Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Pitt makes the most of Yamaha’s misery

By Glenn LeSanto

Andrew Pitt took a popular win in front of his home crowd at Phillip Island in the World Supersport Championship. Yamaha rider Paolo Casoli
lost the front end in Siberia on lap 20 while leading Pitt. Casoli’s teammate James Whitham had also crashed out of the lead on lap two.

The win was Pitt’s first ever World Supersport victory; despite winning the Championship last year the Australian had never previously won a Supersport race at World Championship level.

Piergiorgio Bontempi was promoted to second by Casoli’s misfortune, without which he would have had to settle for third.

The race continued despite Karl Muggeridge suffering a huge engine failure on the main straight and pulling off in a cloud of oil smoke. Muggeridge managed to get off the racing line and left the circuit before reaching the turn-in point for turn one. He was fighting for fourth in a pack of riders at the time.

Stephane Chambon kept his cool to win that particular battle for fourth. Valencia race winner Fabien Foret ran off the track during the battle, forfeiting his chance to stay in the scrap. Foret was hit from behind by another rider and was very angry after the event. Kellner also dropped off the pace on the same lap as Foret’s incident and lost sight of the Chambon, Fujiwara and Teuchert, who went on to finish in that order.

Pitt and Chambon now share the series points lead.

World Supersport Championship
Phillip Island, March 24 2002
Race result:

1 Andrew Pitt, Australia (Kawasaki) 34:18.694

2 Piergiorgio Bontempi, Italy (Ducati) 1:34.22.657

3 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 34:26.855

4 Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 34:27.225

5 Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 34:28.978

6 Christian Kellner, Germany (Yamaha) 34:33.750

7 Christophe Cogan, France (Honda) 34:35.976

8 Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) 34:36.004

9 Fabien Foret, France (Honda) 34:38.841

10 Alessio Corradi, Italy (Yamaha) 34:40.515


World Supersport championship points after two of 12 rounds:
1 TIE, Pitt/Chambon 36
3 Foret 32
4 Kellner 26
5 Bontempi 25
6 Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) 18
7 Corradi 15
8 Fujiwara 13
9 Teuchert 11
10 James Whitham, GB (Yamaha) 10

Manufacturer points:
1 TIE, Kawasaki/Suzuki 36
3 Honda 34
4 Yamaha 27
5 Ducati 25

Next round: April 7 – Kyalami, South Africa


More, from a Fuchs Kawasaki press release:

FIRST WIN FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI’S ANDREW PITT

Andrew Pitt blitzed the opposition at Phillip Island today, crossing the line with a clear four-second advantage to secure his first race win in the ultra competitive World Supersport championship. The victory moves both Pitt and Kawasaki to the top of the championship standings, with ten rounds of the series left to run.

With Pitt battling hard with Paolo Casoli for 18 laps of the 21-lap race, the result looked destined to be decided on the very final lap. But, as the two riders entered Siberia corner for the 19th time – with Casoli leading and Pitt applying pressure from behind – the experienced Italian made an uncharacteristic mistake and crashed out, leaving the Australian with a clear run to the chequered flag. Piergiorgio Bontempi trailed Pitt in to take second place, with Stephane Chambon claiming the final podium position in third.

‘What a fantastic weekend.’ declared a jubilant Andrew Pitt. ‘To claim my first World Supersport pole position at my home circuit was good, but to back that up with my first win in the series was awesome – I still can’t quite believe it.

‘It was a hectic battle with Casoli, but I knew that if I was going to make a pass stick, then I’d have to pull out a decent advantage; to stop him just drafting past me on the start finish straight. I’d identified a few places where I was going to have a go at him in the last couple of laps, but in the end I didn’t need to. He’d started riding a defensive line a couple of laps earlier and I think he just held onto the brakes a bit too long going into Siberia and lost the front on the bump on the way in.

‘From then on it was just a case of trying to stay focussed for the last two laps. I could see the team and the crowd cheering as I came round to take the chequered flag and I’d like to say thanks to both; the team for all their hard work and the crowd for their fantastic support. Let’s just hope this is the first win of many this season.’

Things didn’t go quite so well for Pitt’s young teammate, James Ellison. The 20-year-old European Superstock Champion didn’t manage to get away with the leading group from the start and then was pushed wide and onto the dirt at Honda corner by another rider. After rejoining the race dead last, Ellison fought his way through the field to eventually finish in 15th place, and score another championship point to add to the one he collected in the first round of the series at Valencia.

