Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.


By Glenn Le Santo

Yoshimura Suzuki wild card rider Mat Mladin continued his total domination of the WSB weekend in Laguna Seca, USA by running off with the Superpole best lap in front of the WSB regulars at 1:25.561, slightly down on his best lap in qualifying.

Mladin held off Regis Laconi, the strongest WSB rider so far this weekend, to hang onto the pole he’s held all weekend. Frankie Chili was another World Superbike campaigner trying to take on Mladin, but he had to be content with third on the grid. Aaron Yates, Mladin’s teammate, was just able to hang onto his front-row spot, despite the efforts of Gregorio Lavilla, also on a Suzuki, to get on that all-important Laguna front row.

WSB regulars James Toseland, Ruben Xaus and Championship-leader Neil Hodgson completed the second row. Eric Bostrom, AMA Championship leader until today’s AMA Superbike race victory by Mladin ribbed him of the title lead, came home in 10th. Giovanni Bussei was the last wild card rider home, in 12th, behind Steve Martin.

World Superbike Superpole Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.561
2. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 1:25.999
3. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:26.162
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.476
5. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.583
6. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, 1:26.622
7. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 1:26.667
8. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 1:26.838
9. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 1:26.841
10. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:26.947
11. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.055
12. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.187
13. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.269
14. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:27.447
15. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:27.851
16. David Garcia, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.974

The rest of the grid:

17. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.446
18. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.501
19. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:27.644
20. James Haydon, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:28.472
21. Lucio Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.141
22. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda RC51, 1:29.489
23. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.774


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California, USA
SWC Qualifying and Superpole Report

WORLD SUPERBIKE POLE POSITION FOR MLADIN AT LAGUNA SECA

Monterey, California, USA (Saturday, 12 July) – In a sensational final Superpole qualifying session, Australia’s Mat Mladin produced the quickest time of the 16-rider group and will start tomorrow’s two 28-lap Superbike World Championship races from pole position at Laguna Seca Raceway, California.

Mladin has been untouchable in both SWC qualifying sessions held this weekend and reproduced that form to score his first ever SWC pole position after scorching around the 3.610km (2.2miles) in a time of 1:25.561.

“It felt good to have gotten the win in the AMA Superbike race earlier today, leaving us with just one bike to focus on for the rest of the weekend,” said Mladin.

“So far this weekend everything has gone well with setting up the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in SWC spec. The package with the bike and Dunlop tyres is working well, so after today’s efforts I feel that we are in a very good position for tomorrow.

“The World Superbike race is very difficult for us. Yes, I would like to win a race or two like everyone else does, but having to put some much effort into one race meeting has been hard for all of us in the team.

“We’ve had to prepare a complete new bike for this meeting so that it meets the rules of the SWC. The engine and the feel of the bike is different to that the one that we use here in the AMA Championship, but the overall performance of the bike isn’t that different.

“We are looking forward to tomorrow’s races and it would be nice to give Suzuki their first World Superbike win of the year.”

Joining Mladin on the front row of the grid will be Frenchman Regis Laconi, who was the only other rider to drop into the 1:25 mark setting a time of 1:25.999 aboard his NCR Ducati. His lap was 0.438 seconds off Mladin’s mark.

Third on the grid is Italian veteran Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati, 1:26.162), with Mladin’s teammate Aaron Yates completing the front row of the grid after setting a time of 1:26.476 on his flying lap.

Current World Superbike points leader Neil Hodgson (Fila Ducati) will start from position eight, while fellow Australians Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) and Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas) will start from positions eleven and fourteen respectively.


More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks:

Regis Laconi confirms second fastest at Laguna Seca

Also if the local hero Mladin will start tomorrow from the pole the American fans present at Laguna Seca for the US Round of World Superbike hot applauded Regis Laconi and his Ducati 998RS Caracchi NCR Nortel Network, that have been always attached “with the glue” to the AMA Superbike Championship leader. Mladin actually found a perfect set up with soft tyres, but with the race setting Laconi is very close to Suzuki’s rider and for the tomorrow’s races he is confident in a good result.

