FIM Superbike World Championship Magny Cours, France September 30 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:38.652 2. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:38.664 3. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:38.741 4. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.860 5. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:38.942 6. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.957 7. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:38.977 8. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:39.019 9. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:39.025 10. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:39.063 11. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:39.196 12. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:39.220 13. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:39.309 14. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:39.333 15. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:39.504 16. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:39.587 17. Javier FORES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:39.705 18. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:39.982 More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Nitro Nori is unstoppable. The japanese rider opened this weekend in Magny Cours right as he closed the last one: being a protagonist. He confirmed to be in top-shape and establishing himself among the outsiders for the next two races. Haga has by now found the right setting and made use of today’s sessions trying to improve the feeling with the french track testing different solutions on the chassis. He kept the first row almost until the very last of the first session but then opted to concentrate his work on the setting. The aim is to boost the back grip before give it all trying to reach the starting place along the Superpole. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “We still need to increase our grip but I’m sure that today’s work helped our team finding the right way to do it. Tomorrow we’ll find out which goals we can aim to, within sight of sunday. I’d love to give my supporters and to my team the first win of this season.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Carlos determined to lead as penultimate round begins Magny-Cours (France), Friday 30 September 2011 A near record pace final lap from Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) and a very slightly slower mark from Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) conspired to keep local favourite Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati) off the provisional pole spot in France. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) was once again on fine form as he joined the top four, with the second Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati of Jakub Smrz fifth fastest. Imola race winner Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) scored a top six, with the first official BMW home belonging to Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) who was seventh. Noriyuki Haga (Pata Aprilia) finished off the virtual second row in the opening qualifying session, making it six different types of machine in the top eight places. Troy Corser, Haslam’s BMW team-mate, was ninth and second official Kawasaki rider Joan Lascorz tenth, in a first qualifying session so close that the top ten riders were covered by only 0.411 seconds. Another local rider, Maxime Berger (Supersonic Ducati) was 11th and only 0.544 from provisional pole, with privateer Kawasaki rider Mark Aitchison (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) delighted to be so close to the leaders in 12th, and only just over half a second from leader Checa. Italian rider Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK) was 13th and therefore one place up on championship high-flyer, Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) today. Lone Suzuki man Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) was 15th, but Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) did not ride this afternoon as he had tweaked his neck after a fast crash in the morning session. Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’38.652; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’38.664; 3. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’38.741; 4. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’38.860; 5. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’38.942; 6. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.957; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’38.977; 8. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’39.019; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’39.025; 10. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’39.063; 11. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’39.196; 12. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’39.220; 13. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’39.309; 14. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’39.333; 15. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’39.504; 16. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’39.587; etc. World Supersport Three Kawasakis took the top three slots at the end of the first WSS qualifying session, with the best time of 1 minute 41.498 seconds going to Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni). The Italian was a full half-second clear of the factory machines of Broc Parkes and David Salom (Motocard.com). Fourth place went to Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) followed by Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Championship leader Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) is currently lying eighth behind two more Hondas of Sam Lowes (Parkalgar) and young Frenchman Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Times: 1. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’41.498; 2. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’42.060; 3. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’42.148; 4. