From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

Late Run Suits Laconi: Xerox Ducati rider Regis Laconi, the 2004 season runner up, fired an early first shot in the 2005 campaign by taking the Superpole win at Losail International Circuit. In changing conditions, the Superpole contest was run under ‘Wet’ regulations thanks to a ruling by Race Direction, even with a largely dry track surface underfoot at the start. The decision was vindicated by a fall of rain with 20 minutes of the 50-minute session remaining, and thus each rider was given a limited number of laps in which to complete their personal best.

As the racing line dried out Laconi and co took to the track one more, hoping to improve on their early session times, with Laconi making the best of it and taking his seventh career pole position, with a 2:01.593.

Front Row Squatters:
Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) was the man Laconi displaced to take Superpole, and sportingly he was also the rider who got out of Laconi’s path during the Frenchman’s fast run to the Superpole win. He was second by a margin of 0.048 seconds, with the front row completed by Yamaha Motor France IPONE runner Sebastien Gimbert, and another full-time SBK rookie, Yukio Kagayama, Corser’s partner in the Suzuki squad.

Pitt Fifth, Cardoso Recovers to Sixth:
Andrew Pitt, who had a troubled final qualifying session after a machine problem, secured the best spot on row two, riding his Yamaha Motor Italia R1 to within almost a second of Laconi’s best on a changing circuit. Two Yamaha riders followed him on the final grid placing, with Jose Luis Cardoso (DFX Extreme Sterilgarda Yamaha) one of the riders temporarily demoted below his previous qualifying position, simply by not putting in a fast lap before the rains came. On a drying track, he took sixth place, one up on the second Yamaha Motor Italia rider, Noriyuki Haga.

Vermeulen Reasserts Class:
Despite a crash in the final Superpole minutes, Chris Vermeulen recovered both composure and lap time enough to earn a second row start, with eighth best time on his Winston Ten Kate Honda. Ivan Silva again used his last exit of pitlane to secure ninth place on his La Glisse Yamaha, ahead of SBK legend and new Klaffi Honda runner, Pierfrancesco Chili.

Walker Battles On:
Top Kawasaki runner was, as has been the case for most of qualifying, Chris Walker, who had to sit out the final possible lap after a minor machine niggle prevented him from setting a fast final lap. He was nonetheless one place up on Kawasaki Bertocchi runner Giovanni Bussei.

Champion on Row Four:
2004 World Champion James Toseland, continually exiting and entering the pit in qualifying today, slipped down the order to finish Superpole only 13th, sharing the final four places of a wet Superpole with Klaffi Honda runner Max Neukirchner, Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) and Marco Borciani (DFX Extreme Sterilgarda Yamaha).Outside Bets: Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati SC Caracchi) and Karl Muggeridge (Winston ten Kate Honda) were two of the series’ bigger names who did not make the Superpole cut after the final regulation qualifying session proved to be wet, and necessarily slow laps left them stranded just outside the top 16, unable to improve on their first day times or positions. Fonsi Nieto (Ducati SC Caracchi) stayed 19th fastest thanks to his day one time, and for the same reason Steve Martin (Petronas FP-1) was 20th, and fills the last space on row five. Local rider Talal Al Nuami (La Glisse Yamaha) failed to make the qualifying time but was allowed to race.

Supersport:
Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier secured the pole with the 2:03.841 lap time he set on day one, after the second qualifying session in Supersport proved to be wet. Thus he heads an all-Honda front row comprising Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate Honda), Michel Fabrizio (Italia Megabike Honda) and the second Megabike runner, Fabien Foret.Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany), in fifth, was top Yamaha runner; Christophe Cogan (Moto 1 Suzuki) was top Suzuki pilot and Gianluca Nannelli (SC Caracchi 749R) best Ducati rider.Season opening 18 lap races, two for Superbike and one for Supersport, take place at the usual local times, with Qatar three hours ahead of GMT. Thus SBK action gets underway at 12 noon, WSS at 13.20 and SBK race two at 15.30.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LAST-MINUTE EFFORT BY LACONI POWERS THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM RIDER TO
SEVENTH WORLD SUPERBIKE POLE IN QATAR QUALIFYING

Losail (Qatar), Friday 25 February: Ducati Xerox Team’s Régis Laconi powered to his seventh World Superbike pole position with a splendid last-minute effort at the Losail Raceway in Qatar. The Frenchman edged out his closest rival Troy Corser (Suzuki) in the final seconds of the fifty minute Superpole session, which was run to wet-weather procedure, to take the pole with a time of 2:01.593. His Ducati Xerox team-mate James Toseland was unable to get his 2005 season off to a good start and will line up on the fourth row of the grid after qualifying in thirteenth position.

