FIM Superbike World Championship Nurburgring, Germany June 13, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results (dry conditions, all on Pirelli tires): 1. Troy CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:57.257 2. Troy BAYLISS (Ducati 1098 F08), 1:57.694 3. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:57.878 4. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:57.929 5. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:57.956 6. Regis LACONI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:57.989 7. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:58.020 8. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F08), 1:58.044 9. Ruben XAUS (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:58.258 10. Max BIAGGI (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:58.311 11. Gregorio LAVILLA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:58.322 12. Fonsi NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:58.354 13. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:58.399 14. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:58.506 15. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:58.514 16. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:58.568 17. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:58.852 18. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:58.976 19. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:59.313 20. Shuhei AOYAMA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:59.488 21. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:59.642 22. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:59.675 23. Roberto ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:59.690 24. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:59.720 25. Jason PRIDMORE (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:00.620 26. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:00.705 27. Russel HOLLAND (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:01.082 28. Loic NAPOLEONE (Yamaha YZF-R1), 2:03.499 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Checa on the pace in cold first day of qualifying HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Carlos Checa finished provisional third on the grid onboard his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade at the opening day of qualifying at the German Nurburgring. Rain looked likely during the first qualifying session at the 5.137m long track, but it remained dry throughout the hour long qualifying session. Checa improved his pace in the last leg of the session and was the first rider to dip under the 1’58s mark. He remained in the top three till the end of the session and concluded the day in a best of 1’57.878, which puts him 0.6 seconds behind provisional pole sitter Troy Corser. Team mate Ryuichi Kiyonari ended the day in 13th place while Sofuoglu finished 22nd. Carlos Checa: “For sure we have a lot less grip here compared to what we had in America. Maybe the setting we have been using is a bit too strong, we’ll have to work on that tomorrow.” “The track is fantastic, I really like it, it has a bit of everything. We need to work on the grip of the bike. The temperature is low here, we had a wet practice this morning, then the track dried up with some wet patches and we finished the session on a dry track. This is the first hour we’ve been out on the new CBR1000RR, hopefully we can make some more progress in tomorrow’s session.” Ryuichi Kiyonari: “I have never tried the Pirelli rain tires before, this morning was the first time for me out in the wet and cold. The lap times are not fast enough but I am getting the feeling with the machine. Last week I went out in the HRC machine and now I’m back on the Ten Kate Honda which feels like my machine again.” “In the afternoon’s dry conditions I really started to enjoy this new circuit, though I need to improve my pace in the last part of the circuit. There’s a lot of difference in height and I will have to adjust my riding style a little. We’ll have to change the suspension setting in the next qualifying and work on the tires.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “The weather is very cold here, but I am happy that we went out in dry conditions for our qualifying session this afternoon. I am not happy with the result. I need to get a good feeling with the bike. “Hopefully tomorrow, if it is not wet, we can take it one step more. I need to be more constant and make my way forward.” Results QP 1: 1 T. CORSER 1’57.257 2 T. BAYLISS 1’57.694 3 C. CHECA 1’57.878 13 R. KIYONARI 1’58.399 22 K. SOFUOGLU 1’59.675 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Corser on provisional pole in Germany Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) adapted his YZF-R1 to the cool track temperatures of the Nurburgring to great effect on day one of practice, leading qualifying with a lap of 1’57.257. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) felt only a degree of muscle fatigue a few days after having a plate inserted to his broken collarbone, and managed to set a 1’58.020 best lap. Both Yamaha riders have raced at the Nurburgring before, albeit in 1999 and on a different track layout, with Corser a race winner last time out. A cold and blustery wind affected qualifying to some degree, but the main issue on day one appeared to be a slightly dirty track surface, which took some time to clean up, especially after the damp morning session held back lap times and lap totals. Corser slid off his machine late in the qualifying session, shortly after setting his best lap, but he was unhurt and his bike only scuffed. Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) will have already made it into Superpole if the second qualifying session dawns fully wet tomorrow, having set the 14th best time in dry conditions, 1.249 seconds from Corser’s provisional pole. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 19th on day one, Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) 21st. Final qualifying and then Superpole for the top 16 riders takes place on Saturday, afternoon, with Superpole in its usual 16.00hrs slot. Troy Corser (1st – 1’57.257 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “The ‘new’ section of track is the early section and that is also the trickiest. Turn one especially. I think because it is blind and goes downhill, downhill, downhill, it’s hard to get a braking point. If you go straight for the apex of the corner you can’t get the bike turned. The rest of the track feels the same as last time I raced here but it still feels a bit dirty, like it needs bike rubber on it to deliver more grip. I think that’s because of the rock concert they had here recently. We have steadily progressed with the bike and I’m pretty happy so far.” Noriyuki Haga (7th – 1’58.020 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I don’t have so much pain from my injured shoulder but the muscle tends to tire very easily so I will have to get a massage to bring it back for tomorrow. The racetrack I last rode on in 1999 and it is just the first part that seems different. The first corner is strange under braking, because there is a very tight hairpin and the braking is very heavy. But I am enjoying the track. Today was not so bad. I tested two tyres, one soft one and one harder. The soft one will be impossible to use for the race because it won’t go the distance and right now the next one feels too hard. So I have to work on suspension to match the set-up and tyre choices.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “It was a very positive session today. Troy is leading and also Nori is close to the front times. We had been waiting for today to see how Nori was going to be and we are pleased that he has reacted well to his surgery. Both sides of the garage are working well to get the final set-up and be ready tomorrow morning and the last chance to qualify before Superpole.” Sebastien Gimbert (14th – 1’58.506 seconds – GMT94 Yamaha) “It’s my very first time at this track so obviously I am happy to be inside the Superpole qualifying group already. I did my best lap on my own, without a tow from another rider, but I may have to get some help to go much faster tomorrow. The bike has been good from the start and I have to say thanks to all the technical staff for finding such a good set-up so early. My chassis feels very good and I can ride the bike the way I want.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM RESERVE PROVISIONAL PLACES ON THE FRONT TWO ROWS AT THE RING Nuerburgring (Germany) Friday 13th June: After a wet free practice session in the morning, factory riders Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) were relieved that the track had dried somewhat before the afternoon’s first qualifying session, in which Bayliss achieved the second fastest time and Fabrizio the eighth. With neither rider ever having seen this track until their arrival here yesterday, changes to set-up were made throughout the day with each rider facing their respective difficulties. It was no surprise that, aside from Bayliss, the fastest riders of the day were Corser, Checa and Neukirchner, the few to have ridden the track before (though alterations have been made to the track in recent years). Having said that, the nine fastest riders all recorded times within a second of each other and so this promises for some close racing over the weekend. Troy Bayliss 1m57.6s “I was pretty happy with this morning’s session in the rain and we found a pretty good solution which allowed us to put in some decent laps. This afternoon in drier conditions was more difficult and we had a few niggling problems with one bike that threw us off and put us a little behind everyone else. We finally got a few good laps in and got going towards the end of the session but I could be happier and hope we can do a bit better tomorrow. I’m also pretty sore from the crash I had in Salt Lake and one of my ribs had been hurting out there today but anyway, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.” Michel Fabrizio 1m58.0s “It went quite well today all things considered. We have no idea how the weather will be over the weekend which is a problem of course but I went pretty well this afternoon and it seems like a nice track. I’m losing a couple of tenths in the first split, in a similar way to how I was going at Miller so I want to try and make a bit of time up round those first corners tomorrow. We’ve tried different tyres today, during the wet and dry sessions, so we know more or less what to try tomorrow, whatever the conditions. I’m feeling quietly confident for the weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Alstare Suzuki: FRONT ROW FOR MAX! Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner rode steadily in this morning’s difficult conditions and then upped the pace in this afternoon’s dry qualifying session to end the day with the fourth quickest lap. Although he and some of the other riders have raced at the Nürburgring before, none have raced on the layout being used for this round of the Superbike World Championship. The morning session started wet and by the end there was just about a dry line and some riders were able to venture out on slicks. The afternoon qualifying took place in completely dry conditions and all 28 riders improved their lap times, with Aussie Troy Corser (Yamaha) ending fastest, with a lap of 1:57.257. Second quickest today is series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati), with Carlos Checa (Honda) third and Max fourth. Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama finished just behind Max in fifth place, with team mate Fonsi Nieto twelfth. Max – 4th, 1:57.929 I am sort of satisfied, but there is still some time to go so I know that we can improve. Although I have been here before, it was a different layout I raced, so it is like learning a new track for me. We missed the chance of putting slicks on at the end of the first session but, as the afternoon was dry, it was no big problem. At the moment it is not so easy for me to ride fast here because the grip level doesn’t feel so good. Maybe that’s because the track is a bit dirty and also very cold so it’s hard for the tyres to work at their best. Yukio – 5th, 1:57.956 This is my first time here and I like this track because it goes up and down a lot. For me there are three corners that are very bumpy, so it has been a small problem to get a good chassis set-up to cope with the bumps. My main problem today is grip! It was difficult today to get a good level of grip and maybe that’s because it is so cold. Also the track itself is cold and that doesn’t help the