2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Eurospeedway Lausitz, Germany September 8, 2007 Qualifying Results (before Superpole): 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:38.569 2. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.780 3. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:38.980 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.011 5. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.086 6. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 1:39.127 7. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:39.433 8. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.487 9. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.525 10. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:39.639 11. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.767 12. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:39.828 13. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.077 14. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.094 15. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:40.745 16. Martin BAUER (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.934 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 1:41.369 18. Steve MARTIN (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:41.464, mechanical 19. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.068 20. Luca MORELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.807 21. Jiri DRAZDAK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:42.950 22. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 1:45.138

Erion Honda’s Aaron Gobert missed the AMA Formula Xtreme and Supersport races at Road Atlanta due to injuries sustained in a crash during practice on Saturday of that weekend, but the young Australian should be able to ride during the 2007 AMA season finale September 15-16 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Gobert’s crash occurred during the final Formula Xtreme practice session, just hours prior to the race. “I looked over my shoulder on the back straightaway and saw that young kid Garrett Carter chasing me,” said Gobert. “I thought I’d let him chase me around and pull him around for a good lap and try to help him out. “I was wide open through Turn One at Atlanta, and it just highsided me huge. I’ve been through Turn One flat out a hundred times. This one particular time it went full-lock sideways on me. It was really strange. “After I crashed I asked my crew, ‘What was the go with that tire? Was it rock-hard or what?’ Because it didn’t grip. It was my first hard lap on that tire, but I had already done three laps on it breaking in brake pads.” Gobert said he landed so hard on the pavement that he initially thought he had broken both of his ankles. After a check at the trackside medical center, Gobert was released back to the paddock, but his legs were so painful and weakened that he opted to sit out Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race and Sunday’s Supersport sprint. “Road Atlanta’s one of those tracks where you have to go left and right through chicanes,” said Gobert. “So you don’t want to be weak in the legs or anything. It’s pretty important.” On Friday, Gobert reported to Roadracingworld.com that he has been walking without crutches around his Murrieta, California home and that a follow-up examination by noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Bryan revealed his ankles were only bruised and not broken. “So I’ll be able to go to Laguna Seca and finish out the season strong,” said Gobert, who was third in the Formula Xtreme Championship (with one win and four podiums) and eighth in the Supersport title chase (with one victory) before missing the races at Road Atlanta.

Chicago, IL. — Garrett Carter Racing’s Yamaha rider Garrett Carter has had a rough 2007, after losing a mechanic at the 2nd round in the season, and working only with his dad as his tuner, Carter has had more than his fair share of hard knocks trying to find a setup that suits his riding style this year. “I didn’t have any feel in the front end,” said Carter, “I had a few low side incidents, and ended up destroying my A bike at Infineon Raceway.” Things started to take a turn for the better at Mid-Ohio with the team hiring a new Crew Chief/Mechanic, Boyd Bruner to work with Garrett. After working mainly on the front end, and a little with the power delivery of the bike, Garrett was starting to feel a little more comfortable with the bike, and he was 11th fastest during the warm up for the 600 Supersport race that never was. V.I.R. was also going well running 11th, until Garrett lost the front in turn 11, the downhill right hand turn that eventually claimed Herrin a few laps later. “Going into Road Atlanta we knew we still hadn’t solved all of the issues with the front end of the Bike, but with a little help from Mike Fitzgerald at Ohlins we were able to get much closer and start to get some of the all elusive feel we had been looking for,” says Bruner. All was going well with Garrett qualifying 12th in Formula Extreme, and 13th in Supersport, that was until he crashed in the FX warm up breaking the forks off of the new A bike when Aaron Gobert had a big highside right in front of him, and with nowhere to go he collided with Gobert’s bike in the fast uphill turn 1. Both riders were taken to medical in the ambulance, and Gobert was out for the weekend. Garrett did miss the FX race but was feeling well enough to start the Supersport race Sunday. Luckily we were able to get the bike back together for Sunday, and with Garrett almost unable to lift his arm over his head, he still finished 12th after being passed by Ben Attard 4 laps from the end. “I think I could have battled with him, but my shoulder was really starting to ache, and I we really needed to get a finish in the books,” said Garrett after the race. “The front is getting better, I can’t wait for Laguna, we still have a few more things to try, and the bike is the best it’s been, I wish it was like this at the beginning of the year, things would have be different.” You can follow the teams progress and plans for next year after September 20th on Garrett’s new website, www.GC31.com

The Championship Cup Series/Florida will be at Jennings GP this weekend. Buell, Ducati and Honda will offer contingency cash for this event. CCS points for both the Florida and Southeast Regions will be awarded. A field of more than 500 entries is expected.

