Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Haga makes it two home riders on pole in Sugo

By Glenn Le Santo

Noriyuki Haga set the fastest Superpole time at Sugo to join Japanese Supersport rider Fujiwara on pole for tomorrow’s racing.

Haga put in a sensational lap at 1:28.806 to finish Superpole just ahead of provisional pole sitter Neil Hodgson, who was a fraction behind at 1:28.823. The Ducati riders appeared to be losing time at the chicane, Hodgson had been a couple of hundredths of a second up on Haga until the final spilt.

Hodgson had his own unique explanation for his slight loss of time in the last split, “I did a race simulation in the warm up, a full 25 laps. Consequently I got into the habit of just taking it slightly easier out of the chicane. In Superpole I didn’t open the throttle quite hard enough–as if I was on race tyres. That probably cost me pole position.”

Haga is in determined mood for the race, “It’s very important for me to win here at my home track,” said ‘Nitro’ Nori who says he has no problems with the chicane, “I love chicanes, I’ll be really aggressive there and try to win the race that way.”

Makato Tamada made it two Japanese riders on the front row by taking third on the grid. Tamada won both races on his Cabin Honda last year and declared that he’ll do his best to repeat that performance again this year.

Ben Bostrom was fourth fastest to make it two Ducatis on the front row. Ben’s brother Eric finished Superpole down in eighth on his Kawasaki.

Ruben Xaus had another disastrous Superpole, coming 12th and behind teammate Troy Bayliss, who’s seventh on the grid for tomorrow’s races.

World Superbike Superpole
Sugo, Japan 20 April 20, 2002

Superpole times:

1. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV1000 1:28.806
2. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998, 1:28.823
3. Makoto Tamada, Honda RC51, 1:28.861
4. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998, 1:29.216
5. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 1:29.259
6. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:29.545
7. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998, 1:29.626
8. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:29.914
9. Takeshi Tsujimura, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:29.981
10. Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha YZF-R7, 1:30.188
11. James Toseland, Ducati 998, 1:30.287
12. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998, 1:30.377
13. Yuichi Takeda, Honda RC51, 1:30.745
14. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:30.796
15. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.918
16. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998, 1:31.291

And the rest of the grid:

17. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:29.612
18. Juan Borja, Ducati 998, 1:30.593
19. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998, 1:30.762
20. Mark Heckles, Honda RC51, 1:31.620
21. Kenichiro Nakamura, Honda RC51, 1:31.830
22. Alessandro Antonello, Ducati 998, 1:32.012
23. Steve Martin, Ducati 998, 1:32.117
24. Ivan Clementi, Kaw ZX-7RR, 1:32.190
25. Broc Parkes, Duc 998, 1:32.226
26. Mauro Sanchini, Kaw ZX-7RR, 1:32.573


More, from an Aprilia press release:

SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Fourth Round

JAPAN – Sugo Circuit, 3,737 m. – Second Qualifying Sessions

APRILIA IN POLE POSITION FOR JAPAN GP

SUGO (Japan), Saturday 20 April 2002 – Sensational pole position for Aprilia in the Japan GP, in the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship in Sugo. On the home circuit of the Japanese manufacturers, all officially participating in the production-bike championship, Noriyuki Haga took the Playstation2-FGF Aprilia Team RSV Mille to top spot in the ratings with a fantastic 1’28″806 lap, seven tenths from the official track record. For Aprilia, in the Superbike championship since 2000, this is the first pole at Sugo, and its eighth overall. Noriyuki Haga scores the second pole in his career, his first at home. The others on the front row will be Hodgson (Ducati), Tamada (Honda) and Bostrom (Ducati). World champion Bayliss (Ducati) made seventh time and will be launching his bike from second row.

MORALE AT ALL-TIME HIGH – Haga sliced six tenths off the fastest lap Aprilia had made on this track in 2001, demonstrating the remarkable progress made on the V2 from Noale. The Japanese ace also notched up some great laps in race configuration – the battle will be fought out in two 25-lap legs on the 3,737-metre Sugo circuit.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) said: “I’d already made pole in Spain, in ’98, but the session was a bit mixed up by the rain: I rode on the dry, and all the others in the wet. So I really consider this as my first time. Making pole at Sugo, my home track, is just fantastic. I’d like to dedicate this pole position to Aprilia, to my team and to my family who’ve come out in force. Now we need to concentrate on the race: I’ve never won two legs on the same day, and I’d just love to have the satisfaction…”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager, Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team) commented: “We’re very excited about this result: we’ve done our utmost to get it since the season kicked off with some difficulties. The key to the race is in the tyres: we’re trying to find a set-up that’ll let us keep up a fast pace throughout the race. We’ve done some tests and we’re pretty satisfied. We have two different tactics to choose from: a really fast start to get out ahead, or we keep the tyres for the final fight, which we think is going to be very tough. Even so, we’re under no illusion: it’s going to be a very hard race. We’ll make the finishing touches during the warm-up to give Noriyuki all the potential he needs.”


More, from a HM Plant Ducati press release:

Superbike World Championship
Round four: Sugo, Japan
Saturday 20 April 2002
Qualifying/Superpole

Hodgson scorches to second placed start at Sugo

HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing star Neil Hodgson clocked an incredible time of 1:28.823 in his flying Superpole lap around the 3.74-mile Sugo circuit to claim second place on the grid for Sunday’s races. His team-mate James Toseland made a solid improvement upon his earlier times and will start from 11th.

Hodgson was just edged out of the prime starting position by home turf rider Noriyuki Haga – the margin was just 0.017s. After topping the timesheets during the second practice session, and in the process setting the second fastest ever lap time at the track, the HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing rider stormed to Superpole glory aboard his Ducati 998 F 01.

“Sugo is extremely technical but also massively rewarding,” said the 28-year-old Burnley-born rider, “and the chicane is totally unique. Some of the turns also have a useful camber, so I’m carrying a huge amount of speed through them. Roberto [Bonazzi], my Chief Engineer from Ducati Corse has been fantastic – he’s managed to help me find a great set-up that works really well on race and qualifying tyres. Dunlop has also done a really good job here. This all combines to give me a feeling of total confidence in the HM Plant Ducati. The wild cards test here all the time, so to be going faster than them is a great achievement. It’s been a good weekend so far and I certainly don’t intend to let anyone down tomorrow.”

James Toseland was disappointed not to fair better, but still managed to pick up seven places during the day. Toseland is in only his second season aboard a Superbike, and is already showing signs of greatness. “The pace is incredibly hot this season and I’ve improved a lot since yesterday,” said the 21-year-old from Sheffield. “My race set-up is spot-on and I’ve got a lot of grip, so I’ll be looking for a top eight finish. I’ve been running really well recently and I fully intend to keep up this high level of performance.”