‘The bike bogged down off the line and I ended up stuck in the middle of the pack going into the first corner,’ said Ellison. ‘But then it got worse! I don’t know who it was, but someone kept putting block passes on me, before forcing me off the track at Honda corner. I was right out on the dirt, so I couldn’t brake, and had to run on until I’d slowed down enough to turn the bike round and rejoin the track. From then on it was simply a case of getting my head down and clawing back as many places as I could. Although I managed to pick up another point, I’m disappointed with the result and I’ll definitely be looking to make amends in South Africa.’

‘I’m very happy for both Andrew and the team,’ said Fuchs Kawasaki Team Manager, Harald Eckl. ‘The win proves Andrew’s ability and, with all the hard work he’s put in over the past two seasons, it’s also well deserved. The fact that it came at Andrew’s home circuit just makes the win even better.’


Yet more, from a Ten Kate Honda press release:

Two top ten finishes in Phillip Island for Ten Kate Honda

Ten Kate Honda scored two top ten finishes in a hard-fought World Supersport race in Phillip Island today.

Fabien Foret was looking set for a top five finish when he felt the rear of his machine get nudged by another rider’s front tyre. Although he was pushed off the track in the incident, Foret managed to stay upright and finished ninth.

“I am not very happy as I know I could have finished in the top five,” said Foret after the race. “That would have left me at the top of the championship. But another rider collided with my swingarm in the middle of the last turn and it pushed me off the track.”

His teammate Iain MacPherson recovered from a poor start and fought his way up through the pack for an eighth place finish and his first championship points on the Ten Kate Honda CBR600FS.

“I’m getting settled in with the bike each time I ride it,” explained MacPherson. “We’re working to tailor the bike to my riding style and I’m very impressed with the hard work that the Ten Kate Honda team, Pirelli tyres and WP Suspension have all put in for me.”

Team Manager Ronald ten Kate tried to stay positive after the race, “At least Foret managed to save it and didn’t actually crash. But it’s a shame that the incident happened because he looked capable of finishing in front of the group he was battling with at the time. Because Casoli fell off at the end of the race that could have meant a third place and a big championship lead for Fabien.”

Ronald ten Kate also praised the continuing progress being made by his new rider Iain MacPherson. “Iain’s still improving and getting to know the bike and the Pirelli tyres. There are some tracks coming up that suit him and I reckon he’ll be really quick at them.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Edwards sets fastest time in Saturday qualifying

By Glenn LeSanto

Colin Edwards was the fastest rider around the Phillip Island circuit during Saturday morning’s final World Superbike qualifying session. However, the Texan was unable to match Troy Bayliss’s time from the Friday session, so Bayliss remains at the top of the timesheet as the riders head for Superpole later today.

In bright sunshine, a welcome contrast to last year’s monsoon conditions, Edwards whittled away almost three tenths from his Friday time. Bayliss was unable to better his own time of 1:32.656 set Friday and circulated at 1:33.240 during the session.

Ruben Xaus also improved on his Friday time, going up from 1:33.626 to 1:33.032, making him third-fastest overall. Ben Bostrom also went faster today, moving into fourth-fastest with a time of 1:33.268. Noriyuki Haga slipped to sixth-fastest despite improving his time.

Most teams were admitting they were struggling to find a race tire that could run the full race distance

World Superbike – final qualifying – Saturday morning

1 Troy Bayliss Australia Ducati 1:32.656

2 Colin Edwards USA Castrol Honda 1:32.738

3 Ruben Xaus Spain Ducati 1:33.032

4 Ben Bostrom USA Ducati 1:33.268

5 Pier-Francesco Chili Italy Ducati 1:33.291

6 Noriyuki Haga Japan Aprilia 1:33.369

7 Lucio Pedercini Italy Ducati 1:33.677

8 Gregorio Lavilla Spain Suzuki 1:33.834

9 Steve Martin Australia Ducati 1:33.982

10 Hitoyasu Izutsu Japan Kawasaki 1:33.998

World Supersport – free practice – Saturday morning

1 Andrew Pitt Australia Kawasaki 1:36.915

2 Iain MacPherson GB Honda 1:36.990

3 Paolo Casoli Italy Yamaha 1:37.041

4 James Whitham GB Yamaha 1:37.048

5 Chris Vermuelen Australia Honda 1:37.053

6 Fabien Foret France Honda 1:37.153

7 Katsuaki Fujiwara Japan Suzuki 1:37.303

8 Karl Muggeridge Australia Honda 1:37.355

9 Stephane Chambon France Suzuki 1:37.402

10 Adam Fergusson Australia Suzuki 1:37.487

From an AMA press release:

