FIM Superbike World Championship Brno, Czech Republic July 22 Superpole Results: 1. Noriyuki Haga (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.457 2. James Toseland (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.056 3. Lorenzo Lanzi (Duc 999F06), 2:01.073 4. Troy Bayliss (Duc 999F06), 2:01.207 5. Troy Croser (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:01.351 6. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:01.453 7. Andrew Pitt (Yam YZF-R1), 2:01.482 8. Karl Muggeridge (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.498 9. Regis Laconi (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:01.620 10. Fonsi Nieto (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:01.799 11. Fabien Foret (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:02.124 12. Michel Fabrizio (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.208 13. Chris Walker (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:02.220 14. Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas FP1), 2:02.569 15. Alex Barros (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.757 16. Pierfrancesco Chili (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:03.864 More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: FPR draw positives from second day in Brno The Foggy PETRONAS Racing team was able to extract more positives from the second day of qualifying for the seventh round of the Superbike World Championship at Brno, Czech Republic. Steve Martin finished the morning qualifying session ninth fastest but was only able to match that lap to finish 14th in Superpole, with Noriyuki Haga claiming his first pole position of the season. Team-mate Craig Jones bounced back from a problematic morning session to come 18th in the afternoon free practice, his best standing in a dry session on the FP1. Steve said: “This is a power circuit and the other bikes can probably extract more from the extra grip of the qualifying tyres than we can. It was pretty much a repeat of our test here, when I set the same times on race rubber as the qualifiers. I am pretty happy with my set-up for the race but I am going to have to be on the ball tomorrow, although it seems that lap times are dropping off pretty quickly and I seem to be able to do consistent lap times on race tyres. I was only 0.7secs off the fastest time of the morning and my best lap was faster than the quickest lap here last year, so we can draw a lot of positives.” Craig, who will start from 27th on the grid, said: “It’s a real shame that this morning happened the way it did because I think I could have been in with a chance of making Superpole. I was only two seconds slower than Bayliss in the afternoon and he was using a qualifier. My times on race tyres are pretty quick but it is going to be difficult starting from where I am. I should have been a couple of rows further up. There was nothing much to achieve by pushing too hard in the afternoon but I had a bit of a point to prove and wanted to show what I could have done if I had not had the throttle-body problem in the morning.” More, from a press release issued by FG Sport: HAGA WINS SUPERPOLE IN CONVINCING FASHION – HAGA FROM TOSELAND AND DUCATI DUO Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) swept to a magnificent Superpole win at the 5.403km Brno circuit, setting a new SBK fastest lap of 2.00.457 on qualifying tyres. It was only his third career Superpole win, and his first since Sugo, 2002. He was almost half a second faster than the next rider, James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) who had to ride Superpole on his spare machine, after suffering a crash in the final regulation session. Behind the first two Japanese bikes, the factory Ducati Xerox pairing of Lorenzo Lanzi and Troy Bayliss went third and fourth respectively, completing the front row. CORSER RECOVERS TO SCORE FIFTH FASTEST SUPERPOLE TIME Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) made up for a disappointing pair of qualifying sessions to record the fifth fastest lap of Superpole, promoting himself from 12th fastest in regulation. Some lurid slides and near off-track excursions for his team-mate Yukio Kagayama – the fastest rider after regulation qualifying – saw him drawing smoke from his rear tyre, and subsequently dropping to sixth. Misano race winner Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) scored a seventh fastest lap in Superpole, gaining one row and three places after regulation qualifying, while Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) equalled his pre-Superpole eighth. KAWASAKI PUTS TWO RIDERS ON ROW THREE Regis Laconi and Fonsi Nieto (both PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) took ninth and tenth places on the final Superpole time sheets, with Laconi surprised to be down on row three, after setting a much faster lap than he had managed in the previous qualifying sessions. Nieto, third fastest before Superpole, felt that he needed to prepare himself better for Superpole when he qualifies as well as he did here, citing the long wait as a problem. A strong ride from Fabien Foret (Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) gave him a third row start in 11th, with the top DFX Treme Honda rider proving to be Michel Fabrizio, 12th, with his team-mate Pierfrancesco Chili 16th and last in Superpole. WALKER 13th AFTER SLIDES IN SUPERPOLE PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider Chris Walker had several slides and one notable near fall in his Superpole lap, as he dropped from sixth fastest in pre Superpole qualifying to the fourth row. Steve Martin, ninth fastest in regulation on his Petronas FP-1, went only 14th quickest in Superpole, unable to exploit his qualifying tyres as much as many other riders on more powerful machines. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) blamed a fever and a relative lack of engine performance for his 15th place in Superpole, 16th in regulation. GIMBERT JUST MISSES SUPERPOLE Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) was the top rider from his team in qualifying but missed the Superpole cut by one place. Ruben Xaus (Berik Sterilgarda Ducati) went 18th quickest, with the fifth row completed by the remaining Yamaha Motor France riders, Shinichi Nakatomi and Norick Abe. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) scored pole position with a new best Supersport lap time of 2.05.900 in the final qualifying session, easing out his closest challenger Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) by only 0.052 seconds. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) starts from the front row after finishing another largely overheated qualifying session third. Fourth was the ever-improving Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda), winner of the Monza WSS race earlier this year. A small shower of rain on one section of the track, with just a few minutes left of qualifying, brought out the appropriate warning flags for the riders, and stopped all of them from making one final push to improve their best times. Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) stayed fifth fastest, and will start his comeback race from row two. Such was the close competition in Supersport that the top 20 riders finished within two seconds at this long 5.403km circuit. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni racing MV Agusta) earned pole in the big Superstock class, in a finally dry session, after the opening session proved to be wet. Richard Cooper (MS Racing Honda) continued his good run of Brno form to record second fastest time, with Riccardo Chiarello (Lightspeed Kawasaki Racing) third. Local rider Matej Smrz (MS Racing) scored fourth place to join his team-mate Cooper in the upper echelons. Championship leader Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki) was only 11th, opting for the wrong choice of tyre in the final qualifying session. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: SCUDERIA SC CARACCHI’S ROLFO UNABLE TO IMPROVE ON LAP TIME No satisfaction in the final practice day at Brno circuit for the seventh round of WSBK Championship. Also today a warm sun distinguished the day, but the three Scuderia SC Caracchi’s riders have been not very fast, ending the qualifying all out of top twenty and starting tomorrow from the end of the starting grid. In Superbike Roberto Rolfo has not been able to improve his lap time of yesterday qualifying, that did not satisfy him too, and finished the qualifying recording a time which will force him to start from the sixth row. “I had actually hard qualifying practice.” said at the end of the day Roberto Rolfo. “After two practice days today I repeat almost the same lap time I scored in the first free practice session on Friday morning, and that is not actually encouraging! The bike looks to be better in race condition as in qualifying set up. During the afternoon’s free practice we focused for race set up and we got some improvement, but we still are not at the level of the leaders. For tomorrow’s races I ‘m not too confident, we start behind and the top riders are very competitive.” A few satisfaction also in Supersport: both Luka Nedog, who crashed once time during the morning free practice session too, as Stuart Easton will start from the back of the grid, also if they improved today their performance. “The crash of this morning has been a true disaster.” commented with bitterness Luka Nedog “The bike had been bad damaged and the team must work a lot to recover it in time. However, despite the accident, I must confirm my yesterday’s sensations, that I get a better confidence with the bike and the tyres and I feel to improve my riding. The bike is very very fast, thanks the great work made by Franco Farnè and the team, and today too it was the fastest in the speed trap.” Stuart Easton added: “My machine too is very fast, with the third top speed, but with this asphalt temperature I have not jet understood the tyre’s reactions and in some point of the circuit I don’t feel confident. I hope tomorrow in a good start and improve my position.” During the morning the whole team had a deep emotion moment when Rolfo joined the track showing the writing “Ciao Giorgione” (Good bye Big George) on his fairing to remember the great Giorgio Nepoti. More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France Ipone: GOOD PROGRESS FOR THE TEAM Sebastien Gimbert is faster than Noriyuki Haga’s lap record from last year (aboard a Yamaha) and he is 17th only 1.1 seconds behind the timed practice leader, which is not a lot on such a long track (5.4 km). He