From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Corser on provisional front row in Germany

Troy Corser qualified on the provisional front row of the grid for the fifth round of the Superbike World Championship at Oschersleben, Germany, today.

The Australian former world champion was just three tenths of a second behind pacesetter Frankie Chili, setting his fastest lap of 1:29.076 on his intended Pirelli race tyre.

Team-mate Chris Walker was down on his luck, choosing to try a qualifying tyre at the end of the afternoon session but crashing before he had the chance to start his flying lap. He finished the session in 14th place but just over a second off the day’s fastest time, set in warm sunshine at the twisty and technical Oschersleben circuit.

Troy said: “This track is probably the closest we have to Misano. So I didn’t think it would be too bad for us as there a lot of mid-speed corners and just the one big straight. The biggest change from the morning session was the gearing and it improved the bike a lot. I changed second, fourth and fifth gears, as well as changing the overall gearing to give us something in between settings that we had tried this morning. We also changed the oil level in the front forks, which seemed to help the bike turn. And I played around with the rear shock setting, just so that I could get more out of the tyre. After 14 laps on the hardest tyre I could still do 29.9s and did my fastest lap on a fresh race tyre, while some of the others might have used a qualifier. I only had chance to do a handful of laps on a new front tyre and went almost as quick so I still think there is room for improvement tomorrow, especially as the track now has more grip.”

Chris said: “I don’t know why I had the crash at the last left of the back section, and I always know why I have come off. I was only on my out-lap, so it wasn’t as if I was pushing that hard. Before that I had been gradually chipping away and was into the 29s, which was my first aim, and would have hopefully gone quicker on the qualifier. We are still a bit up in the air as to which tyres and gearing to use but, apart from that, I am relatively happy.”

Friday qualifying times, Superbike World Championship round five, Oschersleben, Germany: 1 Chili 1:28.740; 2 Martin 1:28.875; 3 Haga 1:29.020; 4 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:29.076; 5 Laconi 1:29.156; 6 Schulten (Alpha Technik) 1:29.297; 7 Sancini 1:29.440; 8 Vermeulen 1:29.489; 9 Toseland 1:29.516; 10 Haslam 1:29.589; 14 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:29.886

Free practice times: 1 Martin (DFX) 1:29.323; 2 Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1:29.482; 3 Haga (Renegade Ducati) 1:29.550; 4 Chili (PSG-1) 1:29.769; 5 Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:29.817; 6 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:29.883; 7 Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1:30.124; 8 Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) 1:30.175; 9 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:30.210; 10 Haslam (Renegade Ducati) 1:30.243


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LACONI FIFTH, TOSELAND NINTH IN FIRST OSCHERSLEBEN QUALIFYING FOR DUCATI FILA

Oschersleben (Germany), Friday 28 May 2004: Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) missed out on the provisional front row of the grid in Friday’s World Superbike qualifying at Oschersleben after he crashed out with a few minutes remaining.

The Frenchman, points leader and winner of four Superbike races this year, was quickest at the first split but then crashed out at the fast triple left-hander. While Regis made his way back to the pit garage, Chili (PSG-1 Ducati), Martin (DFX Ducati), Haga (Renegade Ducati) and Corser (Petronas) all went quicker and he had to settle for fifth place.

“That was not perfect!” declared an unhurt Laconi after the session. “I just lost the rear under braking and it was a very fast crash at the entry to the very fast triple but I’m OK. When I saw the rear of the bike go, I just let go and the bike went straight into the tyre wall. I was on for a quicker time when I crashed but we still have to work hard to find something more for tomorrow because the bike is still not turning well in the corners.”

Team-mate James Toseland was relatively pleased with his first day performance, in which he finished ninth quickest. He lapped solely on race tyres in the afternoon qualifying session and set a satisfactory race pace.

“We started out with both bikes the same as this morning, when I had a good feeling” declared Toseland, “and now we’re nearly there because I’ve got quite a comfortable setting on the bike. I’m doing more laps than I usually do in the session and that’s helping quite a lot. I didn’t use a qualifying tyre at all because the race tyres seem to be working quite well. I followed Haga round and he was pulling away on some points of the track so I’ve got to improve a bit there.”


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

EASY ON ROW ONE

Troy finished the first day of qualifying at Oschersleben with the fourth quickest time and is provisionally on the front row of the grid. He even led this afternoon’s timed session until twenty minutes or so from the end without resorting to any qualifying tyres. Troy was about to improve on his lap times, after putting on some fresh rubber, but oil on the track and a red flag prevented him from going any quicker. Nevertheless Troy was happy to be so close to the leaders at this stage and is looking forward to improving tomorrow. Italian Frankie Chili (Ducati) set the days’ quickest time, with a lap of 1:28.740, ahead of Steve Martin (Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati). Series leader Regis Laconi (Ducati) ended one place behind Troy in fifth.

TROY – 4th, 1:29.076
The biggest change between the two sessions today was the gearbox. We made some changes to three of the internal gears and that helped a lot. This afternoon I started off by trying to do a full race distance and straightaway I was into the 1:29s without a problem. That was on race rubber, so I felt pretty happy. I was going to try some fresh tyres later on, but when I did, there was a lot of oil on the track and the session was red flagged, so I lost my chance of making any significant improvements. This track feels a bit like Misano and that means that our bike gets on with it quite well. I sort of felt that before we started today and now I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend. We’ll put ina fresh engine tonight and see how much we can improve tomorrow. I believe that we can improve the bike tomorrow – especially on braking – and that should mean quicker lap times.


