2007 FIM Superbike World Championship Lausitzring, Germany September 7, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results (dry conditions): 1. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 999F07), 1:38.569 2. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.780 3. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:38.980 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.011 5. James TOSELAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.086 6. Ruben XAUS (Duc 999F06), 1:39.127 7. Max BIAGGI (Suz GSX-R1000K7), 1:39.433 8. Michel FABRIZIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.487 9. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.525 10. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 999F07), 1:39.639 11. Fonsi NIETO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.767 12. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:39.828 13. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.077 14. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.094 15. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 1:40.745 16. Martin BAUER (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.934 17. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 999F05), 1:41.369 18. Steve MARTIN (Suz GSX-R1000K6), 1:41.464, mechanical 19. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.068 20. Luca MORELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.807 21. Jiri DRAZDAK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:42.950 22. Dean ELLISON (Duc 999RS), 1:45.138 More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi: DIFFICULT START IN GERMANY FOR TEAM SC RIDERS Difficult day for the riders of Scuderia SC Caracchi today at Eurospeedway: both Jakub Smrz in Superbike as Gianluca Nannelli in Supersport recorded lap times far from the top owing to setting difficulties on their twin machines. Gianluca Nannelli, as several other riders, did prefer to miss the morning’s free practice session because the crazy weather conditions, with rain showers that made the track rather dangerous. In the afternoon session a technical trouble stopped Nannelli in the final time. “We are still far from a satisfactory set up.” has been the comment of Gianluca Nannelli at the end of practices. “This morning we got the decision to miss the practice, in such weather condition the track couldn’t give any positive information and it would be dangerous too, as the accident did later show. During the afternoon we focused on the handling, but we haven’t been able to reach a good set up. We have a very good top speed, now we have to work on the handling, because we are still far from the 1’42″120 lap time of last year that gave me the sixth position on the grid. We have been unlucky too, because in the final time of the qualifying session the bike did stall and has been not possible to switch it on in a short time, so I could use just three laps with the fresh tyres.” Also Jakub Smrz in Superbike suffered some trouble with his bike and spent a lot of time in the pit to look for the better set up. Just in the final few minutes Smrz could ride at the best and he recovered several positions, but it was too late for a good result. “We have several setting problems during all the day and we lost a lot of time.” said Jakub Smrz after the afternoon’s practices. “Just at the end of the qualifying session the bike was running well and so I could record some good lap time, but it was already too late. I grabbed a few position and tomorrow I’m confident to improve to be allowed for Superpole. That’s be a very pity because I rode in the past at Eurospeedway, as well with smaller bikes, and I was confident in a quick, good result. Tomorrow we’ll concentrate for the final session and I’m confident to improve my qualifying position.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra: 2007 Superbike World Championship Round 11, Eurospeedway Lausitz Circuit: 4.265 kms. Weather: Mostly cloudy 14-19 C. Friday qualifying, 7th September TOP THREE FOR YUKIO ON DAY ONE. Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama ended the first day of qualifying at the Eurospeedway Lausitz with the third fastest time. The Japanese rider was suffering a little from sore ligaments in his right knee (sustained when he crashed at Brands Hatch in the last round), but still managed to get on the pace right from the start. His team mate Max Biaggi finished the day with the seventh quickest time, but was not pushing his GSX-R1000 hard as he had not found a comfortable set-up in today’s two sessions. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took provisional pole, with a lap of 1:38.569, in the closing stages of this afternoon’s timed qualifying. His fellow countryman Troy Corser (Yamaha) is second quickest, two tenths of a second behind, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) in fourth – just behind Yukio. Yukio – 3rd, 1:38.980 “The bike is not so bad here today and the only problems I had today was a small brake problem and some pain in my right knee. The brake problem happened when I was hard on the brakes and the bike did not feel as stable as I would’ve liked. But we will work on this small problem and I am sure that it will be better tomorrow. After Brands Hatch, I went home to Japan and while I was there, I saw a doctor about my knee and he told me that I had damaged some ligaments in my right knee. So I knew that it might get a bit sore once I was back on the bike. Today, I had a little problem when I tried to change direction quickly. So, I will have some physiotherapy and see how much I can improve it. At the moment, I don’t think it’s going to affect my riding too much and my intention is to forget about it, qualify well and fight for the podiums on Sunday.” Max – 7th, 1:39.433 “Today was OK. I did not find the best set-up so I was not confident enough to push the bike hard. Conditions today were not so good; in the morning parts of the track felt damp and although it was dry in the afternoon, it felt cold and certainly not like when we all tested here in June. We started the day with more or less the same set-up as we had used in the last two rounds, to see how it would work here. But didn’t work really well, so tomorrow we will go in the same direction as when we tested here. In the end, I think that our set-up will probably be something between the two. I feel sure that we will improve tomorrow and hopefully we will find a good set-up for the races.