2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Eurospeedway Lausitz, Germany September 8, 2007 Superpole Results (wet conditions): 1. Fonsi Nieto (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:50.681 2. Regis Laconi (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:54.559 3. Troy Bayliss (Duc 999F07), 1:55.196 4. Troy Corser (Yam YZF-R1), 1:55.360 5. Max Biaggi (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:56.746 6. Ruben Xaus (Duc 999F06), 1:57.271 7. James Toseland (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:57.384 8. Noriyuki Haga (Yam YZF-R1), 1:57.782 9. Max Neukirchner (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:58.528 10. Roberto Rolfo (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:59.127 11. Lorenzo Lanzi (Duc 999F07), 2:01.899 12. Michel Fabrizio (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.021 13. Martin Bauer (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.197 14. Karl Muggeridge (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.930 15. Shinichi Nakatomi (Yam YZF-R1), 2:05.278 16. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000K7), no time More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Racing: Nieto receives HANNspree gift for first-ever pole Fonsi Nieto secured his first-ever World Superbike pole position yesterday during an eventful wet Superpole session at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany. The Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse rider will be given a special gift from series sponsor HANNspree as a reward for his achievement. The innovative LCD TV manufacturer will present Nieto with a HANNSdribbling television – a 9.6″ screen set into a football-shaped surround constructed from hand-sewn genuine soccer leather. The Spanish rider will receive his gift from the HANNSgirls on the grid at the beginning of race one. HANNspree will also award a television to Sébastien Charpentier as the poleman for the World Supersport Championship race. The Frenchman will be awarded a HANNz.turtle television – a fun design with a 9.6″ screen in a soft and cuddly turtle-shaped surround. “Fonsi is celebrating his first-ever pole position and I am pleased that HANNspree can be involved in that celebration,” said President of HANNspree’s European operations Kevin Chang. “Sébastien has now secured 22 pole positions in his Supersport career, so again it is great to be able to reward him for that. I hope they both enjoy these fun and exciting HANNspree designs!” For more information on all HANNspree products, please visit www.hannspree.com. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) GRABS THIRD PLACE IN WET LAUSITZ SUPERPOLE Lausitz (Germany), Saturday 8 September : Troy Bayliss grabbed third place on the grid for tomorrow’s German Round of the World Superbike Championship in an exciting Superpole session held in poor weather conditions at the EuroSpeedway. Troy will start the two races from the front row behind surprise poleman Fonsi Nieto and Regis Laconi. Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi lines up on the third row of the grid in eleventh place. Everyone went out on slicks in the first four dry minutes of the session, but the only riders to complete a full lap before the rain fell were the Kawasaki duo. Bayliss stalled his 999 at the end of the pit-lane before setting off on his dry lap, which as a result he was unable to complete, but he then made up for it by being the quickest rider on rain tyres. “It was pretty hairy out there but the whole day’s been a little bit like that to tell the truth” declared Troy. “This afternoon in that session, with 50 minutes and 12 laps to do, for sure I would have been with Fonsi and Regis. I was ready to go right away but I forgot my earplugs and stalled right at the start so I missed that first opportunity to get out there. I honestly thought when it started raining that everyone had put a good lap in except for me and I was just waiting for Tardozzi to have a go at me when I came in! But only a couple of guys had set a good time and I was so lucky. Anyway I didn’t do that bad in the rain, it was dodgy for everybody. You had to stick your chin out to put a good lap in and then towards the end of the session it got even worse. Hopefully it’ll be a bit nicer tomorrow but I’m feeling comfortable with the rain and in the dry so we’re looking forward to having a good day tomorrow”. “It’s a pity that my bike wasn’t ready with the slick tyres at the start of the session because I would have gone out right away just like all the other guys” commented Lorenzo. “Afterwards I tried to do the laps in the wet but on this track it’s very difficult because it’s so slippery, you can hardly stay upright and you can see that by the amount of crashes there have been this weekend. Tomorrow’s races will be a bit of an unknown factor, especially because of the uncertain weather conditions, but we’ve worked well throughout the weekend and I’m in a good situation both for the dry and for the wet. The races, at 24 laps, will be long, I’ll have to get a good start and try my hardest to get the best possible results”. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: THE RAIN HAS SPOILT EVERYTHING IN GERMANY (Eurospeedway 2007, September 8) Cold temperature, an incessant rain, the track flooded and very slippery did torment during all the day the SBK Circus at Eurospeedway, making useless today’s qualifying, as it was absolutely impossible to increase the qualifying time recorded yesterday. The grid position of Jakub Smrz in Superbike and Gianluca Nannelli in Supersport did remain unchanged and the Scuderia SC Caracchi riders will start quite backwards from the starting grid. Today’s practice sessions has been useful just to set the machine in the eventuality, very likely to come following the weather forecast, of a wet race tomorrow. “Today it would be better to remain in the bed!” commented a very angry Gianluca Nannelli at the end of practices. “It was a true miracle to stand up, we suffered acquaplaning in the straight too. It’s obvious that in such conditions we couldn’t test nothing, and so we remain in the back of the grid. The only consolation is that in such condition in the final qualifying session we recorded the sixth fastest; that give us some hope for a wet race tomorrow. We set the spare bike for wet condition, the other bike hasn’t been used because set for dry. But anyway it would be a difficult race, because to start from the back means to ride dipped in the water cloud raised by the leaders, losing a lot of time in the first stages of the race. More with the continuous skids that the wet track causes, the injured leg of Silverstone after a few laps starts to be painful. The team made a big work during all the night to find a solution of yesterday’s troubles, but unfortunately we couldn’t have a good check of our job.” Jakub Smrz in Superbike will start from the fifth row after that in the ultra-wet qualifying of this morning he recorded the eleventh fastest. “The problems of yesterday and the bad weather of this morning did ruined all our work.” said Jakub Smrz “Unfortunately I shall start from the fifth row thanks yesterday’s lap time. Today the bike, with a new engine, did perform well, but wet practices are always a lottery because you never know how other riders are pushing. For tomorrow the weather forecast says rain once more, I hope that today’s set up will run well, I could only push at my best. Unlucky we have to wait tomorrow’s warm up session to define the final setting, and with just twenty minutes at our disposition it’s not easy.” More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Nakatomi 15th On a wet and cold track, Shinichi Nakatomi qualified in 15th position, while the two top spots were for the Kawasakis of Fonsi Nieto and Régis Laconi. During a wet Superpole (12 laps during 50 minutes), the Kawasakis did a great job, finishing first and second, in front of Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Troy Corser (Yamaha). Nakatomi did his best to be ready for the races tomorrow. Shinichi Nakatomi: “My feeling was not so good because of the surface. It was very slippery. Today, my feeling was better than yesterday. My lap times were not that fast. I hope the weather will be good on Sunday. I shall do my best to have good results in the races.” More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Racing: BIAGGI ON LAUSITZ SECOND ROW September 8, 2007 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi will start tomorrow’s pair of Superbike World Championship races from the second row of the grid after qualifying fifth quickest in a ‘Wet Superpole’ session at Eurospeedway Lausitz. In the afternoon untimed practice it looked as if the track was drying out from the earlier rain, but 10 minutes before the start of Superpole it began to drizzle and so a ‘Wet Superpole’ was called: That meant all 16 Superpole competitors had 50 minutes in which to complete a maximum of 12 laps to determine the grid positions. Biaggi’s mechanics were making some suspension adjustments to his bike and he was unable to go out when the Superpole session started and so lost the opportunity to go out on track that was mostly dry and post a quick time before the conditions worsened. By the time he went out the track was quite wet and he couldn’t match the times of the riders who had posted their quick laps right at the beginning. Team mate Yukio Kagayama sat out most of Superpole and did not record a time because of a sore hand and will start form the fourth row of the grid. Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki) took advantage of the best conditions at the start of the session and set the fastest time with team mate Regis Laconi second, Troy Bayliss (Ducati) third and Troy Corser (Yamaha) fourth. Max Biaggi – 5th, 1:56.746: “I couldn’t go out at the start of the Wet Superpole because my team was doing some suspension changes on my bike after the untimed session and the bike wasn’t ready, so I missed out on making a lap or two when the conditions were not so bad. By the time I went out, the track was pretty wet and slippery. This place is a bit strange because there is a big variation in grip, maybe because of the rubber put down by cars. You have to really concentrate in every turn or you will crash. We didn’t have much time to find a perfect set-up when it was dry but we’re not far off so I hope that the races will be dry. I am comfortable in the wet, so that will not be a big problem either, but I think everybody would prefer it to be dry tomorrow.” Yukio Kagayama – 16th, No time: “When I crashed this morning I hurt my hand and when Superpole was declared wet there was no point risking any further injury, so I did not post a lap time. I will go the Clinica Mobile and see if they can do something to improve it, but at the moment it is quite painful. I intend racing tomorrow but I will have to see how it is the morning.” Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Nieto (E- Kawasaki) 1:50.681, 2 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 1:54.559, 3 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:55.196, 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:55.360, 5 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:56.746, 6 Xaus (E-Ducati). 16 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) – No time. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon clocked the fourth quickest time in qualifying and will start tomorrow’s Superstock 1000 race from the front row of the grid. Because of today’s damp conditions, all the lap times to determine the grid were taken from yesterday’s qualifying session, which meant Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) is on pole position with Claudio Corti (Yamaha) second and Didier Van Keymeulen (Yamaha) third. Xavier Simeon – 4th, 1:42.510: “I am happy because I was able to ride my bike today without any big problems from my ankle, which I hurt yesterday. The strapping I wore overnight helped a lot and I had a support on it today as well but really it was no problem. In the morning we had some suspension problems and I couldn’t go fast, but in the afternoon we softened the suspension and the bike was much better. I think my bike now has a good set-up for both dry and wet and I feel confident that I can make a good result.” Final Superstock 1000 Qualifying: 1 Canepa (I-Ducati) 1:41.645, 2 Corti (I-Yamaha) 1:41.909, 3 Van Keymeulen (B-Yamaha) 1:42.047, 4 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:42.501, 5 Dionisi (I-Suzuki) 1:42.672, 6 Badovini (I-MV) 1:42.704. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: QUALIFYING 2 REPORT – 08/09/2007 Yamaha Slide onto the Front Row in Germany Today’s World Superbike qualifying sessions were all about the weather as rain, standing water and excess rubber on the track turned the EuroSpeedway circuit into a slippery customer. But Corser and Haga persevered and were rewarded with fourth and eighth qualifying positions respectively. This morning’s final qualifying session was declared wet and unfortunately 11 riders fell foul of the track conditions during the hour. Corser, Haga and Nakatomi were all victims during the session but without injury. Corser and Haga both re-joined the session but Nakatomi sat the remainder out. With lap times 20 seconds slower than yesterday there was no change to the rider order from the first qualifying session. Superpole was confirmed as a wet session meaning that, instead of the usual single flying lap, the top 16 riders had a 50 minute session and a maximum of only 12 laps in which to post their fastest time. Although the session was declared wet there were dry patches on the track, making set-up choice