Corser - "During Superpole qualifying the wind changed direction - I could see that by the way the flags were flying - and I knew I had to be careful. On my warm-up lap I noticed that the wind at the end of the start straight was going to give me trouble, so I was very careful going into the turn. I also had to be very careful in turns three and four, but after that the wind was helping me, so I nailed it and just went for it. All weekend the bike has been perfect and it's been so easy to ride, but that doesn't mean the races are going to be easy. I don't anybody is just going to break away and leave the pack behind. The real problems in the race are going to be the tyres with about four or five laps to go - that's going to be a critical phase. But the bike's ready to win - and so am I. See ya."

"What can I say?", commented Regis Laconi. "It's fantastic, my first appearance in Superbike, my first Superpole and I'm on the front row of the grid with second quickest time. I'm really pleased and very focused, my fast lap wasn't entirely perfect and on a couple of occasions I was losing rear-end grip. But this is a challenge and you have to keep the throttle open. I carried on and until my team-mate went faster than me, I had the quickest time. I'm ready for the race, we've worked really well, the team followed me carefully and now I'm really determined for tomorrow's two races".

Defending world champion Colin Edwards put his Castrol Honda VTR machine into third place on the grid despite slippery conditions at the 2.95-mile circuit. "I don't think one of the 16 riders in Superpole had a clear lap without incident," said Edwards. "The track surface changed from morning to afternoon and the lap times were a lot slower in Superpole than the rest of the weekend. Maybe some of the dust and sand around here was blown onto the track by the strong wind."

A difficult Superpole for the factory Ducati Corse riders. All three 996R Factory riders were amongst the favourites after qualifying but in the first Superpole of the season they were unable to improve on the times they set during qualifying. The windy conditions affected everyone and the only rider to improve on his qualifying time was Britain’s Neil Hodgson (Ducati GSE) who took the final position on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s races.  "I'm glad I've got the first qualifying session of the year out of the way," said Hodgson, "I have to admit that I've been a bit nervous all weekend, and have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to perform. I wanted to get off to the best possible start this year, but wasn't able to ride the bike as hard as I wanted to, due to lack of feel. However, the team worked wonders in-between qualifying sessions, to the extent that by the end of second qualifying, I knew that things were starting to flow and the fast laps were coming.   "The Superpole lap went well and I'm pleased with the grid position, but I felt I could have pushed harder and gone faster, which gives me a real confidence boost for tomorrow's two races. I've achieved my initial goal of a front row start for the first round of the championship and now that the team has got the Ducati handling exactly the way I like it, I can't wait for real racing to begin!"

The second row consists of the three factory Ducati riders and Castrol Honda new boy Tady Okada. Fifth place went to American Ben Bostrom with Troy Bayliss sixth.

"At the end of my lap I was convinced I had set a good time", declared Ben Bostrom, "because just a few minutes before in free practice, I had set a 1m36.126s, better than Corser’s pole time. I thought I could easily have set a similar time but instead I lapped half-a-second slower without really understanding why. In any case I’m not particularly worried, because the ‘long-distance’ run for the race went well and we have already chosen tomorrow’s tyres. Last year I started eighth and twice finished second so I think that I’ll be able to fight for a place on the podium tomorrow".

"The wind gave me a bit of trouble but in any case I’m not really happy with the way things went today" declared Troy Bayliss. "I didn’t want to risk too much and especially in the first curve I wasn’t pushing too hard because you could really feel the wind. To be honest I thought I could have started from the front row. My 996R is going really well and tomorrow is another day. The bike and the tyres are OK and luckily the race doesn’t just last only one lap ".

Okada seventh and local fans' favourite Ruben Xaus eighth. "This was my first Superpole and so I certainly didn’t expect to set the quickest time", declared Ruben Xaus. "I’m disappointed to have missed out on the provisional front row that was mine after qualifying but I’m pleased because I went well in all the sessions. We’ve worked really well and I can’t wait for the green light to go on tomorrow".

Ninth-placed Hitoyasu Izutsu and his Kawasaki team-mate Gregorio Lavilla complete the top 10 for Sunday's two races which get the 2001 campaign under way.

Chili is in 11th - "Practice is practice and the race is a race and I'm sure that we will go much better tomorrow. I’m aiming to get a good start and I’m sure we will get a good result. Just wait and see what happens when the flag drops!"

Toseland ended up 12th - "I would have liked to have been in the top ten, but it has taken me longer to adapt to the superior power of a Superbike and I was determined not to make any mistakes during my first ever Superpole. I'm all lot more comfortable on the bike now and am pleased to be up on the third row, so I'll be looking to make the best possible starts to each race tomorrow." 

Chambon was a surprisingly low 21st - "I'm not satisfied with my starting position but the times are very close, and I am still getting used to the bike. I'm determined to get a good start tomorrow and make places up quickly. I’m looking forward to the race and I’m sure I will finish much higher than I started." 

Riders that did not make SuperPole

Saturday Qualifying before SuperPole 

Image fest' from Friday at Valencia

Image fest' from Saturday at Valencia

Race Preview

2000 qualifying, fastest: Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) 1m 36.661s
2000 Superpole: Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) 1m 36.185s
2000 race winners: Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) and Noriyuki Haga, Japan (Yamaha)
Lap record: Troy Corser, Australia (Aprilia) 1m 36.817s (June 2000)

Last year at Valencia - 2000 Race 1 - 2000 Race 2 - 2000 Images - 2000 Quotes

Get on our mailing list to go in the draw for a chance to win a pit pass with Team Alstare Suzuki at the Phillip Island round of the World SuperBike Championship.