FIM Superbike World Championship Silverstone, England May 27 Superpole Results: 1. Tommy HILL (Yam YZF-R1) 1:38.001 2. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F06) 1:38.254 3. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:38.265 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1) 1:38.546 5. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:38.899 6. Alex BARROS (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:39.082 7. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F05) 1:39.388 8. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:40.023 9. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:40.042 10. Troy CORSER (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:40.181 11. Andrew PITT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:40.552 12. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1) 1:40.574 13. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:40.729 14. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:41.004 15. Norick ABE (Yam YZF-R1) 1:42.069 16. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:42.262 The rest of the grid (established during Friday’s dry qualifying session): 17. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F06) 1:28.290 18. Ivan CLEMENTI (Duc 999RS) 1:28.492 19. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Duc 999RS) 1:28.492 20. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1) 1:28.503 21. Josh BROOKES (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.561 22. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:28.766 23. Roberto ROLFO (Duc 999F05) 1:28.835 24. Craig JONES (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:28.866 25. Fabien FORET (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.909 26. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:28.980 27. Steve MARTIN (Foggy Petronas FP1) 1:29.199 28. Marco BORCIANI (Duc 999F05) 1:30.533 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: MUGGERIDGE ON SECOND ROW AFTER WET SUPERPOLE Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) secured a second row start after setting the eighth best time in a ‘wet’ Superpole competition at Silverstone. James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) fought a lack of rear traction during his allocation of 12 laps and finished 14th quickest, taking a fourth row start for Sunday’s brace of Superbike races. With Friday being dry and Saturday soaking wet, all the Superpole qualifying times counted from day one, and the slowly drying track proved tricky for all involved. Toseland was particularly unlucky as he finished fifth in regulation qualifying (with Muggeridge eighth) and had hoped to improve to a front row start in front of his home fans. Local wild card Tommy Hill took his first ever Superpole win, with championship leader Bayliss second quickest. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “After a good start to the weekend yesterday we really hoped for more than this result. The wet Superpole did not bring us what we were expecting. Karl is on the second row, which is still OK, but 14th place for James is not a good position for him to start the races from. Tomorrow, it seems the races will be held in dry conditions, and I also hope we can have a dry warm-up, so we can confirm our dry settings. I guess it will be a tough race for James, coming from where he will be. But we know he is a hard racer, and he won’t have any lack of motivation, especially as this is his home round.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (14th position 1’41.004) “That was a really difficult day, especially after the first day, when things looked good. I was confident and the times were not bad. But today I could not believe how it turned out. The front of the bike was OK but as soon as I opened the gas it was hard to control the rear of the bike. I waited until the last few minutes to hope that there were better track conditions than at the beginning, but things were even worse, and most other riders couldn’t improve their times as much. Tomorrow, conditions should be better and I am sure that yesterday’s times have proved that if I’m aggressive in the first few laps, I can get into the top group again.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (8th position 1’40.023) “In the wet we have had to work on getting more drive out of corners. The bike was just spinning like mad and also spinning quite early in the turns. The front was working nicely, we could get it in, brake and turn, but if you got in too fast the back would still come around. That was interesting, let’s say, several times. In the dry I think things will be working really well. We got some things changed in the chassis yesterday and it was good, so we’re making improvements all the time.” More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone Superpole for Gimbert and Abe The Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone had 2 of its riders doing the Superpole, with the 12th time for Sebastien Gimbert, the 15th for Norick Abe and the 20th for Shinichi Nakatomi. On Friday morning, Sebastien Gimbert crashed spectacularly in Woodcote and that left him with some abrasions on his back. His R1 was damaged, including a bent frame. On Friday afternoon, Shinichi Nakatomi fell in Luffeld with no damage. He was not the only one as Bayliss also crashed (2 times), and Toseland, Lanzi, Martin, Walker, Borciani and Neukirchner. On Saturday morning, it rained a lot and it was impossible to go quicker than on the previous day. Gimbert and Abe were both qualified for the Superpole. As it kept raining, it was a wet Superpole, which means the riders had 50 minutes to do a maximum of 12 laps. The wild card rider Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) surprised everybody when he was the quickest. Sebastien Gimbert ended up 12th, Norick Abe 15th and Shinichi Nakatomi 20th. Sebastien Gimbert: “Three crashes on a wet surface, it is way too many considering that the rain is my favorite playground. We worked a lot on the settings for a dry track, especially on the rear suspension rocker, but this was a handicap