Friday Afternoon World Superbike Qualifying Results: 1. James TOSELAND, Ducati, 2:04.742 2. Troy CORSER, Suzuki, 2:04.835 3. Karl MUGGERIDGE, Honda, 2:05.136 4. Chris VERMEULEN, Honda, 2:05.445 5. Lorenzo LANZI, Ducati, 2:05.594 6. Steve MARTIN, Foggy Petronas, 2:05.793 7. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Honda, 2:05.822 8. Andrew PITT, Yamaha, 2:05.908 9. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suzuki, 2:05.921 10. Gianluca VIZZIELLO, Yamaha, 2:05.968 11. Noriyuki HAGA, Yamaha, 2:06.145 12. Ivan CLEMENTI, Ducati, 2:06.235 13. Chris WALKER, Kawasaki, 2:06.474 14. Sebastien GIMBERT, Yamaha, 2:06.520 15. Regis LACONI, Ducati, 2:06.691 16. Marco BORCIANI, Ducati, 2:06.711 17. Lorenzo ALFONSI, Yamaha, 2:06.734 18. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Yamaha, 2:07.031 19. Ben BOSTROM, Honda, 2:07.077 20. Pierfrancesco CHILI, Honda, 2:07.111 21. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 2:07.118 22. Mauro SANCHINI, Kawasaki, 2:07.627 23. Jurgen VD GOORBERGH, Suzuki, 2:07.662 24. Giovanni BUSSEI, Kawasaki, 2:07.723 25. Alessio VELINI, Ducati, 2:07.921 26. Garry MCCOY, Foggy Petronas, 2:09.341 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga prepared for Sunday’s two Superbike World Championship races at Assen, The Netherlands, with a strong showing on the first day of practice. After ending the morning’s free practice in first and third place, the R1 riders ended the afternoon’s qualifying session with Pitt eighth fastest and Haga in 11th, despite both men working towards finding a good race setting rather than seeking the fastest outright lap time. Australian Pitt was in the top three of the time sheets for the majority of the session, only to be shuffled back late on. Having opted to use his softer qualifying tyre to set his fastest lap early in the one hour session, the 29-year-old used the remainder of the session to work on race settings. Haga, a race winner at the last two rounds, once again decided to concentrate on race settings and did not use a qualifying tyre in today’s sessions. Despite this, the Japanese ace headed the timesheets for the first 20 minutes and ended the day 11th, 1.4 seconds from pole sitter James Toseland (Ducati). Haga was happy with his day’s work and is likely to test an evolution of the R1 engine tomorrow. Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe endured contrasting days at Assen. Gimbert showed a return to his best form to end the day in 14th. The Frenchman has suffered a dip in form since a mid-season injury but full fitness and some developments to the front braking system on his R1 saw him regain confidence and improve his pace. Abe, however, was left scratching his head at a lack of rear end grip that saw him finish the day down in 21st position. Final qualifying takes place tomorrow (Saturday) morning, with the grid positions for Sunday’s races decided in the afternoon’s superpole session. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We thought that there was a chance of rain during the session so we used the qualifier right at the beginning. It wasn’t a bad lap but the qualifier didn’t seem to give that much improvement over the race tyres we used in the morning. In the end the rain didn’t come so we spent the rest of the hour working on race set-up. In that respect it’s good. We’re able to run consistent times on the race tyre and I’m feeling good about the race on Sunday. I just hope that tomorrow we can get a better lap in on the qualifier.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “Today I worked only on the race settings and did not use the qualifying tyre. Basically the bike is already good and we are trying things to make a better set-up. Tomorrow we also have some new parts to try which should give more performance.” Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha Motor Italia – Team Coordinator) “Although our positions today are not so special I think that we are making good preparations for the race. Both riders were very fast in the morning session but in qualifying I think Andrew chose to use his soft tyre too early while Noriyuki decided not to use a qualifier and concentrate on the race setting. He has already decided on the race tyre and I am sure that we will make further progress tomorrow.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “I am very happy because we found a good solution with the braking of the bike. We tried some things with the front brake and now the stability under braking is much better. This is good for the confidence and I was able to put in some good laps. Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “Today I have a problem with no rear grip. Even on the qualifying tyre we have wheelspin everywhere. Tonight we must work to find a solution and make the superpole qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY READY TO ROCK AT THE NEW ASSEN! Troy finished the first day of Assen qualifying with the second quickest time and is ready to rock tomorrow. His time of 2:04.835, was less then a tenth of a second behind provisional pole man James Toseland (Ducati), but that was achieved on a bike that was suffering a bit of wheelspin in the afternoon qualifying session. Third fastest today was Karl Muggeridge (Honda) with Chris Vermeulen (Honda) fourth. TROY – 2nd, 2:04.835 Well it’s been pretty much OK today and I wasn’t pushing hard at all. We made some good improvements to the gearing and suspension in the afternoon, but I felt we were suffering a bit of wheelspin throughout the day and it was the same on race or qualifying rubber. I think the grip level is going to improve over the weekend, so I am not too concerned. Having said that, the tyre were pretty consistent throughout the day. Assen