SECOND ROW FOR MUGGERIDGE IN AUSTRALIA Karl Muggeridge will start tomorrow’s second round races of the 2005 World Superbike championship from the second row of the grid after setting the sixth fastest time in his first ever Superpole event this afternoon. Superpole allows one flying lap to the 16 fastest riders from qualifying to establish final grid positions. With Japanese rider, Yukio Kagayama, setting the fastest time, Muggeridge’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Chris Vermeulen, was ninth fastest and will start the two 22-lap races at the 4.4km Phillip Island circuit from the front of row three. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “Superpole is always an event in itself and I was very pleased with the way Karl handled his first, after a wet session at the first round in Qatar. He managed to improve his qualifying time by 0.8s and move up to the second row. We are a little surprised by Chris’s performance after he had been running so well earlier and qualified for Superpole in fourth place. But we’ll now concentrate on tomorrow’s two races for which I believe we have solved the puzzle of setting up the bike here. We’ll confirm a couple of things in warm-up tomorrow morning and I’m confident we can be up at the front in the races. Karl Muggeridge sixth fastest, 1m33.557s “I was pretty pleased with that Superpole lap because it’s always nice to get the track to yourself with a grippy qualifier. Having said that, I’m not sure I got the most out of it and may have gone into turn one a little cautious. I just tried to be smooth all the way round and it felt nice especially knocking that much off my qualifying time. The team’s been working really hard all weekend to get the front working properly and, after yesterday’s two options, I think we’ve found a good set-up for the race. I’ve said from the start that as long as we’re making steady improvements for Sunday, the results will come. We’ve made the improvements here so we’ll just have to go for the results tomorrow. Chris Vermeulen ninth fastest, 1m34.053s “It was strange because I was really struggling for grip out there in Superpole and I went almost as fast on a race tyre during earlier practice. It felt pretty smooth all the way round but I just wasn’t able to open the throttle properly. After the times I’d been doing earlier, I was pretty confident of being able to do a low 31s lap but hey, that’s Superpole for you. I know it makes good TV but I’m not a huge fan really; you can sometimes lose a little but other times lose a lot. I’ve got a good race set-up though and I’m confident of being able to run at the front at race pace I’ll just have to get a couple of good starts from where I am. World Superbike, Phillip Island final qualifying times: 1 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki) 1m33.241s, 2 Steve Martin AUS (Petronas) 1:33.301, 3 Max Neukirchner GER (Honda) 1:33.375, 4 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 1:33.398, 5 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) 1:33.461, 6 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:33.557, 7 Garry McCoy AUS (Petronas) 1:33.676, 8 Regis Laconi FRA (Ducati) 1:33.837, 9 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:34.053, 10 James Toseland GBR (Ducati) 1:34.068. CHARPENTIER MAINTAINS TEN KATE FORM Sébastien Charpentier will start tomorrow’s World Supersport championship second round race from pole position after setting the fastest time in today’s second qualifying session. After heading the practice and qualifying time sheets all weekend, it is the Frenchman’s second consecutive pole start in the series and the Ten Kate team’s ninth. In sunny but windy conditions, Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, was fifth fastest today; the first round winner and championship leader will start tomorrow’s 21-lap race at the 4.4km Phillip Island circuit in Australia from the head of the second row. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “Once again, Sébastien has dominated practice and qualifying, just like in the first round in Qatar; but I have to say it is never boring to see him there all the time! We did a long run with him this afternoon, over more than half race distance, and there were no problems. He was looking like going even faster on his last lap but it’s always difficult to switch back to doing one quick lap. Katsuaki is still looking for the perfect set-up here but I think it’s always a question of compromising, especially with today’s strong wind. But I have no doubts that he’ll be absolutely fine in race conditions tomorrow.” Sébastien Charpentier pole position, 1m35.746s “The wind is very strange here today it can be very strong on one lap and then not so strong the next. It makes it very difficult, especially the left hander in turn two and then up the back of the circuit. But I was very happy doing consistent low 37s laps over half