From a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport Championship Date: 05-04-08 Circuit: Round 3, Valencia Conditions: Warm and sunny Qualifying Practise 2 Pitt claims pole position in Valencia Day two qualifying saw HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Andrew Pitt remain firmly on top of the timesheets for the duration of the entire session, claiming his second pole position this season. Pitt endured some problems with the front of his bike, resulting in a crash in both the free practise and second qualifying session, but he maintained his lead on the rest of the field with no other rider able to dip under his best lap time of 136.773 he set in yesterday’s session. Jonathan Rea gradually improved his performance, ending today’s session in a best of 1’37.373 which puts him on the second row on tomorrow’s starting grid. Andrew Pitt, 1’36.773; I am glad I put in a good lap time yesterday considering I had two crashes today. We’ll have to work out what’s happening and why the front tire is letting go. I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen tomorrow. At the moment I’ve lost a bit of confidence in the front of the bike but I’m sure we can work it out ahead of tomorrow’s race. Jonathan Rea, 1’37.373; We have been working on finding the right race setting and made some changes at the end of the session to push for that one fast lap. I managed to go faster today then yesterday which is quit hard considering the circumstances. The conditions are quite harsh and the track’s slower but I managed to increase my pace and managed to improve one position on the qualifying. I am confident that I can run the distance and I’ll be in the gaggle for the front on raceday. Results second qualifying practice: 1 A. PITT 1’36.773 2 J. LASCORZ 1’36.879 3 C. JONES 1’37.068 4 B. PARKES 1’37.232 5 K. FUJIWARA 1’37.233 6 J. REA.373 1’37.373 7 M. ROCCOLI 1’37.448 8 J. BROOKES 1’37.449 9 F. FORET 1’37.653 10 I. CLEMENTI 1’37.725 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Parkes takes top four on the Valencia grid Yamaha World Supersport Team rider Broc Parkes secured an important front row start for tomorrow’s 23-lap Valencia race, while the good news for his team-mate Fabien Foret is that not only was he able to ride today, but he came also close to taking a second row start. Parkes was second fastest in the second qualifying session on a hot day two at the 4.005km Spanish circuit, when the track surface reached 37 degrees. His improvement ensured he would take a front row start as he attempts to add to his Qatar race win on the all-new Yamaha YZF-R6 tomorrow. Foret counted himself lucky to be able to qualify at all today, after a very hard crash on the first day threatened to rule him out of the final qualifying action. The tough Frenchman carried on, however, and improved his day one time to the point where he ended combined qualifying only 0.880 seconds from pole, on the ninth grid spot. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) moved himself into a second row starting position today, setting a 1m 37.448 lap, for an overall seventh. Yamaha Spain rider Davide Salom made a great improvement on his first day times at his home circuit, earning a fourth row start from 16th place in a field of 36 riders. Broc Parkes (4th – 1m 37.232 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “In the afternoon we lost a lot of grip from the circuit. I think I was second fastest in the final session itself, but fourth overall. We have a pretty good base at the moment but we are still working on the chassis a bit, and we have played a little bit of catch-up all weekend. But tomorrow we should have a good bike for the race. I am on the front row and I have to be happy with that. We have one front and one rear tyre that work the way we want them to so the tyre choice has already been made.” Fabien Foret (9th – 1m 37.653 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I am not 100% today and feeling tired after my crash yesterday. We will try to make a better race setting tomorrow in warm-up, to give me better feedback. The bike is OK, but I have a little bit of chatter on the front and not perfect grip control in the rear, and also you never feel your best after a big crash. After yesterday I could be at home now rather than racing, but I was hoping for much better from qualifying. We have done only 16 laps in qualifying, so I think we are just missing some track time.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “Broc is pretty good now and on the front row, which is always important. We still have improvements to make for his set-up in a race situation. Fabien is not completely satisfied with the whole package yet but we are happy that he is fit to ride. We will try to find something better for him for tomorrow for the race. Fabien is three or four tenths from Broc and the way he feels on the bike is not 100% yet but I am sure that once he is racing, he will go for best result possible.” Massimo Roccoli (7th – 1’37.448 seconds – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “Today we had a good result and the bike is now OK because we have got our tyres to work with the grip from the track. We worked with two bikes with different set-ups to make sure we could find a good race set-up. This race is very important for me because, in some ways, after our bad luck in Qatar and Australia we are only now starting the 2008 season for real.” More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph-SC: BAD DAY AT VALENCIA FOR TEAM TRIUMPH-SC (Valencia Spain April 5, 2008) The final stages of the conclusive qualifying day at Valencia was revealed quite bitter for Team Triumph-SC. After showing a rather good pace for the race during the morning’s free practice, during the afternoon qualifying session, which draws the starting grid, a lot of unpredictable events did penalize the riders’ performance. Ilario Dionisi, who showed at his return on the known tracks a good increasing in the feeling with the bike, crashed in the final minutes at the first left hairpin, when the front closed. Ilario Dionisi reports: “I’ve lost suddenly the front tyre and I’ve not been able to do anything. That’s has been a real pity, because the