PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA FOR MUGGERIDGE AND VERMEULEN Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen set the fifth and sixth fastest times in this afternoon’s opening qualifying action for round two of the World Superbike championship at Phillip Island. Enjoying the support of family and friends, the two Australian riders continued to improve their lap times on the Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fellow Aussie, Troy Corser, grabbed provisional pole position for Sunday’s two 22-lap races around the fast and undulating 4.4km Phillip Island circuit but both team and riders are confident of further progress in tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “I’m extremely happy with the steps forward we have made here today, even though we are a little further back on lap times than we would want to be. We have a lot of work to do on the bikes tonight but we have found the direction we need to go in to close the gap tomorrow. Every single lap at Phillip Island is important to the riders because it is such a fast and technical circuit. Unlike some other teams, we didn’t test here before the season started so Karl and Chris are having to use each lap to become familiar with its characteristics once more.” Karl Muggeridge fifth fastest, 1:34.364: “My first lap here on a superbike this morning was really funny! I came down the start-finish straight thinking: ‘When is this thing going to stop accelerating?’ It was kind of mad and makes the 600 feel like you could make a cup of tea going down the straight. The power lifts the front wheel as you go over the crest and then the wind wants to send it sideways, so it’s kind of interesting! The bike’s great but we’ve worked on two different fork settings today and I’m looking for something between the two; so we’ll aim for that tomorrow.” Chris Vermeulen sixth fastest, 1:34.405: “It’s so fast at Phillip Island and I haven’t ridden here for a year so you have to spend a while reminding yourself just how quick you can go. You think you’re at the edge and then find that there’s still more there. We came with a range of suspension settings: from Phillip Island last year, the first race at Qatar and the test at Valencia. We’re definitely going in the right direction but I didn’t really make the most of the grip from the qualifying tyre today. But I put in some consistent quick laps on a race tyre so I’m pretty happy with that.” World Superbike, Phillip Island provisional qualifying times: 1 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 1:33.191, 2 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki) 1:33.787, 3 Regis Laconi FRA (Ducati) 1:34.084, 4 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) 1:34.094, 5 Karl Muggeridge AUD (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:34.364, 6 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:34.405, 7 Garry McCoy AUS (Petronas) 1:34.491, 8 Steve Martin AUS (Petronas) 1:34.499, 9 Mauro Sanchini ITA (Kawasaki) 1:34.676, 10 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA (Honda) 1:34.775. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: GLORIOUS WEATHER FOR OPENING DAY OF PHILLIP ISLAND QUALIFYING Phillip Island 1st April – Round Two Begins: With temperatures nudging 30°C and a stiff breeze from the landward side, the 29 riders present at Phillip Island found the first day of track action a challenge on several levels. The leading lights from the opening Qatar round, Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama, went 1-2 on the early leader board, after the usual final flurry of attempts to be the overnight leader. With Kagayama leading the series, and Corser just behind, it is currently shaping up to be another good round for the Suzuki pairing. Corser’s best lap of 1:33.191 was fully 0.596 seconds faster than his team-mate, and only the top four where within one second of the 1996 World Champion. Regis Continues Good Form: 2004 season runner up, Regis Laconi (Xerox Ducati 999F05) secured third place on day one, underlining his current form as the fastest Ducati rider around. His team-mate, James Toseland, has struggled in his bid to make a fast single lap of qualifying thus far, thus he is languishing in 15th place. He is more competitive on race tyres, rather than the qualifiers most riders adopted in the final stages. Toseland even led the times at one point of the first qualifying hour, as did Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10R) Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia R1) and Steve Martin (Petronas FP-1), before Corser hit the top and stayed there to the end. Aussie Home Rules: A solid entry of Australian riders gave the top of the time sheets a top-heavy local feel. Corser was the lead rider in that regard, but he is joined on the provisional front row by fourth place rider Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia). From fifth to eight, the second provisional row of qualifying is an unbroken wall of Aussie talent, with Winston Ten Kate Honda riders Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen fifth and sixth – SBK rookie Muggeridge 1.173 seconds behind Corser. An outstandingly competitive showing by the Petronas pairing of Garry McCoy and Steve Martin has them seventh and eighth after one day. Sanchini Leads Kawasaki Charge: Despite Chris Walker’s early good showings he was to be upstaged by the late run of his PSG-1 Kawasaki team-mate Mauro Sanchini, who scored ninth fastest time with a 1:34.676. Walker ended day one 14th, as the last laps witnessed many a rider make a personal best on a qualifying tyre. Experience Shows: Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) took the last top ten time, heading off the Yamaha Motor France pairing of Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert. Although not quite up to the standard of his first Qatar qualifying sessions, Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Sterilgarda Extreme) was 13th, ahead of both Walker and Toseland. The last of the top 16 riders proved to be an Italian rider in an Italian squad, Giovanni Bussei (Bertocchi Kawasaki). Top Riders In Middle Places: Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda KOJI) battled against a still not 100% race ready machine to record 19th fastest time, not helped by a technical problem at one stage. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) struggled hard to record his 20th place finish, fully 2.5 seconds behind Corser. The Scuderia Caracchi Ducati squad of Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto were toiling under the strain of day one pressure, recording times only good enough for 22nd and 29th respectively. Lone wildcard rider Andrew Stroud to his Suzuki to 26th place, with stand in for Alessandro Velini (Pedercini Ducati) proving to be Alessio Corradi, a rider who is still recovering from injury. Supersport: Winston Ten Kate Honda pilot Sebastien Charpentier started his Phillip Island qualifying campaign the way he left his pre-race Qatar preparation in a dominant top slot. His lap time of 1:35.999 outpaced his closest challenger, Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda) by 0.328, with the top Yamaha runner Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) almost one second off Charpentier’s best. Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda) and Qatar race winner Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate Honda) sit fourth and fifth respectively, with Swedish rider Johan Stigefelt (Stiggy Motorsports) sixth on his Honda. On Saturday 2 April the final qualifying sessions for Superbike and Supersport take place, with Superpole on the Superbike class following on at 4pm local time. On Sunday 3rd, two 22-lap SBK rounds sandwich a 21-lap Supersport outing. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: RECORD TOP SPEED OF 316 KM/H FOR DUCATI XEROX RIDERS AT PHILLIP ISLAND: LACONI THIRD AS TOSELAND FOCUSES ON RACE SET-UP Phillip Island (Australia), Friday 1 April: Régis Laconi turned in the third quickest time in today’s opening qualifying session for the second round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island as his team-mate James Toseland concentrated on gaining a good set-up for Sunday’s two races. Both Ducati Xerox Team riders showed blistering speed on their factory 999 machines today, Laconi establishing an outright WSBK championship record of 316 km/h around the spectacular 4.4 km island track in the morning, a top speed that was equalled later in the day by Toseland. Despite running a fever throughout the day, the 29 year-old Frenchman’s time of 1:34.084 put him on the provisional front row of the grid behind the two Suzukis of Aussie Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama from Japan but a fraction in front of a clutch of five more Australian riders on their home circuit. “I am quite pleased with what we did today, we got through a lot of work” declared Laconi. “I did a lot of laps but I have no more strength left in me because I’ve had a high temperature since this morning. Nothing to worry about however because I don’t feel sick. Our 999 bikes are going really quick here but we know that in top speed we are second to no one. Still a few more things to do to get the bike the way I like it but I’m sure we’ll make further progress tomorrow. At the end I put on a qualifying tyre, just to be on the safe side because you never know what the weather will be like tomorrow. We didn’t come testing here this winter and the bike is very different from last year’s so we virtually have to start from scratch. I really love this track, I might not be Australian but let’s just pretend that I am, OK?”. Toseland was the only top rider not to fit a qualifying tyre at the end of the session and ended up fifteenth quickest, but the reigning champion was not too concerned, having preferred to focus on his set-up for Sunday’s two races. “It looks worse than it is because on race tyres we are in the top 3!” he joked. “We haven’t used a qualifier, everyone else in front of me did so I’m feeling pretty good. I just stayed out there on a race tyre and put the work in. Around here you’ve got to know what the bike is going to do underneath you, and I remember from previous years that qualifying is one thing but the last six laps are another. I’ve worked hard today, I put a lot of laps together and my consistency is really good so I am happy. Ignore the timesheet, we can put a qualifier in at any time tomorrow and beat those times. I’m feeling good, every time I cross the line, I’m pleasantly surprised with the times I’m doing”. TIMES: 1. Corser (Suzuki) 1m33.191s; 2. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m33.787s; 3. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1m34.084; 4. Pitt (Yamaha) 1m34.094s; 5. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m34.364s; 6. Vermeulen (Honda) 1m34.405s; 7. McCoy (Petronas) 1m34.491s; 8. Martin (Petronas) 1m34.499s “¦ 15. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m35.344s. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama grabbed first and second places in the first day of qualifying for Sunday’s World Superbike Championship second round at Phillip Island, Australia. Corser was in superb form and blitzed his way round the 4.45 km circuit with a time of 1:33.19, almost six-tenths-of-a-second faster than Kagayama. Third quickest was Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati) with Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) just behind. Current World Champion James Toseland (Ducati) had a disappointing opening day and could only manage the fifteenth quickest time. Troy Corser – 1st, 1:33.191: “I knew my quick lap would be good, but I didn’t expect it to be as fast as it was. I was sort of expecting somewhere in the mid 1:33s, but 1:33.191 came as a bit of a surprise – especially as I wasn’t really pushing very hard. We had a bit of clutch problem this morning, but that was fixed and it’s been ok ever since. The wind was a bit of a problem this morning, but in the afternoon it was more consistent. “Today, each time I went a bit quicker all the other riders seemed to improve as well. I didn’t want to go any faster today – I’ll keep that for tomorrow. The GSX-R1000 is working really well and I’m having fun riding it. The bike is good enough to win a championship, so it’s up to me and Yukio to try and do that.” Yukio Kagayama – 2nd, 1:33.787: “I’m very happy today and I want to thank all my team for giving me a good bike to work with. We still have some work to do though because I would like to improve the bike some more. At the moment I think we can improve the handling and the way it goes though the turns, so tomorrow we will make some small suspension adjustments and see if we can make it better. “I had some problems with the wind this morning, but it was not so much of a problem in the afternoon and that was when I think we all improved our lap times. Troy-san knows his way round here very well but I aim to chase him all the way round to the flag on race day.” Friday World Superbike Qualifying: 1 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.191, 2 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.787, 3 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1:34.084, 4 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:34.094, 5 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:34.364, 6 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:34.405, 7 McCoy (Aus-Petronas FP1) 1:34.491, 8 Martin (Aus-Petronas FP1) 1:34.499, 9 Sanchini (I-Kawasaki) 1:34.676, 10 Chili (I-Honda) 1:34.775. WORLD SUPERSPORT QUALIFYING: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fores struggled with sickness today and could only manage the12th fastest time in first qualifying. The Spanish rider decided to get on his GSX-R600 so that he could start to learn his way round the challenging circuit, but in the afternoon, he was so unwell he was physically sick in his helmet. Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) topped the standings with a time of 1:35.999, three tenths of a second ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Honda). Third fastest was Aussie Kevin Curtain (Yamaha), with Fabien Foret (Honda) fourth. Javi Fores – 12th, 1:38.922: “I felt rough this morning and really didn’t feel much better later in the day. Phillip Island is a very hard track when you are 100%, so I found it very tough out there today. I suppose that 12th today is not so bad for my first time here, but realistically I must make a big improvement tomorrow. My first target will be a 1:37 lap and we will see how we will go from there. I hope I feel better tomorrow so I can attack this track much harder. It is a great track, so I really want to ride it well.” Friday World Supersport Qualifying: 1 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1:35.999, 2 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:36.327, 3 Curtain (Aus-Y amaha) 1:36.932, 4 Foret (F-Honda) 1:37.075, 5 Fujiwara (J-Honda) 1:37.177, 6 Stigefelt (S-Honda) 1:37.912. 12 Javi Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:38.922. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Local hero Andrew Pitt gave his home fans something to cheer today, placing his Yamaha Motor Italia YZF-R1 fourth in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s round two of the Superbike World Championship at the Phillip Island circuit. The 29-year-old from New South Wales, fifth in the championship after the first round, started the session using settings gained during January’s three-day test at the Australian venue. Warm and sunny conditions, combined with a strong tailwind down the long main straight, led to fast times and high top speeds in the opening session, allowing Pitt to post a number of consistent laps in the 1’36 bracket while working his way methodically through a number of set-up changes to improve the set-up of his R1. Pitt fitted qualifying tyres in the closing stages of the session to post a best of 1’34.094, less than a second behind provisional polesitter Troy Corser (Suzuki). Yamaha Motor France’s Norick Abe found himself as high as second on the timesheets, before a late charge by his rivals saw him shuffled back down to 11th at the end of the session. The hard working Japanese once again racked up more mileage than his rivals, completing 24 laps of the 4.5km circuit with a best of 1’34.775, despite feeling the effects of a fever which left him short of energy. Abe’s team-mate Sébastien Gimbert steadily improved his pace throughout the weekend, to finish just behind, in 13th place with a best of 1’35.178. However, Pitt’s team-mate Noriyuki Haga however found himself in an uncharacteristically low 20th place on the grid after suffering from chatter problems. The Japanese ace will need to improve by at least four places in tomorrow morning’s second session to qualify for the superpole session. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We got through a lot of work today, comparing the changes we’ve made with the bike to the data we got from our test here earlier in the year and eliminating a few little problems we had there. We’ve found the best front tyre to use in the race and we’ve got the rear down to a choice of two, so that’s obviously important for Sunday. Sure, I’d like to have gone a little quicker but that time should get us into superpole and we have some improvement still to make.