From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

Suzuki Zongshen No.2 on Pole

Zongshen Only Team Faster Than 1:34

Pole position for the A1-Ring 6 Hour round of the FIM World Endurance Championship has been taken by Piergiorgio Bontempi for Suzuki Zongshen No.2, with a time of 1:33.509. This morning’s qualifying sessions began at 8:30am on a circuit which was much slower than yesterday because of the lower morning temperatures. Suzuki Zongshen No.2’s Igor Jerman and Suzuki Police Nationale’s Gwen Giabbani were the only two riders in their group able to improve on yesterday’s times.

Suzuki Zongshen No.1’s Warwick Nowland came in at the end of the session, stormed straight through the pit garage and out of the back, shaking his head after glancing at the timing monitor after a best lap which was half a second slower than Friday. Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 could also not find the performance they expected this morning despite trying different gearing.

The second group fared better as track temperatures rose. Seven riders improved on their times, with Suzuki Trackdaze 11’s Damian Cudlin briefly holding second place before the qualifying tyres came out for the top teams.

Suzuki GB Phase One’s Jason Pridmore was the fastest in his group for most of the second session but struggled to find a gap in the traffic. On a fresh tyre at the end of the session he managed a 1:34.033 to briefly take pole position before Zongshen No.1’s Stephane Mertens recorded the first 1:33 time of the weekend on his final qualifying lap.

The final group showed the benefit of having three riders entered for even the shorter races. With less traffic and track temperatures still climbing Zongshen No.2’s Piergiorgio Bontempi was able to take pole position away from the No.1 Zongshen team with a lap time of 1:33.509. Of the top five teams, only Yamaha Austria were unable to improve their time this morning; local knowledge allowed them to hit the ground running yesterday but the other teams have now found bike set-ups that work well.

The only factor which remains unknown is the fuel consumption of the bikes under race conditions. Fuel strategy will be vital for this race which is being run in two three hour stages; timing refuelling stops to coincide with the mid race break will save between thirty seconds and one minute during the race. If the race is as close as qualifying, this could mean the difference between first and tenth place.

Yamaha Austria have tested fuel consumption here and were able to run for 59 minutes on a tank; that will be cutting it very fine, and racing is always different to testing…

2003, July 19

Quotes

Suzuki Zongshen No.2 – Piergiorgio Bontempi: “The bike is a little bit better than before, but I think we can move another step forward in the warm-up. We don’t have a perfect balance between the front and the rear – we can find a better compromise.”

Suzuki Zongshen No.1 – Warwick Nowland: “Qualifying is just something else we have to do; the race is the real thing. It’s nice to set pole, but I think we can do low 1:35s in the race.”

Suzuki GB Phase One – Jason Pridmore: “I couldn’t get the power down; it spat me out of the seat on one of the fast sections. I can do 1:34s all day in the race.

Suzuki Police Nationale – Gwen Giabbani: “The track was cold this morning, but the bike is good for the race”

Suzuki GB Phase One team manager Russell Benney: “The teams that only stop twice during the three hours will have significant advantage. It’s going to be really tight for everyone.”

Top ten on the grid

1st Suzuki Zongshen 2 (CHN) – Jerman / Bonhuil / Bontempi: – 1:33.509

2nd Suzuki Zongshen 1 (CHN) – Nowland / Mertens – 1:33.756

3rd Suzuki GB Phase One (GBR) – Ellison / Pridmore – 1:34.033

4th Yamaha Austria (AUT) – Truchsess / Wilding / Saiger – 1:34.118

5th Suzuki Police Nationale (FRA) – Giabbani / Blora – 1:34.506

6th Yamaha GMT94 (FRA) – Guyot / Scarnato / Foti – 1:34.699

7th Trackdaze 11 (GBR) – Platacis / Cudlin / Pilborough – 1:34.819

8th Ducati DRE (ITA) – Marchetti / Garcia Edwards – 1:35.222

9th Suzuki Phase One Junior (GBR) – Notman / Fincher / Jessop – 1:35.312

10th Suzuki Jet Team (SUI) – Jaggi / Monot / Waldmeier – 1:36.140