bike was running well, I recorded the second top speed in the speed trap and in the second and third split I was one of the fasters, so I could record a good position of the starting grid, as my position in the ideal time classification shows. Also in the morning long run I had a good pace, so for tomorrow’s race I could be a bit confident, but to start from the back makes everything more difficult.” Quite angry and disappointed Garry McCoy commented the day: “At the moment to rejoin the track with soft tyres for a fast lap something was wrong in the rear brake, which remained blocked. so I’ve been stopped for a lot of time, just in the final moments! In the morning’s free practices we found a good race set up, but unfortunately we’ll start from the sixth row and Supersport it’s a too challenged class to earn early positions during the race.” Superstock 600 too has been miserly of results for the team, after a chaotic event. raced in two heads because a stop due a red flag for a fired bike lying on the track after four laps. Tom Grant lost in progression some position, till to be out of the points, while Robbie Stewart, after a good start, has been blocked during the first lap and send behind in the pack. Tom Grant said: “During the race has been more difficult as for the practices, I’ve been not able to find a good pace for the race, so I’ve lost position, also because the stop divided the race into two very short heats, and I lost the points just in the final lap.” Also Robbie Stewart is a bit disappointed: “I had a quick start in both the heats, but I’ve not been able to give a return from my start because just during the first lap a lot of rivals did overtook me and the, also I was stronger in braking, I’ve been not able to earn positions.” More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Third place on the grid for Jones PARKALGAR HONDA’S Craig Jones will start tomorrow’s third round of the World Supersport Championship from third on the front row of the grid at Valencia in Spain. Jones came back uninjured from a fast crash in morning practice to fight for pole position in the afternoon on his spare bike. He is positive he can compete for top honours in tomorrow’s race. Miguel Praia piloted his Parkalgar Honda to 25th on the grid, with his fastest lap time being set during yesterday’s session. He will work with his technicians to look for a more competitive setting for his bike for the race tomorrow. Honda’s Andrew Pitt is in pole position. The third round of the World Supersport race at the 4005m Valencia track takes place at 1320 CET on Sunday, April 6th. It can be viewed live on www.worldsbk.com. Craig Jones: “I made a mistake in morning practice when trying a small change on my bike and went into a corner a little slower than normal and crashed on the kerb. Luckily I was fine but my Parkalgar Honda was badly damaged. My team did a great job to transplant the engine to my spare bike and I was able to get out in qualification OK. “I would have preferred pole position but I think I have good race pace and being on the front row is exactly where I need to be. I’m looking forward to the race and getting a podium result or better.” Miguel Praia: “I found it hard work to improve my lap times compared to yesterday. I wanted so much to go faster but I did not feel I could push any more. “I plan to talk with my technicians tonight and make a plan for some small changes to help me go faster in the race. I think there is more to come from me also, so I will be thinking on how I will improve. The top 15 and points are my main objective.” Simon Buckmaster, Team Manager: “Craig is on fire and absolutely determined to get a top result. He is trying his heart out and fortunately was able to walk away from a big crash without any injury. We appreciate the level of commitment he is putting in and the team repaid him by working double time to prepare his spare bike along with fitting the engine from his crashed one. They’ll have his damaged Parkalgar Honda completely rebuilt before the end of the day. “Miguel has struggled to make progress today after a promising start to the weekend. He’s putting himself under a lot of pressure but I think he can work his way through it and should score some more Championship points tomorrow.” Qualifying Times: 1: A Pitt, Aus, (Honda) 1:36.773 2: J Lascorz, Esp, (Honda) +0.106 3: CRAIG JONES, GBR, (PARKALGAR HONDA) +0.295 4: B Parkes, Aus, (Yamaha) +0.459 5: K Fujiwara, Jpn, (Kawasaki) +0.460 6: J Rea, Gbr, (Honda) +0.600 25: MIGUEL PRAIA, POR, (PARKALGAR HONDA) +1.831. More, from a press release issued by GIL Kawasaki: Fujiwara Close to the Front Row in Qualifying Valencia, Spain, 5 April 2008 GIL Kawasaki competitor Katsuaki Fujiwara was only one thousandth of a second from a front row start after qualifying in fifth position for Sunday’s Valencia WSS race. Fujiwara’s best time of 1’37.232 was set on the first day of qualifying, as the higher temperatures on day two at Valencia prevented him from improving his lap time in the final session of timed practice. Chris Walker, like his team-mate, found the warmer conditions on day two difficult to handle when trying to improve his previous best time, and he too relied on his first day high of 1’37.810 to go 14th on the Valencia grid. Walker now faces a start from the fourth row. Andrew Pitt will start from pole for Sunday’s 23-lap race. Katsuaki Fujiwara: “We have a bit of a problem right now with rear chatter and we are working on that. We almost got on the front row but fifth position is not too bad here. It’s a lot better than the first two races of the season for sure. I think we can be OK for the full race distance, but we have to make sure our settings will allow is to be consistent.” Chris Walker: “We made a few changes to the bike today but they didn’t work out the way we wanted. Like at the test, when we have a different track temperature like today, we have to try twice as hard, but seem to go half as fast. The bike doesn’t feel bad at all it’s just difficult to get a lap time, because it’s hard to hold a line when the temperature goes up. I am disappointed because I really wanted to get on the second row to give myself more of a chance at the start of the race.”