1. Troy Bayliss (Duc 999F07), 1:24.558 2. Nori Haga (Yam YZF-R1), 1:24.577 3. James Toseland (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:24.621 4. Lorenzo Lanzi (Duc 999F07), 1:24.810 5. Troy Corser (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.164 6. Ruben Xaus (Duc 999F06), 1:25.299 7. Yukio Kagayama (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.597 8. Max Biaggi (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.866 9. Karl Muggeridge (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:25.886 10. Josh Brookes (Hon CB1000RR), 1:26.116 11. Fonsi Nieto (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:26.175 12. Jakub Smrz (Duc 999F05), 1:26.365 13. Roberto Rolfo (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:26.488 14. Regis Laconi (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:26.661 15. Michel Fabrizio (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:26.933 16. Max Neukirchner (Suz GSX-R1000), no time, DNF, crash Non-Superpole Qualifiers 17. Vito Iannuzzo (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:26.909 18. Shinichi Nakatomi (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.970 19. Alessandro Polita (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.982 20. Luca Morelli (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:27.983 21. Dean Ellison (Duc 999R), 1:29.070 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: World Superbike Championship Round seven: Silverstone, UK Saturday 26 May 2007 Superpole Front row start for Toseland at Silverstone Following the second day of World Superbike qualifying at Silverstone today, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s James Tosleand will start tomorrow’s 28-lap race from the front row of the grid. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo qualified in thirteenth position for a fourth row start. As the predicted rain held off, Toseland continued his good form of yesterday by setting the fastest lap four times in this afternoon’s second qualifying. The last of these set a new best Superbike lap at Silverstone with an impressive time of 1’24.999. Troy Corser just got the better of Toseland in the closing minutes by two tenths of a second. The British rider entered the Superpole one-lap dash as the second fastest rider and put in an impressive performance to secure third place on the grid. His lap time was 1’24.621 – just 0.063 seconds behind pole sitter Troy Bayliss. After a good start to the weekend yesterday, team-mate Rolfo was less fortunate today and starts tomorrow’s race from the fourth row of the grid. However, the Italian is confident that he can fight his way to the front to secure two good results for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “We have moved up the grid compared to last year when James started from fourteenth. We had a wet Superpole and it didn’t work out, then we had a dry race. Now we are facing a different challenge with today being dry and rain forecast for tomorrow. Anyway, we are happy with the results achieved. For Roberto, it’s a pity we just couldn’t get the package dialled in. We have seen some good results in the rain from him already so let’s just wait and see what happens when we open the garage tomorrow morning.” James Toseland: “I am happy with the front row. In the end I was only 0.063 seconds off pole so it’s not a bad result. We have a great set-up for the race and fingers crossed the weather will hold out for another day, although I’m expecting the worst. If it does rain, we are all in the same boat – I just have to take it as it comes.” Roberto Rolfo: “It’s been a bit frustrating for me today because I couldn’t get the feeling right on the bike. After Monza I felt very good, but I am not sure what has happened today. Anyway, I have been able to get up to the front from the back rows in previous races so hopefully I will be able to do this tomorrow. The forecast is for rain and I am usually quite strong in the wet, but I just have to wait and see what happens.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree: Super gifts from HANNspree A tense Superpole session decided the grid positions for round seven of the 2007 World Superbike Championship at Silverstone today. Troy Bayliss put in the fastest lap to secure pole position for tomorrow’s 28-lap race. The Ducati Xerox rider will be awarded a special gift from series sponsor HANNspree. The innovative LCD TV manufacturer will present Bayliss with a HANNS.golf TV – a 9.6″ screen with a golfing theme. The Australian 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 pole sitter for the World Supersport Championship race. For his achievement this weekend the Frenchman will receive a HANNSz.lion television – a fun design with a cuddly lion-shaped surround. President of HANNspree’s European operations Kevin Chang explains why the company is keen to offer the prize: “I am happy to present two televisions from our very popular Sports and Fantasy ranges. These models are fun, exciting and stylish and they are a perfect representation of our philosophy.” For more information on all HANNspree products, please visit www.hannspree.com. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: BAYLISS TAKES POLE FOR DUCATI XEROX AT SILVERSTONE WITH LANZI ON THE FRONT ROW Silverstone (UK), Saturday 26 May: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) powered his way to a sixteenth Superpole win with a blistering new circuit best lap of 1m24.558s at an overcast Silverstone today. Slightly down on the first two sectors, Troy then went green in the final split to edge out Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) from the top slot by a fraction. Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi has also been on the pace throughout the weekend and he crowned a good qualifying performance with the fourth quickest time of 1m24.810s which puts him on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s two races. “Actually it’s been a little bit up and down for me all weekend” declared Troy. “We’ve been going around in circles a little bit, but now I’m back inside the circle and I’m starting to feel more confident on the bike again. I’ve been struggling really on the first split which is not such a difficult section but we finally got it right this afternoon. It’s possibly going to rain tomorrow and that throws a spanner in the works for everybody. Our bike is working OK but we can only really use one race tyre, the hardest one, and honestly the grip’s down on that. If anyone can get away with using the softer one it’s going to make it difficult for us but I honestly think that after 15 laps anyone who chooses that tyre is going to be going backwards pretty quick.” “I’m really pleased with my performance today, here it’s very important to start from the front row because there aren’t many places to overtake on this circuit and it’ll probably rain tomorrow which will create some more problems for everyone” said Lorenzo. “Over the past two days we’ve prepared well for the race in dry conditions, but haven’t had much chance to try a wet weather setting. For the moment let me enjoy this front row position, which for me is very important. I felt that I went through that chicane in the second sector in a truly spectacular way, the feeling with the bike was perfect and I’m feeling confident about the races tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra news Round 7, Silverstone, GB Circuit: 3.561 miles Conditions: Dry, sunny/cloudy 13-16C Final qualifying, Saturday 26th May, 2007 SECOND ROW FOR YUKIO AND MAX Team Alstare Suzuki Corona EXtra riders Yukio Kagayama and Max Biaggi qualified seventh and eighth quickest in the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out and will start tomorrow’s pair of 28-lap races from the second row of the grid. Both riders had set-up problems and were unable to get completely comfortable with their bikes in practice, but know that the their performances in the races are likely to be quite different. Yukio , Max and the team have been working hard throughout the season to develop their bike as quickly and as smoothly as possible – especially as some of their competitors seemed to have made greater leaps in progress. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) stormed to Superpole this afternoon, taking over one and a half seconds off the lap record in the process. Second fastest in Superpole was Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha), with local favourite James Toseland (Honda) third and Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) fourth. YUKIO – 7th, 1:25.597 I am not happy with the set-up of my bike and that makes it difficult to push hard and also have some fun. For me, the bike is a bit difficult to control at the moment and I cannot get a good feeling exiting the corners. It is just not happening for me at the moment and this is a bit frustrating, but this is my job and I must do it as well as I can. I know everybody is working hard to help me and improve the bike, so I must do my best – as usual. MAX – 8th, 1:25.866 On my Superpole lap I tried to brake deeper in a couple of places to make up some time, but my experience of this track is not as good as most of the other riders and I was not able to set a faster time. For me some parts of the track are not so bad and other parts are OK. It’s quite bumpy and that doesn’t help trying to get a good set-up. At the moment, I feel that the potential of the machine has to be raised and that’s what we are all working towards. At the start of the season it was easier to go over the problem, but others have improved, maybe faster then we have. I always give my best and as the races are very long tomorrow, I am not to worried about starting on the second row of the grid. There will be enough time and laps for me to improve my position. I hope it doesn’t rain though, because my experience of this track in the wet is very little. Also I don’t think it would be good for the fans. More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Saturday qualifying Nakatomi with courage Despite two broken toes, Shinichi Nakatomi qualified for the Silverstone races that will take place tomorrow. After a difficult Friday, Nakatomi enjoyed a dried track on the British circuit to finally qualify for the starting grid. So he will start both races tomorrow and try to earn some points for the World Championship. The weather forecast is not very good and there may be some heavy rain for the event on Sunday. Martial Garcia (team manager): “Our rider did show a lot of courage. Happily, the track was dry for the second qualifying practice session. Shinichi Nakatomi did a good job qualifying. So we have hope that he will do good races tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport: 2007 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® SILVERSTONE – 7th ROUND – 25th, 26th and 27th May SUPERPOLE Silverstone, Saturday 26th May 2007 BAYLISS FASTEST EVER AT SILVERSTONE INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT FABULOUS CONTEST THE SEVENTH CLOSEST SUPERPOLE IN HISTORY Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) edged out Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) to win the seventh closest Superpole contest in the history of the SBK championship, with his 1’24.558 also proving to be the best ever Superbike lap of the 3.561km circuit in Northamptonshire. Bayliss’ best, using qualifiers in Superpole, was over half a second faster than the best ever BSB Superbike qualifying time. The best Pirelli race tyre time of the weekend so far (1’24.731, for Troy Corser and Yamaha Motor Italia) was also well under the BSB best for both race tyre and qualifiers. The overall improvement in times is even more impressive when you consider that the mass-produced Pirelli race tyres are designed to do 28 laps of Silverstone, not the 18 or so required for National race events, which use prototype racing tyres. TOSELAND ON THE FRONT ROW AT SECOND HOME RACE OF 2007 James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) had a successful qualifying, eventually scoring third best time in Superpole to take his place on the front row for Sunday’s 28 lap contests. The last place on the front row was earned by Bayliss’ team-mate, Lorenzo Lanzi, who was only 0.252 seconds down on the Australian. CORSER FIFTH AFTER GOING QUICKEST OF ALL ON RACE TYRES Corser was not to repeat his trick of going fastest in regulation qualifying, as he only finished fifth after making a mistake in the middle of his Superpole lap. Corser was impressive nonetheless as he prepares to try and take his first win of 2007. Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) was in the top group once more, going sixth in the rankings after using a race tyre in Superpole. The last two places on row two for Sunday’s races will be filled by Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama and Max Biaggi. This was Biaggi’s first visit to Silverstone, and he took some time to get up to full speed. ALTO EVOLUTION HONDAS TOP ROW THREE Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda) and Josh Brookes (Alto Evolution Honda) slotted in ninth and tenth after Superpole, as both improved on their previous bests at the English circuit. They were followed in the standings by Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki) and Jakub Smrz (team Caracchi Ducati SC). FOURTH ROW FEATURES LACONI Despite a strong qualifying time into Superpole, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki) dropped to a fourth row start, behind the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda of Roby Rolfo. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) was 15th in Superpole but not last, as the crashing Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) lost his chance to improve his grid start – doing the opposite in fact – by being relegated to 16th, having fallen on the fast Copse Corner. WORLD SUPERSPORT – INTERNAL TUSSLE BRINGS FINAL REWARD The inter-team rivalry between Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) saw them exchange new circuit records, with the new all-time best of 1’26.706 finally going to Charpentier. This class uses only race tyres, even in qualifying, making the new best an astonishing achievement for rider, team and tyres, as it was over two seconds better than Charpentier’s previous pole record. Joining Charpentier and Sofuoglu on the front row are Yamaha riders Broc Parkes (Yamaha World SSP Racing) and Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni). Fabien Foret (Gil Kawasaki) overcame a fast crash earlier in the day to score fifth fastest time and a second row start. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP – PIRRO THE MAN ON FORM Michele Pirro (Yamaha team Italia) was the pace man in Superstock qualifying, going top with a 1’28.300 – less than four seconds slower than Bayliss in Superbike. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) was second, some 0.156 from Pirro. Claudio Corti (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) was third with the top MV being that of Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Racing Team) in fourth. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – BERGER ON POLE Maxime Berger (Team Trasimeno Yamaha) stayed on top of the 600 rankings thanks to his Friday time, while Domenico Colucci (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) was second fastest. More, from a press release issued by event organizers: 2007 Suzuki GSX-R European Cup Round 4, Silverstone, GB Circuit: 3.561 miles Conditions: Damp Final qualifying, Saturday 26th May RAIN PUTS A DAMPER ON PROCEEDINGS A rain shower before final qualifying this afternoon upset the conditions at Silverstone and many of the Suzuki GSX-R Cup riders were unable to put in many laps. The session began wet, but although the track started to dry out, some parts were still damp and that meant difficult tyre choices for the 26 competitors. As the 3.561 mile circuit did not dry out completely and no riders improved their lap times, it means that the grid for tomorrow’s 12-lap race will be formed from yesterday’s dry qualifying session. So, German rider Dominic Lammert is on pole, with ‘wild card’ Ian Lowry second, Patric Muff third and Simone Saltarelli fourth. Dominic Lammert – Pole Well there’s not much to say because I only did three laps this afternoon because of the track conditions. It wasn’t wet enough for wet tyres and it wasn’t dry enough for dry tyres. It is always difficult when the track is half wet and half dry and if that happens tomorrow it’s going to be a very difficult race. I am hoping that it will either be dry or wet, not a bit of both. At least that way, we’ll all be on the same tyres and can just get on and race.