Suzuki Castrol are on the provisional pole for tomorrow’s Zolder 6 Hour round of the FIM World Endurance Championship. Matthieu Lagrive’s lap of 1:32.154 this afternoon was only challenged by his team mate Vincent Philippe’s 1:32.659, set in this morning’s qualifying session. Second on the grid are local wildcards Van Zon Honda, with Michael Schulten lapping in 1:33.437 in this morning’s session. Kawasaki Diablo’s Marco Rohtlaan was third fastest, with his time of 1.34.233 also set this morning. Yamaha Endurance Moto38’s Didier Van Keymeulen (1:34.409) was fourth, meaning that the top four places have once again gone to four different manufacturers. Yamaha Austria’s Igor Jerman (1:34.851) was fifth fastest; their star qualifier Gwen Giabbani was injured while struggling to control his tank-slapping bike this morning and did not ride this afternoon. Matthieu Lagrive, Suzuki Castrol: “I am happy. With my team mates Vincent Philippe and Keiichi Kitagawa we have found a good set-up for the race. Our tyres are good so there will be no problems tomorrow.” Stephane Mertens, Van Zon Honda: “It’s good to be back in endurance, and with such a strong team. The Honda is very aggressive to ride and this is a very technical circuit – I think I would be faster with less power! I am used to this circuit on a road bike where there is more time to think, but I am getting more used to the Honda now. We can be on the podium tomorrow for sure.” Marco Rohtlaan, Kawasaki Diablo: “I like this track. Part of it is like a track in Finland and part like a track in Latvia so it is easy for me to go fast. I just need to learn the other endurance tracks so that I can do as well there. To get a fast lap you need to go through the chicane on full power – this gives you a lot of speed over the hill.” Top Ten Qualifying Positions 1st 1 – Suzuki Castrol Team – FRA – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – M.Lagrive – 1:32.154 2nd 71 – Van Zon Honda – BEL – Honda CBR1000RR – M.Schulten – 1:33.437 3rd 666 – Kawasaki Diablo 666 – GBR – Kawasaki ZX10R – M.Rohtlaan – 1:34.233 4th 38 – Yamaha Endurance Moto38 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – 1:34.409 5th 7- Yamaha Austria – AUT – Yamaha YZF-R1 – I.Jerman – 1:34.851 6th 8 – Kawasaki Bolliger Team – SUI – Kawasaki ZX10R – D.Morillon- 1:34.942 7th 99 – Yamaha Acropolis Zone Rouge – BEL – Yamaha YZF-R1 – M.Fissette – 1:35.076 8th 3 – Yamaha Phase One Endurance – GBR – Yamaha YZF-R1- D.Cudlin – 1:35.471 9h 12 – Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se – SWE – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – T.Anderson – 1:35.855 10th 4 – Yamaha X-One – ITA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – G.de Matteis – 1:35.903 17th June 2006 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: SUZUKI CASTROL ON POLE IN ZOLDER World Endurance Champions Suzuki Castrol has put the GSX-R1000 Suzuki on pole for tomorrow’s World Endurance fourth round at Zolder in Belgium. The series leaders dominated free practice and qualifying for the six-hour race despite a high-speed crash by team member Keiichi Kitagawa this morning. Kitagawa was unhurt in the incident but had to switch to the number two machine for the remainder of the session. Team mate Matthieu Lagrive set a lap time of 1:32.154 in the afternoon session, bettering Vincent Philippe’s 1:32.659 earlier in the day. Said Lagrive: “I am happy. With my team mates Vincent Philippe and Keiichi Kitagawa, we have found a good set-up for the race. Our tyres are good so there will be no problems tomorrow.”