FIM Supersport World Championship Phillip Island Victoria, Australia February 29, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.426 2. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.506 3. Fabien FORET (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.674 4. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.788 5. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.808 6. Ivan CLEMENTI (Tri Daytona 675), 1:35.920 7. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.392 8. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.501 9. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.565 10. Garry MCCOY (Tri Daytona 675), 1:36.577 11. David SALOM (Yam YZF-R6), 1:36.581 12. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.689 13. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.941 14. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:37.028 15. Didier VAN KEYMEULEN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:37.069 16. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:37.146 17. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.152 18. Gregory LEBLANC (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.294 19. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.340 20. Mirko GIANSANTI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.586 21. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:37.680 22. Andrea ANTONELLI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.899 23. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.077 24. Vesa KALLIO (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.143 25. William DE ANGELIS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.536 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: The first qualifying practice for the second round of the World Supersport Championship saw Australian Andrew Pitt put in a good performance on his home circuit. In the morning’s free practice session under slightly wet conditions, Pitt showed he was well on the pace and left the pit box only to complete 3 laps in which he claimed top position on the sheets before Fabien Foret. The afternoon session showed no difference and Pitt once again dominated the field, claiming provisional pole before current series leader and fellow Australian Broc Parkes. Teammate Jonathan Rea put in a satisfying performance and claimed 7th position, despite the hand injury he sustained in last weeks’ Qatar crash. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager; Andrew Pitt put in a great job today claiming provisional pole on his home track. There’s still a big task lying ahead of both riders in tomorrows qualifying but I am happy with the progress and confident that both riders can claim a front row start for Sunday’s race. Andrew Pitt, 1’35.426; I’m happy with my qualifying session and the provisional pole position. We went out on a dry tyre on a slightly wet track and I only did 3 laps in the free practice but managed to be quick and on the pace straight away. After the rain there was not much grip probably due to some dirt left on the track. We’ll have to choose the right tyre for tomorrow’s qualifying and keep hold of the pole position. Jonathan Rea, 1’36.392; The first session’s conditions weren’t very nice, after the early morning rain we went out on a wet tyre on a medium dry track. Early on in the second session I experienced some problems with the machine, which we managed to sort out throughout the session. Irrespective of that, the lap times are there or thereabouts and I am feeling quite confident on the bike despite my hand injury so that shouldn’t hold me back. I’m just looking forward to finding a good set up tomorrow and achieve a front row qualifying for raceday. More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Parkalgar Honda gets into gear for Oz LONG gearing, strong winds and a damp track held the Parkalgar Honda team back during today’s first practice and qualifying sessions for the second round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia. With no previous data to assist setting-up the Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR race bikes, the team started the day on a wet circuit with the gearing on the bikes very long for the fast 180mph straight. The damp surface kept speeds down and masked the fact the gearing was too high for much of the session, losing the team valuable time and providing little useful data. The afternoon qualification was dry, allowing both riders to test new gear ratios. As the gearing was shortened through the session to give maximum speed on the straight, the riders found it was increasingly too short for several of the corners and were caught out mid-gear and losing time. On both bikes the gearing will be changed, the suspension softened at the front to provide better attitude and the wheel-base altered for improved traction. With these changes, the team is confident it can achieve much better grid positions. British podium finisher at the opening round one week ago at Qatar, Craig Jones, qualified provisionally 19th. Portuguese Parkalgar Honda racer Miguel Praia qualified 28th. Australian Andrew Pitt was fastest in both sessions on his Honda and is in provisional pole position. Team Manager Simon Buckmaster said: “This is not the ideal start for the team coming off such a strong result last weekend, but the important thing is we know exactly what is holding us back and how to improve it. “A lack of previous data and testing has hampered us compared to the other teams that have all raced here before and have base set-ups to begin with. “I am confident we can be challenging where we belong tomorrow. It’s days like today that define the team and our spirit remains excellent, with sheer determination and confidence that we can get the set-up right.” There is one more practice and qualification tomorrow at the 4445m long circuit. The racing starts at 0320CET on Sunday, 2nd March, with all the action broadcast on Eurosport or available to watch online at www.worldsbk.com. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph-SC: SCUDERIA TRIUMPH-SC SECURE TOP TEN IN PHILLIP ISLAND (Phillip Island Australia February 29, 2008) Scuderia Triumph SC continued to show their pace at the second round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island with Australian Garry McCoy posting the tenth fastest time in the opening qualifying session. McCoy ran as high as third place during the 45 minute stint having put his extensive knowledge of the spectacular Phillip Island circuit to good use. Due to heavy overnight rain and damp conditions McCoy only completed a hand full of tentative laps in the opening Free Practice session, but posted 14 laps in the afternoon’s first qualifying with positive results. Team-mate Ilario Dionisi had a difficult day after a technical problem prevented him from setting a competitive time as he was only able to complete three flying laps during qualifying and ended up down in 36th place. The team are currently waiting for new parts to arrive, which should put them in a stronger position for Saturday’s final qualifying session and Sunday’s 21 lap race. Garry McCoy said: “The bike feels ok around here. The times aren’t as fast as when we tested here for anyone and I think that’s because of the wind and that there seems to be