FIM Superbike World Championship Phillip Island Victoria, Australia March 1, 2008 Superpole Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 1098F08), 1:31.493 2. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:32.011 3. Michel FABRIZIO (Duc 1098F08), 1:32.164 4. Carlos CHECA (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:32.373 5. Fonsi NIETO (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.711 6. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 1098RS), 1:32.714 7. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:32.728 8. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.808 9. Russell HOLLAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:32.903 10. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:32.962 11. Ruben XAUS (Duc 1098RS), 1:32.983 12. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:33.028 13. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:33.104 14. Gregorio LAVILLA (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:34.060 15. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:34.166 16. Max BIAGGI (Duc 1098RS), no Superpole lap time recorded The Rest of the Grid: 17. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 1098RS), 1:33.416 18. Makoto TAMADA (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:33.460 19. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:33.522 20. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1), 1:33.715 21. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:33.728 22. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:33.833 23. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:34.088 24. Shuhei AOYAMA (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:34.220 25. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:34.291 26. Luca MORELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:34.345 27. Loic NAPOLEONE (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.220 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Racing: Checa on front row for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Carlos Checa has secured his first front row start of the 2008 HANNspree Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island in Australia today. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider is starting to get to grips with the all-new HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade and will start from fourth position on the grid in tomorrow’s race. The Spaniard set a Superpole lap of 1’32.373 to take his place alongside Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser and Michel Fabrizio. Checa’s team-mates and fellow World Superbike rookies Ryuichi Kiyonari and Kenan Sofuoglu are still adapting to the new bike and working on finding the optimum set-up for their riding styles. They will start tomorrow’s race from 19th and 21st places respectively. HANNspree Honda Althea’s Roberto Rolfo continued to improve with his new team and propelled himself from 16th position to 13th place on the grid following a successful Superpole session. The Italian recorded a lap of 1’33.104 and improved on his times from the previous day’s practice sessions. It is championship leader Bayliss who secured pole position. The Australian looked comfortable at his home track and will be pushing to further extend his lead at the head of the standings to gain an early advantage in the title chase for the 2008 HANNspree Superbike World Championship title. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Checa claims front row start at Phillip Island Checa continued his good form and qualifying pace at the Phillip Island circuit and claimed his maiden front row Superbike start aboard his HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Fireblade. He set his Superpole lap at 1’32.373 and qualified in 4th position. A result well deserved after the struggle the team have encountered with the new bikes during the first sessions. Checa seems to have found his pace and secured the second place on the time sheets in the second qualifying, before being pushed away by Fabrizio, Corser and Bayliss, who claimed the pole position for tomorrow’s race. Superbike teammates Kiyonari and Sofuoglu encountered difficulties with their machines and both failed to qualify for the Superpole. They will start Sunday’s race from the 19th and 21st place respectively. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager; I have some mixed feelings as not all our riders made it to the front, but I am well pleased with Carlos’s results. It is a big motivation for the team as well, everyone has been working hard to develop the bike for race weekend which can sometimes be a bit frustrating if the results fail to show. I hope we can stick with the leading group in tomorrow’s race and maybe aim for a podium. Kiyonari and Sofuoglu have definitely made improvements on the bike but it was just not good enough. Hopefully we can find some adjustments for them for their race tomorrow and maybe even take some points home with us. Carlos Checa, 1’32.373; I am satisfied with all the work we did. We already have improved since the last race in Qatar. I was a bit worried about the chattering I experienced yesterday, but we made some modifications and