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Yamaha Slide onto the Front Row in Germany |
Yamaha Slide onto the Front Row in Germany
Troy Corser
Today's World Superbike qualifying sessions were all about the weather as
rain,
standing water and excess rubber on the track turned the EuroSpeedway
circuit into
a slippery customer. But Corser and Haga persevered and were rewarded
with fourth
and eighth qualifying positions respectively.
This morning's final qualifying session was declared wet and
unfortunately 11
riders fell foul of the track conditions during the hour. Corser, Haga
and
Nakatomi were all victims during the session but without injury. Corser
and Haga
both re-joined the session but Nakatomi sat the remainder out. With lap
times 20
seconds slower than yesterday there was no change to the rider order
from the
first qualifying session.
Superpole was confirmed as a wet session meaning that, instead of the
usual single
flying lap, the top 16 riders had a 50 minute session and a maximum of
only 12
laps in which to post their fastest time. Although the session was
declared wet
there were dry patches on the track, making set-up choice challenging
for
everyone. Corser went straight out at the start on his dry set-up hoping
to make
the most of the drying track but the rain started again, forcing him
back to the
pit box for a change of tyres.
Haga was forced to go out on his second bike following a late crash in
free
practice just before Superpole and he struggled during the session due
to a knee
injury he picked up in the crash. Corser will start tomorrow in fourth
while Haga
starts in eighth.
Shinichi Nakatomi will start his 40th race in 15th position tomorrow
after a good
Superpole session. Following his crash in this morning's qualifying, the
Team
Yamaha YZF rider was in 16th but managed to improve by one place in
Superpole.
Corser will start his 270th WSB race tomorrow on the front row
accompanied by
Nieto, Laconi and Bayliss. With rain forecast for the rest of the
weekend all eyes
will be on the weather reports tomorrow morning.
Troy Corser
Troy Corser (4th - 1'55.360 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Today has been challenging to say the least! It was unfortunate that the
weather
deteriorated during Superpole as we had to change the bike settings
mid-session
which cost time and effort. The track is very slippery, more than it
should be
when it's wet, and it's not consistently slippery. You just can't push
it because
there are patches in weird places caused by all the car tyre rubber
that's still
down on track. It's not so bad in practice but in the race it could
prove
dangerous; if someone comes off the bike's likely to take everyone else
out like
skittles. I feel that more should've been done to remove the car rubber;
they
should've been ready for the rain."
Noriyuki Haga
Noriyuki Haga (8th - 1'57.782 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I'm sore after two crashes today; the second was the worst and I've hurt
the
inside of my left knee. My biggest concern today though, is that I
haven't found
the right rear tyre for the wet. I tried three and none of them are
right. Every
other aspect of the set-up can be fine but without the right rear tyre
it is
useless; it puts more pressure on the front which you just can't do in
these
conditions without crashing. There's also lots of rubber on the track
making it
even more difficult."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"It has been so wet today and we've taken a lot of damage. We weren't
ready to
start when the green light went for the Superpole session when it was
dry and then
the rain came just as we went out, which is why we missed pole. The
front row for
Troy is good though, and Nori doesn't usually have a problem making up
places from
the second so I'm not concerned for him. It all depends on the weather
now; dry
weather would mean better racing for everyone but we are unlikely to see
that."
Shinichi Nakatomi (15th - 2'05.278 - Team Yamaha YZF)
"I don't like the rain so today has not been good for me! But I am
pleased to
qualify in 15th here in such bad conditions. The bike is set-up well and
I hope
tomorrow is drier."
Circuit Length: 4265
Temp: 17
Weather: Wet
2007 WSB Lausitzring 08/09/2007
Superpole
Pos.
Rider
Manu.
Nat.
Total Time
1
Fonsi Nieto
Kawasaki
ESP
1'50.681
2
Regis Laconi
Kawasaki
FRA
1'54.559
3
Troy Bayliss
Ducati
AUS
1'55.196
4
Troy Corser
Yamaha
AUS
1'55.360
5
Max Biaggi
Suzuki
ITA
1'56.746
6
Ruben Xaus
Ducati
ESP
1'57.271
7
James Toseland
Honda
GBR
1'57.384
8
Noriyuki Haga
Yamaha
JPN
1'57.782
9
Max Neukirchner
Suzuki
GER
1'58.528
10
Roberto Rolfo
Honda
ITA
1'59.127
11
Lorenzo Lanzi
Ducati
ITA
2'1.899
12
Michel Fabrizio
Honda
ITA
2'2.021
13
Martin Bauer
Honda
AUT
2'2.197
14
Karl Muggeridge
Honda
AUS
2'2.930
15
Shinichi Nakatomi
Yamaha
JPN
2'5.278
Qualifying 2
Pos.
Rider
Nat.