“I would like to thank grabbing the pole the team guys that yesterday night did extemporise a nice garage-party for my birthday.” – said Regis at the end of Superpole – “We know that on this track the presence of AMA Championship wild card riders will made things more difficult; more Mladin, at least in qualifying set up, was just rippin. I’ve not been able to grab the pole, but everyone in the team, and I’m the first, is really satisfied because in those conditions a second fastest is equivalent to a pole between the WSBK riders, and more in those two days we made a very, very good job. This morning’s crash happened because I was riding actually too hard for a last fast lap, my front end washed out in turn three and I biffed it. Turn three is actually unfaithful and slippery, but has been a fall without any consequence and the bike too had ridiculous damages; later during Superpole I badly skid at turn four, but I don’t believe that I could be able to be faster as Mladin. For tomorrow’s race we worked a lot on the set up and tyres and at the end we found a good solution; I made a 20 laps long run and the tyre performed perfectly. I feel that with race set up Mladin isn’t unapproachable and so I’m confident to fight to win tomorrow.”

David Garcia grabbed also in Laguna Seca the right to contest Superpole, and with the presence of four American wild card that a precious result; now he’s focused for the 28 laps of tomorrow’s races: “In practice I ride well, but now I must prepare myself for the races. I know that 28 laps are hard and I’m sure I’ll be not able to mantain a consistent race rhythm, because after a few laps I have hard pains in my left arm, but thank the help of Clinica Mobile staff I’ll try to do it.”


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

Foggy PETRONAS Racing were confronted by the challenges posed by the testing Laguna Seca circuit during qualifying for tomorrow’s races at round eight of the World Superbike championship in the USA.

With both riders struggling for grip, Troy Corser focused on the gearing for the FP1 – the Malaysian superbike – while James Haydon concentrated on his set-up.

Troy, who has recovered from a bout of acute food poisoning, was unhurt in an afternoon crash that robbed him of valuable track time in the countdown to Superpole. His one-off lap was 14th fastest, with local wild card Matt Mladin claiming pole position after winning the domestic AMA race earlier in the day. James qualified in 20th place, missing out on Superpole in his return to action after missing the two previous rounds through injury.

Troy said: “We tried a few different gearings today but every corner is different here, so it is really hard to get it right. You do have to compromise with gearing at Laguna but, at present, we don’t have enough torque to pull the bike through that compromise. I tried a new tyre and did quicker race times, although the lap times are still not great.

“I made a mistake through Corkscrew on my Superpole lap but it did not make too much difference. The crash during free practice was my fault. I was on a harder front and it was probably a bit too hard and I lost the front end without any warning. I wanted to use the same bike for Superpole, so the crash meant that I didn’t have the chance to try another qualifier before Superpole.”

James said: “I was almost starting from scratch today after a mistake with set-up yesterday sent us the wrong way, which explained why we were going round the houses in the afternoon. So we changed the bike back today and made a lot of set-up changes and I took two seconds off my time in the morning, but that was on a kamikaze lap!

“We still haven’t got to the crux of setting the bike up as I need it. In the afternoon, we changed gearing, head angle, offset, trail and rebound but my preferred bike could only do three or four laps. But the rest of the session did give us a better idea of how I will start tomorrow’s races. The team had felt they had made big steps forward with set-up over the last couple of rounds but those changes did not work for me and I now know that Troy’s set-up information is irrelevant for me. I never dreamed I would still be in this position at this stage of the season.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ruben Xaus and Neil Hodgson will start from row 2 of the grid for the U.S. round of the World Superbike Championship at Laguna Seca after setting seventh and eight quickest time in this afternoon’s Superpole session.

Multiple AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin was on pole, followed by the two private Ducatis of Regis Laconi (Ducati NCR) and Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati), while Giovanni Bussei will start from the third row of the grid with the Ducati Austin 998.

Both Ducati Fila riders struggled to find a perfect set-up in today’s qualifying and free sessions, but remain cautiously optimistic for the races tomorrow.