tyres get hot enough. Otherwise there were no real problems and tomorrow we will work on improving the engine management so that the bike is smoother to ride. We’ll also make some suspension adjustments to see if we can get better grip but, all in all, I am satisfied today. Fonsi – 12th, 1:58.354 This is my first time here and I think the layout is not so bad, but today the grip level was not so good. I found it difficult to get a good feeling for the grip in turn one and maybe we need to change the balance of the bike and the gearing. It’s a first gear corner and it’s going to see a lot of action in the race for sure! At the moment, I just need more time on the track so that I can understand it before going fast. More, from a press release issued by Sterilgarda Go Eleven: First day for Team Sterilgarda Go Eleven at the Nurburgring track (GER) where the Superbike has been back after 9 years. Biaggi and Xaus spent the whole day testing the track, both on the wet morning free practice and the dry surface of the afternoon first timed session. At the end of the day both the riders declared to be satisfied with the work done which was focused on learning the track first, and fine-tuning the bike later. Rain is expected for tomorrow so today’s results might be decisive and the two riders will be automatically qualified for the Superpole. Electronics hitches influenced negatively Alex Polita’s first day at Nurburgring. The “Pirate” hopes in a better weather tomorrow in order to recover from the back lines, and to take a good position on the starting grid. RUBEN XAUS | Ducati 1098 RS | 9th provvisional time in 1’58.258: “I spent the first part of the day focusing on learning the track, then I tested different kinds of tyres. I didn’t want to force to much, my goal was to work on the set-up. As a matter of fact I set my best time with a tyre worn out by 11 laps. The track seemed to me a bit slippery but very very nice. I hope tomorrow will be dry, I would like to end the work on the settings with a view to the race”. MAX BIAGGI | Ducati 1098 RS | 10th provvisional time in 1’58.311: “Today we have ridden under hard conditions, this morning on the wet and during the afternoon on the dry. Anyway we did a good work on the bike although we still have to improve the bike balance. Furthermore the track is full of bumps caused by the F1, especially entering the bends. Therefore we are going to work on the springs of the suspensions in order to find a setting which ‘follows’ the bumps. This morning I have been quite disappointed by the behaviour of the track staff. I had an hitch at the first bend and nobody came to help me to reach the pits. So I had to help myself in order to be back on the bike quickly”. ALEX POLITA | Ducati 1098R | 35th provvisional time in 2’05.426: “I’m really disappointed. I felt confident to play a good performance today. On the contrary the bike switched off continuously and I was not able to run a lap without problems. I hope tomorrow will be dry, I would not want to start the race with a result already compromised by a back-lines starting position”. More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: After eight seasons Team Pedercini has been back again at Nurburgring for the qualifying first day of the WSBK seventh round. The day was rainy an it reduced the riders’ time to find the feeling with the track and doing the testing for the best set-up. So tomorrow an heavy charge of work is expected for Badovini and Iannuzzo. The rain has influenced negatively also the Superstock riders Aldrovandi and Tiberio who are hoping for a better weather in order to make another step forward tomorrow. VITTORIO IANNUZZO | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 26th provisional time in 2’00.705: “Today we had a very little time for testing and we didn’t find the right gears set-up for facing the track in the right way. Unfortunately the weather turned better just in the afternoon and we had so many things to do and so little time to do them! I hope to run a good second timed session tomorrow. I also hope to ride on a dry track because I know that I can improve markedly once I will have found the best gears set-up which today influenced negatively all my performance”. AYRTON BADOVINI | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 24th provisional time in 1’59.720: “Unfortunately I slid immediately after the beginning of the afternoon timed session, after having lapped all the morning on the wet. I was forced to run by my self to the pits because here nobody comes to give us a lift. I did a mistake in the gear settings but I have found the best trajectories to ride and tomorrow I hope to capitalize today’s experience”. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY LEADS THE WAY ON DAY ONE. The first practice for the seventh round of this year’s Superbike World Championship started off in wet conditions, which made life difficult – especially as all riders were riding the new 5.137 kilometre layout for the first time. Troy is one of the few riders who have raced at the Nurburgring before, but that was on a different layout and some nine years or so ago! The afternoon session was dry and Troy and the rest of the 28 rider field upped their lap times as they were able to use front and rear slicks for the entire session. Troy posted the fastest lap of the day, with a time of 1:57.257, almost half a second ahead of his nearest rival Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Third quickest is Carlos Checa (Honda), with local favourite Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) fourth. Troy – 1st, 1:57.257 The last time we were here seems a long time ago and because part of the circuit has changed, it’s like riding a new track for all of us. The track felt a bit slippery at the top end of the circuit so I didn’t really push that hard today. The bike is working well and I think we found some ideas to improve it tomorrow. The track is pretty much OK, though there is a bump where the new section of the track meets the old. Otherwise it is OK. I had a small tip off this afternoon when I lost the front in turn two, probably because we were trying a slightly harder tyre. It was only a small crash and I wasn’t injured at all. We’ll make a few adjustments to the bike tomorrow, but at the moment I feel pretty satisfied.