Macau, September 7, 2007 – The Macau Grand Prix Committee today launched a brand new interactive official website for the Macau Grand Prix at ~http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo~ . Updated daily, the website provides motorsport fans with access to comprehensive information as well as the latest news from the Grand Prix. Specially designed for visitors of all ages, the new website is both informative and entertaining, and the exciting contents include a photo gallery, the latest news as well as links to a range of international motorsport events and Macau-related websites. First held in 1954, the Macau Grand Prix has a long and distinguished history, and the website contains information on previous events, historic and modern era images, and a full list of winners over the last fifty years. Visitors may access previous races online through archive film footage, while background information such as a Guia Circuit map, how the circuit corners got their names, and circuit flag signals may also be accessed on the site. During the 54th Macau Grand Prix, to be held from November 15-18, results, race reports and images will be posted throughout the event. Four versions of the site are available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese and English in order to reach as wide an audience as possible. Visitors may book Grand Prix tickets, obtain hotel and tourism information, and access details of other activities planned during the event.

FIAT YAMAHA TEAM READY TO PUT UP WESTERN FRONT The Fiat Yamaha Team make the Mediterranean road trip from the east coast of Italy to the west coast of Portugal this week aiming to put their biggest disappointment of the season behind them after a home Grand Prix to forget at Misano. Valentino Rossi’s retirement from that race was his fourth non-podium finish in as many races – his worst run since 2000 – whilst tyre problems returned to haunt Colin Edwards in a race that saw Casey Stoner take his eighth victory of the season. With 85 points now separating Stoner from Rossi at the top of the championship and just five races remaining it appears that the 2007 is almost out of reach, but until the mathematics confirm it the Fiat Yamaha Team will refuse to wave the white flag – especially with a circuit like Estoril on the horizon. Its location on the western tip of Europe, just seven kilometres from the Atlantic coast, makes it vulnerable to dramatic changes in weather and high gusts of wind, meaning the riders can take nothing for granted. Even the layout of Autodromo Fernanda Pires de Silva circuit is one of extreme contrasts. It features one of the longest main straights in MotoGP and a tight chicane, which is one of the slowest corners on the calendar. Several other twisty sections contribute to the lowest average speed in the championship and the throttle is seldom overworked on the tortuous infield sections, which are riddled by a host of second and third gear bends. However, the 200km/h kink at turn five and the final Parabolica corner are two of the toughest tests of any rider and machine’s cornering prowess and make for exciting viewing. Valentino Rossi “WE’LL TRY TO WIN ALL FIVE!” As well as having a score to settle after his disappointment at Misano, Valentino Rossi has extra reason to look forward to Estoril thanks to his fantastic record at the Portuguese circuit in the premier class. The Italian has finished on the podium on each of his seven visits, including a sequence of four successive victories from 2001 to 2004, and narrowly missed out on adding to that win tally last season when he was beaten to the line by Toni Elias by just 0.002 seconds. “Misano was a great, great disappointment,” said Rossi. “To not have the chance to fight and to finish after just a few laps was a terrible thing, but now we just have to put it behind us. We got back to work straight away on Monday for the test and we did some really good work with Michelin – it seems that they found some good new tyres and overall it was quite an encouraging test, much more than the last one. Hopefully we will be ready in Estoril with a package with which we can fight. “To be honest the championship is almost out of reach for us, especially when Stoner is so strong, so we will put all our energies into holding onto our second place and winning as many races as possible, as well as thinking about continuing the development of our package for next year. Now the aim is to have a good end to the season – we have five races left and we will be trying to win all five, even if the championship is out of our reach. I’ve had some good races at Estoril in the past although last year I missed out on the win by a tiny amount!” Colin Edwards “A LOT MORE CONFIDENT” Colin Edwards had one of his best weekends of 2006 at Estoril, finishing just off the podium in fourth place. The Texan qualified second on the grid and crossed the line less than a second behind the race winner – a performance he would love to have