“As always my Superpole lap was not so good,” declared Ruben. “The right hand corners here are difficult as soon as you get out onto the track and I made a mistake and didn’t lean into the curve enough, and that cost me some time. Free practice was much better; our race distance was good, so we think we are closer to the guys in front with race set-up. I hope to do a good start, because the race will be long. If the tyre I chose keeps going for 28 laps and is constant, then I know I will do a good job tomorrow.”

“We haven’t been able to find the right feeling with the bike,” declared Neil. “We’ve had a few problems with grip and we never really found the right front-end feeling we’re used to. I didn’t do a really good Superpole lap either – basically I didn’t get into the right rhythm. The tyres gave us some good indications during the afternoon free practice so I’m pretty confident for tomorrow because they are similar to the ones used last year, when they performed well in both races.”


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

HM Plant Ducatis on second and third rows

The top three riders in the 2003 Superbike World Championship were relegated to the second row of the grid in a day of surprises during qualifying for the eighth round of the series at Laguna Seca. With wild card rider Matt Mladin setting the pole position time of 1:25.561 at the Californian circuit, leading British riders James Toseland and Chris Walker qualified their HM Plant Ducatis in sixth and ninth places respectively for what should be one of the most closely contested events of the season to date.

It was role reversal for championship leader Neil Hodgson and his nearest challengers for the coveted title Ruben Xaus and Toseland. Hodgson and Xaus failed to beat Toseland’s Superpole time of 1:26.622 on their Fila Ducatis and will therefore line up behind the talented 22-year-old Sheffield rider for Sunday’s two Superbike races. Walker improved his time and position on Saturday, but just missed out on a second row starting position by a fraction of a second.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the HM Plant Ducati team-mates as they sought to find their optimum race set-ups. Walker was happy with the progress that he had made: “I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work over the past two days. We have taken some positive steps forward in today’s sessions and I believe that we now have a good race set-up.

“It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to perform better in Superpole. I don’t think that my time and position are representative of where we should be for tomorrow’s races. I need to get a good start from the third row, because this is such a hard track to overtake if you get stuck in the chasing pack.”

Toseland was unable to fine-tune the settings of the HM Plant Ducati to his liking: “I’ve had quite a frustrating day as we’ve gone one way and then the other in our efforts to find the right balance. As I went into Superpole, the bike was a bit nervous at high speed and was prone to wheelies out of the slow turns.

“It’s a shame about my Superpole lap, because I had compensated well for these things up until the last corner. I was concentrating on keeping the front wheel down, but as I adjusted my body position, my foot slipped off the gear lever. That was the difference between the first and second row. I’m confident that we can change the bike and find the best compromise in warm-up before the races.”


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

SMALL MISTAKE COSTS TROY.

A small error on his Superpole lap cost Troy a chance of moving a row or two up the grid at Laguna Seca today. The mistake, at the Corkscrew, meant that Troy went four tenths of a second slower then his previous best lap time and left him with a fourth row grid place for tomorrow’s pair of races. Superpole was won by ‘wild card’ rider Mat Mladin (Suzuki), who posted a time of 1:25.561. Second is Regis Laconi (Ducati), with Frankie Chili (Ducati) third and another ‘wild card’ – Aaron Yates (Suzuki) fourth.

Laguna Seca is a renowned Dunlop track, so it was no great surprise that any of the Michelins riders (including Troy) were able to make much of an impact.

TROY – 14th, 1:27.447

I felt better today, but in the end I wasn’t particularly happy to end up on the fourth row of the grid – but I suppose it was more or less what we expected. Michelins never go as well here as Dunlops, but we had some other problems as well. We tried a few different gearings, but every corner is different here, so it’s really hard to get the gearing right. You have to make a compromise but, at present, our bike doesn’t have enough torque to pull the bike through the compromise. This afternoon I tried a new tyre and did quicker race times, but the times were not so great. I had a little crash in the free practice, when I lost the front end without warning at the last turn. We were using a harder front, so maybe that was why. Laguna Seca was always going to be hard for us and so far it has been. It’s going to be a very long day tomorrow.


