World Superbike Superpole Results: 1. Chris VERMEULEN, Honda, 1:39.836 2. Lorenzo LANZI, Ducati, 1:40.349 3. Noriyuki HAGA, Yamaha, 1:40.510 4. Karl MUGGERIDGE, Honda, 1:40.536 5. James TOSELAND, Ducati, 1:40.981 6. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Honda, 1:41.043 7. Yukio KAGAYAMA, Suzuki, 1:41.112 8. Andrew PITT, Yamaha, 1:41.241 9. Chris WALKER, Kawasaki, 1:41.264 10. Regis LACONI, Ducati, 1:41.398 11. Ben BOSTROM, Honda, 1:41.573 12. Giovanni BUSSEI, Kawasaki, 1:41.657 13. David CHECA, Yamaha, 1:41.744 14. Steve MARTIN, Foggy Petronas, 1:41.747 15. Pierfrancesco CHILI, Honda, 1:41.887 16. Troy CORSER, Suzuki, 1:42.659 1’41.695 1’41.760 17 43 1’41.695 156,149 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: WINSTON’S VERMEULEN FINDS RECORD FLYER IN FRANCE Chris Vermeulen will start tomorrow’s two final World Superbike championship races of 2005 at Magny-Cours, France from pole position after setting the fastest qualifying time in today’s one-lap Superpole shoot-out. The Australian took his third pole of the season by lapping the 4.4km French track in a time of 1m39.836s, beating the 2003 best lap time of Neil Hodgson by almost second. Vermeulen’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate Karl Muggeridge will also start from front of the grid for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races after setting the fourth fastest time in Superpole this afternoon. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “Having both riders on the front row for the final two races of the season is a great tribute to the incredibly hard work that the whole team has put in during the year to constantly improve the CBR1000RR. Having said that, I must pay tribute to Chris for a magnificent lap and for breaking the old record by such a margin. It really was an exceptional performance. And for Karl to achieve what he did after a free practice crash wrecked his number one bike is impressive, too. We’ll work hard tonight to have the bike fixed for tomorrow morning. It’s maybe a shame that the fat lady sung in the rain of Imola last weekend but there’s no doubt tomorrow’s races will be tough.” Chris Vermeulen pole position, 1m39.836s “I didn’t expect that time, to be honest, but you can bet I’ll take it! The bike’s just been getting better and better over the last few races and the team has to take a lot of credit for working so hard to get it how it is now. Troy (Corser) obviously had a bit of a problem in Superpole this afternoon but everyone gets a bit of bad luck sometime. I think we had our fair share in the early part of the season so it’s nice to finish it with a flourish. Everyone is pretty close on race tyres, though, so tomorrow’s races are not going to be easy. With Troy back in sixteenth place, I hope I can get away at the front but there’ll be some other guys with something to say about that.” Karl Muggeridge fourth fastest, 1m40.536s “There’s a bit of repaired tarmac half way round the first right hander here and I’ve been riding on the inside of it all weekend. With the qualifier in for Superpole I tried to run a little wider but hit it and that put me on the wrong trajectory. The rest of the lap wasn’t too bad and, considering I broke the best bike in the free practice crash, I’m happy to be on the front row. I don’t know what happened in the crash the only thing different is that I was doing about 3kph more into the corner that normal. The race set-up is pretty good for tomorrow but they’re going to be tight races and it’ll be hard to pass, so a front row start is important.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: WSB : Haga on front row at Magny Cours Round: 12 – France Circuit: MagnyCours Date: 8 October 2005 Temp: 23ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga will start tomorrow’s final rounds of the 2005 Superbike World Championship from the front row after posting a stunning lap during superpole today. The Japanese ace had been the sixth rider to start his superpole lap after ending the two one-hour qualifying sessions down in 11th place. In typical Nitro Nori fashion, Haga showed his ultimate speed to take over a second off his best time from Friday to hold pole for most of the session and end up third on the grid. Haga aims to consolidate his third position in the championship and extend his run of eight consecutive podium finishes in tomorrow’s 23-lap races. After holding third in the overnight standings, team-mate Andrew Pitt had an up-and-down day today. The Australian improved his time slightly during the morning qualifying session but had a crash early in the afternoon warm-up session after losing front end grip. Pitt did not lose too much track time as the session was delayed due to oil dropped by another rider, however it did mean that he was forced to use his spare machine for the remainder of the session. A scrappy superpole lap by his own smooth standards saw him drop down to eighth place and the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s season ending races. Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe missed out on superpole after ending a troubled combined qualifying saw them 17th and 19th respectively. David Checa and his Yamaha Motor France-supported GMT94 squad, Gimbert’s team in the 24 hour endurance races, are making their third appearance in this year’s championship this weekend. The Spaniard was 15th in regular qualifying and will start from 13th on the grid despite failing to beat his fastest lap of the weekend in superpole. Pole position for tomorrow’s races goes to Chris Vermeulen (Honda), with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) second and Karl Muggeridge (Honda) completing the front row. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “I think we will be in good shape for the race. The feeling with the bike is already very good and I’ve already decided what tyre to use for the race. It’s always good be on the front row and I am confident that my pace can match anyone in the race.” Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “The crash this afternoon caught us out a bit. I went out with an old front tyre and a new rear and I just lost the front end. I was able to go out and go quicker, but we lost some time in the pits which upset the rhythm. I made a few mistakes on the superpole lap and I’m disappointed to miss out on the front row because that’s where we’ve been all weekend. But second row’s what we’ve got and the race set-up is good, so we’ll hope for a good start and see what happens.” Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) “All weekend we have had problems with the front end. Today we tried everything: making it higher, making it lower, but so far we have not found a solution. Tonight we must try some more things to look for a solution for the race.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) “Today we had many small problems that stopped me going for a fast lap. Four times I had to come into the pits and this cost me a lot of time. I think that we can be strong in the race though, we have to wait and see.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) “I think we are looking good for the races. Andrew is strong around this circuit although I was a little bit worried about Nori until superpole, when he showed his real strength for tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY ON THE FOURTH ROW! Troy suffered tyre pressure problems in Superpole at Magny-Cours today, but somehow he kept going and completed the lap. It was obvious from the first two corners that Troy was in serious difficulties, but he pushed as hard as he dared and crossed the line with the sixteenth fastest time. His Superpole lap of 1:42.659 was over two seconds slower then his best time in regular qualifying and now Troy faces a gargantuan task in tomorrow’s two 23-lap races. Chris Vermeulen (Honda) continued his recent run of success by taking Superpole, with a time of 1:39.836 – quicker then the lap record. Second is Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati), ahead of Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) and Karl Muggeridge (Honda). TROY – 16th, 1:42.659 What a disaster! On my Superpole warm-up lap, I never push too hard, so the first thing I knew about a problem with the rear tyre was when I started my Superpole lap in earnest. By the time I had done the first two corners, I knew that I had a serious problem with the rear. In hindsight, maybe I should’ve gone into the gravel and fallen over because then I would have ended up on the second row of the grid. But, it’s not in my nature to give up like that, so I just kept going as best I could. It’s going to be a very long, hard day tomorrow, but I’m going to give it all I’ve got. It would be interesting if I could win a race from the fourth row, don’t you think? More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT MAGNY-COURS: TOSELAND EDGED OFF THE FRONT ROW BY LANZI – LACONI IN DIFFICULTY IN TENTH PLACE Magny-Cours (France), Saturday 8 October: James Toseland produced a good lap in Superpole qualifying for the final round of the World Superbike Championship at Magny-Cours to finish fifth on the starting-grid for tomorrow’s two races. The 2004 world champion was on the front row for much of the session after qualifying thirteenth but was then edged off by Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati SC Caracchi) at the last moment. “That wasn’t too bad, all things considered” said Toseland. “I got edged off the front row by Lorenzo. It wasn’t a perfect lap by any means, but the 39.8 was sensational by Chris. I’m a bit disappointed not to be on the front row, but from fifth, with the way the weekend’s been going, with the changes we’ve been making, I’ve got a chance of a good result for sure. We managed to sort most of the problems out, just one problem with the rear setting that needs to be seen to, but I’m quietly confident for tomorrow. I can get away with the leaders from