“It was dry for the first few minutes and for the last few laps of Superpole but no one went out for 30 minutes in the middle because it was wet”, commented a delighted Laconi. “I went out at the start but I knew I could do better. We changed both the front and the rear and I pushed very hard on the final lap; to do a 2:01.5 in these conditions is really good. For the race I am pleased with the set-up and with the duration of my tyre, we have been working really hard to get the best feeling all weekend and now it is working OK. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow for the race, because it’s going to be a really tough battle. The other guys will make life difficult for us, but for sure that’s good for the championship”.

Toseland’s efforts to improve during the morning’s second and final qualifying session were thwarted by the rain. The world champion then missed out on a good position in Superpole, slipping down to thirteenth on the grid with a time of 2:03.357.

“Today was not such a good day” declared Toseland. “In the wet this morning we weren’t too bad but you couldn’t do much in that session. This afternoon I had a few problems so came back in and was unable to get much of a long run. I just needed more dry time on the track because every time we seemed to try something it started to rain. We were just unable to get back into a rhythm. Physically I feel a bit battered but that’s not the problem, the weather has not allowed us to get the time, and when you haven’t got the right feeling, you can’t set a good time in Superpole. Unfortunately I just didn’t get it together when I should have done, but I’m sure I’ll be able to run a good race tomorrow”.

More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

TROY PIPPED AT THE POST!

There were less then two minutes of ‘Wet Superpole’ remaining with Troy on course for his first Superpole with Alstare Suzuki, when Frenchman Regis Laconi sneaked through by less then a tenth of second. And Regis did it with Troy’s help! Troy had posted the fastest time in the 16-rider ‘Wet Superpole’ just four minutes or so from the end and was heading back to the pits, when he noticed Regis flying. Obligingly, he moved over and allowed the Frenchman a free run and that was enough to allow Laconi to take Superpole by the narrowest of margins. Afterwards, in the Superpole Press Conference, Laconi thanked Troy for his sporting behaviour. There is not going to be same courtesy shown in tomorrow’s races though and Laconi knows that he is on for one mother of battles – with Troy, but also with a brace oof other riders. Third quickest was Seb Gimbert (Yamaha), with Troy’s team mate Yukio Kagayama slotting into fourth place.

TROY

Well my Superpole lap was not a perfect one by any means, but it was good enough to take Superpole until a minute or so from the end. I saw Regis flying, so I moved over and let him through. I would’ve done that for anybody in Superpole, but in a race it would be a different matter. I’m sure that he would’ve done the same for me or at least I’d like to think he would! Conditions today were pretty difficult, dry, damp, dry, rain and sometimes all in the same session. It was no surprise that Superpole was declared a ‘Wet Superpole’ but then it was important to get out at the beginning when it was pretty dry and set a quick lap. Unfortunately quite a few riders all tried to do it at the same time, so a few lost out and putting in quick laps. There was a long gap in the middle of the session when nobody went out. I guess we were all waiting for somebody to make a move. That somebody was me! And soon everybody was at it. I managed a 2:01.641, with a few minutes left and I hoped that nobody would beat it, but when I saw Regis on a charge I kinda guessed he might do it.