seem to have solved the problems. I was a little reluctant to use a qualifying tire during the Superpole and still wasn’t convince using it was the best option but my team convinced me and I must admit they were right and it worked well. It looks like we are on the right pace for tomorrow’s race and can be competing at the front. Ryuichi Kiyonari, 1’33.522; Tomorrow I will try to push harder and put in some better results. I am absolutely not happy with the results so far. Kenan Sofuoglu, 1’33.728; Well, I can’t be happy with this result. Last year I had a great weekend here riding the supersport machine and now I’m down at the back of the field. It’s very hard to accept but I guess it proves I still have a learning curve to complete before I can be competing with the guys up front. More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: FONSI AND MAX ON THE SECOND ROW. Both Fonsi Nieto and Max Neukirchner will start tomorrow’s pair of 22-lap races from the second row of the grid after slightly problematic Superpole laps. Both had high hopes of front row grid positions before the 16-rider shoot-out, and will now have to get good starts if they don’t want to lose touch with the leaders at the beginning of the two races. Aussie Troy Bayliss (Ducati) broke the lap record to take Superpole, beating fellow countryman Troy Corser (Yamaha) in the process. Third was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), with Carlos Checa (Honda) completing the front row of the grid. Fonsi – 5th, 1:32.711 As you know Superpole is not really my strong point and I know I lost time in one of the sectors for sure. But fifth is not so bad and if I can get good starts, I’m sure I am going to be in with a chance. Tomorrow is going to be very, very hard and tyre choice and tyre performance is going to be critical. At the moment, we are not sure which tyres to use, so we’ll try some adjustments in the morning warm-up and see if that will help our decision. Max – 8th, 1:32.767 I am disappointed with my Superpole lap because I made a couple of mistakes at the start of it and that was that. Although I was good in the final two sectors, my mistakes in sector one was enough to lose quite a bit of time. Tyre choice is very important here and the problem is finding a rear tyre that has good grip and will last as well! So, we’ll make a few adjustments in the morning warm-up before deciding what to do. More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Faster than last year Compared to the last weekend in Qatar, Shinichi Nakatomi has in Australia a better level and can be situated with quicker riders in the field. This is a positive evolution for the races tomorrow. Nakatomi qualified in 22nd position for this second race of the season, only 8 tenths of a second from the 12th place. The times are rather close and the performance of Nakatomi allows him to be located in an interesting group of riders. It is also important to notice the progress of the Japanese rider compared to last year: 1’35.088 in 2007 and 1’33.833 this year. David Checa qualified for Superpole with a standard engine with kit parts, provided to his team GMT by MG Competition. Martial Garcia (team-manager): “We could not find the perfect set up for the chassis because of the bumpy track. The times are very close between the riders. So we have reasonable hopes.” More, from a press release issued by Motorcycling Australia: Sizzling Bayliss earns pole at the Island Despite having eight stiches sewn into his arm earlier in the day, Australian Troy Bayliss has claimed pole position for the Australian round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island. Bayliss rode a flawless Superpole lap to clock the fastest time with a stunning 1’31.493 to continue his domination of the event in front of an adoring home crowd. Joining Bayliss on the front row of the grid tomorrow will be fellow Australian Troy Corser, who also rode a superb Superpole lap in a time of 1’32.011. Speaking after he won pole, Bayliss admitted that it will be tough to stay ahead of his rivals on race day, but is confident he can finish what has already been a successful weekend. “Considering the fact that the temperature is up there and we had a bit of wind, I am feeling pretty confident for the race tomorrow,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy because there will be a lot of guys who will be riding well, but I’m in a good spot, and it’s good for all of my family, friends and supporters – it’s just been a great weekend so far. “My team is incredible they can make something out of nothing and the bikes will be identical tomorrow which is good news for me.” Corser also rode well during the Superpole session, and though the weather conditions and the state of his tyres worked against him, he is confident that he can crank his form up a gear tomorrow. “It started getting a little bit blustery and I went into turn one and I lost my line really same old thing where I lost the front a little bit,” Corser admitted. “At the moment the tyres are terrible and we can only get better. We’re not that far away but we’ve got some stuff to try tomorrow. “We found some stuff at the very end there which was something that I wanted