1. Troy Corser (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:35.676 2. Chris Vermeulen (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.125 3. Regis Laconi (Ducati 999RS), 1:36.356 4. Max Neukirchner (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.447 5. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.558 6. Karl Muggeridge (Honda CR1000RR), 1:36.565 7. Chris Walker (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.847 8. Norick Abe (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.862 9. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:36.875 10. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:37.031 11. David Checa (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:37.122 12. Pier Francesco Chili (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.200 13. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati 999RS), 1:37.297 14. Steve Martin (Petronas FP-1), 1:37.388 15. Sebastian Gimbert (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:38.203 More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: CORSER TOPS VALENCIA SUPERPOLE Troy Corser will start tomorrow’s third-round world Superbike round in Valencia from the front after winning this afternoon’s Superpole – the 31st of his career. The Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider set a blistering time of 1’35.676 with a speed of 282.7 kph on his 2005 GSX-R1000 – the only rider under the 1’36.000 mark at the Spanish circuit – to beat Chris Vermeulen (Honda) and Regis Laconi (Ducati). Corser’s team mate Yukio Kagayama set the ninth-fastest time with 1’36.875 and a speed of 280.5 kph after making a small mistake exiting turn two which upset the rhythm of his lap and pushed him back. Troy Corser – 1st, 1:35.676: “I have to thank my Alstare Suzuki team because they’ve done a great job. Our test here before Phillip Island went very well and we started with that set-up. The front end is working really well and I’ve more or less chosen my tyres for the race. I’ll only change my mind if the conditions are different. “It’s going to be a couple of long, tough races tomorrow and tyre conservation is going to be very important especially if it is hot. My Superpole lap went quite smoothly and there were no dramas on it. In fact, I felt pretty comfortable this afternoon and now all I need to do is to try and translate that into a couple of wins tomorrow.” Yukio Kagayama – 9th, 1:36.875: “I made a small mistake in turn two and that affected the whole lap. This track is like that – if you make a mistake in one place it messes up the rest of the lap. The mistake means that I will start the races tomorrow from the third row and that is not going to be so easy. “I need a very good start but if I get that, I feel that I can catch the leaders. I know what lap times I can do so I think a podium – or two – is still possible. I will give it full gas and try my hardest as usual.” More, from a press release issued by Petronas Racing: Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Steve Martin and Garry McCoy face an uphillbattle in tomorrow’s two races at the third round of the Superbike World Championship in Valencia, Spain. Steve starts from the fourth row of the grid after qualifying in 14th while team-mate Garry is a row behind after failing to make a Superpole shoot-out dominated by Troy Corser. Both Aussies fought throughout the day with front-end chatter problems and Steve struggled to match his times from a recent test at the tight and twisty circuit. Jack said: “The main problem seems to be front end chatter for both riders. The new specification engine is obviously quicker down the straights but is a bit peaky. Also, the problem they have had with backing into corners is more evident at this on-off type of circuit. Combined, they are upsetting the whole balance of the bike and, because the chatter is inconsistent, it is knocking the confidence of the riders. Garry feels the earlier engine is more user-friendly and we will decide overnight which specification to use for the races. But it should be remembered that this class is far more competitive than MotoGP and, if you haven’t got it just right, half a second can make all the difference. And, when you look at the quality of some of the riders behind us, we are not doing too badly considering the fact that we are still developing the bike.” Garry said: “I went quicker this morning but unfortunately didn’t manage to get into Superpole. I think I could have gone quicker on that fastest lap but got caught up behind someone in the last corner. In the afternoon I concentrated on finding something comfortable for the race and, although we have made progress throughout the day, it came a little too late for qualification purposes. The latest engine development is definitely quicker at the top end but, for tracks like Valencia, you also need power delivery at the bottom end so I tried reverting to the previous stage of engine in the afternoon and was able to do more consistent lap times. I think it might be easier to ride for 23 laps tomorrow, although comparing the two, we are doing similar lap times. Starting from the fifth row we have got a bit of catching up to do but I like to race and tomorrow is another day.” Steve said: “We persevered with the newer engine and tried to dial the chatter out. But I will try the previous engine specification in morning warm-up. I did also suffer with some chatter here at our test but I would prefer to have chatter at 37s rather than 38s! We are going into the corners with a lot more revs and I can’t ride the bike like that. I did a couple of practice starts, as my starts have not been great to date, and they both seemed to go pretty well. So, hopefully, I will have the starting bug out of my system and I can get stuck into the race and finish with good points.