AMA Denounces Stiff European Tariffs Proposed for Harleys

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has strongly denounced a proposal by the European Union to slap Harley-Davidson motorcycles with a stiff tariff in a trade war with the United States over steel.

To retaliate against tariffs recently placed on imported steel by the United States, Pascal Lamy, trade commissioner of the 15-nation European Union, is assembling a list of American goods that could be subject to heavy European tariffs. The list includes Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Tropicana orange juice, textiles and steel products.

If the proposal is approved by the European Union, Harleys could be hit with the tariff in about a year.

“There is no reason for motorcycles to be caught up in this trade war,” said Edward Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “Tariffs would not only be detrimental to the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, but could make Harleys too expensive for European enthusiasts.

“Harley-Davidson is being made a pawn in a high-stakes international chess match,” Moreland added.

The AMA plans to work with European motorcycling groups to convince the European Union to drop the idea of tariffs on Harleys.

This isn’t the first time that motorcycles have been caught up in a trade war between the United States and Europe. Several years ago U.S. trade officials threatened to impose a 100 percent import duty on certain European motorcycles sold in the United States, which would have essentially doubled their price.

Those import duties were being proposed in retaliation for the European Union’s ban on the importation of hormone-treated American beef. U.S. officials drew up a list of products that would be subject to a 100 percent import duty, including European motorcycles ranging from 51cc to 500cc in engine displacement.

Thanks to the efforts of the AMA, its members and the motorcycle industry, U.S. trade officials decided against imposing the 100 percent import duty on the European motorcycles.

From a press release announcing an FIM rule change which will allow American Rick Murray to compete in the Superside Sidecar World Championship after all:

Friday 22 March 2002 – Age Ruling Overturned

FIM amends maximum age limit rule

Breaking News!


Age Ruling Overturned

FIM amends maximum age limit rule

The Superbike commission has issued an amendment to the 2002 Rulebook which states:

1.10.1 ELIGIBLE COMPETITORS

To amend the 4th paragraph as follows:


(…)
(START REMOVED TEXT)
The limit for the maximum age finishes at the end of the year in which the rider reaches the age of 50.
(END REMOVED TEXT)

Riders aged over 50 years must attach to their rider’s licence request a certificate of medical fitness (including a normal exercise tolerance electrocardiogram) issued by a doctor recognised by their FMN.
(…)


Superside Manangement is extremely happy with the decision, which paves the way for entry by teams such as Team RGM from the U.S. and Vince Biggs from the UK.

“We are very delighted with the decision, and happy that the FIM has amended this rule. We hope to continue our close working relationship with the FIM in the future for the betterment of the sport”, commented Superside General Manager, Gary Francis.

(Editorial note: Murray was surprised when he arrived at the first race of the season, at Valencia, and was told that due to a last-minute rule change, he was too old to compete. This revision corrects that obvious case of age discrimination.)

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Andrew Pitt, the reigning Supersport World Champion, took a last-minute pole position during qualifying for Sunday’s race.

Australian Pitt shoved Stephane Chambon off the top spot as the diminutive Frenchman sat in his pit garage swearing at the monitor. Chambon obviously thought his time of 1:35.812 wasn’t going to be beaten and had taken off his gloves and helmet and was then forced to watch Pitt grab the pole from him.

Chambon and Pitt bumped pole winner at Valencia Fabien Foret down to third. James Whitham qualified fourth, setting the scene for an explosive start for tomorrow”s race.

The front row features one bike from each of the big four Japanese manufacturers and Bontempi is in fifth place on a Ducati. Foret is the only rider using Pirelli on the front row, the other three are all riding on Dunlops. The first nine grid positions are covered only by a one-second gap in qualifying times.