had always been one to the tracks I really look forward to and it is a real ‘riders’ track. But the new changes to the circuit have ruined the flowing nature of the track and that’s a real shame. The chicane after the back straight has made the track less fun to ride – for me anyway – and it especially affects the final part of the lap. I had a real ‘moment’ this afternoon when I went straight on at the chicane instead of through it. I had to take to the gravel and I nearly crashed because the ripples in the gravel are so high! There is no need for them to be be like that, so I am hoping that they will rake the gravel and flatten it out a bit. Then, most riders would be able to keep upright and rejoin the track. I have never won at Assen before, so I am hoping to change that this weekend. More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki on the learning curve at Assen JURGEN van den Goorbergh spent the first day of practice and qualification at the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen in Holland easing himself back into racing and learning about the performance of his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 race bike. The 35-year-old Dutch ace is making his World Superbike debut racing at his home circuit as a wild-card entry. After a three-month break from motorcycle racing, he spent today getting to grips with the cut and thrust of World Championship level competition and how best to maximize performance given the control tyre regulations in the World Championship. Jurgen lapped the 3.726-mile long Assen TT circuit less than three seconds shy of provisional pole position to record the 23rd fastest time of the day. He completed 32 laps during two hours of track time, spending a lot of time in the pit garage making changes to the Rizla Suzuki to suit his riding style. Suzuki WSB regular Troy Corser ended the day second fastest with his team mate Yukio Kagayama in ninth place. Ducati’s James Toseland is on provisional pole position. There is a one-hour qualifying session tomorrow morning followed by a practice session and then Superpole at 4pm (CET) for the 16 fastest riders to determine the grid for Sunday’s races. British Eurosport will broadcast all the action from Superpole and both races. Robert Wicks, Rizla Suzuki Team Manager: “It’s important to bear in mind that this is the team’s first event using the control tyres and we need to be realistic about how quickly we can make progress, particularly in terms of getting the complete package that Jurgen feels comfortable with. He’s also had only one brief opportunity to test the race bike at Silverstone. “That said, Jurgen has been very complimentary about the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 and every time we have made a change to the bike he has felt an improvement and set a faster lap time. We hope that trend continues tomorrow. Jurgen has a massive fan base here in the Netherlands and I’m certain he will do everything possible to secure a good result at his home circuit.” Simon Green, Rizla Suzuki Team Co-ordinator: “We changed the settings on the front forks and rear shock and Jurgen’s comment at the end of the day was the bike balance was good. The bike is performing well and the more he rides and learns about it and the control tyres, the quicker he is becoming. “After a three month break from racing Jurgen has deliberately eased himself back into the saddle. He knows he can go quite a bit quicker than he has so far and is one of the few riders who has not yet tried a qualifying tyre – when he does, we expect it will improve his lap time quite considerably. “Our target for tomorrow is to get into Superpole and then take our chance from there. It’s not going to be easy as the pace is very quick, but the team is in good spirits and enjoying being part of the World Superbike paddock, albeit as a one-off visit.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Suzuki Corona Extra’s World Superbike Championship leader Troy Corser took things steadily on the first day of qualifying at Assen but still managed to post the second quickest time, less than a tenth-of-a-second behind provisional pole-setter James Toseland on a revamped circuit he feels isn’t as ‘much fun as it used to be.’ Corser’s team mate Yukio Kagayama was here three years ago in a MotoGP race, so had to start learning the track all over again: Assen circuit has a new layout since last year and most riders took their time finding the best way round the 5.997 kilometre track. He ended the day with the ninth fastest lap and is looking forward to further improvement tomorrow. Troy Corser – 2nd, 2:04.835: “The changes have ruined the flowing nature of the track – from the new chicane onwards – and so it’s not such fun to ride as it used to be. Today I had quite a bit of wheelspin, both on race and qualifying rubber, but I think the track’s grip level is going to improve so I’m not that worried about it at the moment. We made quite a big step forwards from the morning to the afternoon session, mainly to do with the gearing and a bit of suspension work. I had a bit of a ‘moment’ this afternoon when I went straight on instead of though the chicane, but I managed to keep it all upright ok and carry on. ” Yukio Kagayama – 9th, 2:05.921: “I was here three years ago but I have forgotten everything I knew about the track. There may be some changes from last year, but they don’t affect me at all! It is so important to know this circuit very well because there are many difficult corners. Once you know them well you can shave off time and make good laps. Today we mainly worked on the gearing because the bike was working well. This morning I was 14th, this afternoon ninth, so my aim tomorrow morning is top six, then front row after Superpole”¦ and then podium in race one and a win in race two! This is my plan.” The event sees the racing return of Dutchman Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh after a three-month lay-off. The 35 year old, who secured a wild-card entry aboard a British Superbike Championship Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000, took a provisional 23rd position. