Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday’s World Superbike Qualifying Results From Misano:

1. Regis Laconi, Ducati 999F04, 1:51.160
2. Chris Walker, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:51.509
3. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:51.965
4. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:52.010
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:52.820
6. Steve Martin, Ducati 999RS, 1:52.981
7. Leon Haslam, Ducati 999RS, 1:53.076
8. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:53.716
9. Marco Borciani, Ducati 999RS, 1:53.740
10. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 998RS, 1:54.066
11. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:54.148
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:54.248
13. James Toseland, Ducati 999F04, 1:54.443
14. Garry McCoy, Ducati 999RS, 1:54.532
15. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS, 1:54.901
16. Luca Pini, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:55.463
17. Gianmaria Liverani, Ducati 998RS, 1:55.763
18. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 999RS, 1:56.131
19. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:56.206
20. Doriano Romboni, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:57.402

24. Warwick Nowland, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:59.402

28. Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:05.344


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

Provisional Front Row Start For Vermeulen

Unseasonably cold and wet conditions on the Adriatic coast of Italy continued into the afternoon’s first Superbike qualifying session, as the impressive challenge of the Ten Kate Honda Superbike team took its latest steps in development. Already proven to be competitive in dry conditions, the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR and Chris Vermeulen combination made another strong mark in the sand with their overall fourth fastest performance, with both machines being pressed into service at some stage.

Vermeulen’s time of 1:52.010 was the best of his 19 laps, with the fastest lap of the session coming from Regis Laconi (Ducati) – a 1:51.160.

“That was all right considering the conditions,” said Vermeulen. “The Superbike is a little bit different to ride in the wet than the Supersport bike, because it spins the rear wheel even in a straight line. The best thing is that the tyres aren’t that much different from the ones I used in the wet in Supersport. If the conditions are the same tomorrow then we only need to make some small steps in set-up because we made so many bigger ones today.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate stated, “We need to learn as much as possible about the bike in the rain, because this is the first time we have had to go fast in the full wet. Towards the end we had quite a good setting, with Chris feeling happy to go fast on the bike. It’s different to the Supersport machine in that it has more power and it makes for a different approach to the set-up.”

Superpole takes place on Saturday afternoon, in its traditional time-slot of 16.00hrs, after the final regulation timed qualifying session in the morning.

World Superbike Championship
Round Three – Misano Adriatico, Italy
16 – 18 April 2004
First Qualifying


1.R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 1.51.160
2.C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1, 1.51.509
3. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP1, 1.51.965
4. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 1.52.010
5. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1.52.820
6. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1.52.981
7. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS, 1.53.076
8. P. Bontempi, Suzuki GSX1000R, 1.53.716
9. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati 999 RS, 1.53.740
10. G. Nannelli, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1.54.066


More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Provisional front row for FPR riders at wet Misano

Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Chris Walker and Troy Corser qualified on the provisional front row of the grid after a wet first day of the third round of the Superbike World Championship at Misano, Italy.

Chris finished the afternoon session second behind championship favourite Regis Laconi while Troy, who had headed the morning’s free practice times in drier conditions, was just behind his team-mate in third.

Both riders, using Pirelli tyres in wet conditions for the first time, gradually improved their afternoon times to close the gap on Laconi to 0.449 and 0.805 seconds respectively.

With more unsettled weather forecast for Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s two races, team owner Carl Fogarty was understandably delighted with the first day performance of his two riders.

He said: “That was down to two riders riding very well. Wet weather is always a great leveller but the bike still has to be set-up well and work well. I have said before that Chris and Troy and two of the best, if not the best, riders in the championship so now it is up to us to give them a bike that matches the others in the dry. But, while the bike is not as fast as the others, long may it continue to rain!”

Chris said: “I just went through the normal process of getting a wet setting by playing with the ride heights and found a setting where I had more feel. And it didn’t feel so bad this morning when the conditions were semi-dry. I don’t enjoy riding in the wet but there is no saying that, with a colder track, conditions will be any better tomorrow, so I am very pleased to be second fastest. The area for improvement for tomorrow is to get more corner entry grip and a bit more feel on the brakes turning into corners.”

Troy said: “We softened the set-up for the rain and tried a different rear and I was able to start to get into my rhythm. Once I got my knee on the ground I got more confidence, although I am still struggling with grip on the right hand side. My target was to get into the 51s and I knew I would be up there with that. I like this track and the bike is working well and, if the setting works in the wet, it should work well in the dry as well.”