World Supersport
Final qualifying times
Phillip Island, 23 March 2002

1: A Pitt AUS Kawasaki 1:35.777
2: S Chambon FRA Suzuki 1:35.812
3: F Foret FRA Honda 1:36.041
4: J Whitham GBR Yamaha 1:36.138
5: P Bontempi ITA Ducati 1:36.315
6: P Casoli ITA Yamaha 1:36.484
7: I MacPherson GBR Honda 1:26.975
8: J Teuchert GER Yamaha 1:36.676
9: C Vermeulen AUS Honda 1:36.815
10: J Ellison GBR Kawasaki 1:36.


More, from a Team ten Kate press release:

Foret starts from front row again

The Ten Kate Honda rider and championship leader Fabien Foret will start Sunday’s World Supersport championship race from the front row.

Foret was disappointed not to have made it two pole positions in a row after Andrew Pitt and Stephane Chambon just edged him out as the session
came to a close.

“I was on a fast lap right at the end of qualifying,” explained Foret, “my time through the first split was faster than Pitt’s. But then I made some mistakes in the second section. I am still very confident because we have a very good race set up and I’m still starting from the front row.”

Foret’s teammate Iain MacPherson continued his steady improvement on the Ten Kate Honda CBR600FS that he first rode two weeks ago in Valencia.

“The team have been making some more fine adjustments to make the bike fit my riding style,” commented the Scotsman. “I’m steadily improving my speed and while I would have liked to have pushed onto the front row, realistically I’m very happy to be on the second row it’s one more step forward from Valencia.”

Team Manager Ronald ten Kate was satisfied with both his riders, “Fabien was a little disappointed not to be on pole, but then we can’t expect to qualify fastest every race. The important thing for Foret is that he’s again starting from the front row. We have an excellent race set up with both the WP Suspension and his Pirelli tyres are working well as usual. The team is very confident that we’ll get a good result from both our riders on Sunday.”

Ronald ten Kate was full of praise for his new recruit Iain MacPherson, “Iain is a very professional rider and we always knew he had lots of potential. But he has surprised us with how quickly he is settling down in the team and he’s making brilliant progress. I know he will be a very competitive rider very soon.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Bayliss out front again

By Glenn LeSanto

Troy Bayliss is on provisional pole after the first qualifying session at Phillip Island, on Friday. Bayliss, who is from Australia, probably didn’t need home advantage to set the fastest time, such is his form on the Ducati at the
moment.

It nearly didn’t happen for Bayliss, though, as Pierfrancesco Chili was the surprise leader in the last few minutes of qualifying. But Bayliss,
who had spent much of the session fastest, put in an even faster lap on his final circulation of the Phillip Island circuit. His fastest time of
1:32.656 put him almost half-a-second clear of Colin Edwards, who also leap-frogged Chili in the last minute.

Chili, riding a privateer Ducati, ended up in provisional third, just ahead of Noriyuki Haga on the Aprilia. Ruben Xaus was next fastest on a
Ducati, with Gregorio Lavilla, who had been on provisional front row, relegated back to sixth on his Suzuki.

World Superbike Phillip Island
Qualifying times, Friday 22 March 2002

1: T Bayliss AUS Ducati 1:32.656
2: C Edwards USA Honda 1:33.064
3: P Chili ITA Ducati 1:33.291
4: N Haga JPN Aprilia 1:33.540
5: R Xaus ESP Ducati 1:33.626
6: G Lavilla ESP Suzuki 1:33.834
7: B Bostrom USA Ducati 1:33.846
8. N Hodgson GBR Ducati 1:34.022
9. J Toseland GBR Ducati 1:34.429
10: H Izutsu JPN Kawasaki 1:34.663


More, from a Honda press release:

BAYLISS SETS EARLY ISLAND PACE

Troy Bayliss set the fastest time in Friday’s opening qualifying session for round two of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in Australia.

The Ducati rider pipped Castrol Hondaís Colin Edwards for the head of the leaderboard in the closing stages of the one-hour session at the sun-kissed circuit, south of Melbourne.

Edwards said: “I’m happy. That ís the fastest I’ve ever gone around here and we’ve still got tomorrow to go. And my best lap came when a rider had crashed at turn one and there was a bit of wind about.”

Pier-Francesco Chili took the third best time aboard his NCR Ducati with Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga fourth. Bayliss’ teammate Ruben Xaus was fifth with Suzuki’s new signing Gregorio Lavilla sixth.

Ben Bostrom ended the first day of action in seventh place with former British Champion Neil Hodgson eighth and his teammate James Toseland ninth.