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.247; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.384; 6. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.519; 7. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.644; 8. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.662; etc. Superstock 1000 The first round of the never-ending duel between Ducati and BMW at the Magny-Cours circuit was resolved in favour of the Italian manufacturer, which placed four bikes in the top four positions of qualifying. Top slot went to title favourite Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) who was four-tenths of a second quicker than Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team). Third quickest was Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing) followed by Niccolò Canepa (Lazio MotorSport). The best BMW man was Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) in fifth, ahead of a second S 1000 RR machine of Fabio Massei (Piellemoto), while Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) had a spectacular crash from which he fortunately emerged unharmed. Times: 1. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’41.372; 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’41.758; 3. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’42.071; 4. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’42.693; 5. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR; 1’42.989; 6. Massei F. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’43.063; 7. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 1’43.249; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.255; etc. Superstock 600 Italian Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) re-emerged as a contender in Superstock 600 qualifying as he powered to the top in a time of 1 minute 45.630 seconds. Behind can be found the young American Joshua Day (Revolution Racedays Kawasaki) and Belgium’s Gauthier Duwelz (MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha). Points leader Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha) is currently down in tenth, one place ahead of Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), with another of this year’s winners Michael van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Honda) in fourth. Times: 1. Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.630; 2. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.692; 3. Duwelz G. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.036; 4. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.117; 5. Marchal M. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.142; 6. Schacht A. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.177; 7. Krajci T. (SVK) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.333; 8. Cecchini R. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675; etc. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: CARLOS CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) MOVES CLOSER TO CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE; FIRST IN FIRST QUALIFYING TODAY AT MAGNY-COURS Nevers (France), Friday 30th September 2011: Carlos Checa and Althea Racing made a more than positive start to the Magny-Cours race weekend, closing both of today”Ÿs sessions in first position and setting the pace for what will undoubtedly be a memorable weekend. The first practice session of the twelfth round of the World Superbike Championship took place this morning at the “žCircuit de Nevers Magny-Cours”Ÿ in warm and sunny conditions (air temperature 25ËšC, track 38ËšC). A red flag, waved after a crash for Xaus in the opening minutes, delayed the session by fifteen minutes but once back on track, Checa was the first to lap in under 1m40, recording a 1m39.566 in the initial stage. By the end of the 60-minute session, he had lowered his best time by another half a second to close in first place with a best of 1m39.013. Checa was back on track during the afternoon for first qualifying. He and his technicians got a lot of work done which allowed the Spaniard to record a fast lap of 1m38.915 towards mid-session. Despite the elevated temperatures (45ËšC track temperature), all riders times dropped but at the close of play it was still Carlos on top of the pile, with a best time of 1m38.652 recorded in the final minutes. He thus closed first, ahead of Laverty and Guintoli. Carlos Checa: “We”Ÿve worked really well today. We”Ÿre missing a little grip and so concentrated on that for pretty much the entire session and by the end it looks like we found something. In these temperatures I guess it”Ÿs going to be a problem for most people but we”Ÿll work more on that tomorrow. For the most part we”Ÿre satisfied of course. I was able to find a good rhythm and record some fast times. There are a number of us within just a few tenths of each other so I think we”Ÿll see some close racing come Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: MICHEL NOT FAR OFF DESPITE FRONT END PROBLEMS Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio suffered front end problems in free practice and qualifying today and ended up 15th fastest. The team tried many different ideas in the two sessions, but could not find a solution to Michel’s handling and stopping problems. They will analyse today’s data, hopefully find out what has been causing the problems and then come up with a solution for Michel to try tomorrow morning. Although Michel’s finished 15th today, he is only eight tenths of a second adrift of leader, Carlos Checa (Ducati), so once again, the lap times are very close. Checa finished with a time of 1:38.652, with Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) second, local hero Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) third and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) fourth. Michel – 15th, 1:39.504 Today was a bit disappointing because I knew I could go faster, but was unable to do so. Throughout the day, I had problems with the front end of my bike. I couldn’t get it to turn properly and I also had a problem getting it to stop. I had a small tumble in this morning’s session, when the front tucked under, but I was uninjured and able to ride the bike back to the pits. We tried many different things today, like changing the ride height and putting different springs settings in the front forks, but nothing really worked. The team and I will have a look at all the data and see what to do next. Fortunately, the telemetry showed what I had been experiencing, so at least the team can see what’s going on. I feel pretty confident that we’ll find some solutions to try tomorrow morning and then do much better. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport is happy with the first day of the race weekend at Magny-Cours (FRA). The French track hosts the 12th and penultimate round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship. In Free Practice in the morning factory riders, Troy Corser (AUS) and Leon Haslam (GBR), finished third and fourth respectively. In the first Qualifying Practice in the afternoon Leon qualified seventh and provisionally on the second row. Troy was ninth on his BMW S 1000 RR. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) and Xavi Fores (ESP) from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team finished in 13th and 17th respectively. Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:39.252 min (P4)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:38.977 min (P7) “This day was pretty good. We tried a few different options on the rear tyres for the race distance. It is not easy to find a good set-up for this circuit, so we worked on that. The lap times are not too bad at the moment. We are only three tenths off the quickest time, and I lose a lot of time in just one corner. Tomorrow if we can rectify the issue that we have in that one corner, then we should be somewhere close to the front.” Troy Corser: Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:39.241 min (P3)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:39.025 min (P9) “The position where we ended up does not show how we are doing. We made some good improvements. Regarding times on race tyres, I would probably be around third or fourth. The set-up of the RR is pretty close to what I am looking for. The chassis settings are working quite well, and we are also pretty consistent. I did quite a few laps on the tyres and the times were pretty good. Now we have a few things to look at, but generally I am pretty happy with the bike. On race tyres we are there. In the end we didn’t even put a new tyre on to safely qualify for Superpole, but saved it for tomorrow. This is where we should be.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “I think we are pretty competitive, especially on longer runs. The guys in front of us all did their best times on one single quick lap. We were doing well in the first session with both riders finishing in the top four. This is a good base. Our aim for tomorrow is to get both riders into Superpole 3, and I think it is possible.” More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Rea sixth-fastest in tight French qualifying Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea took a provisional second row slot for Sunday’s two 12th round World Superbike championship races at Magny-Cours in France after setting the sixth fastest time in this afternoon’s first qualifying practice session. Fresh from his race one victory in Imola, Italy last weekend, the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland was in confident mood after this morning’s free practice, which he completed without resorting to softer race rubber. Provisional pole position and just three tenths faster than Rea, as the top 15 riders were covered by less than one second was taken by series leader, Carlos Checa, who needs only three points from this weekend’s races to secure the 2011 World Superbike title. However, Rea’s Castrol Honda team-mate, Ruben Xaus was unable to compete in this afternoon’s session after crashing on his out lap in this morning’s free practice. Th e Spanish rider suffered an uncomfortable muscle strain in his neck following a high-speed get-off and he was advised by circuit medical staff to sit out this afternoon. Xaus’s condition will be re-assessed before tomorrow morning’s second qualifying session. Jonathan Rea P6 1m38.957s It was quite difficult this afternoon because I was in and out of the garage quite a lot, trying to sort out little issues. We found a bit of rhythm towards the end of the session though and the bike felt OK, although we’re still struggling a little in one sector. We need to make some changes to help that and, like last year, the long left at the bottom of the hill is causing some problems. I think I’m rushing in a bit and trying to scrub off speed with too much lean angle, so we’ll look at all that tonight. We had a good session this morning on the harder race tyre and we’ve got a pretty good idea how that&rsqu o;ll end up, but temperature will be quite critical here. Ruben Xaus It was a very bad start to the day, just on my out lap for free practice this morning and I was coming up the hill to the fast left. When I closed the throttle, it felt like the gas didn’t shut off properly and I ran off the track, going quite fast towards the air fence. My neck is quite sore and the doctors advised me to take it easy this afternoon and not ride. I hope it is not too stiff in the morning when we will assess the situation again. Ronald ten Kate team manager Well the first thing is that we hope Ruben will be declared fit by the circuit doctors tomorrow so that we can continue the progress with him. On Jonathan’s side of the garage we still have some issues to resolve some relating to riding lines and some to suspension and the new ride-by-wire system. But we are not far away f rom the front so hopefully we can make some good changes for tomorrow. So far we are, once again, quite happy with the new system. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Laverty Second Fastest in First Qualifying After less than a week since the last round of the World Superbike Championship in Imola, the Yamaha World Superbike team was back on track today on the warm and sunny French circuit at Magny Cours. This is the penultimate round of the 2011 season and Melandri and Laverty, determined to impress on Sunday, got straight down to business in today’s free practice and first qualifying session. Marco Melandri spent the day getting familiar with the tight chicanes and fast curves the formula one track has to offer. Having improved on his lines in the earlier free practice session, the Italian proceeded to make further progress in the afternoon to complete the day in fourteenth place with just less than 0.681 of a second separating him from the leader. Team-mate Eugene Laverty was consistent throughout the day, making minor adjustments to the rear set up on his machine to produce faster laps towards the end and finish the first qualifying session in an impressive second place just 0.012 behind championship leader, Carlos Checa. Both riders will be making further changes and adjustments to their R1’s in tomorrow morning’s qualifying practice in search of a more ideal race set up ahead of Sunday’s important two races where Melandri will be battling to take the championship title fight to the last round in Portimao, while Laverty will be looking to climb to third place in the classification. Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team – 2nd, 1’38.664 “It was a really good first qualifying session, finishing second in the time sheets is the highest I have been all year. The closest I have been to this at such an early stage in the weekend was at Monza when we were third, so hopefully that is a good omen. We did two long runs to get a lot of work done on race distance. We are struggling a little with rear grip, having a lot of spinning but we made a step mid-way and again at the end which gave us a clear direction of what we need to do, so hopefully we can continue working towards making further improvements tomorrow. ” Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team – 14th, 1’39.333 “Today wasn’t a bad day even if we didn’t end the session with a good result. It was a day I spent getting to know the track and the various sectors and having used little rubber I think there is plenty of room for improvement. This afternoon we spent the session trying to understand where we need to change from the base set up and we’ll definitely be working on improving the change of direction to have a more agile bike tomorrow. We also need to make some adjustments to the rear set up in search of better grip but I’m confident I will be a lot stronger in tomorrow’s second qualifying.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “It was a good start to the weekend in Magny Cours. The R1 has been successful here before and it looks like it has potential again. Eugene is demonstrating that he is consistent with race tyre and has also produced fast lap times. The team needs to work on improving the rear grip but they know what to do to be more consistent again tomorrow. Marco spent the day learning the lines of the track as it’s his first time in Magny Cours. He made several mistakes in the morning but improved by the afternoon. He has a good pace but is lacking in the confidence he requires to push hard enough to improve lap times. The team will work hard this evening to improve change of direction which is crucial on this track and try to find a better rear grip set up. I’m not concerned about Marco’s position, he is only 0.68 of a second behind the leader and there aren’t any particularly difficult sectors for our R1.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: First day of qualifying for the Superbike and Superstock riders of the Pedercini team at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. Warm and sunny weather today at the French circuit. During the morning’s Superbike free practice, which took place on a dry track, Mark Aitchison obtained seventeenth place (1’40″599) while team mate Roberto Rolfo reached eighteenth position (1’40″726). The Australian rider crashed twice towards the middle of the session, fortunately without any physical consequences. During the afternoon’s qualifying session, Aitchison put in a strong performance and moved up to twelfth position (1’39″220) while Rolfo (1’39″982) was eighteenth. Set-up work continues for the Pedercini Superbike riders as they aim to secure a good grid position, which will be crucial for Sunday’s race at this technical and twisty circuit. Superbike free practice : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Sykes (Kawasaki) 3) Corser (BMW) 4) Haslam (BMW) – 5) Smrz (Ducati) “¦17) Aitchison (Kawasaki) 18) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike Qualifying 1 : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Laverty (Yamaha) 3) Guintoli (Ducati) 4) Sykes (Kawasaki) 5) Smrz (Ducati) “¦12) Aitchison (Kawasaki)”¦”¦”¦ 18) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo: “This afternoon I greatly improved on my best time of the morning but I’m not totally satisfied because I used the softer tyre too early on and I was not able to reach a better position. We still have some problems in the flattest corners, but tomorrow I’ll try my best to enter the Superpole and I’m confident because I like this track and today I think I found a good feeling with my Kawasaki”. Mark Aitchison :”Our first day in Magny Cours has not been easy for me and my team. In the beginning of the free practice I was following Haga and in one point of the track he ran off the circuit whilst I was very close. Unfortunately for me some stones came up from his tyre into my radiator, causing water to leak onto the front tyre and causing me to crash. I was unhurt and looked ahead to the qualifying session. This was much better as I found a good rhythm and started to make some better times. We have some work still to do tomorrow with testing different tyres, but I’m feeling confident on the bike”. Team Pedercini riders Tati Mercado (1’44″717) and Marco Bussolotti (1’44″365) struggled to get initial feeling with their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R bikes at the Magny Cours circuit during this morning’s free practice, while Bryan Staring (1’1’43″624) impressed with the eighth fastest time. In the afternoon’s first qualifying session Mercado (1’44″477) crashed mid-session while pushing hard to improve on his previous best lap time. He was able to rejoin the session, closing in eighteenth position. Bussolotti (1’44″153) didn’t find the right feeling with his bike on the French circuit ending the session in fifteenth place. Staring (1’43″278) confirmed his morning good performance by reaching ninth position. Superstock 1000 free practice : 1) Barrier BMW) 2) Petrucci (Ducati) 3) Giugliano (Ducati) – 4) Baroni (Ducati) “¦”¦. 