been third quickest in regulation qualifying.

The 3.667km German track has provided a series of obstacles to the new-for-2004 Honda, but with the morning warm-up left to run on Sunday there are still opportunities to make final modifications. Vermeulen will start the race from the first place on the second row of the grid, after Troy Corser shocked the paddock by giving the Petronas team its first ever pole position in World Superbike.

Vermeulen, still positive about his chances, on a circuit he won the Supersport race at last year, said, “I made a couple of small mistakes in Superpole, really because I didn’t use a soft tyre in the last session. When we put that in it made the bike a bit ‘pushy’ running a bit wide here and there. So it wasn’t a clean lap at all. I really wanted to be on the front row, but on the other hand we have some room for improvement tomorrow.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate outlined the qualifying efforts of the team. “It’s been a difficult weekend so far but we have made steady progress. We have one more night to think and find solutions for Chris. Third in normal qualifying and fifth on the grid is quite good considering all the work we had to do since Friday and I hope that we can find him a bit more for tomorrow. I hope he will hang in there with the first bunch of riders off the line.”

World Superbike Championship
Round Five – Oschersleben, Germany
28 – 30 May 2004
Superpole Qualifying
1. T. Corser, AUS, Petrons FP1, 1:27.687
2. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 1:28.197
3. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 1:28.339
4. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1:28.376
5. C. Vermeulen, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 1:28.592
6. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1:28. 678
7. C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1, 1:28.758
8. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 1:28.795
9. M. Schulten, GER, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:28.923
10. G. Mccoy, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1:29.158


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Yamaha Italia World Supersport
Date: Saturday, 29th May 2004
Circuit: Oschersleben, m. 3.667
Final Qualifying
Weather: dry, mostly sunny Temperature: air 19° C
Crowd: 10.000

FRONT ROW FABIEN. UNLUCKY THIRTEEN FOR JURGEN
Yamaha Racing Italia rider Fabien Foret will start tomorrow’s 28-lap race at Oschersleben from exactly where he wanted – the front row of the grid. The 3.667 kilometre track is one of the tightest and twistiest tracks in the series and overtaking is difficult at the best of times, so Fabien’s front row place is vital if he is to get a good result. His team mate Jurgen is not so fortunate though and will start from the fourth row after experiencing problems finding a good set-up for his bike. Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) had led the first timed qualifying session and looked on course for pole position until series leader Karl Muggeridge (Honda) snatched it in the closing stages of the afternoon session.

FABIEN FORET – 4th, 1:30.088
I’m unhappy because I felt I could’ve been faster – if it hadn’t been for all the traffic on the track towards the end of the final session. Also I thought I could squeeze one more quick lap in at the end, but the flag came out and I just ran out of time. So, I guess I’m lucky to be on the front row and at Oschersleben that is absolutely vital. This is a very difficult track for overtaking, so a front row place is a must. I aim to make a good start and get in and out of turn one without any problems. It’s like a funnel going in there, so it can get a bit hectic. But if I manage that OK, I think I can get a podium. Muggeridge is always fast in practice, but I’m not worried about that, because the race is another matter.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 13th, 1:30.800
I don’t know what’s happening at the moment, because early on in the season I had a good feeling with the bike, but now that’s gone. My goal was to be on the second row, but now I’m on the fourth and that’s not a good place to be here. I’ve got to make the start of my life and catch up the leaders as soon as possible, so that I can make a good race of it. It’s going to be hard, but I’m going to try my best for sure.

TEKKYU KAYO – 17th, 1:31.128
Everything was going OK for half the session, then I lost control going into turn and had a very slow speed fall in the gravel. I wasn’t hurt and the bike suffered no damage, so that’s the good news. The bad news is that I’m on row five and a long way from the front of the grid. Fortunately I’m not chasing championship points like Fabien and Jurgen, but just getting in some solid race practice. That doesn’t mean I am not going to try my hardest – because I am!


More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 5, Oschersleben (Germany)
Saturday 29th May, Final Qualifying
Circuit: 3.667 kms
Weather: mostly sunny, 20°C

SUPERPOLE TROY!

Troy completely annihilated the opposition in the Superpole shoot-out today and stormed to pole position on his Petronas FP1. Troy’s lap of 1:27.687 was a staggering half a second quicker then his nearest rival Noriyuki Haga
(Ducati) and came after starting Superpole with the ninth fastest time in regular qualifying. Throughout his Superpole lap, Troy was smooth and unhurried and his lap time shocked everybody present. It was also the first Superpole for the Petronas team and, with a front row start so vital at Oschersleben, a good omen for the two races ahead. Third on the grid is series leader Regis Laconi (Ducati), but he will have to complete a drive-though penalty in the first of tomorrow’s 28-lappers as his bike failed to cut out on when he crashed in qualifying. Frankie Chili (Ducati) completes the front row, with Chris Vermeulen (Honda) fifth and Steve Martin (Ducati) sixth.