for the rain. We are now developing our bikes. But we are happy because I had the pole position during about 10 minutes on the dry yesterday. Tomorrow I want to do a good race and I need a good start. We still have a lot of work to do. I hope tomorrow I will not suffer too much physically from my crashes.” Norick Abe: “Yesterday when it was dry I was 16th. Today my feeling was not so good. I hope there will be no rain tomorrow. I need some time for the set up.” Shinichi Nakatomi: “This is the first time I race on this track. I did not have much time to find the right settings. Today it was raining and I do not like the rain. Tomorrow, the weather will maybe be dry and I shall try new settings during the warm up.” Martial Garcia (team-manager): “These practice sessions were a confirmation of the good health of our engines and our motorcycles. We were 11th yesterday in dry conditions. Sebastien Gimbert has more and more confidence in his settings. He had a few problems on the rain (3 crashes), which is not normally the case for him. Norick Abe gained one position during the Superpole, even if it rained and he does not like that weather. Shinichi Nakatomi is learning this very difficult track.” More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: Non stop rain, immense slops and spray, which turned riding into a real blind flight. Those were the conditions during the second qualifying today. Some of the riders nearly preferred to stay in their pit garages but Alex was out and did a 1’45.802 lap time. Only Troy Corser (1’45.726) was faster than the Brazilian rider of Team Klaffi Honda. Only some minutes before Superpole the rain stopped but the surface of the track was still completely wet. At 4 pm the riders started for a “Wet Superpole”. The 16 fastest riders had 50 minutes during which they could do 12 laps to improve their lap times and the positions in the starting grid. Alex did a 1’39.082 lap time which means starting position 6 in the second row for tomorrow. Winner of the Superpole was wild card rider Tommy Hill. Alex Barros: “I hoped to be in the front row but I don’t do. I feel very well with the Fireblade today. The set up is perfect and the machine improved a lot. For tomorrow I hope it will be wet. This is what I prefer. If it is dry this would be a disadvantage for me because I only had one hour to be out under dry conditions. But whether it is dry or wet – a race is a race we will see.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES SECOND PLACE ON STARTING GRID FOLLOWING WET SUPERPOLE AT SILVERSTONE Silverstone (UK), Saturday 27 May: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) will line up on the front row of the starting grid in second place for tomorrow’s fifth round of the World Superbike Championship following a wet Superpole session at Silverstone. British Superbike regular Tommy Hill (Yamaha) used his wild-card status to good effect in the slippery conditions to power to the pole position, while the front row of the grid is completed by Chris Walker (Kawasaki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). “This place and this weather remind me of the British Championship in 1998 and 1999 with red flags coming out, bikes flying everywhere and mine’s done that three times this weekend,” declared Troy after Superpole. “I feel like I’ve been rolled, bowled and sat on but I’m sure I’m going to come up OK tomorrow. I made a little mistake in that session, I was supposed to stay out for another flying lap but there was one thing we’d changed when I went out and I wasn’t happy with it. I was on the limit and I’d been off three times this weekend and didn’t want to do it again. It was my mistake coming in but my time was not so bad and I’m quite happy. That’s racing, Tommy did a great job today. I’d like some dry weather tomorrow especially for the British fans, but I’m going to try and spoil the party for them.” Rain in the second and final qualifying session in the morning meant that Lorenzo Lanzi missed out on the Superpole cut today and the Italian will start from the fifth row of the grid. “I am a bit disappointed obviously because I didn’t take part in Superpole, it’s been some time since that happened. It was surely not the weekend I had dreamt about,” commented Lorenzo. “But I managed to get the right feeling in the wet conditions in the afternoon and did some good times, which is important for tomorrow because the conditions are not very clear. Anything can happen, the race is still open, I’m starting from the fifth row but I feel sure I can do two good races.” STARTING-GRID: 1. Hill (Yamaha) 1m38.001s; 2. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m38.254s; 3. Walker (Kawasaki) 1m38.265s; 4. Haga (Yamaha) 1m38.546s; 5. Fabrizio (Honda) 1m38.899s; 6. Barros (Honda) 1m39.082s; 7. Xaus (Ducati) 1m39.388s; 8. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m40.023s; … 17. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox). More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Reigning World Superbike Champion Troy Corser suffered grip problems during today’s Superpole for the British World Superbike fifth round at Silverstone. The Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider finished a disappointing 10th in a wet qualifier with team mates Yukio Kagayama and Fabien Foret 16th and 25th. The top 16 riders from timed qualifying had 50 minutes in which to complete a maximum of 12 laps. Although it had stopped raining by the time Superpole started, the track was mostly soaking wet – conditions that turned out to be more difficult then when it had been raining steadily. Wild card rider Tommy Hill (Yamaha) surprised everybody by setting the quickest lap of the Superpole session with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Chris Walker (Kawasaki) third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth. It was an unhappy Superpole for Kagayama who crashed after eight laps. He highsided at the end of the start-finish straight and landed heavily on his back and damaged the index finger of his right hand in the process. Fortunately he didn’t break any bones