Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Wild card on pole at Brands Hatch

Heavy rain fell this afternoon at Brands Hatch forcing the organisers to call a Wet Superpole. This means the riders all have 50 minutes, and a maximum of 12 full laps to record their fastest lap time – instead of the usual one lap per rider dash.

The wild cards continued to put the pressure on the regular riders, with Rizla Suzuki rider John Reynolds embarrassing the World Championship riders by stealing pole from them.

It was almost a case of walking on water for Walker on the HM Plant Ducati as the rain fell hard enough to leave standing water in parts of the historic British race track. He used every bit of his intimate knowledge of the circuit to claim second on the grid ahead of Sunday’s two races. Shane Byrne and Regis Laconi got their Ducati’s on the front row making it two wild cards and two regulars heading the pack.

The second row reflects the first, with two wild cards and two regulars with Michael Rutter heading the row from Ruben Xaus, Sean Emmett and James Toseland.

Championship leader Neil Hodgson is way back in tenth, taking it relatively easy and not willing to risk too much in the appalling conditions while leading the title race.

Sunday is expected to stay dry, ensuring some real racing instead of a wet-weather lottery but it also means teams and riders will be left guessing settings with only the morning warm up to test in prior to the race.



World Superbike Superpole Results:

1. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.706
2. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 1:36.299
3. Shane Byrne, Ducati 998F02, 1:36.320
4. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 1:36.419
5. Michael Rutter, Ducati 998F02, 1:36.630
6. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 1:36.663
7. Sean Emmett, Ducati 998RS, 1:37.915
8. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, 1:38.319
9. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS, 1:38.336
10. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:38.351
11. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 1:38.415
12. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:38.613
13. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.940
14. Dean Ellison, Ducati 996, 1:41.563
15. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 1:44.026
16. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:44.532

The rest of the grid:

17. Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.892
18. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 1:28.312
19. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:28.499
20. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:28.589
21. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:28.926
22. James Haydon, Foggy Petronas FP1, 1:29.016
23. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.017
24, Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.579
25. Nick Medd, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.862
26. Walter Tortoroglio, Honda RC51, 1:30.375
27. Jiri Mrkyvka, Ducati 998RS, 1:30.871
28. Luca Pedersoli, Ducati 998RS, 1:31.625
29. Giancarlo De Matteis, Ducati 998RS, 1:32.189


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

Foggy PETRONAS Racing face the changes at Brands

Foggy PETRONAS Racing’s Troy Corser maintained his qualifying position in a wet Superpole session to start from the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s ninth round of the World Superbike championship at Brands Hatch.

The Australian gambled a portion of his 12 laps on testing the slightly drier conditions at the start of the 50 minute session, before setting his fastest time on his final flying lap in the pouring rain to qualify 12th for a grid dominated by British wild card riders, with veteran John Reynolds claiming pole.

With dry weather forecast for tomorrow’s races, the team was robbed of more valuable set-up time in dry conditions when the arrival of the afternoon rain effectively curtailed the final free practice session after 20 minutes. But Troy is confident that the FP1 – the Malaysian superbike – is better suited to the dry conditions around the 4.221km Kent circuit.

He said: “In Superpole it was a case of going straight out to get a feel for the conditions but we probably should have waited until the track was wetter, as that is when the tyres had more grip. That is why I didn’t rush straight back out after my first set of laps. But I went a second quicker in the wet than I did yesterday, and the throttle connection feels better in the dry. If it is dry for warm-up tomorrow there are a couple of set-up changes we might try and a couple of variations on the rear tyre to test, although I am very happy with the Michelin front.”

James Haydon again suffered from the limited opportunity to concentrate on a consistent setup. He missed out on Superpole after finishing the morning session in 22nd with a time of 1:29.016, less than 1.5 seconds outside Troy’s best of 1:27.016. Then an engine problem in the afternoon session left him stranded at the far side of the circuit, before the rain further hindered set-up progress.

He said: “This morning was my first here in the dry on this bike, and threw up a number of directions for us to try but unfortunately, the way things developed, there are still a few question marks. I am still not decided on my rear tyre and am still not totally happy with my set-up. I still felt we could have gone quicker in the qualifying session and it did not help that I did not get a clear lap on my qualifier.”


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

Walker surfs to second on the grids

Heavy rain fell throughout the afternoon at Brands Hatch, forcing the organisers to call a wet Superpole. This gave the riders 50 minutes and a maximum of 12 full laps – instead of the usual one lap per rider dash – to record their fastest time.

As on Friday, it was almost a case of walking on water for Walker because the rain fell hard enough to leave inch-deep pools scattered around the historic British racetrack. However, he still came up with the goods when he splashed to his best ever WSB starting position of second on the grid.

“To be honest, I prefer the 12 lap system,” said Walker, “I find it easier to cope with than the mad dash that is Superpole. I also think I had an advantage today because I’m very familiar with the track and know how it responds to bad conditions. Nobody seems sure what the weather will do tomorrow, but I’m well up for it come rain or shine.”

It wasn’t such a satisfying session for James Toseland who struggled to come to terms with the treacherous circuit, eventually finishing eighth. Both HM Plant Ducati riders started the session on intermediate tyres, unfortunately conditions were wetter than the team had anticipated. After three or four of his allocated laps Toseland had no choice but to return to the garage for a switch to full wets. This had an unsettling effect and he struggled to get back into the groove for the remainder of the session.

“It was tough to get things going again after the tyre swap,” admitted Toseland. “But I’m reasonably happy despite my grid position, because my closest rival in the championship, Ruben Xaus, is on the same row and the championship leader is behind me.”

British wild card rider John Reynolds took pole in front of those hardy soles that braved the rain to watch the qualifying action. However, Sunday is expected to be dry, which will mean that the riders and teams will enter the race with very little dry weather practice.