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s Publicist: THIRTY-FIRST POLE FOR TROY! Troy fully lived up to his “Mr Superpole” reputation at Valencia today, finishing half a second ahead of his nearest rival. It was Troy’s thirty-first pole position in World Superbikes and this afternoon he looked smooth, fast and comfortable – which must be a worry to the rest of the field. Second quickest in Superpole today was Chris Vermeulen (Honda), with Regis Laconi (Ducati) third and Max Neukirchner (Honda) fourth. Troy’s team mate Yukio Kagayama made a mistake on his Superpole lap and finished ninth overall. TROY – 1st, 1:35.676 Well, it’s always nice to win Superpole and now let’s see what happens tomorrow. When we tested here before going to Phillip Island for the race, we found a good set-up. Then we made further steps forward during that race weekend and we put it all together here. The front end is working really well (including the front tyre) and I’m really happy with that. I tried all three rear tyres, but there’s not an awful lot of difference between them. This track is very strange for our tyres, because only two or three degrees change in temperature can make a big difference. Our boys have done a great deal of work making the bike rider-friendly since the start of the season. Giacomo and Max have used their knowledge from GPs and have changed the way the mapping works and given me a good bike to ride. I’ve felt comfortable all weekend so far and now all I have to do is go out and race. Of course, my aim is a pair of wins tomorrow, but as long as I am leading the championship at the end, I will be happy. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: SOME DIFFICULT IN THE FINAL PRACTICE DAY AT VALENCIA FOR TEAM SC CARACCHI After a small delay for the morning’s fog ended today at Valencia the final qualifying day for the Spanish round of 2005 World Superbike Championship. Some difficult today for Scuderia SC Caracchi’s riders, as well the results scored in race set up has been quite good, loosing however some grid position when everybody moved to qualifying set up. Lorenzo Lanzi put in a good performance in his first one-lap dash, while Nannelli will start from the third row in Supersport race and Fonsi Nieto is planning revenge intention in front of his public after failing to qualify for Superpole. Quite satisfied Lorenzo Lanzi, who failed a third grid row position just for a few thousandth of second, but who found a good race pace that let him to be confident for tomorrow’s races. “To be sincere I did hope to reach at less the third row on the grid, but I lost it for a whisker.” commented at the end of the practice Lorenzo Lanzi. “However I’m quite satisfied because both during the morning as well in the afternoon session I got a good set up for the race. Then the emotion to run for the first time a Superpole lap slowed me a bit, but with a good start I could be in the group for a good race.” Disappointed Fonsi Nieto who failed the Superpole in front of his fans because he cooled too much the qualifying tyres during the flying lap because a lot of traffic in the track, loosing the possibility to exploit all their grip characteristics. “I’m really disappointed for my fans to fail the Superpole.” said a disappointed Fonsi Nieto at the end of practice. “We found a good set up with rece tyre, but later I ruined my qualifying tyre during the flying lap when I found a lot of riders parked on the track, so the tyre became cool and I’ve been not able to improve my qualifying performance. That’s a pity because I found a fast pace for the race and to start some row before could make everything easier. I hope to make a good start tomorrow, to not remain prisoner in the group and make a good race.” Not satisfied also Gianluca Nannelli whi in the final qualifying has not been able to improve the morning’s performance. “The bike was sliding everywhere this afternoon.” said a disappointed Gianluca Nannelli. “We looked for a good combination between speed and endurance ,but we have not been able to do it. Now we have to recover some position, but we have only the warm up session tomorrow morning for all the controls, I hope that’ll be sufficient also starting from the third row.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: LACONI THIRD IN SUPERPOLE FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM AS TOSELAND FAILS TO MAKE THE CUT Valencia (Spain), Saturday 23 April: Régis Laconi will start tomorrow’s third round of the World Superbike Championship at Valencia, Spain from the front row of the grid after setting third-quickest time in Superpole. Eleventh overnight, the Frenchman improved his qualifying time by well over one second today and then put in a good performance in the one-lap dash to end up behind poleman Corser (Suzuki) and second-placed Vermeulen (Honda). “My lap was really not perfect, I can do better but to be third today is good because this track is difficult and the conditions were quite warm out there” declared Laconi. “Yesterday I finished eleventh because we didn’t use the qualifying tyres but today the team worked well and we found some good race settings. For sure Troy is very fast not only in Superpole but also with the race tyre but I will try my best to see what I can do. In any case starting on the front row is the best thing here at Valencia.” There was less joy for James Toseland as the reigning champion failed to qualify for Superpole due to a problem when there were just a few minutes remaining of the morning’s second and final qualifying hour. As a result the 24-year-old will start from row 6 of the grid in tomorrow’s two 23-lap races. “I didn’t make Superpole because I had a problem with the front end of the bike three minutes before the end of the session and after I had changed the tyre I went out again but just missed the flag by a couple of seconds” commented James. “Unfortunately we’ve been going in the wrong direction during qualifying and when you go in the wrong direction, it all becomes that bit more difficult. We managed to sort out Friday’s problems with the front suspension but then I had no grip in the rear so we went back to yesterday’s settings and that wasn’t much better. I’m on a factory Ducati so I know I shouldn’t be in this position. You can’t really win races from 23rd on the grid, but I’m sure I can do a good race pace tomorrow so let’s see what we can salvage from here”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga will start tomorrow’s round three of the Superbike World Championship from the second and third rows of the grid after the team made major changes to the set up of their YZF-R1s. After ending Friday in 21st and 24th places respectively, the team mechanics changed the settings if their R1s – allowing the riders to lap comfortably one and a half seconds a lap quicker to qualify them for the afternoon superpole session in 12th and 14th place respectively. Both riders were able to further improve their grid positions in the