And now slightly different version, from Castrol Honda:

EDWARDS SECOND

Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards took second place in today’s opening qualifying session for round two of the World Superbike Championship at
Phillip Island in Australia.

The 2000 World Champion remains in confident mood after the first one-hour session. His fastest-ever lap around the 2.76-mile circuit has left Edwards believing his first race win of the year could come on Sunday.

He said: “I’m happy. That’s the fastest I’ve ever gone around here and we’ve still got tomorrow to go. And my best lap came when a rider had crashed at turn one and there was a bit of wind about.

“I put my best lap in on a soft rear tyre that Michelin have made for us. We’ve got a really good race tyre too, we know it’ll do the job so we’re looking in good shape.

“My only worry is a little bit of chatter in the front suspension, if we can get that sorted then the SP-2 will be about as close to perfect as you’re going to get.”



And now a press release from Bayliss’ publicist, Steve Reeves:

TROY BAYLISS Racing – Media Information
For immediate release
Friday, 22 March 2002

Round 2, Superbike World Championship
Phillip Island, Australia
First Qualifying session report

BAYLISS THE MAN TO CHASE AFTER OPENING SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING SESSION

In near perfect conditions, Troy Bayliss has set the fastest time in the opening qualifying session for this weekend’s second round of the Superbike World Championship at Victoria’s Phillip Island circuit.

The defending world champion reeled off a lap time of 1-min 32.656-secs aboard his Infostrada Ducati 998R to take provisional pole position for Sunday’s two 22-lap World championship races.

The pace of the Australian Ducati rider was blistering, with his best time faster than that of the existing 500cc Grand Prix lap record of 1:32.742, held by former World Champion Kenny Roberts Jnr.

Bayliss was consistently one of the fastest riders around the 4.45km circuit during the opening qualifying session and remained at the top of the timesheets, even after the flurry of the closing minutes of the session when the teams fit soft compound qualifying tyres.

“That definitely was a good time around here and I’m happy with it for today,” said Bayliss. “Even though there was a slight cross wind, I don’t think that it slowed us much at all today. As usual we worked our way through a few different settings with the bike, but what has made me happier is that I’ve got a front tyre that gives me a lot of confidence. It’s always a good idea to make sure that you’ve got a good lap time locked away after Friday’s first session. Even though the forecast is for good weather here tomorrow, you just never know what they’ll be like tomorrow.

“Phillip Island has a reputation for being hard on tyres and this weekend is no exception,” Bayliss added. “Michelin have been very busy as usual and we tested a number of tyres today and still have a few more for tomorrow to try. The best thing though is that I’ve got a front tyre that I like and is suiting the track very well.”

Second fastest in today’s qualifying session was Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards (1:33.064), followed by Italian privateer Ducati rider Pierfrancesco Chili (1:33.291). Completing the provisional front row of the grid was Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia, 1:33.540).

The World Superbike competitors take to the track again tomorrow morning at 11:00 am for the second qualifying session. The top sixteen riders at the conclusion of qualifying will then take part in the grid-determining ‘Superpole’ one-lap dash.

Bayliss has had a sensational start to his title defence after winning both races at the opening round of the championship at Valencia, Spain, two weeks ago, where he also secured pole position for the event.

From a Triumph press release:

STATEMENT REGARDING HRH THE DUKE OF YORK’S VISIT TO TRIUMPH MOTORCYLES IN HINCKLEY

NEWNAN, Ga., March 22, 2002 — His Royal Highness The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, visited the fire damaged Triumph motorcycle factory in Hinckley, Leicestershire on Thursday, March 21, 2002 in his role as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. He met with company representatives and staff at the factory on Jacknell Road, which had part of one of the manufacturing facilities damaged by fire last Friday.

The Duke’s activities in this new role will be in support of British Trade International (BTI), the government body set up to support UK companies trading internationally and encourage foreign investment.

Triumph Motorcycles America, Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph Motorcycles, the manufacturer of Triumph motorcycles and accessories. Triumph Motorcycles America is located in Newnan, Georgia and services the Triumph dealer organization throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

AMS Ducati’s Jeff Nash and Ricky Lundgren are trying to build an AMA Superbike team with sponsorship from Yahoo! Sports. Thanks to a relationship he has with a marketing consultant, AMS’s Lundgren raced in Pro Thunder at Daytona wearing Yahoo! Sports’ graphics, colors and advertising slogans as a test bed for Yahoo becoming involved in two-wheel racing.