Friday qualifying times, Superbike World Championship round three, Misano, Italy: 1 Laconi 1:51.160; 2 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:51.509; 3 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:51.965; 4 Vermeulen 1:52.010; 5 Chili 1:52.820; 6 Martin 1:52.981; 7 Haslam 1:53.076; 8 Bontempi 1:53.716; 9 Borciani 1:53.740; 10 Nannelli 1:54.066

Free practice: 1 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:41.278; 2 Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:41.541; 3 Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1:41.549; 4 Chili (PSG-1) 1:41.550; 5 Borciani (DFX) 1:41.557; 6 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:42.032; 7 Romboni (Giesse Racing) 1:42.183; 8 Nannelli (Team Pedercini) 1:42.480; 9 Pedercini (Team Pedercini) 1:42.579; 10 Martin (DFX) 1:42.864


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

TROY HAPPY DESPITE THE CONDITIONS

Troy finished the first day of qualifying at Misano in third place, despite the difficult conditions. Overnight rain meant that the track was damp in places in the morning and Troy only got a chance to try some slicks right at the end of the session. At the end of it, Troy topped the leaderboard and was happy with the way his Petronas FP1 performed at the 4.060 kilometre circuit. Then, the rain came down and the afternoon timed session took place with a soaking wet track. Troy took it steadily and used the time to find a good set-up for his bike, but easily finished in the top three. Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati) posted the fastest time of the timed qualifying; with Troy’s Petronas team Chris Walker second quickest. Completing the provisional front row of the grid is Chris Vermeulen (Honda).

TROY 3rd, 1:51.160

Well I think that today was the best the bike has felt straight out of the box. It’s funny because Misano can be quite slippery in the wet, but the bike and its power curve seemed suited to the corners here and I’m getting good drive out of them. At first, the wet grip doesn’t seem so good, but it gets better lap after lap and my confidence grew and I was able to get my knee down OK. We changed the set-up from this morning and made it softer because of the rain. The rear tyre initially didn’t have much feel, but it improved the longer I stayed out there. At the moment, I’m pretty happy because if the bike works OK in the wet, then it should work OK in the dry. At the moment, I’d still prefer a dry race – because it’s safer – but I don’t really mind if it is wet or dry.

Friday qualifying
1 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1:51.160, 2 Walker (GB-Petronas FP1) 1:51.509, 3 TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) 1:51.965, 4 Vermeulen (AUS-Honda) 1:52.010, 5 Chili (I-Ducati) 1:552.820, 6 Martin (AUS-Ducati)


More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks – Scuderia Caracchi:

Under the flood the debut day at Misano

Cold and bad weather in the first day of the third round of Superbike World Championship on the 4060 meters of Santamonica circuit at Misano, Italy, starting wet and increasing rainfall. Not brilliant results for the riders of Scuderia Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks in this debut day: Garry McCoy recorded the 14th fastest and Miguel Praia 26th.

“We haven’t any experience with this bike and those tyres in wet conditions.” – commented Garry McCoy rejoining the pit garage – “In such wet conditions I have no feeling with the front, but the rear tyre seems to work correctly. This situation isn’t proper for my sliding style of riding and I’m not able to get the corner. So, in this way I’m not going out the Curvone corner fast and also the top speed is poor. Tomorrow morning we’ll test a softer front tyre to look for a better grip, so I hope to be able to enter the corner sliding as I’m used to.”

Difficult debut on wet Misano for Miguel Praia too, but at the end the Portuguese reached a appreciating result for that conditions.

“This morning we broke the engine.” – said Praia – “So in the afternoon session I lost a bit of time running in the new engine, but looking at a track that I’ve never seen before, and on a bike and tyres I don’t know in wet conditions I believe that my result isn’t horrible. Now I hope to do better tomorrow.”

Entered as Scuderia Caracchi’s wild card rider at Misano Giancarlo De Matteis, on the old 998RS 03 type. The Italian rider scored the 21th fastest, crashing at the end of the qualifying session.

“What a pity, I ruined all the session. I was running quite well, but suddenly my rear lost the grip outing the last corner while I was trying to improve my time; I opened too early the throttle, really a pity. I’m confident to get a better result tomorrow.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LACONI (DUCATI FILA) SETS PROVISIONAL POLE IN WET MISANO SUPERBIKE SESSION

Misano Adriatico (Italy), Friday 16 April 2004: Ducati Fila’s Regis Laconi led the field in today’s opening qualifying session for the San Marino World Superbike Championship round at Misano Adriatico, which was held in dreadful conditions. Team-mate James Toseland was not so fortunate, the British rider unable to get to grips with the wet surface and having to settle for thirteenth quickest time.