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: BAYLISS HEADS THE TIMESHEETS FOR DUCATI XEROX IN FIRST QUALIFYING AT EUROSPEEDWAY Lausitz (Germany), Friday 7 September : Troy Bayliss topped the qualifying timesheets for the Ducati Xerox Team at the end of the first session at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany. The Australian, who set a time of 1m38.569s, was a couple of tenths quicker than his fellow Australian, Troy Corser (Yamaha) and four-tenths ahead of the Japanese duo of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). Bayliss’s team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was in tenth position but just one second away from the provisional pole mark. “It’s a pretty good start to the weekend” said Troy. “I’m feeling quite comfortable on the bike and basically we’ve just been putting some laps on the tyres to see how it looks. We’ve more or less done race distance at the moment and everything’s looking fine. I was quite consistent but we want to try and improve a little bit tomorrow and see how it goes and we’re hoping for some good weather of course. Compared to last year I think the track is a bit bumpier and it’s actually slightly slower because at the first corner the guys here have stuck down ‘witches hats’ with tar so you don’t cut the corner like we used to. This morning we used the same front and rear for the whole session and this afternoon we did exactly the same right until the end when we just put another fresh race tyre in to set the quickest time”. “All the guys in front of me set their time with a softer front tyre” commented Lorenzo. “Instead I only did the session with race tyres and I’m really pleased. Unfortunately in the last few minutes there was a lot of traffic on the track and I was unable to improve my time. Even though I am just one second away from Troy, I have already lapped quicker than last year despite the traffic on the track and my choice of tyre. I’ve still got a few more things to try, but I’ve found a set-up that I like and I only hope that tomorrow and Sunday it’s not going to rain!” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Both Yamaha’s on the Provisional Front Row in Germany Today was back to work for the World Superbike Championship following the summer break and the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team wasted no time in getting back into the swing of things. Within a short space of time both Corser and Haga had found their usual form to take provisional second and fourth respectively in the first day of qualifying at the EuroSpeedway track in Germany. The morning session was uneventful with all riders taking it steady in the damp conditions. Haga finished third with a 1’39.773 and Corser ended the free practice session just behind in fourth. With the conditions improved for the afternoon session both riders went out intent on progress. Corser went fastest within the first seven minutes although Haga took the top slot briefly before Corser re-took it, knocking his team mate to second. The positions remained unchanged until Kagayama slid in between the Yamaha riders with 15 minutes to go. Then in the last minute Bayliss claimed the provisional pole pushing Corser into second and Haga into fourth. Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi had a good day back at the office. Following his crash during the last race weekend at Brands, Nakatomi found out he had broken five ribs and has been spending the summer break resting and recovering. He started well this morning in free practice and went on to take two seconds off his time in this afternoon’s qualifying to finish in 15th. With a mixed weather forecast for tomorrow all eyes will be on the skies for tomorrow’s final qualifying session and tyre choices will become all important. Troy Corser (2nd – 1’38.780 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today has gone well with everything feeling pretty good. We’ve spent the day trying different set-ups and just making small changes with the engine balance. We’ve got some small adjustments to make for the tyres; the front is too hard and the rear is too soft at the moment but we’re confident we can resolve it tomorrow. I’ve also been testing a new brake lever today, which feels different but I like it. It’s good to be back on the bike again after the break and I’m pleased to find that we’re further ahead today than I thought we’d be.” Noriyuki Haga (4th – 1’39.011 – Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today I have worked on engine settings and balance, although the real focus has been tyres because the weather forecast for tomorrow is mixed and we need to make quick progress in that area. I’ve found a front tyre but I’ve still got a couple of rear options to test. I’ve found a nice soft rear that’ll do race distance but if it rains on Sunday that’ll be no good. This morning was just spent getting used to the bike and riding again after a nice rest but I’m back in the saddle now!” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “It has been a good day for us. Neither rider had any problems; they both made good runs and lap times. They made some changes and every time the changes were in the right direction and will continue along this route. The forecast is for tomorrow and Sunday to be wet and I feel we will be ready for it.” Shinichi Nakatomi (15th – 1’40.745 – Team Yamaha YZF) “I’m happy with my result today and the feeling of the bike. I feel we have more improvements to make during tomorrow and I’m hoping to climb higher up the starting grid for the race. It’s been good to have a few weeks to rest and recover after Brands and my injuries are feeling better, even if I’m still not 100%.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda makes good progress The first day of qualifying for round 11 of the 2007 World Superbike Championship took place in damp and grey weather at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany today. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s James Toseland ended the day as the fifth fastest rider, while team-mate Roberto Rolfo qualified in fourteenth place. With the main focus of the day being on race distance, Toseland put in consistently fast laps during both the morning free practice and the official qualifying session. Although the current series leader was unable to secure the fastest lap of the day, he is happy with the results and confident that he can secure a front row start for Sunday’s race. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo struggled to get to grips with his CBR10000RR on the first two sections of the 4.265km circuit. However, the team will be working on the set-up of the bike overnight to ensure the Italian rider can improve on his lap time in the final qualifying session tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “Both riders are a bit further down than usual so we definitely have more work to do. On James’ side there is nothing too drastic wrong, he just got held up on the softer tyre by some traffic. We know there is more to come from him, but we are already happy with his race pace. We did a bit of a distance on the tyre and he seems quite strong, but we definitely have to make some improvements on his bike for tomorrow. “For Roberto, he was going at quite a pace this morning, but he did not progress as much as we were hoping in the afternoon. There are a few issues to sort out on his bike so we’ll be making some changes to his CBR1000RR in time for tomorrow.” James Toseland: “I am quite happy with how today has gone. I’ve not really done anything too spectacular. The damp weather this morning made track conditions slippery, but we are heading in the right direction. We need a good, dry day tomorrow and I think we’ll be right there. Today was more about race simulation and consistent lap times, which I think we have got. I’ve not ridden this track with the traction control before and it is really altering how the bike works, so that’s something we need to address, but overall I’m happy.” Roberto Rolfo: “I am not so happy with the first qualifying because there are two points in the track where I am not so good and I cannot open the throttle as I want to on the bike. On the first and second sections of the track I am still too slow compared to the faster riders. We will do some work to the settings of the bike for tomorrow to improve my line on these points. I am more happy with the final section of the circuit because I was able to regain some time, but in any case it is not enough. We will try tomorrow morning to improve on this.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: BAYLISS FROM CORSER AT EUROSPEEDWAY – TWO TROYS TANGLE ON DAY ONE Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) showed why he is the king of Lausitz qualifying when he scored the fastest lap of day one, lapping the overcast German circuit in a best time of 1’38.569 to lead the provisional qualifying times. Just behind him, 0.211 seconds behind to be precise, is the other Troy – Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) – who was himself only 0.2 seconds ahead of Japanese Superstar Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Another favourite from the land of the rising son was fourth, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) 0.442 seconds shy of Bayliss’s best time. CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER ON SECOND RUNG ON FIRST DAY James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was just about half a second shy of Bayliss in the first qualifying session (when everyone involved is still on regular race tyres, not qualifiers) with Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) only 0.041 seconds down on the long-time championship leader. First time Lausitz visitor in race trim, Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) was seventh, just outpacing his fellow native Roman, Michel Fabrizio (Honda DFX Corse). The last rider within a second of Bayliss was Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda), and Bayliss’ team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) scored the last spot inside the provisional top ten. NIETO AND NEUKIRCHNER NEXT UP Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was 11th fastest from 22 riders at Lausitz, while the private Suzuki of local lad Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) surged to 12th place. That early result put the ‘other’ Max up on two official riders, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha YZF Team) and Austrian wild-card rider Martin Bauer (Holzhauer Racing Promotions Honda) rounded out the top 16. Steve Martin took the 2006-spec Celani Suzuki to 18th place, Yoann Tiberio (Alto Evolution Honda) was 19th, in his first competitive Superbike session.