FIM Supersport World Championship Imola, Italy September 29, 2006 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), 1:52.842 2. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 1:53.081 3. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.728 4. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 1:53.790 5. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:53.902 6. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.202 7. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.250 8. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.355 9. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.521 10. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.718 11. Stephane CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:54.891 12. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.993 13. Christian ZAISER (Duc 749R), 1:55.186 14. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.330 15. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.402 16. William DE ANGELIS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.435 17. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:55.591 18. Mauro SANCHINI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.750 19. Stefano CRUCIANI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.802 20. Maxime BERGER (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:55.964 26. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.832 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER AND SOFULOFLU GO 1-2 ON OPENING DAY Despite suffering a crash in the middle of the first qualifying session of the Imola weekend Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) took a stunning provisional pole time of 1’52.842, almost a second faster than his championship rival Kevin Curtain, and only close to being matched by Charpentier’s on-form team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda), who finished his first day of Imola Supersport action second quickest. After his fall Charpentier had to jump on his second machine to set his very best time, at a new layout of Imola circuit, deposing Sofuoglu from provisional pole spot in the process. Sofuoglu has been the winner of the most recent two races in the championship, at Assen and Lausitz, and hopes to score at least a podium at Imola after his impressive opening day. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “The best possible start to the weekend and we know from the evidence of the last few years that this is a good track for us around here. The riders have done an almost perfect job for us today, putting in incredible lap times. The track has slowed down a bit but we can see almost the same times as we set before. That is impressive. We had a small problem when Sebastien had a crash on his number one machine. That upset things a bit because we had to swap to his second machine and that cost us time, because the set-up was quite different to start with. But he still set his best time on his number two bike. For Kenan it looked like he would top the sheets until Sebastien had his final say. We are happy, especially because being almost a second ahead of the field now means we can concentrate quite a bit on just racing set-up, instead of chasing a single fast lap. All we can do at the moment is win as many races as we can and see what the championship will bring.” Sebastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Pole position Fastest lap 1’52.842 12 laps) “I feel good at the moment, I just made a small mistake. I crashed on a slow corner, losing the front, nothing special. I am happy to be here because I like the country we are in, and the track. For me it is the best track for a motorcycle rider. I’ll be working hard tomorrow again, we will maybe try a different set-up to find a better one, and I am really confident for the rest of the weekend.” Kenan Sofuoglu Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (2nd position Fastest lap 1’53.081 15 laps) “It’s OK so far because I came here for the first time on the 600 and I like the track. My lap times are good and quite close to Sebastien and I’m sure I can improve tomorrow, and maybe even take the pole. I will give most of my concentration to the race, because I want to be really strong there. It’s good to be fast now but I have to keep it until Sunday, as I really want a podium finish here.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Curtain third in first practice Championship leader Kevin Curtain prepared for Sunday’s penultimate supersport round by setting the third fastest time in today’s first qualifying session at Imola. The Australian set a best time of 1:53.728 around the famous Italian circuit to claim a spot on the provisional front row alongside title rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) and last year’s Imola winner Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati). With two rounds of the series remaining it will be either Curtain or 2005 champ Charpentier who will be crowned king of the 600 class, with Yamaha Motor Germany man Curtain holding a 27 point advantage going into this weekend’s race. Yamaha Team Italia’s Gianluca Vizziello, winner of the Italian championship race held at Imola last weekend, was sixth fastest, with team-mate Massimo Roccoli, who was last week crowned as his national supersport champion, tenth after taking a tumble during the session. Curtain’s team-mate Broc Parkes made a welcome return from injury to take 12th place on the provisional grid. The Australian missed the last round after breaking ribs and punturing a lung in Assen but is ready to race in Imola, albeit not at 100 percent fitness. Final qualifying for Sunday’s race takes place tomorrow (Saturday).