but he will be very sore when he lines up on the grid tomorrow. Troy Corser – 10th, 1:40.181: Obviously I’m not happy being so far down the grid, but I was lucky to complete Wet Superpole without crashing! I could’ve crashed on virtually every lap – that’s how bad my grip problem was. I didn’t want to hurt myself or damage the bike with two races to do tomorrow, so I just tried to stay upright and go as fast as I could. Every time I touched the throttle, the bike just wanted to come round. “Funnily enough, the grip felt better when the track was soaking wet. When the rain eased and then stopped, my problems began. The weather forecast says it’s going to be dry tomorrow and I know that we’ve got a pretty good set-up for a dry race, so if that’s so, all I need is a couple of really good starts.” Yukio Kagayama – 16th, 1:42.262: “I am so sore! I highsided at the end of the front straight and I went over the front of the bike while I was still holding on! I remember looking at my front wheel and thinking I would wait for the situation to improve, but it never did! I hit the ground very hard and cut my finger bad enough to have three stitches in the wound. When the track was fully wet, I think the grip felt ok. Maybe it is because we were going slower and controlling the bike better. In Superpole, the grip did not feel good at all and it was very difficult. I will have an early night tonight and hope I feel ok in the morning.” Fabien Foret – 25th, No Superpole time: “I don’t like the rain so much but I put in quite a few laps today because I need to understand how my bike works in the wet. I am disappointed not to have qualified for Superpole, but now I have to think about the races tomorrow and getting some good starts if I am to have any chance of a good result. I hope the track is dry because I know I can race much harder. This year we’ve lost some time due to rain at every round except one, so my understanding of my bike has not happened as quickly as I would’ve liked. But I am determined to get some good results tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: Rain stalls FPR progress at Silverstone Atrocious weather conditions at Silverstone prevented progress for Foggy PETRONAS Racing in qualifying for tomorrow’s races. A full wet final qualifying session left Craig Jones and Steve Martin unable to better yesterday’s times, set in the dry, and in 24th and 27th positions on the grid for the fifth round of the Superbike World Championship. Steve, recovering from a heavy crash yesterday in which he suffered a badly bruised hip, took the opportunity for further recuperation, while Craig opted not to take unnecessary risks with better weather forecast tomorrow. British wild card Tommy Hill secured a shock pole position when he mastered the conditions for the wet Superpole session. Craig said: “It’s very frustrating because I know that I could have matched the time that would have had me in Superpole yesterday, although others would probably have also made progress if the conditions had allowed. I really wanted to be in Superpole because I know that I am fast around here. But it is not a massive difference between 16th and 24th and I am confident I can make up those positions at the start and then get my head down.” Steve said: “It’s a pity it was wet but in one way it worked in my favour because it provided an extra day’s rest, as I knocked myself about yesterday. I think that landing on my hip might have damaged the tendons around that joint and I am pretty sure I have broken a toe. But I am confident I will be all right by tomorrow and I still think there is a chance I can battle for points in the dry or wet, as my ideal time yesterday was in the mid 28s.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha-riding British wild-card Tommy Hill, who normally competes in his national championship, had a sensational world championship debut, taking pole position on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 at Silverstone today. For the first time this year superpole was run under wet weather regulations, giving each rider 50 minutes and 12 laps in which to set their qualifying time, rather than the usual one flying lap in dry conditions. The 21-year-old former British R6 Cup champion did all his laps in one stint, riding spectacularly to head the times for much of the superpole session. Hill slid off on his final lap while try to improve his pole position time of 1:38.001. Despite the slip-up, no other rider could knock the Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider from the top of the time sheets and he will start his first ever world superbike races from the front of the grid tomorrow. Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga grabbed a front row start at Silverstone, powering his YZF-R1 to the fourth fastest time at the British circuit. The Japanese star has been consistently strong in both the wet and dry, although he was forced to use his spare machine for the superpole after his number one machine developed a a vibration in the preceding free practice session. Haga used all his experience to stay upright in the slippery conditions and get a valuable front row start at a circuit where he has excelled in the past. With the rain stopping and the sun making its first appearance of the day the track prior to the session, the Yamaha Motor Italia duo stayed in the pits until 20 minutes into the session in the hope that the conditions would improve. With heavy rain falling throughout the day, the riders have been unable to work on improving the settings for what are expected to be dry conditions for tomorrow’s races. Haga’s team-mate Andrew Pitt was a disappointed 11th after superpole. The Australian rode strongly in the dry conditions, going into superpole as the sixth fastest rider, but the rider and his team could not find an ideal wet weather setting and Pitt struggled for grip in the wet superpole session. Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe completed the five YZF-R1 riders competing in superpole. Gimbert crashed on his first lap in superpole, his third tumble of the weekend, but came back to 12th on his spare machine. Abe, no fan of the wet conditions, finished 15th after superpole – improving his position from regular qualifying by one position. Shinichi Nakatomi will start the race from 20th position after failing to make the top 16 in yesterday’s opening qualifying session. The Japanese newcomer is making his first visit to the historic British circuit and is looking to score some more championship points despite having completed only one session in dry conditions. Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) “I can’t believe that I’ll be starting my first world superbike races ahead of the guys that I am used to watching on television! I’m not sure what to expect from the races and I think that it’ll only really sink in when I’m sitting on the grid tomorrow. It was probably just as well that I crashed as we are so far down the pit lane that I couldn’t read my lap board properly. I was feeling really comfortable and I would probably have stayed out even longer if I hadn’t come off and been penalized for doing too many laps! It’s great to be here and riding on the same tyres as everyone else. I like the wet but it’ll be nice for the fans if it’s dry tomorrow as we have had so many wet races in the British championship this year. In the dry I’d love to get a top eight but for now I’m just enjoying what we’ve achieved today.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “This circuit has no grip and is very scary in the rain. We waited a while to see if the track would dry but it was still very slippery out there. I almost crashed many times so I am really happy to be on the front row. We have a good setting for wet or dry, so I think I can make a good race tomorrow. I hope for sunshine but this is England and no-one ever knows what the weather will do here!” Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We are struggling for rear grip in the wet and it didn’t matter what we did we couldn’t improve the situation. We’ve got a good set-up for the dry so I’m hoping that there’s no rain tomorrow. It will be tough from the third row of the grid though.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “Not so bad but I was not feeling 100 percent after the crash in superpole. I have had quite a few crashes this weekend and need to rest up and get ready for the race.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “I am still trying to find a good feeling with the superbike and the Pirelli tyres in rain conditions, so I was not pleased that qualifying was wet today. The forecast for tomorrow is dry so I am hoping that we can have some good races.” Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) “I’d have liked at least one more hour in dry conditions today as it has been difficult trying to learn the circuit in these conditions. I have never ridden at Silverstone before and it was difficult to find out about the circuit while I am still learning the characteristics of this bike and the wet-weather Pirelli tyres.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) “Nori is running strongly in both conditions and is ready to fight at the front tomorrow. His bike developed an unusual vibration before the superpole so we decided not to risk anything and switch to the spare bike. The set-ups are almost identical so this was not such a problem. Andrew had some problems with the back of the bike coming around when he backed off the throttle and this has dropped him back a little. Tonight we will follow the weather forecast. It looks like being dry but we will prepare a wet weather bike and a dry weather bike for each rider. In case of a dry race we already know which front tyre to use and will have the 20 minute warm-up to make our final decision on the rear.” More, from a press release issued by Beowulf Racing: Like the rest of the riders in the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Beowulf Racing’s Nick Henderson failed to better his Friday qualifying time at Silverstone today. Running the Beowulf Suzuki with a dry set-up on a wet track meant that Henderson finished today’s second qualifying session at the bottom of the timesheets and 17 seconds off the pace. Whilst the situation might seem like a disaster at first glance, it actually forms part of the team’s strategy for tomorrow’s 15-lap race. This morning’s half-hour free practice session was run on a mainly dry track in overcast conditions. Lapping a third of a second slower than yesterday, Henderson experienced problems stringing a consistent lap together particularly struggling at the Brooklands complex of hairpins which is perhaps more suited to a go-kart track than accommodating 180mph+ racing machines. With the afternoon timed qualifying period directly following a torrential downpour of rain, the team realised there would be no way that Nick could better his Friday times set in the dry. Instead of playing to the conditions, the squad elected to send the Australian out with a dry set-up, which automatically relegated him to the bottom of the scoresheet. Afterwards Team Manager Andy Stone explained the decision: “We ran Nick in the wet during the Friday morning free practice session and with the track the way it is now there was no way anyone was going to go faster than they managed yesterday afternoon. Although the weather is predicted to improve tomorrow, I’ll be surprised if it will be good enough to allow a clear-cut decision on tyres and suspension. If we’re caught in a position where the track is slightly damp, or there’s just a little bit of rain, we’ve got the data that will help us decide which way to go. Plus, Nick now has the experience of riding a “dry” bike on a wet track and that’s a position every rider finds himself in sooner or later.” With no rider in the field bettering his Friday times, and Henderson’s lap times tumbling as the track finally began to dry at the end of the session, the decision appears to be vindicated. The weather still has its part to play in the outcome of tomorrow’s race but Beowulf Racing may just have rolled the dice in a slightly more cunning fashion than their opponents.