8) Staring (Kawasaki)”¦”¦”¦13) Bussolotti (Kawasaki)”¦”¦..17) Mercado (Kawasaki) Superstock 1000 qualifying 1 : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Petrucci (Ducati) 3) Baroni (Ducati) 4) Canepa (Ducati) “¦”¦. 9) Staring (Kawasaki) “¦”¦ 15) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦”¦.. 18) Mercado (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti : “Unfortunately I made a small mistake during my best lap and was not able to reach a better position. This afternoon I suffered from some chattering on the front wheel and a lack of grip on the rear. My technicians are now working on the front suspension and I hope for a better result tomorrow.” Brian Staring: “I would like to say that, maybe after Monza, this is probably the best Friday we have had all year. We still have a lot of work to do and I’m sure in the next days all the other riders will improve on their best lap times, but we are moving in the right direction. I still have a problem in one particular corner but hopefully we can improve there and take a big step forward tomorrow”. Leandro “Tati” Mercado: “This afternoon I was improving my lap times but unfortunately I lost the front wheel and crashed. I was able to rejoin the session but with the new tyres I didn’t find the grip I needed to improve my rhythm and my lap times, probably because of the afternoon higher temperature. We’ll continue to work tomorrow to find the best possible set up for my Kawasaki”. More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: SIXTEEN RIDERS IN LESS THAN ONE SECOND: FRIDAY AT MAGNY COURS LAUNCHES WHAT PROMISES TO BE A WELL BALANCED WEEKEND. LEON CAMIER FOCUSES ON LONG DISTANCE ON A RACING TYRE AND FINISHES IN SIXTEENTH PLACE. Magny Cours, September 30th, 2011 It is not a record, but it further confirms the balance which characterises the World Superbike Championship: in the Friday qualifying sessions at Magny Cours an astonishing 16 riders out of 18 are grouped within less than a second. During the session the top positions alternated rapidly until ending with a final ranking which could realistically see further upsets tomorrow. The Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team, committed with only Leon Camier’s number 2 RSV4 due to Max Biaggi’s injury, must settle for sixteenth place in the end. The result must in any case be considered in light of the extremely even playing field, also taking into consideration the fact that the English rider uses only one rear tyre during the qualifying session. Work on long distance went hand in hand with Leon’s apprenticeship on the French track which he has not raced on since 2009. In fact, last year Camier was forced to skip the transalpine round due to an injury. The path to follow seems to be laid out: most of the problems stem from poor feeling with the front end, which will be focused on during tomorrow’s practice sessions. “We worked really hard during practice confirms Leon – using the same tyre for a lot of laps in view of the races. We tweaked my RSV4 quite a bit until we found a decent setting for the rear. Tomorrow we’ll focus on the front end where I still don’t have a great feeling as well as on the electronic parameters. With so many riders within tenths of a second of one another, it will be hard work to move up: we’ll have to see if the changes we’re thinking of will allow us to do that”. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY HAPPY WITH DAY ONE Troy finished the first qualifying session at Magny-Cours with the ninth fastest time, and is happier with his bike on an opening day than he has been for most of the season. Troy chose to keep back one of his softer tyres at the end of qualifying today, for use tomorrow, and that’s when four of five riders went quicker. Up until then, Troy had been third quickest on the time sheets and settling down to one of his better first days of a race weekend. Although Troy ended ninth, the lap times are all once again very close, with the top sixteen separated by less than a second! Carlos Checa finished with a time of 1:38.652, with Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) second, local hero Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) third and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) fourth. Troy – 9th, 1:39.025 Considering that today is the first day of a race weekend, I’m pretty happy really. The bike’s chassis was working well, responding to the changes we were making and I actually felt that I was riding the bike. The engine is still a bit peaky and the bike wants to spin up a bit too much, but generally it’s been a pretty good day. We made some small changes to the front fork settings from the morning to the afternoon, but there was no real improvement. We also changed the damping on the rear spring this afternoon – and that was better for sure. When the track temperature went up this afternoon, the grip definitely lessened, but that’s something that always happens at this track. I was third fastest for a lot of today and only got passed when four or five riders put in soft tyres towards the end of the qualifying session. I decided not to use one of my soft tyres, so that I could use it tomorrow instead. Once again the lap times are very, very close and I think there is less than a second between the first and sixteenth rider. That’s going to make Superpole very important, but if things continue as well as they have done today, I feel pretty positive about Sunday.