Like everybody, I’m hoping that we will have dry races tomorrow. The track was slippery enough in the dry when you go off-line and in the wet you have to be extra, extra careful or you’ll go down. being on the front row is vital here and I hope I will be in the lead going into turn one or definitely in the top three. If you are in the lead, I reckon it’s got to be worth a second at the end of the first lap as there’s more or less only one line round here. If it is dry, I think it’s going to come down to tyre management. Whoever conserves their tyres best, is probably going to win. Regis has been improving ever since we got here, so I think he’ll be my biggest rival, but I think Yukio is going to be a real threat. I’m not sure about Cardoso – he’s been fast for 6-8 laps, but I don’t know how he’ll go over the full eighteen. I’m still thinking of a couple of podiums and hope, for everbody’s sake, that we have a pair of dry races.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Yamaha riders will occupy four of the top seven places on the grid for tomorrow’s opening round of the Superbike World Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar.

Yamaha Motor France’s Sébastien Gimbert was the early pace setter in a superpole session run under wet weather regulations, giving each rider a maximum of 12 laps in which to set their best lap. The arrival of the rain coincided with the start of the 50 minute session and consequently all the riders rushed to put in a quick lap before returning to the pit box. The Yamaha Motor France rider set a benchmark 2:01.889 before returning to his garage to wait and see if the weather would improve sufficiently to allow his rivals to challenge his lap times. Régis Laconi (Ducati) and Troy Corser (Suzuki) eventually put in quicker laps to relegate the Frenchman to third, with Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) fourth.

Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga will start tomorrow’s opening round in fifth and seventh places respectively. Both riders made a good tactical decision, leaving the pits early to avoid the worst of the traffic and weather and establish an early lap time. Pitt’s best of 2:02.670 was good enough to hold fourth place until Laconi put in his fast lap at the end of the session.

Sandwiched between the Yamaha Motor Italia duo is the R1 of Spanish privateer Jose Luis Cardoso. Gimbert’s team-mate Norick Abe was less fortunate in his timing and will start his first superbike race from the fourth row of the grid, in 15th place. Ivan Silva was another of the many Yamaha riders showing well in Qatar, the Spanish rider finished ninth fastest on his lightly modified R1.

Wet weather, a surprise for many at this desert location, has restricted running time for the riders and made it difficult to find ideal settings for tomorrow’s two 18 lap races. The morning session on both days has been run in wet conditions, meaning that qualifiers for today’s superpole session were based on yesterday’s qualifying times.

Grid positions for tomorrow’s Supersport World Championship round were determined by yesterday’s times. Although the track was drying out after the morning downpour, conditions did not improve enough to allow any of the front runners to improve their times. Yamaha Motor Germany’s Kevin Curtain did set the third fastest time of the session, but his best was still almost two seconds slower than yesterday’s time. He will start the race from fifth on the grid, with team-mate Broc Parkes alongside him on the second row of the grid, in seventh place.

S̩bastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) Рthird, 2:01.641
“I am used to working in endurance racing so the changeable conditions we had today are quite usual for me. The lap I put in at the beginning of the session was perfect, and on a race tyre too. I feel we have a good set-up for the race and good tyre life, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) – fifth, 2:02.670
“I am a little disappointed to have been knocked off the front row so late in the session but if someone had said to me this morning that I could qualify fifth then I would have gladly taken it. We made a lot of changes overnight. The team made some changes to the gearbox and we changed the engine mapping back to how it was at the test here last week. We’ve lost a lot of track time because of the weather but we have found a consistent race set-up and I am much happier with the bike today.”

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) – seventh, 2:02.766
“Still the feeling from the front is not so good. The weather was difficult but we found a little improvement in superpole. I was using a qualifying tyre so I am not so sure how it will feel in the race. Tomorrow I hope it is sunny as we still have some things to try in warm-up. I still need to get a better feeling with the bike and we need a little more power but I will try to get the best possible result tomorrow.”

Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) – 15th, 2:04.354
“This was my first superpole and the conditions were quite difficult. I was able to put in some consistent laps but I made a mistake and that possibly cost me a faster time.”

More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

DRAMATIC SUPERPOLE FOR QATAR OPENER

Chris Vermeulen will start tomorrow’s opening two races of the 2005 World Superbike season from the second row of the grid after a hectic wet Superpole session at the Losail circuit in Qatar. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge qualified 18th fastest.

Regis Laconi secured pole position after the riders took to the 5.38km circuit with just 15 minutes remaining. Although declared wet, Superpole started with a dry track but further rain forced the Superpole qualifiers to remain in their boxes for most of the session.