challenging for everyone. Corser went straight out at the start on his dry set-up hoping to make the most of the drying track but the rain started again, forcing him back to the pit box for a change of tyres. Haga was forced to go out on his second bike following a late crash in free practice just before Superpole and he struggled during the session due to a knee injury he picked up in the crash. Corser will start tomorrow in fourth while Haga starts in eighth. Shinichi Nakatomi will start his 40th race in 15th position tomorrow after a good Superpole session. Following his crash in this morning’s qualifying, the Team Yamaha YZF rider was in 16th but managed to improve by one place in Superpole. Corser will start his 270th WSB race tomorrow on the front row accompanied by Nieto, Laconi and Bayliss. With rain forecast for the rest of the weekend all eyes will be on the weather reports tomorrow morning. Troy Corser (4th – 1’55.360 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today has been challenging to say the least! It was unfortunate that the weather deteriorated during Superpole as we had to change the bike settings mid-session which cost time and effort. The track is very slippery, more than it should be when it’s wet, and it’s not consistently slippery. You just can’t push it because there are patches in weird places caused by all the car tyre rubber that’s still down on track. It’s not so bad in practice but in the race it could prove dangerous; if someone comes off the bike’s likely to take everyone else out like skittles. I feel that more should’ve been done to remove the car rubber; they should’ve been ready for the rain.” Noriyuki Haga (8th – 1’57.782 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I’m sore after two crashes today; the second was the worst and I’ve hurt the inside of my left knee. My biggest concern today though, is that I haven’t found the right rear tyre for the wet. I tried three and none of them are right. Every other aspect of the set-up can be fine but without the right rear tyre it is useless; it puts more pressure on the front which you just can’t do in these conditions without crashing. There’s also lots of rubber on the track making it even more difficult.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “It has been so wet today and we’ve taken a lot of damage. We weren’t ready to start when the green light went for the Superpole session when it was dry and then the rain came just as we went out, which is why we missed pole. The front row for Troy is good though, and Nori doesn’t usually have a problem making up places from the second so I’m not concerned for him. It all depends on the weather now; dry weather would mean better racing for everyone but we are unlikely to see that.” Shinichi Nakatomi (15th – 2’05.278 – Team Yamaha YZF) “I don’t like the rain so today has not been good for me! But I am pleased to qualify in 15th here in such bad conditions. The bike is set-up well and I hope tomorrow is drier.” Superpole Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 1’50.681 2, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1’54.559 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1’55.196 4, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1’55.360 5, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 1’56.746 6, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 1’57.271 7, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 1’57.384 8, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1’57.782 9, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1’58.528 10, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 1’59.127 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 2’1.899 12, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 2’2.021 13, Martin Bauer, Honda, AUT, 2’2.197 14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 2’2.930 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 2’5.278 Qualifying 2 Pos., Rider, Nat., QUAL I, QUAL II 1, Troy Bayliss, AUS, 1’38.569, 2’0.617 2, Troy Corser, AUS, 1’38.780, 2’2.126 3, Yukio Kagayama, JPN, 1’38.980, 2’8.734 4, Noriyuki Haga, JPN, 1’39.011, 2’3.102 5, James Toseland, GBR, 1’39.086, 2’2.915 6, Ruben Xaus, ESP, 1’39.127, n/a 7, Max Biaggi, ITA, 1’39.433, 2’0.206 8, Michel Fabrizio, ITA, 1’39.487, 2’8.257 9, Karl Muggeridge, AUS, 1’39.525, n/a 10, Lorenzo Lanzi, ITA, 1’39.639, 2’4.755 11, Fonsi Nieto, ESP, 1’39.767, n/a 12, Max Neukirchner, GER, 1’39.828, 2’1.810 13, Regis Laconi, FRA, 1’40.077, 2’1.730 14, Roberto Rolfo, ITA, 1’40.094, 1’58.229 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, JPN, 