a few more bumps than before. By the end of the day it was starting to work well and we’re in the ball park. I lost a bit of time trying some different tyres options, which meant I wasn’t able to get a final lap in to try and push for a time. I feel that I was fairly fast but I didn’t really get into it. I’m reasonably happy with tenth place mainly because I know I can go a lot quicker. If the conditions are better I’m sure the times are going to come down and hopefully we’ll be able to go faster than we did in the test which should put us right up there.” Ilario Dionisi said: “The Phillip Island race track is the best circuit I have ever ridden. It’s not just the track itself but also the surrounding area and location. Unfortunately in qualifying I only got three laps but from this morning the set-up and suspension felt good. From racing in Qatar last week I feel that I have learned a lot and I’m confident we can improve a lot tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Motorcycling Australia: Pitt and Parkes dominate day one Australians Andrew Pitt and Broc Parkes have continued their good run of form on the Phillip Island circuit by recording the fastest times of the first World Supersport qualifying session on Friday. Riding his Hanspree Ten Kate Honda, Pitt took off right where he left in the morning practise session, by posting a fastest lap of 1’35.426 to finish ahead of countryman Broc Parkes. Parkes rode consistently on his Yamaha to make it an Aussie quinella at the top of the session times, while Josh Brookes also had something to smile about with the fourth fastest lap overall. Speaking immediately after the qualifying session, Pitt admitted that he was happy with the way his bike performed, and said that he is confident of putting on a good show this weekend in front of his home crowd. “We got a good lap in this afternoon and so far so good that’s all we can do,” he said. “We had a good test here in January so we pretty much know where the bike works and it’s just a matter of sorting out the race tyre, which tyre we choose for the race. “It’s a great place to come and race and here we are in front of the home crowd and the set, my favourite part of the race all year is coming home and racing here in Australia.” Parkes was also happy with his personal performance, and given his showing at the opening round in Qatar, is confident that he can make this weekend a memorable one for the team. “It’s good, first day we didn’t get that much time on the track, and after Qatar and my first day it’s a little bit better,” he said. “We had a bit of a different bike for the warm up compared to what we had at the first qualifier, and it seemed okay, but I think the bike from the test was a little bit better, so we’re probably going to go back to that tomorrow. “I’ve got all the family and everyone down and hopefully I can do a good job in front of all of them and the Australian crowd!” The second qualifying session for the World Supersport will take place at 13:45pm on Saturday. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Parkes and Foret both on provisional front row Yamaha riders took two of the four places on the provisional front row at Phillip Island, after Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes (both Yamaha World Supersport Team) each set times less than a quarter of a second from provisional pole position man, Andrew Pitt. Parkes, competing at his home race only a week after winning the first round of the World Supersport Championship at Qatar, came closest to the top spot and was only 0.080 seconds from the fastest lap of the first qualifying session. Due to track surface and temperature changes, Parkes could not match the class-leading lap time of 1’34.6 seconds he set in winter testing. Despite not feeling able to push to the maximum right now, his best lap on the all-new Yamaha YZF-R6 today was just over half a second from the current official lap record of 1’34.976. Qualifying was a generally positive experience for Foret also, only 0.168 seconds from his team-mate on the time sheets, but he also had issues with his set-up in the current track conditions. Each rider has one more session in which to improve their times and grid placings, and with the first day starting off wet, the team will be hoping that predictions of good weather and warmer temperatures on Saturday prove to be accurate. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) carried on his good work from Qatar, setting the 11th quickest time in a massive field of 36 riders. Massimo Roccoli played safe with set-up for his machine and finished day one 17th, planning the changes he will make to his chassis set-up tomorrow before going for a better qualifying time. Broc Parkes (2nd – 1’35.506 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It’s strange here today because there is just less grip from the tarmac than we had in the winter test and my time is not quite as good. I think for tomorrow I will have one bike set-up like it was at the tests, and one more like our Qatar set-up, and see which one works best. We spent a bit more time in the garage today, just trying to get the best out of the set-up, than we expected, not so much just going out and setting good lap times and trying out tyres.” Fabien Foret (3rd- 1’35.674 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It’s always good to be near the front but I am not that happy because we tested here in the winter for three days and I cannot get the feel and the feedback that I really want. I could have maybe made an even better time, but I had a little front end slide entering one corner. We need to improve the feel from the tyre and get both more sidegrip and drive grip on this temperature of track surface. It’s important for the lap time at this track to have both of those things, because you spend a lot of time leaned over in certain corners, and need good drive onto the straights. I think there will be more to come tomorrow.” Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team “Having both riders on the front row is a good result for us on the first day. The riders posted competitive times but not with the degree of safety we are happy with. We came here with settings from Qatar, because we know we were fast there. Now we are working out how to change things for tomorrow to allow the riders to be on the pace and still have a good feel for the available tyre grip and the feedback from the track. The track is not reacting the same as it was during the test and there is a big difference in surface temperature. We do not want to go too far away from the machine settings we had such good experiences with in Qatar, but it is fair to say that both riders will start tomorrow with one bike setup more like the Qatar one, and one more like they used in the Phillip Island winter tests.” David Salom (11th:- 1’36.581 – Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) “The track layout at Phillip Island is a bit more complicated than the one at Qatar so it takes more time to get the settings right and learn where to make up some time. The other main thing to remember after only one day on the track is that many, many of our competitors are Australian riders, and they know this track very well. And they are racing at home, of course!”