2007 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® DONINGTON PARK 3rd ROUND 30th, 31st MARCH and 1st APRIL FIRST QUALIFYING PRACTICE Donington Park, Friday 30 March 2007 BAYLISS AND CORSER THE EARLY LEADERS AT DONINGTON – BAYLISS TAKES NEW CIRCUIT BEST LAP IN SBK DESPITE COLD WEATHER Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) pocketed the new circuit best lap on an SBK weekend with a stunning 1’32.333, with possibly more to come if the weather conditions improve for day two of qualifying tomorrow. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) also went under the previous best with his 1’32.817 lap time, but he fell towards the end of the session, without significant injury. The wet morning untimed session saw Corser fastest while in the afternoon a narrow dry line, around almost the entire circuit, allowed all riders to improve on their early marks. Both track and air temperatures failed to rise into double figures, with the air temperature only 8°C and the track 7°C. XAUS BACK IN THE TOP LEVEL ON 2006 FACTORY DUCATI Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) proved that he still has all the speed of his factory years on his year-old Ducati 999 machine, scoring third fastest lap of the session in tricky conditions. He was just ahead (by only 0.046 seconds) of current championship leader James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Toseland’s old Ducati team-mate Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was the quickest rider on a Kawasaki, and his inclusion in the day one top five put four different manufacturers into the top five places. PRIVATEER MUGGERIDGE BACK TO FITNESS AND GOOD PACE Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda) has only recently recovered from a left ankle and foot injury but he still posted sixth fastest time on the opening day. Another rider who was involved in a race to be fit for Donington (Yukio Kagayama from the Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra Team) went seventh quickest before falling and having to visit the medical centre. He was finally declared unfit to ride after examination. His best time was just ahead of the final top ten riders, Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia), his team-mate Max Biaggi (who experienced clutch problems with his GSX-R near the end) and a fast rider in the wet morning session, Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). BUSSEI GETS A TOW TO GO 11th FASTEST Giovanni Bussei (Sterilgarda Ducati) was an impressive 11th fastest at Donington after towing his motorcycle to Donington behind a car, in the old-fashioned way. He was just up on countryman Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda), with the top 16 rounded out by Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse), Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda), Muggeridge’s team-mate Joshua Brookes and German privateer Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany). WORLD SUPERSPORT – SOFUOGLU USURPED BY WET WEATHER SPECIALISTS In a wet qualifying session, also held in cold conditions, surprising results were the order of the first day when Matthieu Lagrive (Intermoto Czech Honda) qualified fastest with WSS rookie rider Davide Giugliano (Kawasaki Lightspeed) second. World championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was third fastest, with replacement rider Arnaud Vincent (Tati Team Beaujolais Yamaha) fourth, just up on local rider and WSS regular Craig Jones (Reve Ekerold Honda Racing). Of great significance in the championship fight, three top riders fell and suffered injuries in the wet morning session. Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes both fell at the same Goddards corner in different incidents, and each injured their left collarbones, ruling themselves out the Donington race. Reigning champion Sebastien Charpentier hurt his previously injured collarbone and pelvis in another crash, and was finally declared unfit. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP – PIRRO FASTEST AFTER ONE DAY Superstock new rider Michele Pirro (Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) was the fastest rider on show at the first session of the opening round of the 2007 season, with his own team-mate Claudio Corti second quickest, from 39 entered riders. Didier Van Keymeulen (TTSL MGM Racing Yamaha) the former champion of this class, was third fastest, with the first Suzuki proving to be that of Ilario Dionisi (Cruciani Moto Suzuki Italia). Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) was the best MV rider, fifth fastest. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox 1098) made an impact in his first sessions on the 1098 Ducati, going seventh in the first practice rankings. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – BERGER FOR FRANCE Maxime Berger (Team Trasimeno Yamaha) made the best of a drying track to score a 1’38.313 in the 600cc division, and take fastest time of the day. Michele Magnoni (Bevilaqua Yamaha) was next fastest, with local rider Greg Black (Politas Racing Team Yamaha) third. Sylvain Barrier (Coutelle Junior Team Yamaha) rounded out the top four, while Andrea Antonelli (Team Italia Megabike Honda) was the first CBR600RR rider on show. More, from a press release issued by HAHNspree Ten Kate Honda: World Superbike Championship Round three: Donington Park, UK Friday 30 March 2007 Qualifying report one HANNspree Ten Kate Honda performs well in the wet A cold and wet Donington Park played host to the first European leg of the 2007 World Superbike Championship today. The initial qualifying session of the weekend saw HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders James Toseland and Roberto Rolfo secure some impressive lap times despite the bad conditions. Yorkshireman James Toseland started his first home race of the season as he means to go on. He secured a succession of fast lap times during the 45-minute session before taking a tactical decision to save his supply of dry tyres and continue on wets to the end. After spending much of the time in the top two, he finished fourth fastest with a best lap of 1’33.692. Roberto Rolfo proved that he is determined to claim a top six place in the standings as he put in a brilliant display of wet-weather riding. The Italian completed this morning’s free practice in fourth position overall and remained in the top five for the majority of the afternoon’s qualifying. The end of the session saw Rolfo unable to pass a group of slower riders that forced him back into tenth place. His final best lap stands at 1’35.363. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “I am quite happy with the start of the weekend for both riders. With conditions like this and the added pressure of a home round, it was even more difficult for James today. He was fastest for most of the session until the end when we decided not to go for a fresh tyre. We are expecting that the weather will be fine for the rest of the weekend so we want to preserve the tyres for that. Roby has made huge progress today compared with Phillip Island. He was running in the top six for the majority of the session. We have done a lot of work with Roby in the break between Phillip Island and Donington and his riding style has really improved as a result of that. He has changed his mindset and I praise him for that. So, let’s see what tomorrow brings – we have to shave off at least a second to be on the front row so we have some work to do overnight but I’m sure we can do it.” James Toseland: “The session was pretty good for me. It was drying up at the end there but even in the damp conditions I was second quickest at one point and that’s unusual for me so I was pretty pleased. The new package we have on the bike is giving me a lot of confidence even in these conditions. We were going to put on new tyres towards the end to go for pole position but we know the weather forecast is OK for tomorrow and Sunday so we’ve held some back. We’ve got plenty of tyres for the weekend so hopefully we can get the best out of them and I can concentrate on winning.” Roberto Rolfo: “It was not bad today. In the rain this morning I had a good feeling on the bike immediately. We tried to improve my riding style during the session and by the end I was much quicker than the beginning. In the qualifying I started with a rain tyre then changed to intermediate, then dry. My lap times improved and by the end I was confident that I could secure my fastest time, but I hit some traffic and lost about five tenths of a second. This was not so good because I know I could have gone faster but it’s not a problem – tomorrow it will be better.” Qualifying times: 1. T. Bayliss, 1’32.333 2. T. Corser, 1’32.817 3. R. Xaus, 1’33.646 4. J. Toseland, 1’33.692 5 R. Laconi, 1’33.729 6. K. Muggeridge, 1’34.203 7. Y. Kagayama, 1’34.549 8. N. Haga, 1’34.553 9. M. Biaggi, 1’34.593 10. R. Rolfo, 1’35.363 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Friday Mar 30 2007 Qualifying BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) SETS THE PACE AT DONINGTON Donington (UK), Friday 30 March: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox Team) set the pace in first qualifying for the European Round of the World Superbike Championship at a cold and damp Donington Park today. The Australian’s time of 1m32.333s was well inside the long-standing best lap set by Neil Hodgson in 2000 although it is the first time World Superbikes have raced at Donington since 2001. Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was less fortunate, crashing in the one-hour session and ending up outside the top 16. “It’s a pretty good start to the weekend” declared Troy. “This morning we had very mixed conditions, around 6°, and the track was quite wet. We did OK but were a little bit hesitant and had to work our way into it. This afternoon the track finally arrived dry towards the end of the session and the times were quite good considering we hadn’t had any dry track time. I’m confident tomorrow if we get some good conditions we can go quite a bit faster, but overall the bike’s feeling good and I’m happy on it so we’ll move on to tomorrow.” “I could have done without that crash at the entrance to Coppice when I lost the front”, commented Lorenzo. “I haven’t been here for six years and I’m finding the conditions quite difficult. Tomorrow the forecast looks better and today I just didn’t want to take any risks. However I feel that potentially I can go a lot quicker because the bike set-up is pretty good. The crash led us astray a bit because we then made the wrong choice of front tyre, the softer one, and the track started to dry out and I was unable to set a quick time. Tomorrow I’ll try and improve, especially in the last part of the circuit from the chicane to the final hairpin.” Times: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.333s; 2. Corser (Yamaha) 1m32.817s; 3. Xaus (Ducati) 1m33.646s; 4. Toseland (Honda) 1m33.692s; 5. Laconi (Kawasaki) 1m33.729s; 6. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m34.203s; 7. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m34.549s; 8. Haga (Yamaha) 1m34.553s; 9. Biaggi (Suzuki) 1m34.593s; 10. Rolfo (Honda) 1m35.363s; … 17. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m36.735s. More, from another press release issued by HAHNspree Ten Kate Honda: World Supersport Championship Round three: Donington Park, UK Friday 30 March 2007 Qualifying report one First Supersport qualifying session takes place in the wet The first European round of the 2007 World Supersport Championship kicked off at a cold and wet Donington Park today. It was a mixed day for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda with Kenan Sofuoglu putting in an impressive performance on his debut at the 4.02km track. Meanwhile, his team-mate Sébastien Charpentier was forced to sit out of the first qualifying session following a crash during the wet morning practice. Kenan Sofuoglu once again proved that he is a rider to watch in 2007. Despite having never ridden at Donington Park before, the young Turkish rider battled the far-from-perfect conditions to secure the third fastest time of the day. After putting in the fastest laps for much of the 45-minute session, he finished with a best time of 1’41.621. Sébastien Charpentier started the free practice well, but the conditions got the better of him as he slid off the track 35 minutes in. The Frenchman suffered damage to his pelvic ligaments and is under observation to determine whether he will participate in tomorrow’s second qualifying session at the Derbyshire circuit. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “Today didn’t start well with Sébastien crashing out in what was actually a very low speed incident. He has stretched some of the ligaments in his pelvis and we are investigating if there has been any movement of the metal plate in his collarbone injury from 2006. We still think he will be OK to ride tomorrow but for today he needed to rest. Kenan took to the track for the team and he found his way around a wet Donington Park pretty quickly. He was the fastest man out there for much of the session. We decided to keep going with wet tyres when other riders moved to intermediates or even dry tyres because he was doing so well and our aim is to be on the front row. We hope that tomorrow will be dry and we hope even more that Sébastien will be back with us and we will be a full team once again.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am happy with today. This morning it was completely wet and we had to make a lot of adjustments to the new CBR600RR to try to get the right set-up. For the qualifying session this afternoon, the conditions were much better – the track was starting to dry out. I actually like it when some parts are dry and some parts are wet, so it was not as bad for me as it was for the other riders. A lot of my main competitors were far behind in the timings. Having said that, I hope that tomorrow brings completely dry conditions! I think if it is dry tomorrow we will be able to make good progress on the set-up and I can do a lot better.” Qualifying times: 1. M. Lagrive, 1’40.239 2. D. Guigliano, 1’41.208 3. K. Sofuoglu, 1’41.621 4. A. Vincent, 1’41.639 5. C. Jones, 1’42.465 6. P. Riba, 1’42.539 7. M. Roccoli. 