“This buddy of mine, we used to play college hockey together,” explained Lundgren. “He pretty much controls the advertising purse strings of Visa, Charles Schwab and Yahoo. He sets up sponsorship deals for golf tournaments and other sporting events all the time.

“They feel like they’ve really missed out on getting involved with Supercross and the X Games-type stuff. But I can’t just go to him and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to throw all of this money into road racing because we think it’s the greatest sport.’ We have to show them something.”

Lundgren said that he and Nash were trying to arrange more rides for himself and Daytona Pro Thunder winner Kirk McCarthy in classes with more television exposure this season in hopes of attracting enough sponsorship from Yahoo! Sports to run a full 2003 season of AMA Superbike on Ducatis.

Nash recently told Roadracingworld.com that moving AMS to a larger facility over the off-season was the first step toward expanding his race team.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Colin Edwards stayed in control as he blasted out a Superpole lap at Phillip Island today. His reward was the pole position for Sunday’s two World Superbike Championship races.

Edwards looked cool on his Honda as he lapped at 1:32.767 and beat reigning World Superbike Champion and native Australian Troy Bayliss back into second on the grid.

Bayliss only had himself to blame after making a couple of mistakes on his lap and slipping off provisional pole into second spot.

Britain’s Neil Hodgson made a big improvement on his qualifying position, jumping from a provisional 11th to the front row to take fourth spot. He’ll line up alongside Noriyuki Haga who also moved up the grid, from sixth to third.

Ruben Xaus, who crashed in free practice just before Superpole, slipped from third to sixth. Pierfrancesco Chili was another crasher in practice, and he also dropped down the grid from fifth to ninth.

World Superbike Superpole times
Phillip Island, 23 March 2002

1: Colin Edwards USA Honda 1:32.767
2: Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati 1:33.316
3: Noriyuki Haga JPN Aprilia 1:33.560
4: Neil Hodgson GBR Ducati 1:33.629
5: Ben Bostrom USA Ducati 1:33.715
6: Ruben Xaus ESP Ducati 1:33.954
7: H Izutsu JPN Kawasaki 1:33.961
8: Juan Borja ESP Ducati 1:34.018
9: Pierfrancesco Chili ITA Ducati 1:34.383
10: James Toseland GBR Ducati 1:34.672
11: Brock Parkes AUS Ducati 1:34.685
12: L Pedercini ITA Ducati 1:34.909
13: Steve Martin AUS Ducati 1:34.992
14: Chris Walker GBR Kawasaki 1:35.081
15: Gregorio Lavilla ESP Suzuki 1:35.145
16: M Borciani ITA Ducati 1:35.752


Superpole rider quotes

Superpole winner Colin Edwards, Honda, Michelin tires: “I’ve had to listen to the radio telling everyone to come to Phillip Island to support two Aussie World Champions and to be honest that’s really been pissing me off. They’re reminding me that I’m not the Champ while I’m on my way to and from the circuit everyday.

“Things are looking good for tomorrow, though, we’ve done 16 and then 22 laps on race tires and I’ve gone faster on race rubber than ever before here.

“I like the track, it’s got everything, off-camber turns, on camber turns, undulations, a long straight and even some wind–everything you need to make a real rider’s circuit

“Riders seem to lose time in sector two and I think that’s only because it’s much longer than the other two sectors. But to go fast here your bike needs to be working well in sector two.

“I don’t think it will be a runaway start for any one rider in the races. You get a real big draftt here, if you’re sat behind two guys you get such a big pull you can put your feet up and smoke a cigarette!”


Second on the grid, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, Michelin tires

“I made a couple of mistakes on my lap, I think I was trying too hard.

“But I’ve had a good weekend so far and I’m generally happy and I’m on the front row.

“It’s looking good for the Michelin guys, although I think the Dunlop riders have been struggling.

“The only pressure I’ve got this weekend is in my tires!”


Third place on the grid, Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, Dunlop tires:

“I like the circuit but speaking in English is difficult!

“I came here in February testing and didn’t have such a good set-up then. I still don’t have a perfect set-up and we have a few small problems.

“I think it’ll be a struggle for the tires to make race distance.”