race distance and the front was just perfect. I don’t think I’ll have the problems that we found in Qatar. I was trying to go even faster on the last lap and I was up in the first two splits but then a slower rider finished the lap for me. It’s no matter though, I’m on pole again and looking forward to tomorrow.” Katsuaki Fujiwara fifth fastest, 1m36.524s “I have been trying my best all weekend to get the bike perfect all the way round the Phillip Island circuit but in the end we’re still not getting it to turn as well as I would like in the high-speed corners. But, I have a very good race set-up and, although I will be starting directly behind Sébastien, I really want another win here and I am confident for tomorrow’s race. After the problem I had on the start line in Qatar, I have practiced my start and I hope for no problem. I want to win the race from the front this time, not the back.” Phillip Island final qualifying times: 1 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1m35.746s, 2 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) 1:35.903, 3 Fabien Foret FRA (Honda) 1:36.230, 4 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) 1:36.436, 5 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:36.524, 6 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda) 1:36.819, 7 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) 1:37.388, 8 Johan Stigefelt SWE (Honda) 1:37.657, 9 Jurgen vd Goorbergh NED (Ducati) 1:37.820, 10 Javier Fores ESP (Suzuki) 1:37.915. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: LACONI AND TOSELAND ON ROWS 2 AND 3 FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM AS SUPERPOLE PACE HOTS UP LACONI IMPROVES ON TOP SPEED RECORD WITH 318 KM/H! Phillip Island (Australia), Saturday 2 April: Régis Laconi and James Toseland (Ducati Xerox Team) will start tomorrow’s Australian Round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island from rows 2 and 3 of the grid respectively as a highly-competitive Superpole qualifying session produced a few surprises. Neither the Frenchman, seventh after the two qualifying sessions, nor his British team-mate, five places lower, were able to make much of a surge up the grid in the one-lap dash despite both shaving vital tenths from their times and they ended up eighth and tenth. Both riders are confident with their race set-up however and are convinced that the two 22-lap races will see a different outcome. “I didn’t do a good lap in Superpole, it wasn’t that bad because we got under the 1m34s mark but we were missing a bit everywhere” declared Laconi. “I’m on row 2 and I absolutely have to get a good start otherwise the others will get away. We are all more or less there, no one rider has that much of an advantage. Superpole is becoming more competitive race after race, it’s only a question of tenths, but remember that’s only in qualifying, the race is another thing”. After setting the top speed record of 316 km/h yesterday, Laconi went even quicker today, ending up at 318 km/h, an extraordinary performance from the twin-cylinder Testastretta-engine Ducati 999 that was achieved with the contribution of the special fuels and lubricants developed for the Factory ’05 machine by technical partner Shell. “Yesterday we were already quick at 316 km/h and today we went even faster. If we go any quicker tomorrow, at this rate we’ll be approaching the speed of the MotoGP bikes!” added Laconi. Toseland was clearly disappointed with his row 3 starting position, but is confident that his good race set-up will enable him to be up at the front tomorrow. “I don’t know what happened there with everyone in the 33s, I thought my 34 flat in the free practice would have put me second or third and I’m tenth on the grid” he declared. “I’m not happy, I really stuck my neck out even to do a 34 flat so we’ve got a bit more work to do on the bike. It’s going to be difficult from the third row of the grid, but we’ve been very consistent on race tyres and hopefully we can get into the low 34s to be there or thereabouts, but the main problem is if the leaders get away. It’s going to be a real endurance test tomorrow, the tyres will be a problem after half distance and whoever keeps it together will bring it home. It’s going to come round to grip in the end and who’s got the best race set-up and that’s what I’ve been concentrating on all weekend”. TIMES: 1. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m33.241s; 2. Martin (Petronas) 1m33.301s; 3. Neukirchner (Honda) 1m33.375s; 4. Corser (Suzuki) 1m33.398s; 5. Pitt (Yamaha) 1m33.461s; 6. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m33.557s; 7. McCoy (Petronas) 1m33.676s; 8. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1m33.837s; 9. Vermeulen (Honda) 1m34.053s; 10. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m34.068s; etc. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: CLIFF HANGER AS KAGAYAMA WINS SUPERPOLE AT PHILLIP ISLAND A Close Run Thing: In warm and balmy conditions the pace in Superpole proved to be frequently faster than that set in regulation qualifying. The eventual winner of the single fast lap Superpole competition, to determine the final grid positions for the top 16 qualifiers, was Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Only fifth last away, having been fifth fastest after regular qualifying, Kagayama had to wait for the best four regulation qualifiers to set their Superpole laps before he could be declared Superpole winner. It was his first such success, for a rider in his first full season of SBK competition, and came thanks to a time of 1:33.241 over half a second faster than his best time from previous sessions. Front Row Now Fixed: The remarkable Superpole contest delivered two major surprises and two minor ones. The first small surprise was that Troy Corser, Kagayama’s team-mate, did not capitalise on his qualifying pace. Corser had proved to be fastest man after both timed sessions but was beaten into fourth place on the grid after Superpole. The second small surprise was that SBK rookie Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda) took a superb third place, delivering on his good final qualifying pace – despite his lack of SBK, Superpole and Phillip Island experience. A major surprise was the performance of the Petronas triple, in the hands of Steve Martin. The rider may be an expert in the particular discipline needed for Superpole success, but with a largely outgunned machine under him, thanks to its 900cc engine capacity, Martin transcended all to go second fastest. The second major upset was that neither of the factory Ducati Xerox machines managed to get onto the front row, and indeed both Petronas machines were ahead of the Ducati pairing of eighth placed Regis Laconi and tenth finisher, James Toseland. Second Row Quartet: Yamaha’s rider line up in Superpole was headed by Andrew Pitt, who recovered from a serious collision with his own machine, after a huge highside exiting MG corner, He finished fifth fastest and heads the second row. Karl Muggeridge was the fastest Winston Ten Kate Honda pilot, sixth, while the joy for Petronas continued thanks to Garry McCoy, the diminutive Aussie screaming his triple to a seventh place, ousting Laconi by just over 0.15 seconds. Third Rank: Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made a couple of small but significant errors in his Superpole lap, and thus starts the two SBK races on Sunday from row three, just ahead of tenth place Superpole qualifier James Toseland. Toseland’s race tyre lap speed is comparable with most of the best riders on display, and thus two good starts for the 2004 champion should see him and his team-mate Laconi stay in contention for what should be two exceptionally close races. Giovanni Bussei had the pleasure of being top Kawasaki rider, taking his Bertocchi machine to 11th, and thus keeping Norick Abe’s Yamaha Motor France R1 in 12th place. Superpole Wrap Up: Chris Walker (Kawasaki PSG-1) leads off the fourth row of the grid, one ahead of impressive SBK rookie Gianluca Vizziello (Team Lorenzini by Leoni), the Italian pilot showing the pace that made him the runner up in the European Superstock series in 2004. Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Extreme Sterilgarda), and Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki PSG-1), completed the Superpole contest 15th and 16th respectively. Chili Out Injured: Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) had a painful end to his qualifying push, breaking his left collarbone for the third time in his career, ruling himself out for the Aussie race and probably the next round at Valencia. Chasing his team-mate Neukirchner, and having just passed a slower rider, he fell at the fast turn three, after clipping the inside of the kerb. Another experienced rider, Noriyuki Haga, was well out of sorts in Phillip Island, only finishing 19th on his Yamaha Motor Italia R1. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji), still not in possession of fully competitive equipment, was 23rd fastest, one place behind Spanish Superstar Fonsi Nieto, riding an SC Ducati 999RS. Lorenzo Lanzi, Nieto’s team-mate, was a disappointed 27th of the 29 riders on show. Supersport: For the second race in succession Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) secured pole position, forming the head of a three-rider row of Honda pilots. Team Italia Megabike runners Michel Fabrizio and Fabien Foret ran out second and third respectively, but the top Yamaha rider on display was Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate Honda) will start Sunday’s Supersport race from the first grid position on the second row, after setting a lap time some 0.8 seconds removed from the pole man. Stephane Chambon was sixth fastest on his Gil Motorsports Honda, with the best Ducati the SC machine of Gianluca Nannelli, despite the Italian charger suffering a late session fall. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) slotted into tenth but is not certain to start the race on Sunday, after taking a battering in a high-speed crash. Suffering from compressed vertebrae after tumbling end-over-end, Parkes will make a decision on his inclusion on Sunday morning. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha Motor Italia rider Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow’s Yamaha-sponsored Australian round of the Superbike World Championship from fifth place after an impressive performance in his first ever one-lap superpole run. The local hero had been consistently in the top five all weekend but had to survive a scare during the pre-superpole practice session. The Australian was heading the time sheets when he highsided on the exit of turn 10 and was struck by his machine. Pitt was thankfully uninjured in the incident and was able to resume the session on his second machine. Pitt went into the superpole session as the third fastest rider from regular qualifying, but despite setting his fastest time of the weekend, a 1’33.461, on his flying lap the Australian found himself slipping back to fifth despite setting his fastest lap of the weekend. Norick Abe was another Yamaha rider who impressed in his first outing in the one-lap shootout. The Japanese rider gained four places on his position after regular qualifying and will start the race from 12th place and the third row of the grid. Pitt’s team-mate Noriyuki Haga was 19th fastest in qualifying, and did make the cut for the top-16 superpole shootout after failing to find a good suspension setting during the morning qualifying session. However Haga was able to set the 14th fastest time in the untimed afternoon practice session, giving hope of an improved performance in tomorrow’s races. Lining up behind Haga in 20th and 21st places respectively are European superstock champion Lorenzo Alfonsi, making his world superbike debut with the DFX Yamaha team, and Yamaha Motor France’s Sebastien Gimbert, although all three riders are likely to move up one place as 17th qualifier Pierfrancesco Chili (Honda) will not start after breaking his collarbone. Championship leader Yuki Kagayama (Suzuki) will start tomorrow’s races from pole position after setting a superpole time of 1’33.241, narrowly pushing out local ace Steve Martin (Petronas) and young German talent Max Neukirchner (Honda). Another Australian, Troy Corser (Suzuki), rounds out the front row in fourth. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “I’d have liked to have been on the front row but I did my best lap on the superpole so I feel that I did my best. We’ve got a good set-up and I have been up the front all weekend on race tyres, so this looks good for the race. I expect a good race tomorrow with many riders fighting for the lead. I am happy with the way my bike is, so hopefully I will be one of them!” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “I have been feeling sick all weekend so I am quite happy with my superpole performance – it was good fun! I have a good set up and was able to do a lot of consistent lap times, so I am looking forward to the races tomorrow.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “It’s been a difficult day and I do not really know why I was riding so slowly. We have had big chatter problems here all weekend. We tried so many changes and we made some improvements in the last session, so we will need to see how it goes tomorrow.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “This is my first time here with the R1 and I made a small mistake with my suspension settings today. That is why I couldn’t go fast enough to get into superpole but we made some changes in the free practice session so I am sure that we will have a much better performance in the races tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator Yamaha Motor Italia) “We are feeling very positive about tomorrow’s races. Andrew is running very strongly on race tyres and thankfully also he was uninjured in the crash. It was also good that he but in his best laps after the crash because, although a rider will always deny it, they usually lose some feeling in these events. With Nori I believe he can do a good job for us. He is always better on race day than on qualifying and I remember him, I think it was at Brands Hatch in 2000, starting in 16th and being second at the first corner, so we know what he is capable of doing.” Yamaha Motor Germany’s world supersport riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes had opposing fortunes on the final day of qualifying at Phillip Island today. Curtain put his YZF-R6 on the front row, in fourth place, but Parkes was forced to sit out the afternoon session after crashing during the morning’s free practice. Curtain improved his time by almost half a second during the second qualifying session with a best of 1’35.436, but was unable to eliminate the set-up problems which is causing excessive wheelspin and tyre wear on his YZF-R6. The experienced Australian, winner of this race in 2002, and his team will make further changes to the rear suspension in a bid to improve the settings for tomorrow’s 21 lap race. Parkes crashed heavily midway through the morning session and was taken to the medical centre after being highsided from the machine. Thankfully examinations revealed no broken bones and the rider was sent back to his hotel to rest. He is expected to take part in tomorrow’s race and, if fit, his Friday time of 1’38.021 will put him 12th on the grid. Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) will start on pole position after posting a time of 1’35.746. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) “I’m really glad to be on the front row at my home race. I rode as hard as I could on that lap but we’ve still got problems with the rear suspension. We tried a few things today to solve it but unfortunately it’s still there. We’re just spinning up coming out of the corner and that’s destroying the tyre and losing us drive down the straight. We’ll make some more changes for tomorrow and if we can get some good times in the warm-up I feel confident that we can get a good result.” Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) “I’m pretty badly beaten up but I intend to race tomorrow. My back is badly bruised and I’m very stiff just now, but I will have an early night tonight and hopefully will feel better tomorrow. It’s a shame as I felt that we had made some good improvements to the bike since yesterday. At least my Friday time was good enough for the third row, so that’s not as bad as it could have been.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi Ducati: BAD DAY IN AUSTRALIA FOR SC’s RIDERS (Phillip Island 2005, April 2) Once more a bad day at Phillip Island for the riders of Scuderia SC Caracchi, first of all in Superbike where the 999RS Ducatis of Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto ended the qualifying session out for the Superspole group. Today too better situation for the Supersport class, with the 749R Ducati ridden by Gianluca Nannelli earned the seventh place in the final starting grid. Sunny day with 32°C air temperature and 40°C on the track, once more with a strong wind. Lorenzo Lanzi, only 27th at the end of qualifying session, is specially mortified for his result. “yesterday we ended the practices sure to be able to get a better result today.” – commented disappointed the rider from Cesena. “That’s a mistery, but the bike looking yesterday afternoon to be a bit better this morning was no more performing. The weather conditions were actually the same and I don’t understand what happened. We controlled all the recorded data with other teams too and we didn’t found any anomaly. I’m really discouraged and it’s not enough that during the second free practice session, without the qualifying pression, I rode better, I’m still far not only from the top group but also from the second row riders. I’m really sorry for Maurizio Perlini, my chief-engineer, and the guys which have done a big work, but we’ve been not able to carry out all this work in a good result.” A bit better today Fonsi Nieto, also if his grid position, 22nd, isn’t actually exciting. The Spanish rider, as well with several setting troubles, improved steadily his performance during all the practice sessions and now is going to have a better feeling with his 999RS. “My bike is always in the highest top speed machine’s group”. – said at the end of the practices Fonsi Nieto. “That’s a comforting thought as well I’ve always improved my laptime, also if not with the improving rate I wish. Of course to start from the sixth row isn’t a happy situation, but finally it looks that, as well with some hesitation, we started to walk along the right way.” Once more Supersport Gianluca Nannelli on his 749R recorded a positive result, which could be however better. Nannelli focused his work on the race set up, finding a good final arrangement which, together a top speed of 287,5 kph, lat to be confident for tomorrow’s race. Unfortunately a stupid crash, without consequences, in the fast corner at the end of the finish line, forced him to an early stop in the final qualifying session. Luckily any injury for Gianluca and only small damages for the bike. “I’m very sorry for this mistake, but luckily the damages have been very small.” – related his mishap Gianluca. “I was catching the front row and with fresh tyres I hazarded more as allowed and I crash. However for the race I feel quite confident. During the early part of the final session I tried a long runand I could see that my 749R has a very good output. Thanks Franco Farnè and the guy’s work we recorded once more the best top speed, on this track that I love that cound be the absolute weapon.