the opportunity to repeat this time around. “Misano was another bad day at the office but we learnt a lot at the test on Monday and I think it was really the most positive one we’ve had all year,” said Edwards. “We really seemed to get onto something with Michelin and I think everyone felt that we were finally making some good steps forward. We’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s not going to change overnight but I think we’re all feeling a lot more confident for the next race than we did after the Brno test. “There’s only five races left and the championship hasn’t panned out for myself or Valentino like we hoped, but we’ve got a great team and everyone will keep working as hard as they can to give us all something to be happy about over the final races. I’m determined to turn things around in Estoril, I had a good race last year and only just missed out on the podium and I’ll be looking to make up for that this time around.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “IT’S NOT OVER YET” Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is remaining upbeat despite recognising the size of the challenge that lies ahead over the next five races. With an 85-point gap to the championship summit, Brivio admits that the title is a fading target and says the more immediate concern is to get Rossi and Edwards back at the business end of the field after a run of four races without a podium. “It’s not over yet but we know that a gap of 85 points to such a strong rival package will be very, very difficult to recover,” admits Brivio. “All we can do is take it race buy race and try to put Valentino and Colin in a position to fight for race victories and podiums as soon as possible. That will be our goal for Estoril, where we have been very competitive in the past with both riders. “First of all we have to hope that the tyres are competitive and from there on we can try. The test at Misano was positive so hopefully that improved performance carries over to Estoril. We know we have a rider who is capable of winning races and he deserves to be winning much more than he is now so we can only try our best to give him the equipment he needs to do that.”

After a top performance from both Honda Gresini riders in the race at Misano, which featured memorable fight-backs from Marco Melandri and Toni Elias, the pair are looking forward with renewed motivation to the Grand Prix of Portugal, the 14th round of the MotoGP World Championship. Melandri, on the back of a creditable sixth place in Germany, a podium at Laguna Seca and fourth place at Misano, confirmed his good form in the test immediately following the San Marino Grand Prix: “I’m happy because the bike and tyres are working well and we have found some interesting solutions. We’ve worked together with the Bridgestone technicians towards the next race. I made the most of the entire day to work on the setting of the bike to try and make up for the time we lost because of the weather on Friday and the crash on Saturday.” Marco has enjoyed a short break as he continues to recover from his injuries. MARCO MELANDRI: “I’m highly motivated. The bike and the tyres are at a high level and now we just need the result to go with it. I’m keen to get back on the podium, like I did at Laguna, because it would be a nice way to pay back my team, who have worked so hard and given me so much. It will be a big challenge for us in Portugal – Estoril is a difficult circuit with so many first-gear corners and two long straights, one in fifth gear, one in sixth, where we might struggle a bit. The characteristics of our bike are better suited to a more flowing circuit but I’m ready for this race and the final rush that will take us to Japan, Australia and Malaysia before returning to Europe for the last round at Valencia.” Toni Elias has high expectations for Estoril after taking his debut MotoGP victory there last season ahead of two World Champions in the shape of Valentino Rossi and Kenny Roberts. Famous for his spectacular sliding style, Toni demonstrated his tenacity and determination at Brno and Misano, where he fought through the pain of a recovering left femur, which was broken just two months earlier in a practice crash at Assen. TONI ELIAS: “I’m happy to be heading back to a circuit that holds so many fond memories for me. The win last season in MotoGP was probable the best of my career but now I am just looking ahead and trying to do well this Sunday. I’m just trying to improve my performance race by race – I got eleventh at Brno after three races out and seventh at Misano. They are not the results I want but at the moment I am restricted by my physical condition. I like the circuit, especially the uphill chicane, which characterises the kind of corner you get at this circuit – slow but technical esses, probably the slowest in the world. The straight is long, almost a kilometre, and is very fast, followed by hard braking. The final bend is quite fast and crucial to a good lap time.”