fifth on the grid and hang in there at the front”. Régis Laconi was again in difficulty from his right arm and was unable to make much headway on the second Ducati Xerox 999. The Frenchman, sixteenth after the regular two sessions, ended the day in tenth position but was not optimistic about tomorrow’s two races. “That was a real surprise” declared Laconi. “Clearly with my arm I am just unable to ride and it’ll be like that for the race. With all the changes in direction and heavy braking I can’t ride the way I like. I can’t brake well because my arm is hurting and I haven’t got any power in my arm. In this condition I can’t do any good races because after a couple of laps I’m in difficulty. I can’t do much about that”. STARTING-GRID: 1. Vermeulen (Honda) 1m39.386s; 2. Lanzi (Ducati SC Caracchi) 1m40.349s; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 1m40.510s; 4. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m40.536s; 5. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m40.981s; 6. Neukirchner (Honda) 1m41.043s; 7. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m41.112s; 8. Pitt (Yamaha) 1m41.241s; 9. Walker (Kawasaki) 1m41.264s; 10. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1m41.398s. More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi FRONT ROW FOR LANZI, SECOND FOR NANNELLI AT MAGNY COURS After he recorded the quickest laptime during qualifying session Lorenzo Lanzi set the second fastest in Superpole at Magny Cours, final round of 2005 WSBK Championship. Lorenzo is a bit disappointed to miss the pole position, but most important is to start from the front row for tomorrow’s two races, and the goal has been reached. “I’m a biy disappointed to miss the pole.” – confessed at the end of Superpole Lorenzo Lanzi. “I tried to set a laptime under 1’40″, but a small mistake during the second split slowed my action.. Actually the 39″8 was sensational by Chris. I shall start from the front row and the first corner is on the left, so it would be important have a good start. For the race I’m quietly confident, the bike performs well and I have an excellent race pace. Both during the qualifying morning session as in the afternoon free practice session I made a long run with a good result and the tyres worked very well. I’m confident in a good race, now we must hope that weather conditions will remain good for this last race of the season.” Less satisfied is Gianluca Nannelli, that at Magny Cours tried without success to score the front row, missed just for three tenth of second. The Frenc track is not favourable for the twin, most in the final part where are slow corners and where some handling problems made Gianluca to lose precious time. “I’m very tired, also if the final result wasn’t too bad the bike asks in such conditions a heavy physical commitment.” said Gianluca Nannelli after the practices. “In the slowest part of the circuit, the final corners, we have a difficult handling and in that split I lose a lot of time. We changed the set up, but without any result,so for tomorrow’s race I have any illusion. Will be very important the first laps, we have o remain with the leader group otherwise there wi’ll be no story. Now we have to study with the team the tyres selection for the race, to stay with the leaders at the beginning and to have still grip for the final laps; I would end the season with a very good result.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: A rear tyre pressure problem almost prevented World Superbike Champion Troy Corser finishing his Superpole lap at today’s Magny Cours final round, but he persevered and crossed the line in 16th place, two seconds slower than his time in normal qualifying. His Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team mate Yukio Kagayama also had a problem with rear end chatter, but grabbed a second row start in seventh. Chris Vermeulen (Honda) took Superpole – smashing the lap record in the process – with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) second, Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) third and Karl Muggeridge (Honda) fourth. Yukio Kagayama – 7th, 1:41.112: “In Superpole I had a little problem with chattering from the rear end, but I pushed as hard as I could and maybe the second row is not so bad. We had the same chattering problems with race tyres but not as bad as with the qualifying tyres. I want to have two good races tomorrow and finish the season with very good results.” Troy Corser -16th, 1:42.659: “I knew I had a problem when I started my actual Superpole lap and it was a real problem! I kept it going, pushing hard all the time, but my lap time was slow and 16th was the result. I think the television cameras showed the rear tyre smoking and you can imagine what it was like to just ride the bike. The fourth row is a long way back so maybe I’ll get some binoculars to see the lights! It’s going to be a long, hard day tomorrow but I’ll still be trying my best to get on the podium for sure.”