More, from a press release issued by Alstare Corona Suzuki:

Gregorio misses front row by a whisker

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Gregorio Lavilla missed out on a front row grid position by the narrowest of margins at Laguna Seca today. At the end of Superpole, Gregorio lost his front row spot by just one tenth of a second to one of the local ‘wild card’ riders – Aaron Yates (Suzuki Yoshimura). During today’s two sessions, Gregorio had improved considerably and had slashed over a second off his best time from yesterday. But, more importantly, he was happier with his GSXR1000 and so was able to push that much harder. But he still faces a big challenge tomorrow – especially from the two ‘wild card’ riders on the front row – the Suzuki teamsters Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates. Mladin used his extensive circuit knowledge – and a confidence-boosting win the AMA Superbike race earlier in the day – to take Superpole with a time of 1:25.561. Second fastest today is Regis Laconi (Ducati), ahead of Frankie Chili (Ducati), with Yates in fourth place.

GREGORIO LAVILLA – 5th, 1:26.583 I’m happier for sure and we are improving all the time, but we can still improve some more. We made some suspension and changes to the balance of the bike today and I was more comfortable with the bike. The GSXR1000 is a sensitive bike and sometimes it is not the bike I want and then we have to work to make it the bike I want. Some tracks are better then others and we get close to a good base set-up, then we go to another track and we have to almost start over again. I’ve more or less chosen which tyres I’m going to use – the front is no problem, but I still have to make a decision about the rear. I think, all of us will have tyre wear problems at some stage in tomorrow’s races – it’s normal. The two AMA Superbike riders, who are ahead of me on the grid, show what the GSXR1000 is capable of. They’ve put in many, many more laps of this track then me, and today they rode well. I’ve ridden well against strong, local Suzuki riders before, so it’s nothing so new for me. They have nothing to lose at all, so they’ll push very hard. It’s up to me to try and match them and get a pair of good results and that’s what I’ll be chasing tomorrow.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

THREE SUZUKI’S IN TOP FIVE AT LAGUNA

Team Suzuki Press Office 13th July 2003.
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Gregorio Lavilla missed out on a front row grid position by the narrowest of margins at Laguna Seca today. At the end of Superpole, Gregorio lost his front row spot by just one tenth of a second to one of the local ‘wild card’ riders Aaron Yates (Suzuki Yoshimura).

During today’s two sessions, Gregorio had improved considerably and had slashed over a second off his best time from yesterday. But, more importantly, he was happier with his GSXR1000 and so was able to push that much harder. But he still faces a big challenge tomorrow especially from the two ‘wild card’ riders on the front row, The Suzuki teamsters Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates. Mladin used his extensive circuit knowledge and a confidence-boosting win with the AMA Superbike race earlier in the day to take Superpole with a time of 1:25.561. Second fastest today is Regis Laconi (Ducati), ahead of Frankie Chili (Ducati), with Yates in fourth place.

GREGORIO LAVILLA 5th, 1:26.583
I’m happier for sure and we are improving all the time, but we can still improve some more. We made some suspension alterations and changes to the balance and I was more comfortable with the bike. The GSXR1000 is a sensitive bike and sometimes it is not the bike I want and then we have to work to make it the bike I want. Some tracks are better then others and we get close to a good base set-up, then we go to another track and we have to almost start over again. I’ve more or less chosen which tyres I’m going to use the front is no problem, but I still have to make a decision about the rear. I think, all of us will have tyre wear problems at some stage in tomorrow’s races, it’s normal. The two AMA Superbike riders, who are ahead of me on the grid, show what the GSXR1000 is capable of. They’ve put in many, many more laps of this track than me, and today they rode well. I’ve ridden well against strong, local Suzuki riders before, so it’s nothing so new for me. They have nothing to lose at all, so they’ll push very hard. It’s up to me to try and match them and get a pair of good results and that’s what I’ll be chasing tomorrow.