2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Lausitzring, Germany September 7, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results (dry conditions): 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:38.569 2. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.780 3. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:38.980 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.011 5. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.086 6. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 1:39.127 7. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:39.433 8. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.487 9. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.525 10. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:39.639 11. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.767 12. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:39.828 13. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.077 14. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.094 15. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:40.745 16. Martin BAUER (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.934 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 1:41.369 18. Steve MARTIN (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:41.464, mechanical 19. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.068 20. Luca MORELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.807 21. Jiri DRAZDAK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:42.950 22. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 1:45.138 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: DIFFICULT START IN GERMANY FOR TEAM SC RIDERS Difficult day for the riders of Scuderia SC Caracchi today at Eurospeedway: both Jakub Smrz in Superbike as Gianluca Nannelli in Supersport recorded lap times far from the top owing to setting difficulties on their twin machines. Gianluca Nannelli, as several other riders, did prefer to miss the morning’s free practice session because the crazy weather conditions, with rain showers that made the track rather dangerous. In the afternoon session a technical trouble stopped Nannelli in the final time. “We are still far from a satisfactory set up.” has been the comment of Gianluca Nannelli at the end of practices. “This morning we got the decision to miss the practice, in such weather condition the track couldn’t give any positive information and it would be dangerous too, as the accident did later show. During the afternoon we focused on the handling, but we haven’t been able to reach a good set up. We have a very good top speed, now we have to work on the handling, because we are still far from the 1’42″120 lap time of last year that gave me the sixth position on the grid. We have been unlucky too, because in the final time of the qualifying session the bike did stall and has been not possible to switch it on in a short time, so I could use just three laps with the fresh tyres.” Also Jakub Smrz in Superbike suffered some trouble with his bike and spent a lot of time in the pit to look for the better set up. Just in the final few minutes Smrz could ride at the best and he recovered several positions, but it was too late for a good result. “We have several setting problems during all the day and we lost a lot of time.” said Jakub Smrz after the afternoon’s practices. “Just at the end of the qualifying session the bike was running well and so I could record some good lap time, but it was already too late. I grabbed a few position and tomorrow I’m confident to improve to be allowed for Superpole. That’s be a very pity because I rode in the past at Eurospeedway, as well with smaller bikes, and I was confident in a quick, good result. Tomorrow we’ll concentrate for the final session and I’m confident to improve my qualifying position.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 11, Eurospeedway Lausitz Circuit: 4.265 kms. Weather: Mostly cloudy 14-19 C. Friday qualifying, 7th September TOP THREE FOR YUKIO ON DAY ONE. Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama ended the first day of qualifying at the Eurospeedway Lausitz with the third fastest time. The Japanese rider was suffering a little from sore ligaments in his right knee (sustained when he crashed at Brands Hatch in the last round), but still managed to get on the pace right from the start. His team mate Max Biaggi finished the day with the seventh quickest time, but was not pushing his GSX-R1000 hard as he had not found a comfortable set-up in today’s two sessions. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took provisional pole, with a lap of 1:38.569, in the closing stages of this afternoon’s timed qualifying. His fellow countryman Troy Corser (Yamaha) is second quickest, two tenths of a second behind, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) in fourth – just behind Yukio. Yukio – 3rd, 1:38.980 “The bike is not so bad here today and the only problems I had today was a small brake problem and some pain in my right knee. The brake problem happened when I was hard on the brakes and the bike did not feel as stable as I would’ve liked. But we will work on this small problem and I am sure that it will be better tomorrow. After Brands Hatch, I went home to Japan and while I was there, I saw a doctor about my knee and he told me that I had damaged some ligaments in my right knee. So I knew that it might get a bit sore once I was back on the bike. Today, I had a little problem when I tried to change direction quickly. So, I will have some physiotherapy and see how much I can improve it. At the moment, I don’t think it’s going to affect my riding too much and my intention is to forget about it, qualify well and fight for the podiums on Sunday.” Max – 7th, 1:39.433 “Today was OK. I did not find the best set-up so I was not confident enough to push the bike hard. Conditions today were not so good; in the morning parts of the track felt damp and although it was dry in the afternoon, it felt cold and certainly not like when we all tested here in June. We started the day with more or less the same set-up as we had used in the last two rounds, to see how it would work here. But didn’t work really well, so tomorrow we will go in the same direction as when we tested here. In the end, I think that our set-up will probably be something between the two. I feel sure that we will improve tomorrow and hopefully we will find a good set-up for the races.