to try all day. We did and it was a little bit better for the race tyre. “So fingers crossed we can go that direction and get a little bit more life out of these tyres.” Aussie Russel Holland, who impressed in the practise session immediately before the Superpole, set a cracking time early of 1’32.903 which ended up as the ninth fastest lap of the session. “We’ve been working on the race set-up and I think that we are a lot closer than we were in Qatar,” Holland said. “I’m still not 100% happy, but it’s quite hard with the amount of time you have on these weekends the sessions really get away from you. “We’ll see if we can refine it in warm-up and then if it doesn’t work we’ll go back to the drawing board for race two.” Karl Muggeridge could only manage the 12th fastest time in the Superpole session clocking his lap at 1’33.028. The first World Superbike race at Phillip Island will commence at 12:00pm local time on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Corser starts home race from the first row Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was only one place away from taking the Superpole win at his home track of Phillip Island, after qualifying second quickest in the regular official timed sessions and Superpole itself. On qualifying tyres he was half a second a second faster in Superpole than he had been on race tyres, posting a lap of 1’32.011. He did not get the chance to practice on a qualifying tyre, making his ultimate performance in Superpole all the more impressive. Corser’s battered and bruised team-mate Noriyuki Haga jumped up from 11th to 7th after a gritty Superpole ride, despite not finding the levels of rear traction he expected around the 4.445km circuit in Victoria. He had set second time on a qualifying tyre earlier in the afternoon session, but could not find the same level of drive in Superpole. In his first Superpole ride Davide Checa (Yamaha GMT94) finished 15th, overcoming a moment of drama as he ran off track at the first corner, losing valuable time. He qualified for Superpole ahead of several riders from official teams, thanks to recent changes in the way the GMT94 team approaches the business of finding a good set-up. It was the first Superpole qualification for the team since moving into World Superbike. Checa’s team-mate Sebastien Gimbert matched his first day qualifying performance by going 20th fastest, and he now starts on row five, one row behind Checa. Shinichi Nakatomi found the Phillip Island track a difficult challenge in qualifying, ending up 22nd fastest with a 1’33.833 lap time. Troy Corser (2nd – 1’32.011 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today the bike was working well, but we had a few problems in that last free practice trying to get the bike balanced. Unfortunately we were unable to use the qualifying tyre before Superpole so basically I was doing a fast lap for the first time using the qualifying tyre. We can’t complain too much however, because being on the front row is ideal for tomorrow.” Noriyuki Haga(7th- 1’32.728 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “At the end of the untimed afternoon session, I tried a qualifier for one lap and it worked well. I made a 1’32.3. In Superpole it felt like a different tyre. The left side was not working, because when I opened the gas I had a slide and had to take it easy from then on. That’s why I am on the second row. It is disappointing because I felt good for Superpole. We still have a problems dealing with the bumps on the asphalt at this track, but it was better today than yesterday. Tomorrow morning we try another solution and then we will be ready to race.” Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team, Team Manager “Troy made a good Superpole lap to start from the first row of the grid, but we are more interested in our final performance in the races tomorrow. We tried a new solution for the set-up with Troy today. He thinks it will work in the races and the technicians agree that it should be a good direction to allow both riders to be competitive in the races. In morning warm-up Troy will try two different set-ups to see which one to choose. For race tyres, the choice is already made. Noriyuki’s physical condition seems good, he says he is fine, and we have no concerns about him in two races tomorrow. He’s just angry that he didn’t get onto the front row.” David Checa (15th – 1’34.166 – Yamaha GMT94) “I was not in Superpole at Qatar but one round later we made it. I did not have so much time to prepare on a qualifying tyre and there is a bit of movement from it compared to the race tyres. I had a scare on the first corner of my Superpole lap when I ran wide and I lost about six tenths of a second right there. I just gave it full throttle a bit too fast. After that I got my rhythm back, but my lap time was lost. We were happy to have got into Superpole and it was a good learning experience. I wanted to be on the third row because a rider always wants more!” Martial Garcia – Team Manager Team YZF Yamaha “We could not find the perfect set up for the chassis this weekend because of the bumps on the track. The times are very close between the riders, however, so we have reasonable hopes for