Lying in 13th place, Vermeulen crashed at Losail’s final turn as he tried to improve on his position and was forced to run back to his garage to go out on his spare machine with just five minutes to go, finally qualifying in eighth place.

Ronald ten Kate team manager:
That was one of the most bizarre and dramatic Superpole sessions that I can remember. It started dry but we were about 30 seconds late going out for our first run with Chris when the rain started again. Then we sat around for half an hour hoping the track would dry. When Chris finally went for a quick lap, he got caught behind a slower rider and crashed as he tried to pass. It could have been a lot worse than the second row and I know he’ll give it his best shot tomorrow. I can understand Karl’s frustration because he has had virtually no time on the bike and is still not fully fit. We all know that his capabilities as a rider are much better than his qualifying performance suggests and he’s working well with his crew. He’ll give his all tomorrow and just get stronger as the season progresses.

Chris Vermeulen final qualifying position eighth; Superpole time 2:02.960
I’m more annoyed about the crash than anything. I was on a quicker lap and just came up behind a virtually upright Yukio Kagayama at the last corner. I lost the front trying to go underneath him and thought I’d saved it but then the back caught as the bike came back up. It was a bit of a dash back to the box to get on the spare bike and Ronald told me there were five minutes left as I went back out. I guess the second row is better than where I was but I’m really going to have to give it my best shot in tomorrow’s races to get the season off to a solid start.

Karl Muggeridge final qualifying position 18th; qualifying time 2:03.532
Yeah, I’m frustrated because I’m still feeling pretty drained. The bike feels great and the crew’s working really well together but I just don’t seem to have any energy. I ran out of time in the test here last weekend and we lost yesterday’s free practice session because of the rain so all I can do is to keep trying to make those positive changes during warm-up tomorrow morning. I think I’d probably have a better chance in the races if it carries on raining but I’ll just have to get the best possible start and see what happens.

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

More unseasonal rain at the desert circuit of Losail in Qatar denied Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Garry McCoy and Steve Martin the chance to challenge for Superpole slots for tomorrow’s opening races of the Superbike World Championship season.The pair were outside the top 16 after a dry Thursday qualifying and no rider was able to better their first day’s time in today’s final wet morning qualifying session. So Steve will start the races from 20th on the grid, with Garry in 25th position.But, despite the frustrations of the changeable weather, Steve was able to set the 13th fastest time of the dry final free practice session, slicing 0.8 seconds of his best time from yesterday.Garry was also able to build confidence in the wet and was 12th fastest in the wet qualifying session. Regis Laconi pipped Troy Corser during a wet Superpole session to clinch pole position.Steve said: “I can’t believe we have done such a good job at setting the bike up in such a short space of time. It’s frustrating we didn’t get a chance to make those improvements in the dry in the qualifying session but I am really happy to knock 0.8 seconds off my time this afternoon. If I can get a good start, I reckon I can go well tomorrow as I now feel really comfortable in the dry. But if it’s raining I won’t be crying either! I was having a problem with the bike packing down but we changed the rear a bit and it made a huge difference. I also changed the gearing and every ch’ange we made was a step forward.”Garry said: “I think we are pretty much on top of the wet setting now but the morning rain robbed us of another hour of working on the dry setting. It was a bit of a nightmare trying so many things at once but right at the end of the afternoon session we changed the pivot for the swing arm, made adjustment to the forks and changed a clutch setting. And I think we have pretty much solved why I haven’t been comfortable on the bike.”

More, from a press release issued by Scuderia SC Caracchi:

THE RAIN PENALIZES SCUDERIA CARACCHI’s RIDERS

Nothing to do for Caracchi’s riders in Qatar. The variable weather, with continuous rain shower and wet track let out with Superpole qualifying both Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto in Superbike, as well Gianluca Nannelli in Supersport too has not been able as yesterday laptime, more he lost another position in the starting grid.

