Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Hodgson grabs pole in Superpole thriller

Neil Hodgson took pole in a sun-drenched Superpole at Silverstone this afternoon, to the delight of the partisan crowd.

The brilliant sunshine made a welcome contrast to the awful conditions endured here last year. Hodgson took full advantage of the good weather to blast his way into pole for tomorrow’s sixth round of the World Superbike championship.

The session was interrupted when Vittorio Iannuzzo crashed heavily exiting the new, and widely hated, chicane. The chicane was added because the circuit doesn’t have sufficient run-off on the final turn to satisfy safety rules. Rather than go to the huge expense of remodelling the turn, or adding run-off, the circuit owners decided instead to opt for a cheaper option, a very tight chicane with two turns of more than 100 degrees in angle. The problem now is riders are prone to highsiding out of the turn – which is exactly what happened to Iannuzzo. He was unhurt in the tumble.

Two Suzukis will start from the front row on Sunday after wildcard rider Yukio Kagayama joined Gregorio Lavilla, who qualified fourth, on the front row. Kagayama went second fastest in Superpole, putting him ahead of Regis Laconi in third.


World Superbike Superpole Results:

1. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 1:52.875
2. Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:52.919
3. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 1:53.043
4. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:53.044
5. Michael Rutter, Ducati 998F02, 1:53.327
6. James Toseland, Ducati 998Fo2, 1:53.381
7. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 1:53.620
8. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:53.790
9. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 1:53.843
10. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 1:53.871
11. Sean Emmett, Ducati 998F02, 1:53.880
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 1:54.308
13. Marco Borciano, Ducati 998RS, 1:54.766
14. David Garcia, Ducati 998RS, 1:55.297
15. Giovanni Bussei, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:55.471
16. Vittorrio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, crashed, 1:54.663


More, from a press release issed by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Corser loses out in FPR Superpole struggle

Troy Corser will start tomorrow’s sixth round races of the World Superbike championship at the British circuit of Silverstone from the fifth row of the grid after Foggy PETRONAS Racing lost a qualifying session race against time.

With the seconds ticking away, the team were unable to make essential geometry changes to Troy’s FP1 in sufficient time to allow him to put in a crucial flying lap on a qualifying Michelin tyre.

Team manager Nigel Bosworth said: “We found a good set-up for Troy but ran out of time for him to use it and qualify for Superpole. It was a geometry change to the front head angle, which takes time to carry out, and we felt we needed to make it on his favourite bike in order to give him a chance of making the first 16.”

That left Corser in 18th place after the final qualifying session, with team-mate James Haydon ruled out of action with a neck injury sustained at the previous round. But progress was made during the afternoon’s final free practice hour,
when Troy set his fastest lap times on potential race tyres, finishing the session 14th quickest with a time of 1:55.973.

Troy said: “I wish I had found this rear, which was a bit harder on the right hand side, yesterday as I have been struggling with side grip. I might also now need to change the set-up tomorrow morning for the new tyre. It is really frustrating to be starting so far back, as it’s hard enough to get away when you are near the front. But I haven’t had an excellent start yet this season so tomorrow would be the ideal time.

“I’ll be looking to make progress through the first turn because the field will bunch at turn two. To make the top ten would be a good result and, with four fast wild cards in the field, would be an indication of the progress that we have made this weekend. But I really needed more time on the set-up as there have been so many things to try like the geometry, pivot positions, offset settings, head angle and mapping changes.”


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

Second row for HM Plant Ducati duo

James Toseland and Chris Walker have qualified on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s two Superbike races. The HM Plant Ducati duo recorded the sixth and seventh fastest times at Silverstone in preparation for the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship.

Toseland has been in superb form all weekend, brimming with confidence after his debut victory in the series at the last round in Germany. He has carried that impressive form through to his home event where he is hoping to consolidate his second position in the championship overall.

“My qualifying time doesn’t really reflect how well I think I’ve performed over the weekend so far,” said the 22-year-old Sheffield rider. “I’m confident that there’ll be more to come from me tomorrow. I’ve managed to improve my time in every session and the race set-up on the HM Plant Ducati is looking good. The only doubt will be tyre choice, because of the variation in track temperature over the past two days. The Dunlops are working consistently well and it looks good for the warm weather that is forecast for tomorrow.”

Team-mate Walker had been on the provisional front row overnight, but he slipped down the rankings after today’s final qualifying and Superpole sessions – despite improving his time quite considerably. However, he is happy with his place on the middle of the second row alongside Toseland.

“That was the most hotly contested Superpole of the year,” said the popular Nottingham rider. “I knew that qualifying would be competitive with the British Superbike wild card riders’ local track knowledge paying dividends. I feel that my performance this weekend has shown how confident I am now riding the HM Plant Ducati. We’ve got an excellent race set-up, the Dunlop tyres are on song and hopefully I’m on course for my best two results of the year tomorrow to repay the fans for all their support.”