QUAL I
QUAL II
1
Troy Bayliss
AUS
1'38.569
2'0.617
2
Troy Corser
AUS
1'38.780
2'2.126
3
Yukio Kagayama
JPN
1'38.980
2'8.734
4
Noriyuki Haga
JPN
1'39.011
2'3.102
5
James Toseland
GBR
1'39.086
2'2.915
6
Ruben Xaus
ESP
1'39.127
n/a
7
Max Biaggi
ITA
1'39.433
2'0.206
8
Michel Fabrizio
ITA
1'39.487
2'8.257
9
Karl Muggeridge
AUS
1'39.525
n/a
10
Lorenzo Lanzi
ITA
1'39.639
2'4.755
11
Fonsi Nieto
ESP
1'39.767
n/a
12
Max Neukirchner
GER
1'39.828
2'1.810
13
Regis Laconi
FRA
1'40.077
2'1.730
14
Roberto Rolfo
ITA
1'40.094
1'58.229
15
Shinichi Nakatomi
JPN
1'40.745
2'14.758
QUALIFYING 2
REPORT
08/09/2007
Yamaha
Confirm Third and Seventh Qualifying Positions
Broc Parkes
What should have been another normal day of qualifying today was marred
from the
outset by bad weather conditions. Constant rain since last night had
turned the
track into an ice-skating rink for this morning's free practice and
resulted in 16
riders crashing or running into the gravel during the 45 minute session
and times
40 seconds slower than yesterday.
Tommy Hill and Broc Parkes waited until the 30 minute mark to make their
entrance
onto the track in the hope of being able to find a good wet set-up. Even
though
the track was slippery both riders made good progress on their settings,
before
focusing on the important job of qualifying.
With the rain letting up during lunch and the sun even making a brief
appearance,
the afternoon qualifying session was declared dry. But with wet patches
still
evident around the circuit, lap times were still around 20 seconds off
the pace
and there was no change in qualifying positions from yesterday. Parkes
will start
tomorrow on the front row in third while Hill will start in seventh.
Yamaha Team
Italia rider Massimo Roccoli was unable to improve on his best position
of 17th
following a day of set-up issues yesterday.
Parkes is joined on the front row tomorrow by Charpentier in pole,
Sofuoglu in
second and Fujiwara in fourth.
Broc Parkes (3rd - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I spent this morning sorting out a wet set-up for tomorrow because it's
likely to
rain. I was hoping for a totally wet session this afternoon but it
wasn't wet and
it wasn't dry either. But I'm happy to have kept it upright today! I'm
confident
we've got the right set-up whether it's wet or dry tomorrow and I'm
pleased that I
was able to get a good front row position yesterday because there was no
chance of
improving on times today. Today has really been about focusing on
settings rather
than grid positions."
Tommy Hill
Tommy Hill (7th - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I'm happy with what I've managed to achieve today despite the weather;
being
third in both sessions as well as getting a good set-up. It's not been
ideal
conditions today, especially as I'm new to the circuit. This
intermittent rain is
not good for either wet or dry set-up work but I'm pleased we had a good
base
setting to start from. I would've liked to have got a long dry run in
today but at
least I got some dry time yesterday and wet time today so now I feel
ready for
either eventuality tomorrow. The weather will be the deciding factor on
tyres and
settings for tomorrow and I'm kind of used to it, given that I ride in
British
Superbike!"
Massimo Roccoli (17th - Yamaha Team Italia)
"Due to the unpredictable weather it was very difficult to find the right
set-up
for the differing conditions. But in any case the bike is okay and we'll
see what
happens about the weather. The main problem is my starting grid position
but I'll
try to fix it with a good start."
Circuit Length: 4265
Temp: 18
Weather: Wet
2007 WSS Lausitzring 08/09/2007
Qualifying 2
Pos.
Rider
Nat.
QUAL I
QUAL II
1
Sebastien Charpentier
FRA
1'41.366
2'2.517
2
Kenan Sofuoglu
TUR
1'41.837
1'59.103
3
Broc Parkes
AUS
1'41.994
2'3.377
4
Katsuaki Fujiwara
JPN
1'42.280
n/a
5
Matthieu Lagrive
FRA
1'42.534
n/a
6
Vesa Kallio
FIN
1'43.160
2'2.520
7
Tommy Hill
GBR
1'43.215
1'59.499
8
David Checa
ESP
1'43.272
1'59.738
9
Joan Lascorz
ESP
1'43.282
n/a
10
Sebastien Gimbert
FRA
1'43.340
2'0.770
11
Simone Sanna
ITA
1'43.461
2'2.345
12
Pere Riba
ESP
1'43.523
n/a
13
Joshua Brookes
AUS
1'43.586
n/a
14
Barry Veneman
NED
1'43.639
2'0.210
15
Craig Jones
GBR
1'43.683
2'0.470
17
Massimo Roccoli
ITA
1'43.775
2'2.637
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