More, from a press release issued by Belgarda Yamaha:

FABIEN HELD UP!

Yamaha Racing Italia rider Fabien Foret was on course for a front row grid position until a slower rider baulked him on his fast lap. So, instead of being on the provisional front row today, Fabien finished the sixth quickest in today’s timed qualifying session. His Yamaha Racing Italia team mate Jurgen van den Goorbergh used today’s two sessions to find a good set-up for his R6 Yamaha and will go for a quick time tomorrow. Jurgen ended the day in eleventh place, but is confident of being on the front two rows by the end of tomorrow. Japanese rider Tekkyu Kayo is guest riding for the team at Oschersleben in preparation for the Japanese Superstock 600m Championship race in early June. This was the first time he has been at Oschersleben and he took things steadily before ending fifteenth quickest today. Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) posted the fastest lap of the day, with a time of 1:29.644, ahead of series leader Karl Muggeridge (Honda). Third quickest today was Broc Parkes (Honda), with Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) fourth.

FABIEN FORET – 6th, 1:30.760
I’m a little bit angry because Oschersleben is a good track for me and I have had successes here in the past. Today though, I just wasn’t lucky on my fast lap and I was on track for a quick time until a slower rider got in the way and I lost a lot of time. If he hadn’t been in my way, I’m sure I would have been on the front row of the grid. Tomorrow I’ll have to try and find the right moment to go out for my quick lap and hope I don’t run into any slow traffic. But maybe I’ll need a bit of luck to do that.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 11th, 1:31.289
Today I just worked on finding a good set-up for my Yamaha R6 and didn’t try and make a really quick lap. I’m not at all worried about my position today, because finding a good set-up is more important. But tomorrow, you can be sure that I’ll go for it because it’s so important to be on the first two rows of the grid. The first turn is very narrow, so a good start is important and that means rows one or two. I’m confident that I can manage that tomorrow.

TEKKYU KAYO – 15th, 1:31.440
Considering this is my first time here, I’m very happy. This track reminds me of the minibikes tracks I used to race on in Japan years ago, so I like it. My goal this season is to win the Japanese Superstock 600 Championship and the next race is in early June. Unfortunately I was injured in a motocross accident and missed the first two rounds, so I need to catch up. Oschersleben is a way of getting up to race speed quickly, but it’s also a great experience for me.


More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group:

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

Chili Comes Out Fighting In Germany

Chili, Chili, Chili: Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998) once more showed why even at almost forty years of age he is still one of the most prolifically fast SBK riders ever, by taking the provisional Oschersleben pole time of 1:28.740. Leaving his charge until the end, Chili, who was second in one race here last year, edged out the still-injured Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) by a mere 0.135 seconds.

Haga Hovers: Having won a race at Valencia earlier this year Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999RS) has shown early pace at a track very similar to the Valencia stadium-style layout. The Japanese rider gave the private Ducati colony in SBK a three card running flush on the provisional front row, with the final spot on the leading rank being earned by the consistently quick Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1). Many expected the three-cylinder 900cc machine to struggle exiting the many slow corners at Oschersleben, but Corser has shown that he and his bike may even be a raceday threat.

Works Outing: A poor start to the Oschersleben race weekend for the Fila Ducati riders, on their full factory 999F04s, saw Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) crash at the end of the session and James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) struggle with machine set-up. Laconi could only manage fifth fastest, hoping to improve in the final day of qualifying on Saturday and go for his fourth Superpole win in five attempts. Toseland was not even on the front two rows, qualifying ninth after the first day of action.

Honda Homeland: Partly thanks to some strong local wildcard entries the bike most likely to be the fastest four-cylinder machine on show, the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR of Chris Vermeulen, was deposed to eighth overall. Sixth place was taken by the Alpha Technik Honda CBR1000RR of Michael Shulten, his team mate Jurgen Oelschläger going 11th.

Different Strokes: A pleasing spread of machinery on the front two provisional rows included, in seventh place, a Bertocchi Kawasaki ZX-10 under the command of Mauro Sanchini, one place more advantaged than Chris Vermeulen. The Kawasaki is proving to be a sound choice for SBK competition, even at this relatively early stage in its development.

McCoy in a Muddle: Having never seen the convoluted and complicated Oschersleben circuit before, Aussie legend Garry McCoy (Xerox Ducati 999RS) belied his Phillip island race winning form to end his first timed session in lowly 19th position, struggling to find a suitable set-up. Having survived a monumental crash at Monza another Aussie rider, Warwick Nowland, rode gingerly on his Team Zong Shen Suzuki, posting 23rd fastest lap after compressing two vertebrae two weeks previously.

Supersport: At the end of an opening day of pace and accomplished prowess from Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) a track record lap of 1:29.644 gave the Frenchman provisional pole position, in a top three dominated by CBR machines. Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) went second, three tenths down on Charpentier, with his own team-mate Broc Parkes in third spot. The Honda homogeny was ended by the intervention of Yamaha Motor Germany rider, Kevin Curtain, who went fourth fastest in being the last rider within one second of Charpentier’s remarkable new track fastest laptime. Katsuaki Fujiwara took his Alstare Suzuki to fifth overall.

Final qualifying for each class takes place tomorrow, Saturday 29.