“The injured leg give me some pain”. – said a disappointed Gianluca Nannelli at the end of the practice. “The two-day practice have been quite hard: we could run just a small time and always without grip. Now we have several doubt for the front tyre, while the rear is OK, and we have just the tomorrow warm up session to find a decision. That’s true, everybody is in the same situation, but that isn’t a comfort. Tomorrow it’ll be a very hard race, because the tyres could work just a few laps and that’s a true lottery which could make more complicated this debut race. By luck our bike is always very fast, that’s a good advantage.

In Superbike Lorenzo Lanzi tried uselessly, on the wet track, to earn the Superpole, qualifying access, but he earned only a crash, luckely without consequences. On the wet track Fonsi Niete showed his “skipper’s” qualities, reaching the forth position of the wet session, but the looking how was useless his efforts to earn positions, the Spanish rider preferred to stay calme. The smile went back in Lanzi’s pit during the second free practice, when Lorenzo recorded the ninth fastest, almost a second slower as the leader, and that is a good hopeness for tomorrow races.

“Frankly we got a black misfortune today, and this debut hasn’t been exciting”. – admits Stefano Caracchi. “But this afternoon Lorenzo rode very well and tomorrow he could ride a good race. Also Nieto is still more confident with his 999RSand he’s a rider who never surrender to the enemy, in the hot fight he could grab a positive result.”

World Supersport:

More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

CHARPENTIER GRABS OPENING SUPERSPORT POLE

Sébastien Charpentier will start tomorrow’s opening race of the 2005 World Supersport championship from pole position after setting the fastest time in yesterday’s opening qualifying session at the 5.38km Losail circuit in Qatar. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara will start the 18-lap race from second place on the grid.

Further rain in the Qatar desert today prevented many of the supersport riders from improving on the lap times set yesterday afternoon and the Winston Ten Kate Honda one-two qualifying performance marks an impressive season opener for the team’s two new supersport riders.

Ronald ten Kate team manager:
I have to say I’m really happy with everything. Sébastien has been on the ball all weekend after heading the time sheets during last week’s test here at Losail. I’ve been very impressed with the precise way he has worked with his crew to keep making improvements to the bike. Katsuaki has secured a perfect one-two for the team, which is a great way to start the season with our new sponsor. I think he is now fully adapted to working with a new bike and a new team and we’re in great shape for tomorrow’s race.

Sébastien Charpentier: grid position, first; time, 2:03.841
It was really strange weather today sometimes rain and sometimes not. But the rain comes with very fine sand in it so, even when the track dried, the sand was left on the surface which makes it still very slippery. Other than that, I am really happy with the race set-up we have made. The bike is very good and team has been working really hard. It’s my second pole position in World Supersport after Misano last year and it’s an important place to start here because overtaking will be difficult in the race.

Katsuaki Fujiwara: grid position, second; time, 2:04.808
This is a fantastic start to the new season for me. I’m very happy for Sébastien and my new team with the new sponsor, Winston. First and second on the grid could not be much better for everybody. I’m really confident working with the new team and we’ve got the bike working well now. I’m happy with the settings we have for the race but I still haven’t made a final decision on the front tyre. We will try both options in warm-up tomorrow morning and, as long as I get a good start, I’m very confident for the race.

More, from a press release issued by Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fores was the only rider to improve in the final qualifying session at Losail today, but it just wasn’t quite enough to earn him a place on the second row of the grid. Conditions today were difficult thanks to the ever-changing weather, and Javi was particularly unlucky with the rain. But, he is much happier with his bike set-up and now is looking forward to tomorrow’s race. Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) continued his domination of Doha by taking pole position, with a time of 2:3.841, nearly a second ahead of his nearest rival – team mate Katsuaki Fujiwara. Third and fourth are tow more Hondas ridden by Michel Fabrizio and former Supersport World Champion Fabien Foret.

JAVI – 9th, 2:06.844
I am certainly happier today then yesterday, because I my bike set-up is much better, so I feel more comfortable on it. I think I was a bit unlucky when the rain came down, because I think I could have gone a bit faster if the conditions had been a bit better. I am also happy, because I improved my lap time and I don’t think any other rider did that this afternoon. We made some small suspension changes today and they made a difference to how the bike behaved. Being in the third row here is not so good, so I need a very good start if I am to have a good result. I think, I may be happy with a top six position, but we will have to see how the race develops.