Ducati’s Ben Bostrom and Troy Bayliss topped Superpole qualifying Saturday for today’s Superbike World Championship races at Kyalami, South Africa. Defending Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards was third-fastest in Superpole on a Honda, followed by Aprilia’s Troy Corser.

A Ducati press release from Kyalami quoted American Bostrom as saying “I am really pleased. This is my first Superpole and I hope it’ll be followed by a lot more this season. I saw Troy and Colin set excellent times and when it was my turn I was feeling really good. The bike has been perfect all weekend and so are my Dunlops. All I had to do was keep calm and set a fast time. I want to thank my team, who did a fantastic job. Tomorrow the races are going to be really entertaining.”

The Ducati release quoted Bayliss as saying “We had a few problems in all the sessions. “In the free practice session before Superpole we managed to resolve all our problems and finally find a good set-up and the right Michelins to set a good time. With race tires we’re okay, but doing a Superpole like the one I did today really puts you in the right frame of mind for the race.”


“I felt a slight vibration in the front brake” said Troy Corser, as quoted in an Aprilia press release following Superpole. “I was trying to brake as late as possible and this puts the brakes under stress. But we will be able to resolve the problem. In the Superpole warm-up I worked a lot on the choice of tires and I’ve got some good results for tomorrow. The races are going to be really tough and anyone on the front row can win.”


SUPERPOLE Results:
1. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 1:41.689
2. Troy Bayliss(Ducati) 1:41.918
3. Colin Edwards (Honda) 1:42.199
4. Troy Corser (Aprilia) 1:42.249
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 1:42.606
6. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1:42.789
7. Pierfrancesco Chili (Suzuki) 1:42.802
8. Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 1:43.011
9. Regis Laconi (Aprilia) 1:43.065
10. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) 1:43.143