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) “I have had a very bad fever this week so I was not feeling so good today. My time was quite good but it is normal that the other riders come out and do a fast lap on a qualifier late on. But overall my feeling is ok in the conditions. I will go to my hotel early and get some rest, so hopefully I will be able to give some more tomorrow.” Sébastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) “This is our first time here with the R1 so there was no need to ride crazily today. I am happy because we have found some good settings. Tomorrow we can work on making some more improvements and going for some faster lap times.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “Today, yes, what can I say? We have a very bad chatter problem and this means I cannot push like I want to. We are working with the Ohlins technician to look to solve the problem. We will improve things tomorrow and that will make our lap times better.” Massimo Meregalli (Team coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia) “Andrew has done a good job here at his home circuit. I could see that he is very motivated to do well here this weekend and this is also motivating for the whole team. Hopefully we can continue to make good progress tomorrow and give him the best chance of a good result. For Noriyuki, he likes this circuit and I am sure that when he solves this problem he will be back at the front.” Round: 2 – Phillip Island Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1′ 33.019 (Troy Corser, 2001) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 32.193 (Troy Corser, 2001) Date: 1 April 2005 Temp: 42ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1′ 33.191 2 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1′ 33.787 3 R. Laconi Ducati FRA 1′ 34.084 4 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1′ 34.094 5 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1′ 34.364 6 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 1′ 34.405 7 G. McCoy Petronas AUS 1′ 34.491 8 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1′ 34.499 9 M. Sanchini Kawasaki ITA 1′ 34.676 10 P. Chili Honda ITA 1′ 34.775 11 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1′ 34.960 12 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1′ 35.178 13 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP 1′ 35.237 14 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1′ 35.282 15 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1′ 35.344 16 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA 1′ 35.381 20 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1′ 35.715 21 L. Alfonsi Yamaha ITA 1′ 35.787 23 M. Borciani Yamaha ITA 1′ 36.130 24 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1′ 36.556 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: On the Australian circuit of Phillip Island practices have not started at the best for Scuderia SC Caracchi riders, with a strong wind which hindered the setting operations as well lighted the temperature of a splendid end of summer day, with 32°C of the air and 42°C on the track. The 999RS Ducatis of Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto are, at the moment, out of the group of riders allowed to run the Superpole session. Better made the Supersport, with the 749R Ducati 749R ridden by Gianluca Nannelli in 9th position after a first free practice session spent to look for the best set up for the quick and technical Australian track. “It has been a strange day, with good moments as well with other less happy.” – has been the final comment of Gianluca Nannelli. “We made a great work with the team looking for a good set up, first of all in the rear, and I believe that we found a good result. But both during the free practice in the morning and during the afternoon qualifying the bike had a technical trouble hich forced me to stop before the session’s end. So i haven’t the possibility to earn some position in the grid. Now we are investigating to understand what happened and remove the trouble. The bike is very fast, we recorded the second quickest top speed and I feel that we could be faster and faster and earn a better starting grid position. I like this track and I’m confident to record a better lap time.” Less tranquillity in Superbike crews, where Lorenzo Lanzi suffered the same problems he got in Valencia during the last test session, increased by the stong wind which distorted the rider’s sensibility to evalue the different setting to test. Lanzi recorded so only the 22nd qualifying fastest. “The machine is always in the group of the faster bikes”. – said at the end of the practices Lorenzo Lanzi, disappointed for the final result. “The situation is quite the same as in Valencia, I have any feeling, as well during the afternoon session I increased my performance. We have also to take into consideration that we worked only with race tyres and, until the moment that everyone set the soft tyres we were in 10th – 12th position. We decided to work only with race tyres because, with only two tyrs available for the week end, we preferred to spare them for tomorrow, hoping to get a small advantage looking the other rider who used soft tyre today. Actually it’s a pity my feeling’s missing, first of all on this track that I love. With Maurizio Perlini we are working for a solution and tomorrow I’m confident to increase my position in the grid.” Really nervous Fonsi Nieto who went out in the gravel during the qualifying session, damaging the better machine and forced to stop for long time in the garage, ending early the qualifying session. “Unfortunately I went out in a corner, in the gravel.” – said Fonsi Nieto after the practices. “I didn’t crash, but something entered the engine installed on the better machine and I must join the pit. In the morning free practice, as well I rode just to set the bike, I was quite satisfied. Then I lost a lot of precious time joining the pit and setting the spare bike, so I’ve been not able to score a better result, while my main problem is just that I need to practice and practice with this bike. Now we must be totally focused in the tomorrow’s final qualifying.”