raceday.” More, from a press release issued by PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse: Laconi Into the Top Ten in Superpole Phillip Island, Australia, 1 March 2008 Régis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) took his all-new Ninja ZX-10R machine to a top ten finish in Superpole at Phillip Island, with a lap time of 1’32.962. Laconi Into the Top Ten in Superpole The French star, veteran of many seasons in Superbike, used all his experience in qualifying to equal the tenth place he had earned in regulation qualifying, having found a good set-up to tackle the challenging 4.445km Australian circuit. Makoto Tamada (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) missed out on a Superpole start by only two places, setting a best lap in qualifying of 1’33.460. He continued to find problems changing direction at speed, something that is always necessary when trying to set a strong lap time at this circuit. Each Kawasaki rider will now concentrate on final tyre selection and last minute adjustments, for two 22-lap races which look likely to be held in dry and sunny conditions. Troy Bayliss won Superpole, from fellow Australian Troy Corser. Régis Laconi “We made a really good job in the pit box today and we have found something a bit better than before. The difficult decision now is the rear tyre for the race. One is hard, one is soft, but we are not sure about how long the softer tyre will last for. This is the first time that I have begun to feel really good on the bike, and we changed many things from Qatar – even the position of the footpegs. That makes me more comfortable and I can push the bike around more. It also gives me more feedback. We went a bit more radical on the geometry this morning and it was immediately better. That helps us getting into corners, but we will see how it goes tomorrow before we push any further in that direction.” Makoto Tamada “We are getting there little by little. I missed a bit of qualifying time when my number one bike stopped, so I had to set my best lap on the second bike, which feels harder to change direction with than the number one machine. Fast changes of direction here is very important for a good time. We have not chosen a race tyre yet, we will test one in morning warm up, and I am sure we can do better in the race than we did in qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY FINISHES SECOND IN SUPERPOLE Troy’s chance of a 42nd career Superpole were destroyed by a blistering lap by his fellow countryman Troy Bayliss (Ducati) this afternoon in Phillip Island. But Bayliss had to did deep to go quicker then Troy and also had to break the lap record to do it. In the end of the 16-rider shoot-out, Bayliss posted a time of 1:31.493, half a second quicker then Troy. Troy – 2nd, 1:32.011 It’s always great to come to Phillip Island and see friends, family and all the fans. My bike is working reasonably well, though we did have some problems in the afternoon free practice and because of that I didn’t have the chance to try a qualifying tyre. I was therefore a bit tentative in the first part of my Superpole lap and that cost me time. But many congratulations to Troy (Bayliss) for doing such a good Superpole lap. I’m sure that if things had worked out OK, then I would have also been in the 1:31s. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: Phillip Island (Australia), Saturday 1st March: A fantastic result for Bayliss and Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) in Superpole today with Bayliss just snatching pole from fellow Australian Corser, breaking the lap record in the process, while team-mate Fabrizio secured third place on the grid. Two front row places on tomorrow’s grid for the riders and their new 1098 F08 machine is a very satisfying result for the Ducati Xerox Team. Bayliss’ performance was all the more impressive as after high-siding in this morning’s qualifying session, a visit to the circuit’s clinic resulted in him having eight stitches administered to his left elbow. Troy Bayliss 1m31.4s “It’s been an eventful day that’s for sure. This morning I high-sided exiting turn 11 and I had to have eight stitches in my elbow but it didn’t bother me during this afternoon’s practice and Superpole. I’m pretty confident about tomorrow’s race and am happy I was able to take pole, though I didn’t really expect to. I knew it was going to be very close between Corser and me here today and we both generally end up lapping with similar times at this track. I couldn’t try another long-run today as planned due to the crash but Michel was able to do that instead and the team was happy with the results. Tomorrow the first few laps will surely be exciting and then I guess it will come down to tyre performance. It should be a great day of racing.” Michel Fabrizio 1m32.1s “I am extremely happy with today’s times. Up until this point it’s been a great weekend and I just hope it continues that way tomorrow! Today we did a long-run and it seems that we’ve made some progress with respect to how we went yesterday. It will undoubtedly be a challenging race tomorrow and if I am able to keep up with the two Troys then that would already be a good result as far as I’m concerned.”