1’40.745, 2’14.758 16, Martin Bauer, AUT, 1’40.934, 2’10.440 17, Jakub Smrz, CZE, 1’41.369, 2’4.797 18, Steve Martin, AUS, 1’41.464, n/a 19, Yoann Tiberio, FRA, 1’42.068, n/a 20, Luca Morelli, ITA, 1’42.807, 2’2.755 21, Jiri Drazdak, CZE, 1’42.950, 2’13.684 22, Dean Ellison, GBR, 1’45.138, n/a QUALIFYING 2 REPORT – 08/09/2007 Yamaha Confirm Third and Seventh Qualifying Positions What should have been another normal day of qualifying today was marred from the outset by bad weather conditions. Constant rain since last night had turned the track into an ice-skating rink for this morning’s free practice and resulted in 16 riders crashing or running into the gravel during the 45 minute session and times 40 seconds slower than yesterday. Tommy Hill and Broc Parkes waited until the 30 minute mark to make their entrance onto the track in the hope of being able to find a good wet set-up. Even though the track was slippery both riders made good progress on their settings, before focusing on the important job of qualifying. With the rain letting up during lunch and the sun even making a brief appearance, the afternoon qualifying session was declared dry. But with wet patches still evident around the circuit, lap times were still around 20 seconds off the pace and there was no change in qualifying positions from yesterday. Parkes will start tomorrow on the front row in third while Hill will start in seventh. Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli was unable to improve on his best position of 17th following a day of set-up issues yesterday. Parkes is joined on the front row tomorrow by Charpentier in pole, Sofuoglu in second and Fujiwara in fourth. Broc Parkes (3rd – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I spent this morning sorting out a wet set-up for tomorrow because it’s likely to rain. I was hoping for a totally wet session this afternoon but it wasn’t wet and it wasn’t dry either. But I’m happy to have kept it upright today! I’m confident we’ve got the right set-up whether it’s wet or dry tomorrow and I’m pleased that I was able to get a good front row position yesterday because there was no chance of improving on times today. Today has really been about focusing on settings rather than grid positions.” Tommy Hill (7th – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I’m happy with what I’ve managed to achieve today despite the weather; being third in both sessions as well as getting a good set-up. It’s not been ideal conditions today, especially as I’m new to the circuit. This intermittent rain is not good for either wet or dry set-up work but I’m pleased we had a good base setting to start from. I would’ve liked to have got a long dry run in today but at least I got some dry time yesterday and wet time today so now I feel ready for either eventuality tomorrow. The weather will be the deciding factor on tyres and settings for tomorrow and I’m kind of used to it, given that I ride in British Superbike!” Massimo Roccoli (17th – Yamaha Team Italia) “Due to the unpredictable weather it was very difficult to find the right set-up for the differing conditions. But in any case the bike is okay and we’ll see what happens about the weather. The main problem is my starting grid position but I’ll try to fix it with a good start.” Qualifying 2 Pos., Rider, Nat., QUAL I, QUAL II 1, Sebastien Charpentier, FRA, 1’41.366, 2’2.517 2, Kenan Sofuoglu, TUR, 1’41.837, 1’59.103 3, Broc Parkes, AUS, 1’41.994, 2’3.377 4, Katsuaki Fujiwara, JPN, 1’42.280, n/a 5, Matthieu Lagrive, FRA, 1’42.534, n/a 6, Vesa Kallio, FIN, 1’43.160, 2’2.520 7, Tommy Hill, GBR, 1’43.215, 1’59.499 8, David Checa, ESP, 1’43.272, 1’59.738 9, Joan Lascorz, ESP, 1’43.282, n/a 10, Sebastien Gimbert, FRA, 1’43.340, 2’0.770 11, Simone Sanna, ITA, 1’43.461, 2’2.345 12, Pere Riba, ESP, 1’43.523, n/a 13, Joshua Brookes, AUS, 1’43.586, n/a 14, Barry Veneman, NED, 1’43.639, 2’0.210 15, Craig Jones, GBR, 1’43.683, 2’0.470 16, Gianluca Vizziello, ITA, 1’43.774, 2’0.020 17, Massimo Roccoli, ITA, 1’43.775, 2’2.637 18, Fabien Foret, FRA, 1’43.780, n/a 19, Robbin Harms, DNK, 1’43.785, n/a 20, Vladimir Ivanov, RUS, 1’43.885, 2’3.023 21, Gianluca Nannelli, ITA, 1’43.936, 2’0.166 22, Lorenzo Alfonsi, ITA, 1’44.142, n/a 23, Gilles Boccolini, ITA, 1’44.159, n/a 24, Mauro Sanchini, ITA, 1’44.297, 1’58.692 25, Gregory Leblanc, FRA, 1’44.340, n/a 26, Stefan Nebel, GER, 1’44.434, n/a 27, Julien Enjolras, FRA, 1’44.530, n/a 28, David Salom, ESP, 1’44.756, 2’0.235 29, Arturo Tizon, ESP, 1’45.022, 2’0.354 30, Rigo Richter, GER, 1’45.078, n/a 31, Nicklas Cajback, SWE, n/a, 2’1.948