misses the Superpole for 2 hundreds, behind Alex Barros. Shinichi Nakatomi is 19th and Norick Abe 20th. Because of the very hot temperature (33° for the air, 52° for the track) it was not easy for the teams to work during the practice sessions. Nevertheless the overall level progress tremendously with for instance the fastest 20 riders being quicker than the 2005 Haga lap record (everybody using race tyres). Sebastien Gimbert is almost 3 seconds faster than he was last year. The 3 Team Yamaha Motor France-Ipone riders keep on working to choose the best solutions for this Czech event which is the first one of the second half season. Sebastien Gimbert: “The 17th position is of course a little bit frustrating, but we had good practice sessions. I gave 100% and we worked well. The overall level progressed a lot since last year. I am myself almost 3 seconds faster than in 2005 and very close of Alex Barros of whom the qualities are well known. I am not still yet 100% physically because my foot that was injured in Misano is still hurting.” Shinichi Nakatomi: “I am not totally happy. We did some testing here one month ago but the temperature is much hotter this weekend. I am happy with the new swinging arm and I shall use it for the race. Right now I am a little bit confused because the tyre choice is not easy and same thing for the suspension setting.” Norick Abe: “It is not easy. When I accelerate coming out of the curves, the rear tyre is spinning. So for a solution I try to enter faster in these curves, but then there is chattering. It is very difficult.” Martial Garcia (team manager): “Sebastien is only 1.1 from the best time and he is faster that Noriyuki Haga 2005 lap record on a Yamaha R1. He is 2 hundreds behind Barros. Of course, it is always disappointing not to qualify for Superpole because of such a small gap, but the team did a good job. We have found some grip back and the bike handles well in the curves.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati Team: LANZI AND BAYLISS TAKE FRONT-ROW SLOTS FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM IN BRNO SUPERPOLE Brno (Czech Republic), Saturday 22 July: Lorenzo Lanzi and Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s seventh round of the World Superbike Championship at Brno from the front row of the grid after setting third and fourth quickest times in the Superpole session behind poleman Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) and James Toseland (Honda). Italian Lanzi was just a fraction ahead of his Australian team-mate in the one-lap dash, but the two Ducati Xerox riders are confident they will be front-runners tomorrow. “I hope I have a chance to get on the podium in both races but it’s going to be tough” commented Lorenzo Lanzi. “Today was a very difficult day because at one point in Superpole it looked as if it was going to rain and that would have changed things a lot. My Superpole lap was almost perfect, and I am very satisfied with third place on the grid. Tomorrow for the race, the first laps will be difficult but I have a good race pace and I hope to be able to be amongst the leaders. A big thanks to all my fans for coming, I don’t know where they will be around the race track but I hope to give them something to cheer about tomorrow!” “It’s been a little bit different this weekend but its all coming together now” declared Troy Bayliss. “The lap I did today was far from perfect but I’m reasonably happy because I’m on the front of the grid and that’s very important round here. Of course its going to be a very long hard race tomorrow, hopefully the weather will be fine but I’m really happy for Lorenzo and all his fans here and hope he can do a good job for himself and the team. The last tests here we did a full race simulation and it all went very well, basically I’ll be on the same tyre tomorrow but honestly after ten laps here everybody’s in the same boat and you’re just going to have to hang in there to the end.” More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: TOSELAND SECOND QUICKEST WITH MUGGERIDGE ON ROW TWO James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) stormed to second place in Superpole at Brno, after setting a fourth fastest time in the earlier combined qualifying sessions. His front row start now leaves him in the perfect position for the start of Sunday’s 20-lap Superbike races, after a consistently strong qualifying performance all weekend. James improved on his previous best lap time by over 1.1 seconds in Superpole, despite having to set his final flying lap on his number two bike, after his number one machine was damaged in an earlier crash. Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) beat a path to eighth place after his personal best lap of the weekend, less than half a second slower than Toseland, in what was a close and competitive Superpole. In finishing eighth, and earning a start from row two, Muggeridge replicated his pre-Superpole qualification performance. Superpole was taken by Noriyuki Haga, the only rider faster than Toseland. Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager “I am quite satisfied with the qualifying positions we took, especially seeing James almost topping all the others and being up at the top of the timesheets all weekend. We were hoping for another pole position but I think in free practice, when he had a little crash on his number one bike, we had to swap over to his second machine which had some different specs on it, and which we could not change in time for the Superpole lap. We also have to say that the Superpole time of Haga was pretty fast. We will see tomorrow how fast and consistent James has been on the race tyre, and we are pretty confident for him. It’s OK for Karl on the second row of the grid but he was a bit surprised with the sheer speed of Superpole, as I think all of us were! But I am sure he can do well from the second row off the grid, even if the machine is still not perfect for him around here. We will work hard overnight and prepare ourselves to be in the best shape for tomorrow’s race.” James Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (2nd position – 2’01.056) “We had a good qualifying so I am disappointed that I crashed in the free session this afternoon, in my last lap before Superpole qualifying. I was a little bit sceptical about using my number two bike because we had a few issues with it, but the guys did a great job in getting it ready and it felt almost exactly the same as my number one bike and it was good enough to let me go second – so big thanks to them. It would be nice to make a break tomorrow but tyre wear will play a big part and they will be long races. So I’m going to ride my own way.” Karl Muggeridge – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (8th position – 2’01.498) “In the final free practice I wasn’t pushing too hard so I think that might have affected my Superpole lap. I think I worked the throttle too hard in Superpole and the bike was a bit unsteady because of that. I think I just tried too hard, and that slowed me down. Second row is not too bad because my times with a race set-up are consistent and I am confident for tomorrow. This is not the most difficult track to pass people on, because it’s wide and has a lot of chicanes.” More, from a press release issued by Beowulf Racing: BEOWULF OUTCLASS MAJOR TEAMS AT BRNO Beowulf Racing consolidated their 17th place qualifying position ahead of tomorrow’s 12-lap race in the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Brno today. Excellent teamwork combined with the determination of rider Nick Henderson (Suzuki) saw the privately run Shepton Mallet-based squad outclass several of the major teams. As usual, today’s weather-hit second qualifying session was a nail-biter, with Henderson falling back to 25th place only to recover the position he grabbed yesterday on his final lap of the 3.4-mile Czech circuit. With the temperature marginally cooler than yesterday’s sweltering heat, the riders had a slightly easier time of things during this morning’s half-hour practice session. Although Nick lapped over 12 seconds faster than he managed in yesterday’s rain-hit initial qualifying session, Henderson was in 26th place by the end of the period, a result of the Beowulf Suzuki’s rear wheel spinning up through the faster turns. Rain had been predicted for this afternoon’s second timed session and it arrived right on cue. Seeing the clouds gather, Henderson was sent out straight away on dry tyres with the instruction to bank a fast lap as quickly as possible. By the time he was beginning his second lap the rain was spitting down and there was no option other than to return to the pits. The field now had to play a waiting game to see if the weather would improve enough to allow faster times. By the halfway stage the rain had abated, and the riders steadily began to return to the track. Once the team saw Nick’s position on the grid starting to be bettered, they knew it was time for action. Now relegated to a provisional 25th place, the Aussie set out on wet tyres with the just five minutes of the session remaining. Henderson played a binder and bettered his Friday time on both of his remaining laps to regain his place on the inside of the fifth row for tomorrow’s race. The fact that so many of the usual front-runners, such as Claudio Corti and Enrique Rocamora (both Yamaha) finished behind the Beowulf squad underlined just how impressive a performance it had been. The delight in both Henderson and Team Manager Andy Stone afterwards was obvious. “The team have been fantastic all weekend” beamed Nick. “They made exactly the right calls in the second session and I’m in an excellent position to do something meaningful in tomorrow’s race.” Stone was also jubilant: “I’m obviously delighted that we’ve out-performed several of the major teams this weekend. We’ve made the right decisions and Nick’s responded with an excellent performance.” But there were words of caution when asked about what to expect tomorrow. “Make no mistake, Sunday’s race is going to be a tough one. There are a lot of fast boys at the back of the grid and they won’t be hanging around on the opening laps. But that could be to our advantage – now that Nick’s got faster people around him it will be a whole lot easier for him to run with the pack at the start of the race.” Stone’s words could turn out to be prophetic. Henderson is a noted fast starter and with a return to hot weather predicted, the Australian’s performance in the race could turn out to be just as blistering as the temperature. To learn more about Nick Henderson and