By Glenn LeSanto


Things haven’t gone all Troy Corser’s way in recent months. After making the perfect start to the season with a double win in the first round at Valencia, Corser’s season been one of ups and downs. At one stage it got tricky for him with suggestions in the press that the Aprilia Team weren’t happy with Corser’s commitment. Corser countered by claiming that his tires were giving problems, something that didn’t at first register on Aprilia’s data loggers, and that he was as committed as ever. Then, the technicians found the problem and it was reported that Corser’s Dunlop tires weren’t true – they were more oval than round!

The problem seems to have been solved, given Corser’s performance today. The only rider to make it into the 1:27 bracket, he lapped at 1:27.868 to top the session ahead of Troy Bayliss on the Infostrada Ducati at 1:28.146.

“That wasn’t so bad,” commented Bayliss after the session. “but we’ve got more up our sleeves for tomorrow.”

Ben Bostrom, who admitted that he felt very rusty before getting on the bike soon loosened up to finish Friday qualifying in provisional third, just behind Bayliss on 1:28.146. Bostrom wasn’t 100 percent happy with his bike, though, saying “the bike isn’t doing exactly what I want it to do.”

Bostrom’s sparring partner in many of the recent races in the WSB series, Neil Hodgson, struggled in his first-ever visit to the track. Hodgson’s teammate, James Toseland, who also hasn’t been to Oschersleben before, finished the session 12th-fastest, one ahead of Hodgson. The GSE Team, which competed in British Superbikes last year, has never been to the track, near Magdeburg in Germany, so the crew men need to find settings and the riders need to learn the track. Last year was the first season WSB racing had visited the circuit.

Ruben Xaus showed he’s a young rider with potential finishing today in provisional fourth, just ahead of Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards with a time of 1:28.392 compared to Edwards’ 1:28.396. Tady Okada, who has said he learned a lot from riding the VTR at the recent Suzuka 8-hours race, was sixth-fastest today.

Superbike World Championship qualifying
Friday, August 31, Best times:

1. Troy Corser, Australia, Aprilia, 1:27.868
2. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 1:28.146
3. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:28.268,
4. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, 1:28.392
5. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 1:28.396
6. Tady Okada, Japan, Honda, 1:28.493
7. Regis Laconi, France, Aprilia, 1:28.524
8. Stephane Chambon, France, Suzuki, 1:28.900
9. Gregorio Lavilla, Spain, Kawasaki, 1:28.907
10. Akira Yanagawa, Japan, Kawasaki, 1:28.923