FIM Superbike World Championship Santamonica Circuit Misano, San Marino June 27, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Troy BAYLISS (Ducati 1098 F08), 1:36.863 2. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:37.139 3. Troy CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:37.224 4. Max BIAGGI (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:37.477 5. Noriyuki HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:37.542 6. Regis LACONI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.574 7. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:37.618 8. Ruben XAUS (Ducati 1098 RS08), 1:37.710 9. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:37.751 10. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.752 11. Fonsi NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:37.759 12. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.819 13. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.871 14. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F08), 1:38.076 15. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.189 16. Gregorio LAVILLA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.202 17. Roberto ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.206 18. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.392 19. Shuhei AOYAMA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.493 20. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:38.636 21. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:38.652 22. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:38.774 23. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:38.843 24. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.895 25. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:39.768 26. Norino BRIGNOLA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:40.311 27. Jason PRIDMORE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:40.395, crash More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: TROY BAYLISS TOPS THE TIME SHEETS IN FIRST QUALIFYING AT MISANO Misano (Republic of San Marino) Friday 27th June: with scorching track temperatures that rose as high as 53°C, the Ducati Xerox riders Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio faced a very physical challenge during today’s sessions at Misano. Already off to a flying start in this morning’s free practice session, Troy Bayliss continued to make storming progress in first qualifying this afternoon, to conclude the session at the top of the time sheets with a fastest lap time of 1m36.8s. The only rider on track to lap in under 1m37s today, Bayliss set a new best lap at this “new” circuit (the track configuration having been recently modified). As the Australian rider has a history of victories at the Santamonica track, he hopes to repeat those performances once again come race day. Michel Fabrizio finished the free practice session in third place but then struggled a little during the afternoon’s qualifying to conclude today with the fourteenth fastest time, with just over one second separating his time from Troy’s. Troy Bayliss 1m36.8s “I was reasonably happy with today. This track is like a home track to us so we feel under a bit of pressure to do well, and also because I’ve done well here in the past. I’d say we’re satisfied with the changes we’ve made through the day and I reckon we’ve done a good job. It’s hard due to the heat of course so I’m trying to look after myself and keep as cool as possible.” Michel Fabrizio 1m38.0s “It’s all going ok. This morning we were going well and I felt pretty comfortable on the bike from the start of practice. Then this afternoon I just got a bit agitated I think and it just didn’t go as well. There were no technical issues with the bike or anything, and it wasn’t really the heat affecting me either, I just didn’t feel quite right. Anyway, tomorrow’s another day and we will definitely go faster.” TIMES: 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m36.8s; 2. Smrz (Ducati) 1m37.1s; 3. Corser (Yamaha) 1m37.2s; Biaggi (Ducati) 1m37.4s; 5. Haga (Yamaha) 1m37.5s; 6. Laconi (Kawasaki) 1m37.5s….. 14. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m38.0s More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Racing: HANNspree teams look for positive results at Misano As the 2008 HANNspree Superbike World Championship passes the halfway point at Misano, the series contenders are becoming increasingly more aware of the title. Although Troy Bayliss currently tops the leader board, the championship is in no way close to being decided, and with 14 races and a maximum 350 points still up for grabs, the accolade is well within the reach of every Superbike rider on the grid. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Carlos Checa is hoping to continue his run of success at the San Marino circuit this weekend. The 35-year-old Spaniard clinched two top five finishes at the seventh round at Germany’s Nurburgring, maintaining his second place in the series overall, and is looking to go one better at Misano. Just 39 points now separate Checa and Bayliss ahead of the Italian event. Checa’s HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari is also hoping for a good result this weekend. The 25-year-old double British Superbike Champion has made significant progress in his debut year in the world series and is currently tenth in the standings overall with 89 points. The third HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider, 2007 World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu, has struggled to get to grips with the larger capacity Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade so far this season. However, the young Turkish rider returns to Europe in high spirits, and is looking to claim two solid points scoring finishes at Misano on Sunday. Meanwhile, HANNspree Honda Althea’s Roberto Rolfo is hoping for a positive finish at his home round. The 28-year-old Italian broke his left collarbone in a mountain biking accident at the beginning of May and has endured a difficult month of recovery. However, during Friday morning’s free practice session at San Marino, Rolfo was posting positive lap times and is optimistic ahead of race day. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Difficult first day of qualifying in Misano The first day of qualifying in Misano took place in hot weather conditions today. With the temperature rising to 34 degrees, the three men strong HANNspree Ten Kate Honda squad struggled to find the right pace for the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades. Carlos Checa’s fastest lap of 1’38.189 in the first qualifying practice was 1.326s off the fastest time set by provisional pole sitter Troy Bayliss. After his strong performance in the USA round, Checa’s experienced difficulties with the set-up of his machine and used most of his 60-minute session to focus on finding the right grip for his Honda CBR1000RR. Chattering issues halted his performance throughout the session in which he was not able to find the pace and set some fast laps. Kiyonari spent his qualifying sessions on getting used to the high temperature and learning the track as he has never ridden the Misano circuit before. Carlos Checa, 1’38.189; “I’m struggling to find the right feeling with the bike. We haven’t changed that much after America, but we seem to be unable to find the pace yet. The feeling is completely different. We have some chattering at the rear and the tyre seems to be jumping in some areas of the track so I can’t carry speed and ride consistently.” “We need to find some more grip and work on the way the bike turns if we want to reach a better result in tomorrow’s qualifying. We are out of the pace at the moment and will need to improve a lot.” Ryuichi Kiyonari, 1’38.392; “It’s my first time on this circuit here today. I find it very difficult, specially with the temperature being so high compared to the other tracks we’ve been to so far. The tyre feeling is completely different here because of that. The feeling with the machine is getting there, but we will make some more changes to the set-up.” “We’ll go through the circuit once again in the debrief and try to find the areas in which we can improve for tomorrow. It will be difficult but we need to improve the pace and set a good result in qualifying.” Kenan Sofuoglu, 1’38.895; “My position at the moment is not that good, but I am sure we can improve tomorrow. The feeling with the machine is good, but the lap times are not quite there yet. “We still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow’s qualifying, hopefully we can get a couple of things sorted out.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: HARD WORK IN THE HEAT Temperatures rose to 34C this afternoon at Misano circuit and Max, Fonsi and Yukio had to work hard in difficult conditions as they began finding good set-ups for their GSX-R1000 Suzukis. Maxi ended the fastest of the trio, in ninth place, with Fonsi eleventh and Yukio twentieth. Yukio’s was suffering from his injured left hand and there was some speculation about whether or not his it would be strong enough to ride, but the gritty Japanese rider is determined to be on the grid on raceday and today was just the start. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) ended with the day’s fastest lap, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second, Troy Corser (Yamaha) third and Max Biaggi (Ducati) fourth. Max – 9th, 1:37.751 We began with one bike with the Nurburgring set-up and the other bike with a slightly lowered front and that was the one that worked better. I had some problems exiting the corners because the bike was spinning a bit and that caused me to lose time. Otherwise I probably could’ve finished much higher up. I think we’ve more or less decided on which rear tyre to use in the race, but we’re not sure about the front yet. One thing I do know, is that it’s going to be a very difficult day on Sunday to do two races in this kind of heat! Fonsi – 11th, 1:37.759 After Germany, today was much better and I was happy to be amongst the fastest in the morning session. Later, it was hard to find that last three or four tenths of a second, but the lap times are very, very close, so I am not unhappy. Tomorrow I want to be fast straightaway and do a good Superpole so that I don’t have to start way down the grid again. I don’t think I have ever ridden in such heat as today. After five or six laps, it was difficult to breathe properly and there’s no air coming inside the helmet. Sunday is going to be very tough for all of us. Yukio – 20th, 1:38.636 It was very difficult for me out there today because of my hand. The doctors told me that it would be three weeks before the bone would be OK and longer for the ligaments I damaged. The ligaments are causing me problems when I am trying to get the bike to change direction – especially from left to right. Tomorrow I might try a pain-killing injection. It will be good for the pain, but the problem is that it will reduce the feeling in my hand! More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Top five for Corser and Haga on day one The intense heat and humidity that a settled on Misano on the first day of qualifying was no obstacle to Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) who each started out in competitive form. A subtly new track layout on the first corner and partial track re-surfacing could not mask the bumps that were evident in several places on the Misano track, but despite this each YMI rider has already made good inroads in their overall machine set-up. With the air temperature hitting 34°C during the afternoon qualifying, Corser went third on the stopwatch and Haga fifth, with Corser having started out fastest of all 27 competing riders in the first unofficial session this morning. Corser took over two tenths of a second from his morning time in official qualifying, using race tyres in each session. A tough first day for the other officially supported Yamaha riders, Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha), Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) and David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) saw them 21st, 22nd and 23rd respectively. Troy Corser (3rd – 1’37.224 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Hot work today but it is going OK. We are trying some things on the bike and our lap times are comparable with the others, and we can still put in a tyre towards the end and go even faster. I’m feeling not to bad now and we are just fine-tuning the bike, working around our base setting. Even this morning, right out of the box, the bike felt pretty good. It’s well bumpy out there, especially off the back straight. They have resurfaced some of it but there is less grip in those places also. The entry to the last corner is also very bumpy on the braking entry. The track is short and pretty intense in general and you have to work in the corners, but I feel good about this weekend.” Noriyuki Haga (5th – 1’37.542 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “It’s pretty bumpy and that doesn’t make our set-up easy to find on the first day so we will continue to work on our suspension, concentration on bump-absorption. No problems really, just fine-tuning. Top five is OK today but we will try some more tyres once we have dealt with the bumps. The new track layout in a couple of places is OK, but for me not so much has changed compared to last year.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “We are in a good position in the first day, both close to the top, and we are much better on the first day than we were at the start of the season, fighting each time. We are already there. We must be positive about all of it and we have reached a base setting that works everywhere. Even the set-up of each rider is quite similar, despite having very different riding styles. It is strange but it works for both of them.”