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

Front row for Regis Laconi under the flood at Brands Hatch

Regis Laconi will start at Brands Hatch too from the front row, after a Superpole session scourged by the rain. Regis has been the fastest for long part of the session, then his rivals got advantage of a moment when the French rider of 998RS Ducati Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks joined the pit garage while the rain had a pause to overtake him, profiting of the light better track conditions, however inundated. Then the rain increased once more, vanishing all final assault. At the end of the practice Regis was fourth fastest, the same result he got in morning’s qualifying, a result which put him in the front row for the fifth time during the season.

“I’m satisfied, but it could be better.” – admitted Laconi at the end of the day – “The rain made me a bad joke during Superpole. I joined early the track at the beginning of the session to verify the bike with a new engine and I recorded the fast laptime, so I stopped to the pit to wait for a right moment to try the fast lap, but the rain stopped for some instant, the track improved and the riders who were running in that moment immediately improved their laptime, so I’ve lost some position. Then the rain started heavily once more and at that moment there was too much water on the track to improve. If tomorrow will rain too all the British rider will be fierce adversary. It’s important start from the front, to not be prisoner in the water cloud made by the group and lose in this way too much time in the early laps.”

Giancarlo De Matteis got his first goal, grabbing the qualifying for tomorrow’s race. Unfortunately for De Matteis his gearbox had troubles this morning too and forced him to the pit, limiting his experience possibilities.

“This circuit doesn’t show me his secrets.” – said De Matteis at the end of practices with a bitter smile – “I need to ride and ride to get experience and the gearbox trouble stopped me some time. In the second free practice session I’ve been able to ride longer, improving the set up for tomorrow race. Now my main goal is to finish both the races in this first contact with a splendid arena like World Superbike.”


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

THIRD ROW FOR TROY

Superpole was declared a ‘Wet Superpole’ at Brands Hatch and the conditions changed dramatically throughout the fifty-minute session. At the end, Troy finished with the twelfth quickest time and so will start from the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s race. ‘Wild card’ rider John Reynolds (Suzuki) took pole position with a time of 1:35.706, with Chris Walker (Ducati) second, another ‘wild card’ Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Regis Laconi (Ducati). Runaway series leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati) could only finish eleventh today and faces a difficult raceday tomorrow.

TROY ­ 12th, 1:38.613

Well I’ve got the series leader right next to me on the third row of the grid, so that’s pretty indicative of how trying the conditions were this afternoon. I probably should’ve waited for the track to get wetter before I went out because my wet tyre seemed to have pretty good grip. That’s why I didn’t push so hard after my first set of laps. I managed to go one second in the wet today then the wet yesterday, but really I’d prefer it to be dry tomorrow. I don’t feel we had enough time to get a good set-up in the wet or the dry here. I’m happy with my front tyre for a dry or wet race, but not sure about the rear. If you take the ‘wild cards’ out, I would have ended up seventh today, so I can’t be too unhappy.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

XAUS AND HODGSON SIXTH AND ELEVENTH QUICKEST IN WET SUPERPOLE SESSION AT BRANDS HATCH

Ruben Xaus will start tomorrow’s European Round of the World Superbike championship from sixth place on the grid while points leader Neil Hodgson could only set eleventh quickest time during a wet Superpole session at Brands Hatch and will start from row 3.

“I’m pretty happy with the bike today, things went exactly as I expected with the wild-cards up there, but it’s nothing major” commented Neil. “I managed to get a good set-up pretty quickly in the morning dry qualifying and did some consistent laps on my race tyres. In Superpole I timed things badly when the rain came and I just needed one more lap. I’m very confident with my dry weather set-up, a bit less with the wet, so hopefully tomorrow it won’t rain”.

In the morning session Ruben Xaus crashed at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend and injured the ring finger on his right hand, but this did not prevent him from putting in some quick laps in the afternoon session and in particular during Superpole in appalling conditions.

“The thing is we only tested on wet yesterday so the set-up in the rain is ready” declared Ruben. “In the dry we’re struggling a bit because we had a little problem with when I fell off losing precious time. There’s a big hole in my finger and it hurts, for sure it’s broken, but the race is the most important thing for me. I like to race and win in the dry but I still need to find the right set-up, we’re all going to work hard and find the right way for the races tomorrow in the warm-up if it is dry”.



More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

UNLUCKY THIRTEENTH FOR GREGORIO

Team Suzuki Press Office Saturday July 26th 2003.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Gregorio Lavilla fell foul of the changing conditions in a Wet Superpole and ended up on the fourth row of the grid. The morning session had been dry, but the rain started just before Superpole and the one-lap shoot out was changed to a Wet Superpole. At first the track was only just damp and Gregorio’s front tyre turned out to be the wrong one for the conditions. By the time, he returned to the pits for a new tyre, the rain had begun to fall more heavily and he was not able to set a quick time. Pole was set today by ‘wild card’ John Reynolds (Suzuki), with Chris Walker (Ducati) second and another ‘wild card’ Shane Byrne (Ducati) in fourth.

GREGORIO LAVILLA – 13th, 1:39.940
I’m not sure if it was my fault or what, but I used a wet tyre and went a bit quicker and then the conditions changed and suddenly I was down in twelfth. The rain began to fall heavily and I knew I couldn’t go faster and so I ended up thirteenth! Obviously I’m not very happy and it will be very hard to get a high result because there aren’t so many passing places here. I need a very good start in both races if I’m to have any chance at all. I would prefer a dry race because I’m reasonably happy with the set-up we found for dry conditions. For a wet race, I think we’re not quite right. Also, if it rains, it is so easy to make a mistake and crash or get taken out by somebody else making a mistake. It’s going to be two very hard and long races tomorrow – whatever the conditions.