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama took his first ever World Superbike Superpole at Phillip Island today knocking over half a second off his previous best time in the process. His Superpole lap was not the smoothest in the world, due to a few slides, but he never looked out of control as he sped round the 4.45 kilometre Australian circuit. His team mate Troy Corser had been fastest in timed qualifying but a change of track temperature and the smallest of mistakes was enough to knock him off the top spot. But his time of 1:33.398 was good enough for a front row start, alongside Steve Martin (Petronas) and Max Neukirchner (Honda). Yukio Kagayama – 1st, 1:33.241: “I am a little surprised but happy with my Superpole lap. I went half a second faster than in normal qualifying, so that was a sign that we have made good progress today. My Superpole lap was not perfect because I had some slides, but there were no moments when I thought I was in trouble. Today we tried some changes but we did not make any big steps, so I went back to the set-up from yesterday and that seemed to work ok this afternoon. “Phillip Island is a very physical track because there are many changes of direction at high-speed, so you must be strong. My aim in Superpole was to equal or beat Troy’s time and when I did that, I was happy. I expected Troy would have been a bit quicker in Superpole but he is on the front row of the grid and that is the most important thing. At the moment I am happy, but this evening I will be thinking about the race tomorrow. That is more important then Superpole.” Troy Corser – 4th, 1:33.398: “I am a little disappointed not to win Superpole, but it’s what happens tomorrow that counts. I am on the front row and that’s good enough to go for a win or two. I felt that maybe I was a little cautious at the start of my Superpole lap and that, together with a small mistake at Siberia, was enough to drop me down the order a little. “It is so easy to either gain or lose a tad round here and that affects lap times considerably. Maybe there was a little change in the mapping when the temperature dropped as well, but in the end it’s no drama because I am on the front row.” World Superbike final qualifying: 1 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.241, 2 Martin (Aus-Petronas) 1:33.301, 3 Neukirchner (D-Honda) 1:33.375, 4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.398, 5 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:33.461, 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:33.557, 7 McCoy (Aus Petronas) 1:33.676, 8 Laconi (I-Ducati) 1:33.837, 9 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:34.053, 10 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1:34.068. WORLD SUPERSPORT QUALIFYING: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fores improved both his physical condition and his lap time today and finished a creditable tenth fastest overall. He achieved his target of a 1:37 lap and he maintained his position as the top Suzuki rider on the grid – all this despite being unable to give 100% yesterday due to illness. Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) dominated qualifying and took pole position with a lap of 1:35.746. Second and third quickest today were the Hondas of Michel Fabrizio and Fabien Foret, with local hero Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) fourth fastest. Javi Fores – 10th, 1:37.915: “At least I felt good enough to ride the bike today. Yesterday was a bit of a waste – except that I did begin to learn which way the track went. Phillip Island is a great track to ride and I like it a lot. It’s very demanding and you have to know exactly where you are going if you want to make good lap times. I’m happy that I improved my lap time and I’m happy that I was the top Suzuki out there. “Starting fro m the third row is not going to be easy but the first turn is a long way off so it’s not so bad. Also, there are passing places, so I hope that I can get further up the order and challenge for a top six place.” World Supersport final qualifying: 1 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1:35.746, 2 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:35.903, 3 Foret (F-Honda) 1:36.230, 4 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1:36.436, 5 Fujiwara (J-Honda) 1:36.524, 6 Chambon (F-Honda) 1:36.819. 10 Javi Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:37.915. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: FRONT ROW FOR TROY A change in conditions and the smallest of problems in one corner were enough to deprive Troy of a Superpole win in front of his home fans. But although Troy was disappointed not to take Superpole, his lap was good enough for a spot on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s pair of 22-lap races. Troy had led normal timed qualifying, but in the end it was his team mate Yukio Kagayama to steal the glory in the sixteen rider Superpole shoot-out. Second was Steve Martin (Petronas), with Max Neukirchner (Honda) a surprising third quickest. TROY – 4th, 1:33.398 Of course I am a little disappointed today – not to win Superpole – but what happens in tomorrow’s 22-lap races is far more important. At this track it is so easy to lose a tad – or sometimes gain a tad – and that affects the whole lap and the lap time. I’m not at all bothered because I am on the front row and that’s all that matters really. Maybe I was a little cautious at the beginning of my Superpole lap and that, together with the fact that the bike didn’t seem to quite hook up as I expected at Siberia, was probably enough to lose a little time. It’s also possible that the drop in temperature changed the bike’s mapping a little, but we will not find that out for sure until we look at the telemetry this evening. There’s gonna be two long, hard races here tomorrow and I am confident that I can win at least one race. I don’t think any rider is going to break away from the rest. It’s going to be a real fight to the flag and I’m ready for that. More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Martin second on Phillip Island grid Steve Martin will start tomorrow’s second round races in the Superbike World Championship from second on the grid at his home circuit of Phillip Island, Australia. And Garry McCoy’s seventh-placed qualifying performance on the PETRONAS FP1 made it an exceptional day for the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team. Steve finished an agonising six hundredths of a second behind Yukio Kagayama on pole by slicing another half a second off his previous best time in a thrilling Superpole lap. Garry also took a huge 0.7 second chunk out of his fastest time after recording a series of impressively consistent times on race tyres during the preceding free practice session. And, despite a changeable weather forecast, both riders are now relishing the prospect of tomorrow’s race action in front of a partisan crowd. Steve said: “When I went out I thought it was possible too finish that high, but maybe not with that time! But it’s still frustrating to be just six hundredths off pole. The boys saying that I was sliding around but it felt fine to me! And I had a bit of pressure on me because Garry had just done a good lap and I thought `That’s going to be hard to beat.’ I have got a pretty good set-up for the race and I think it’s going to be exciting. If I can get away with the front guys then I think I can be on that pace. But the first aim is to finish both races, and it would be great if we could finish on the podium. The team is working excellently and PETRONAS are bringing the bike on really well – and we have more to come soon.” Garry said: “I’m never totally happy unless I am first but I was happy with my Superpole time, which was seven tenths faster than I had gone earlier. I did quite a few laps in free practice on a new soft rear tyre and I was doing pretty consistent times – so I’m ready to race! I wasn’t really pushing over the limit and I felt comfortable doing those times. I’m not sure how many laps the guys in front of me had done on their tyres but I felt I could pass them quite easily. The improvement came from just a little click adjustment here and there at the front and rear. I haven’t used this set-up in the wet so we really want it to stay dry for tomorrow. Whatever the weather, I think it’s going to be a packed out race.” Superpole results, Superbike World Championship round two, Australia: 1 Kagayama 1:33.241; 2 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +0.060; 3 Neukirchner +0.143; 4 Corser +0.157; 5 Pitt +0.220; 6 Muggeridge +0.316; 7 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +0.435; 8 Laconi +0.596; 9 Vermeulen +0.812; 10 Toseland +0.827; 11 Bussei +1.262; 12 Abe +1.501; 13 Walker +1.562; 14 Vizziello +1.698; 15 Cardoso +1.762; 16 Sanchini +1.891 Saturday morning qualifying times: 1 Corser (Alstare Suzuki) 1:34.793 (1:33.191); 2 Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda) 1:33.632; 3 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 1:33.677; 4 Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:33.781; 5 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki) 1:34.762 (1:33.787); 6 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:33.836; 7 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1:34.291 (1:34.084); 8 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:34.304; 9 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:35.125 (1:34.364); 10 Vizziello (Italia Lorenzini) 1:34.396 Saturday free practice times: 1 Corser 1:33.169; 2 Pitt 1:34.108; 3 Kagayama 1:34.183; 4 Muggeridge 1:34.424; 5 Toseland 1:34.602; 6 Neukirchner 1:34.609; 7 Vermeulen 1:34.710; 8 Laconi 1:34.872; 9 Cardoso 1:34.973; 10 Abe 1:35.035; 11 McCoy 1:35.208; 12 Martin 1:35.259