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: BAYLISS HEADS THE TIMESHEETS FOR DUCATI XEROX IN FIRST QUALIFYING AT EUROSPEEDWAY Lausitz (Germany), Friday 7 September : Troy Bayliss topped the qualifying timesheets for the Ducati Xerox Team at the end of the first session at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany. The Australian, who set a time of 1m38.569s, was a couple of tenths quicker than his fellow Australian, Troy Corser (Yamaha) and four-tenths ahead of the Japanese duo of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). Bayliss’s team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was in tenth position but just one second away from the provisional pole mark. “It’s a pretty good start to the weekend” said Troy. “I’m feeling quite comfortable on the bike and basically we’ve just been putting some laps on the tyres to see how it looks. We’ve more or less done race distance at the moment and everything’s looking fine. I was quite consistent but we want to try and improve a little bit tomorrow and see how it goes and we’re hoping for some good weather of course. Compared to last year I think the track is a bit bumpier and it’s actually slightly slower because at the first corner the guys here have stuck down ‘witches hats’ with tar so you don’t cut the corner like we used to. This morning we used the same front and rear for the whole session and this afternoon we did exactly the same right until the end when we just put another fresh race tyre in to set the quickest time”. “All the guys in front of me set their time with a softer front tyre” commented Lorenzo. “Instead I only did the session with race tyres and I’m really pleased. Unfortunately in the last few minutes there was a lot of traffic on the track and I was unable to improve my time. Even though I am just one second away from Troy, I have already lapped quicker than last year despite the traffic on the track and my choice of tyre. I’ve still got a few more things to try, but I’ve found a set-up that I like and I only hope that tomorrow and Sunday it’s not going to rain!” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Both Yamaha’s on the Provisional Front Row in Germany Today was back to work for the World Superbike Championship following the summer break and the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team wasted no time in getting back into the swing of things. Within a short space of time both Corser and Haga had found their usual form to take provisional second and fourth respectively in the first day of qualifying at the EuroSpeedway track in Germany. The morning session was uneventful with all riders taking it steady in the damp conditions. Haga finished third with a 1’39.773 and Corser ended the free practice session just behind in fourth. With the conditions improved for the afternoon session both riders went out intent on progress. Corser went fastest within the first seven minutes although Haga took the top slot briefly before Corser re-took it, knocking his team mate to second. The positions remained unchanged until Kagayama slid in between the Yamaha riders with 15 minutes to go. Then in the last minute Bayliss claimed the provisional pole pushing Corser into second and Haga into fourth. Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi had a good day back at the office. Following his crash during the last race weekend at Brands, Nakatomi found out he had broken five ribs and has been spending the summer break resting and recovering. He started well this morning in free practice and went on to take two seconds off his time in this afternoon’s qualifying to finish in 15th. With a mixed weather forecast for tomorrow all eyes will be on the skies for tomorrow’s final qualifying session and tyre choices will become all important. Troy Corser (2nd – 1’38.780 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today has gone well with everything feeling pretty good. We’ve spent the day trying different set-ups and just making small changes with the engine balance. We’ve got some small adjustments to make for the tyres; the front is too hard and the rear is too soft at the moment but we’re confident we can resolve it tomorrow. I’ve also been testing a new brake lever today, which feels different but I like it. It’s good to be back on the bike again after the break and I’m pleased to find that we’re further ahead today than I thought we’d be.” Noriyuki Haga (4th – 1’39.011 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today I have worked on engine settings and balance, although the real focus has been tyres because the weather forecast for tomorrow is mixed and we need to make quick progress in that area. I’ve found a front tyre but I’ve still got a couple of rear options to test. I’ve found a nice soft rear that’ll do race distance but if it rains on Sunday that’ll be no good. This morning was just spent getting used to the bike and riding again after a nice rest but I’m back in the saddle now!” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “It has been a good day for us. Neither rider had any problems; they both made good runs and lap times. They made some changes and every time the changes were in the right direction and will continue along this route. The forecast is for tomorrow and Sunday to be wet and I feel we will be ready for it.” Shinichi Nakatomi (15th – 1’40.745 – Team Yamaha YZF) “I’m happy with my result today and the feeling of the bike. I feel we have more improvements to make during tomorrow and I’m hoping to climb higher up the starting grid for the race. It’s been good to have a few weeks to rest and recover after Brands and my injuries are feeling better, even if I’m still not 100%.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda makes good progress The first day of qualifying for round 11 of the 2007 World Superbike Championship took place in damp and grey weather at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany today. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s James Toseland ended the day as the fifth fastest rider, while team-mate Roberto Rolfo qualified in fourteenth place. With the main focus of the day being on race distance, Toseland put in consistently fast laps during both the morning free practice and the official qualifying session. Although the current series leader was unable to secure the fastest lap of the day, he is happy with the results and confident that he can secure a front row start for Sunday’s race. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo struggled to get to grips with his CBR10000RR on the first two sections of the 4.265km circuit. However, the team will be working on the set-up of the bike overnight to ensure the Italian rider can improve on his lap time in the final qualifying session tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “Both riders are a bit further down than usual so we definitely have more work to do. On James’ side there is nothing too drastic wrong, he just got held up on the softer tyre by some traffic. We know there is more to come from him, but we are already happy with his race pace. We did a bit of a distance on the tyre and he seems quite strong, but we definitely have to make some improvements on his bike for tomorrow. “For Roberto, he was going at quite a pace this morning, but he did not progress as much as we were hoping in the afternoon. There are a few issues to sort out on his bike so we’ll be making some changes to his CBR1000RR in time for tomorrow.” James Toseland: “I am quite happy with how today has gone. I’ve not really done anything too spectacular. The damp weather this morning made track conditions slippery, but we are heading in the right direction. We need a good, dry day tomorrow and I think we’ll be right there. Today was more about race simulation and consistent lap times, which I think we have got. I’ve not ridden this track with the traction control before and it is really altering how the bike works, so that’s something we need to address, but overall I’m happy.” Roberto Rolfo: “I am not so happy with the first qualifying because there are two points in the track where I am not so good and I cannot open the throttle as I want to on the bike. On the first and second sections of the track I am still too slow compared to the faster riders. We will do some work to the settings of the bike for tomorrow to improve my line on these points. I am more happy with the final section of the circuit because I was able to regain some time, but in any case it is not enough. We will try tomorrow morning to improve on this.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: BAYLISS FROM CORSER AT EUROSPEEDWAY – TWO TROYS TANGLE ON DAY ONE Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) showed why he is the king of Lausitz qualifying when he scored the fastest lap of day one, lapping the overcast German circuit in a best time of 1’38.569 to lead the provisional qualifying times. Just behind him, 0.211 seconds behind to be precise, is the other Troy – Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) – who was himself only 0.2 seconds ahead of Japanese Superstar Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Another favourite from the land of the rising son was fourth, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) 0.442 seconds shy of Bayliss’s best time. CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER ON SECOND RUNG ON FIRST DAY James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was just about half a second shy of Bayliss in the first qualifying session (when everyone involved is still on regular race tyres, not qualifiers) with Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) only 0.041 seconds down on the long-time championship leader. First time Lausitz visitor in race trim, Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) was seventh, just outpacing his fellow native Roman, Michel Fabrizio (Honda DFX Corse). The last rider within a second of Bayliss was Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda), and Bayliss’ team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) scored the last spot inside the provisional top ten. NIETO AND NEUKIRCHNER NEXT UP Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was 11th fastest from 22 riders at Lausitz, while the private Suzuki of local lad Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) surged to 12th place. That early result put the ‘other’ Max up on two official riders, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha YZF Team) and Austrian wild-card rider Martin Bauer (Holzhauer Racing Promotions Honda) rounded out the top 16. Steve Martin took the 2006-spec Celani Suzuki to 18th place, Yoann Tiberio (Alto Evolution Honda) was 19th, in his first competitive Superbike session.