Beowulf Racing visit www.beowulf-racing.com More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: ALSTARE SUZUKI MEN ON BRNO SECOND ROW Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama will start tomorrow’s Brno World Superbike round in the Czech Republic alongside each other on the second row of the grid. Corser is happy as this morning he was struggling to get into the top 15 after suffering problems with wheelspin and lack of grip. But in the afternoon untimed session, he tried Kagayama’s set-up and immediately began to get more comfortable with his bike. Corser missed the recent Brno test due to illness and the information that Kagayama and his team provided made up for some of that lost time. Thanks to the information, he managed to finish fifth quickest in the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out. Kagayama had qualified fastest in regular qualifying, but he tried a bit too hard on his Superpole lap and lost time finally ending sixth. Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Fabien Foret finished 11th, but his lap time of 2:02.124 is within touching distance of the front row. Troy Corser – 5th, 2:01.351: “I’m much happier this afternoon than I was this morning or yesterday. Missing the Brno test has made it very hard for me these two days because we just couldn’t get the bike working well at all. I wasn’t happy after this morning’s qualifying so we decided to try Yukio’s set-up in the afternoon. He’d been at the tests, so we thought we might as well give his set-up a go. Normally I wouldn’t have believed that I would be able to get on so well with his set-up, but it was a big improvement on what we’d been getting up until then! It’s not perfect for me but it was a big step in the right direction, so I’ve got to say a big ‘thank you’ to Yukio and his crew for helping me out. I am happy not to have been any lower then the second row of the grid and now if I can get a couple of good starts I feel that I can run with the leaders for sure. It’s going to be two long, hard races tomorrow and I’m sure that we’re all going to suffer tyre problems in the races, so it may be down to whoever uses their tyres best.” Yukio Kagayama – 6th, 2:01.453: “In my Superpole lap I tried my best but it was not enough! It is my style to open the gas hard and maybe, just maybe, this was not the best thing to do in Superpole. But, the second row is ok and, as long as I make good starts, I can get good results. My physical condition is so much better now than the past few months and I cannot wait for the races tomorrow. My team has worked unbelievably hard recently so I want to get good results tomorrow so that I can say ‘thank you’ to them.” Fabien Foret – 11th, 2:02.124: “I am quite happy with my Superpole lap and the third row of the grid is not so bad I think. My bike is working well and I am also happy because my lap times are not so far from pole. I didn’t have any big problems today and we spent most of the time trying to find a good set-up and balance for the race. Yesterday I was a bit uncertain as to which tyres I will use for the race, but now I know exactly which ones to choose. I am hoping to make good starts, run with the leaders and get a pair of solid top-10 finishes.” Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Haga (J-Yamaha) 2:00.457, 2 Toseland (GB-Honda – 2:01.056, 3 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 2’01.073, 4 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 2:01.207, 5. Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:01.351, 6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2:01.453, 7 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 2:01.482, 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 2:01.498, 9 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 2:01.620, 10 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 2:01.799. 11 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 2:02.124. SUPERSTOCK 600: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon won the fifth round of the Superstock 600 European Championship in Brno today after a mother of battles with Ducati rider Nicola Canepa. The 10-lap race was red-flagged after just a couple of laps, but in the restart, Simeon and Canepa once again disputed the result. Canepa led the early stages but Simeon always looked threatening and took the lead just two laps from the end. The result was in doubt right the way down to the wire, but in the end, Simeon was strong enough to hold off Canepa’s challenge and take his third win of the season. Xavier Simeon – 1st: “I am very happy to win the race because I had to use my head and not panic. Canepa was very tough today and I had to use all my experience to make sure I stayed ahead of him. We were close many times but although it was hard, it was also very fair. I didn’t want to leave it to the last lap before making my move in case anything happened, so I took the lead two laps from the end. Canepa tired to get past again but I was a little bit too strong for him today. That was a great race and I am so happy. Superstock 600 Results: 1 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Canepa, 3 Antonelli, 4 Jezek, 5 Chmielewski, 6 Beretta, Championship Points: 1 Simeon 115, 2 Canepa 81, 3 Giugliano 71, 4 Colucci 46, 5 Antonelli 39, 6 Jezek 37