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: MIXED FRIDAY AT ASSEN FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM – TOSELAND TAKES OVERNIGHT POLE, LACONI CRASHES TWICE Assen (Netherlands), Friday 2 September: Friday’s first qualifying session at Assen produced mixed fortunes for the Ducati Xerox Team pairing of James Toseland and Régis Laconi as they line up for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship. On great form throughout the one-hour session, Toseland produced a superb last-minute effort on his Xerox-backed Ducati 999 to grab the overnight pole from points leader Corser (Suzuki) and the Honda duo of Muggeridge and Vermeulen. “I felt pretty comfortable this morning and we haven’t made any changes to the bike, it was pretty good already” declared Toseland. “We just wanted to do more laps because it was good enough to go faster with the setting we had and we didn’t want to change anything. We just tried a couple of rear tyres, the front’s working pretty well and we’ve already found a rear. It’s Friday afternoon and I’m ready to race! There haven’t been many problems all year with the bike set-up to be honest. We haven’t really changed much on the bike and now it’s going as it should do. “The new bits on the circuit are a bit tricky because you are used to going that fast down the back straight and scaring the hell out of yourself to now having to brake really hard for that right-hander and every lap you want to take it 5 mph too fast and you go wide. But luckily there’s plenty of space to go wide and you have to get a judgement for it. But it hasn’t spoilt it, Assen is still Assen and I still love it here” concluded Toseland. Despite being on the pace, Laconi had a difficult afternoon session, the Frenchman twice crashing at the same point and ending up in the Clinica Mobile with a gashed right elbow, which had to have eight stitches put in, and lacerations down his lower left leg. No bones were broken in the incident but the mobility of Laconi’s arm will be reviewed in the morning to see if the Frenchman is in a position to continue the weekend. “The first crash came when I lost the front, I haven’t done that for a long time” commented Laconi in the Clinica Mobile. “The second crash was exactly the same place, the second curve, but this time I was coming out of the pits on my first lap, not even going fast, when I opened the throttle and the bike went away and high-sided me. I remained under the bike sliding down the tarmac, the bike was on top of me all the time. I’ve got a big hole in my elbow where they’re stitching me up and lacerated my leg and little toe. We’ll just have to see how I feel tomorrow morning.” TIMES: 1. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 2m04.742s; 2. Corser (Suzuki) 2m04.835s; 3. Muggeridge (Honda) 2m05.136s; 4. Vermeulen (Honda) 2m05.445s; 5. Lanzi (Ducati SC) 2m05.594s; 6. Martin (Petronas) 2m05.793s; 7. Neukirchner (Honda) 2m05.822s; 8. Pitt (Yamaha) 2m05.908s; … 15. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 2m06.691s. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: DEBUT PRACTICE DAY AT ASSEN NANNELLI CRASHES, BUT LANZI MAKE THE TEAM SMILE On the modified Assen circuit debut practice day in an unusual warm weather, with 22°C air temperature and 73% humidity. The practice started in a bad way for Scuderia SC Caracchi, with a bad crash for Gianluca Nannelli during the morning free practice session; the bike slided suddenly and the rider highsided landing badly on the track unconscious. In the clinic controls Nannelli has been declared free of bad dameges, but he didn’t take part of the qualifying practices in the afternoon. After a final control tomorrow morning the doctors will declare Nannelli fit or unfit to race for Saturday’s qualifying. “It has been a bad crash”. commented Gianluca Nannelli when he was back in the paddock. “I’m quite dazed, but no bad dameges. Outing the last chicane the bike slided and I’ve been highsided. I don’t know why, people which have seen the accident described it like an early opening of the throttle, but looking at the data recording it looks that is not that the cause. It’s a pity because I was running very well, also if it was just the first part of the session. I hope tomorrow to be able to practice and, very important, to be able to ride as I like.” Later Lorenzo Lanzi bring once more the smile in the team, recording the fifth fastest time in first qualifying session with a time of 2’05.594 and was just one tenth of second off the provisional front row full of factory riders. But Lanzi focused himself in the setting for the demanding Dutch circuit and not looking for a fast lap. “We tried several different solutions for the set up, also with finished tyres.” said at the end of the session Lorenzo Lanzi. “I believe that we got a good setting solution. Looking at the fast lap I’ve done it quite easily, but in just a second there are ten riders and it’s easy to make a prevision for a big fight tomorrow to keep the best grid positions. At the end I’m quite satisfied, during the morning’s session I practiced always with the same tyres set to find a good handling with finished tyres and we find a good setting looking a group battle during the final part of the race. Now we look with the team how to organize the qualifying work tomorrow morning.”