The afternoon session was hit by constant rain but the 28 year-old French rider outclassed the rest of the field, setting his lap times easily and confidently in the wet on the Santamonica circuit. Laconi dominated the hour from start to finish, recording a time of 1:51.160, three tenths of a second ahead of the surprising Petronas duo of Chris Walker and Troy Corser.

“I’m very happy because I know I’m normally always very fast in the wet” declared Laconi. “Before coming here I was quite afraid if it was wet after my performance at Valencia but today I was fine in my mind and could concentrate on setting a good time. With Ernesto Marinelli and the team we found a good solution and settings, I was able to push hard and I did 17 laps before coming into the box, but most of all I enjoyed riding in the wet out there today. I didn’t want to make a mistake this time so I started slowly. I went out on my run, felt the grip was not so bad, started to know where the track was better or worse and then the feeling was good”.

Toseland (Ducati Fila) was slightly disappointed with his performance in the wet but is confident he can improve tomorrow. “It’s been a bit of a disappointing day but we had a few problems and I wasn’t getting the feel there at all at the start of the session” declared Toseland. “We’ve just been working on it, we were getting there slowly but the session finished and we didn’t get the bike really comfortable in these conditions and before you know it the day’s over.

“If it’s dry tomorrow, it’s a completely new ball game but if it rains we’ll be OK. The tyre I chose for the wet did quite a few laps and I went a second faster in the last outing so now we know which direction to go in, we’ll be OK tomorrow” he added.

TIMES: 1. Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1:51.160; 2. Walker (Petronas) 1:51.509; 3. Corser (Petronas) 1:51.965; 4. Vermeulen (Honda) 1:52.010; 5. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) 1:52.820; 6. Martin (DFX Ducati) 1:52.981; 7. Haslam (Renegade Ducati) 1:53.076; 8. Bontempi (Suzuki) 1:53.716; . 13. Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1:54.443.


More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group:

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

Fully wet track conditions for the first of two regulation qualifying sessions at Misano Adriatico provided a level, if somewhat slippery, playing field for the 28 World Superbike riders in attendance. The culmination of their Friday rain dances saw a familiar name at the top of the time sheets, that of Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999 F04), a man who has almost made qualifying his own this year. His first day best of 1:51.160 was fully 0.349 seconds better than his closest challenger, and was just one of many quick laps put in by a rider clearly on a mission at his team’s first home event of the year.

The wet conditions allowed those teams without the biggest power outputs a perfect opportunity to show what a good rider and chassis combination can provide, and the Petronas pairing of Chris Walker (Foggy Petronas FP-1) and Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1) launched themselves through the spray to second and third fastest times respectively. After an impressive showing in Valencia, where Walker secured a podium finish, the Petronas team has become a force when conditions permit, with the high profile machine reaping more measurable rewards. Only in its third meeting the Honda Fireblade of Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was an excellent fourth fastest in the wet, making it a twin, two triples and a four-cylinder in the top four positions.

Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) used his 998RS machine in the first session of the day, and eventually set the fifth fastest time, using his exact style and smoothness to make the top five in such challenging conditions. Fast in wet or dry, Steve Martin (DFX Sterilgarda Ducati 99RS) was next in the listings, with Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati 999RS) using his considerable experience – considering his youthful age – to run out seventh, just under two seconds slower than the charging Laconi.

Piergiorgio Bontempi (Zongshen Suzuki) had his best day of the season and went a deserved eighth fastest for the SBK rookie team. Championship leader James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) was disappointed to finish 13th on the first day, with Phillip Island race two winner Garry McCoy (Xerox NCR Ducati 999RS) 14th. Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999 RS), the winner of race two at the opening round in Valencia was in even worse trouble, finishing his first day 18th.

In the World Supersport Championship, a late lap in fully soaking conditions gave Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki) the provisional pole position, from the Ten Kate Honda duo of Broc Parkes and Karl Muggeridge. The conditions for the Supersport riders got progressively wetter as time went on, but in a peculiar twist of events the best of them went faster than ever before.

Phillip Island runner-up Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) took fourth place on the stopwatch, with 1999 Champion Stephane Chambon fifth, ahead of local Honda rider and WSS regular Alessio Corradi. Privateer Ducati rider Giovanni Bussei displaced factory pilot Lorenzo Lanzi by one position, with Bussei seventh. World Championship leader Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Italia) was a lowly 12th, 2003 race winner Fabien Foret (Yamaha Italia) in 21st fastest.

Final qualifying continues on Saturday 17th, with the risk of more inclement weather still hanging in the air.