one-lap showdown, with Haga posting a 1:37.031 to take 10th and Pitt just missing out on the front row after clocking a weekend best of 1:36.558 , good enough for a fifth place start in tomorrow’s race at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. Sandwiched between Pitt and Haga will be Yamaha Motor France’s Norick Abe. The Spanish-based Japanese star has been one of the most consistent riders throughout the weekend and, despite losing two positions on his superpole lap, was able to retain a second row start. In a second qualifying session that saw a number of riders make considerable progress, wild-card David Checa, riding for the Yamaha GMT94 team with whom he won the Le Mans 24-hour race last weekend, was another to make stunning overnight progress. The Spaniard improved his Friday time by over two seconds to go from 27th in the overnight standings to qualify for superpole in 11th place, a position he maintained after his superpole lap. One of Checa’s team-mates at Le Mans, Sebastien Gimbert had a superpole to forget though, taking his Yamaha Motor France R1 to 15th, a drop of five places on his position going into superpole. Championship leader Troy Corser (Suzuki) grabbed pole with a 1:35.666 lap time. Completing the front row are Karl Muggeridge (Honda), Max Neukirchner (Honda) and Chris Walker (Kawasaki). Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “You’ve got to be happy with that after yesterday! When I come into the garage I was looking at the screen to see if I could stay on the front two rows. As it was I almost made it to the front row, but I can’t be too upset at missing out after the progress we made. Straight from the first session it was obvious that we made a massive change in the right direction and I can leave the circuit in a very different mood from yesterday.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “I am happy with sixth because superpole is still new to me, so doing a 36 on my own is good. I know that I can get some good starts from the second row and, if I can do that, I am confident that I will be able to battle with the top riders.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “This is the first time I have had a one lap superpole since Magny Cours so I think that I did not quite push hard enough. We made some big improvements today but we are hoping to try a few more things in the morning warm up to improve the feeling further. This is a track that I like, so if we can make the feeling better and the start is good then we should be able to fight.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “This has been a tough weekend for me. Not only am I still feeling the effects of Le Mans last weekend, I am also suffering from a bad cold. Tonight I will try to get as much rest as possible and hope that I am in a better condition tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia) “We did a good job today, but we know that the races are still going to be very tough. We tried some things yesterday and these did not work, but when we went back to the settings we found at the test here we were immediately quick. Andrew did a good job to come from 24th yesterday and although Noriyuki still has to have a little better feeling we know that he is a real race animal who is always capable of doing something special when it matters.” More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: VERMEULEN SECOND FASTEST AT VALENCIA Chris Vermeulen will start tomorrow’s two third round World Superbike championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the second fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole event. The Australian clocked a time of 1:36.125s around the 4.005km Ricardo Tormo Circuit near Valencia in Spain. With Troy Corser taking pole position, Vermeulen’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, set the sixth fastest time this afternoon after finishing the second qualifying session this morning in second place. He will start from the second row for tomorrow’s two 23-lap (92km) races. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “We arrived here in Valencia with a lot of different options to test focusing especially on the chassis and front forks. We’ve spent the last two days going through these methodically, which has been quite time consuming. It’s ironic that the last things we tested seemed to work the best. Both Chris and Karl have been making steady progress in the right direction yesterday and today and I think we have put them in a position where they can be challenging for podium finishes here. We’re not quite there yet and still have some work to do on the overall base setting. We’re not progressing as fast as we would like, but at least we are making progress.” Chris Vermeulen second fastest, 1m36.125s: “We’ve done a lot of work on the front this weekend and, as I’ve said, it’s not ideal to be testing things during a meeting but that’s just how it is. I spent most of today’s practice sessions using the same tyres and just going through a load of different settings on the bike. I’m quite comfortable at race pace here, although the temperature tomorrow will have a lot to do with what that pace is. The track has become slippery in the afternoons so we’ll have to see what the weather is like tomorrow. I tried to make my Superpole lap as smooth as possible with a new front tyre. I guess I could’ve been a little bit quicker here and there but it was my fastest lap of the weekend. We’ve got some more work to do still, but I’m comfortable with the bike now and looking forward to tomorrow.” Karl Muggeridge sixth fastest, 1m36.565s: “I’m real comfortable on the qualifiers and was happy to be second fastest going into my second Superpole. I got the lap about as smooth as I could but unfortunately it’s dropped me back to the second row. Superpole worked the other way for me in Australia where I moved up a few places but at least I’m in the right area and challenging at the front again here. The bike is still coming up a little too fast as I gas it out of corners so I have to wait a fraction longer before opening the throttle. We need to work on that a little more and will try a couple of things in warm-up tomorrow. But it’s good turning in and we’re definitely making progress. I think we’re quite close to a good race set-up so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
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