TROY – POLE! 1:27.687
I’m absolutely delighted to take Superpole – my first for the team – and be on the front row. Funnily enough, the lap was easy and there were no dramas at all. I said that this track seems to suit the Petronas and this proved it. The bike worked perfectly on the Superpole lap and this is the first time we’ve managed to get a good result with the qualifying tyres. Oschersleben is a really hard track to overtake on, so you have to be on the front row to stand a chance of a good result. The first turn is quite close and it’s best to get through it without any trouble because everybody funnels in to it. If I can get a good start and be in front or up front then I can wait and see what happens towards the end before making my move. So far so good, now let’s see what happens tomorrow.



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LACONI (DUCATI FILA) THIRD, TOSELAND EIGHTH IN OSCHERSLEBEN QUALIFYING – LACONI FACES RIDE-THROUGH PENALTY IN RACE ONE TOMORROW

Oschersleben (Germany), Saturday 29 May 2004: Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) and James Toseland qualified third and eighth respectively on the grid for Sunday’s World Superbike round 5 at Oschersleben as Troy Corser (Petronas) powered to the twenty-ninth pole position of his career with the only sub-1m28s lap of the weekend.

The Frenchman faces a tough first race tomorrow as he has to undergo a ride-through penalty of 85 km/h in the pitlane after the FIM decided to penalise the Ducati Fila team for the fact that the engine of his 999 F04 failed to cut out immediately after his crash in today’s second free practice session. The tilt switch, tested by the team before the beginning of the practice session and right after the bike returned to the pits after the crash, was actually functioning according to the rules, but it did not cut off during the crash probably due to the dynamics of the accident.

However Ducati Fila accepts this unprecedented decision and will make every attempt tomorrow to help Regis, in addition to James, score the best possible results.

“It’s been quite an eventful weekend with two crashes yesterday and today and an engine problem this afternoon and I’ve also had to work hard on the bike to find the right setting” declared Laconi. “I’m not so happy with the way things have gone but that’s racing and third today was actually very good. We changed the settings a lot for this track because it’s quite different, but I didn’t know the settings enough to go fast for one lap in Superpole. However I’m very happy with my race set-up and my race tyre even though race 1 will be very tough because of this penalty” he added.

James Toseland, sixth after the two qualifying sessions, shaved a tenth of his time in Superpole but slipped to eighth and starts tomorrow’s two races from row 2. “My Superpole lap was quite average really but that’s not so important because I have improved a lot over the weekend and I’m very happy with my race set-up” explained Toseland. We did a 1m29s flat on the race tyre and the bike is feeling more comfortable now. I’m pretty happy where I am at the moment, I’ve got the tyre sorted out and the bike is pretty much to my liking. Now I’ve just got to ride the thing out there, I feel it’s coming out of the corners much better and we’re moving forward.”

STARTING-GRID: 1. Corser (Petronas) 1:27.687; 2. Haga (Renegade Ducati) 1:28.197; 3. Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1:28.339; 4. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) 1:28.376; 5. Vermeulen (Honda) 1:28.592; 6. Martin (DFX Ducati) 1:28.678; 7. Walker (Petronas) 1:28.758; 8. Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1:28.795; etc.


LANZI (DUCATI BREIL) REMAINS TWENTIETH AS SUPERSPORT PACE HOTS UP

Oschersleben (Germany), Saturday 29 May 2004: Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Breil) will start tomorrow’s fifth round of the World Supersport championship at Oschersleben from row 5 of the grid after qualifying in twentieth position.

Lanzi, European Superstock runner-up in 2003, was unable to make a further improvement in the last few minutes of second qualifying and had to stay with his provisional row 5 grid slot from yesterday, despite knocking half-a-second off his time.

“Last year with the more powerful 999s Superstock I lapped six-tenths of a second quicker and that was what I was aiming for today” declared Lanzi.

“That time would have enabled me to start amongst the top 10, but unfortunately in the last few minutes, when I went out to try and improve my time, I put on a tyre that did not perform in a satisfactory way..

“This has created a little bit of confusion also for the choice of tyre I’ll use in the race, I’ll do some more tests in the warm-up to get a better idea.

“Pity, I’ll just have to make another good start like at Monza and get the best possible result tomorrow” Lanzi added.

TIMES: 1. Muggeridge (Honda) 1’29.288; 2. Charpentier (Honda) 1:29.644; 3. Curtain (Yamaha) 1:30.014; 4. Foret (Yamaha) 1:30.088; 5. Stamm (Suzuki) 1:30.106; 6. Parkes (Honda) 1:30.340; … 20. Lanzi (Ducati Breil) 1:31.340.