1’42.556 8. V. Kallio, 1’42.967 9. G. Nannelli, 1’42.989 10. L. Alfonsi, 1’43.04 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: COLD AND RAIN FOR THE FIRST DAY AT DONINGTON (Donington Park 2007, March 30) Rain and cold gave a bad welcome to the third round of World Superbike at Donington for this that should be a cheerful day to celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Superbike. Temperature just over the 0°C and a persistent and frozen rain did transform the Donington track into a hidden trap where run several of the favourites, out of the race just from the first free practice session in the morning. For this reason most of the riders stay quiet today and so the today’s result should be totally changed tomorrow. Gianluca Nannelli, at his debut on the severe Derbyshire circuit, recorded the 9th fast in Supersport qualifying. “That isn’t the best way to learn a track!” confessed a frozen Gianluca Nannelli at the end of the practice “The track, already famous for his sliding grip, owing the vicinity of East Midlands airport and the fuel drops that airplanes release during take off and landing. Also the set up of the bike is clearly not correct, however I’m quite satisfied for today’s result. But of course tomorrow, for the final qualifying, also who stay hided today for prudence, will come out and, if the track will be dry, the lines followed today will be modified.” Also Jakub Smrz in Superbike must fight against the cold; on the wet track in the morning he has been one of the fastest, then when during the afternoon the track dried he lost positions, but more important, he could not work systematically for the machine’s set up. “I know Donington circuit, as well I rode here before always in Summer, and for my forst time on a Superbike it would be better to find different weather conditions..” said Jakub Smrz after qualifying session. “During the morning’s session, in wet condition, I’ve been quite quick, 7th fastest, but then in the afternoon the rain stopped and we rode on a this, dry line. But in such condition it would be exit the dry line to fall or lose time. The handling is quite good, at least in such conditions, but the track is very cold, so it’s easy make a mistake and I don’t want it.” Superbike Friday Qualifying Pl., Rider, Nat., Bike, Lap Time 1. BAYLISS Troy, AUS, Ducati 999 F07, 1’32.333 2. CORSER Troy, AUS, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’32.817 3. XAUS Ruben, ESP, Ducati 999 F06, 1’33.646 4. TOSELAND James, GBR, Honda CBR 1000RR, 1’33.692 5. LACONI Regis, FRA, Kawasaki ZX 10R, 1’33.729 6. MUGGERIDGE Karl, AUS, Honda CBR 1000RR, 1’34.203 7. KAGAYAMA Yukio, JPN, Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K7, 1’34.549 8. HAGA Noriyuki, JPN, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’34.553 9. BIAGGI Max, ITA, Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K7, 1’34.593 10. ROLFO Roberto, ITA, Honda CBR 1000RR, 1’35.363 18. SMRZ Jakub, CZE, Ducati 999 F05 Scuderia SC Caracchi, 1’36.796 Supersport Friday Qualifying Pl., Rider, Nat., Bike, Lap Time 1. LAGRIVE Mathieu, FRA, Honda CBR 600RR, 1’40.239 2. GIUGLIANO Davide, ITA, Kawasaki ZX6RR, 1’41.208 3. SOFUOGLU Kenan, TUR, Honda CBR 600RR, 1’41.621 4. VINCENT Arnaud, FRA, Yamaha YZFR6, 1’41.639 5. JONES Craig, GBR, Honda CBR 600RR, 1’42.465 6. RIBA Pere, ESP, Kawasaki ZX6RR, 1’42.539 7. ROCCOLI Massimo, ITA, Yamaha YZFR6, 1’42.556 8. KALLIO Vesa, FIN, Suzuki GSX600R, 1’42.967 9. NANNELLI Gianluca, ITA, Ducati 749 R Scuderia SC Caracchi, 1’42.989 10. ALFONSI Lorenzo, ITA, Honda CBR 600RR, 1’43.004 More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 3, Europe, Donington Park, UK Friday qualifying, 30th March Circuit: 4.023 km Conditions: Cold, mostly damp 6-8 C. Conditions during the first day of the third round of this year’s Superbike World Championship were difficult so Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama and Max Biaggi started cautiously. The morning session was cold and wet and, although conditions improved marginally in the afternoon, the track still had several damp patches. It was one of these that Yukio hit towards the end of the qualifying session and which caused him to suffer a heavy fall, knocking him out for a few minutes He was taken to the Medical Centre for a check up and X-rays, but luckily suffered no broken bones or any other injuries apart from a sore back. His team mate Max Biaggi took today very carefully, using the two sessions to find a good base set-up for his GSX-R1000 K7, before beginning to push hard. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) posted the day’s fastest lap, over a second under the lap record. Second is Troy Corser Yamaha), with Ruben Xaus (Ducati) third and series leader James Toseland (Honda) fourth. YUKIO – 7th, 1:34.549 The conditions today were not easy and then I crashed! It happened at Craner Curves, when I hit a small damp patch on the track and lost control. I hit my head and knocked myself out for a little while, but there were no other injuries. My back is very sore, but I’m sure it’ll be OK after a good sleep. I would like to race this weekend, but it is not up to me. We shall see what happens in the morning. MAX – 9th, 1:34.593 Today was not so easy and I used the time to try and find a good base set-up for my bike. We had no data from here, so we had to start at the beginning and work our way through quite a few things. In these conditions it is difficult to try and choose tyres for the race because conditions could be very different tomorrow or Sunday. This afternoon, when the track was half wet and half dry was tricky and I didn’t want to push too hard and crash. A few times today I made small mistakes breaking too hard and having to run a bit wide. That was probably because we had some clutch problems and that was probably why I couldn’t go any faster at the end of the qualifying session. Friday qualifying 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:32.33, 2 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:32.817, 3 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:33.646, 4 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:33.692, 5 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 1:33.729, 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:34.203, 7 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:34.549, 8 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:34.553, 9 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:34.593, 10 Rolfo (I-Honda) 1:35.363 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Injuries mean an early return home for Yamaha World Supersport Team The third round of the World Supersport Championship got off to a bad start for the Yamaha World Supersport Team, with both Curtain and Parkes sustaining injuries during crashes in the free practice session on Friday. The crashes ended the team’s hopes of success for the weekend. Kevin Curtain was the first to fall early on in the wet session, high-siding the bike at Goddard’s corner in front of his team mate resulting in a clean break to his collar bone. It is not known yet whether Kevin will be fit enough to race at Valencia in two weeks. Broc spent the session focusing on putting some distance on the tyres and re-acquainting himself with the track not having ridden here since 2001, when he rode for Ducati in the World Superbike Championship. Unfortunately, in the closing stages of the session he high-sided the bike at the same corner as Kevin, leaving him with a small fracture to his collar bone. Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) “The track conditions were too cold today especially the last corner, which was really slippery. I was hoping for the track to dry quickly to really put in some good laps. It is frustrating to work so hard for the first two rounds and then this to happen here. Right now, it is hard for me to say when I’ll be back; I will do my best to be there.” Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I’m all right. I now just want to concentrate on getting my collar bone fixed before Valencia in two weeks time. It is a good break at least, if there is such a thing. The conditions just weren’t good out there today. I aim to be back for Valencia, we will have to wait and see if that is realistic or not.” Despite the misfortunes of the Yamaha World Supersport team there was good news for other Yamaha-shod riders in the championship. Former French 125 GP World Champion and current entrant in the French Supersport Championship – Arnaud Vincent put in a best lap of 1’41.208 to take provisional fourth place in the afternoon’s qualifying session, while Massimo Roccoli set a best time of 1’42.556, placing him in seventh position. Yamaha GMT94 team members Sébastien Gimbert and David Checa finished the day in 12th and 13th places respectively. The fastest man in today’s qualifying session was Matthieu Lagrive (Honda), followed by Davide Giugliano (Kawasaki) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda). Arnaud Vincent completes the provisional front row going in to tomorrow’s final qualifying session. Arnaud Vincent (4th – 1’41.639 – Tati Team Beaujolais Racing) “In today’s qualifying I started with a wet rear tyre but then switched to a slick after ten minutes as the track was starting to dry. I hope tomorrow is wet because the wet conditions will even out the playing field and also I often ride well in the wet.” Massimo Roccoli (7th – 1’42.556 – Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “During the qualifying session I mainly rode with wet tyres. During one pit stop I saw that the tyre was pretty much finished so I opted for an intermediate. Just before the session ended I managed to put in a good lap placing me in seventh overall. We have a good wet race set up now so I’m confident I will start from the second row on Sunday if it continues to rain. We will see how final qualifying goes tomorrow.”