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2002
World SuperBike Championship - Round 5 - Monza Friday - Qualifying 1 May 10th, 2002 |
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Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) took the fastest lap of the opening day
of qualifying - with a new track record to his credit. His lap time of
1’48”282 was by far the best of the day and beat Pierfrancesco Chili’s
previous qualifying record of 1’48”584 by a handsome margin. It is not,
however, the new official lap record as such a time only counts if it is
set in actual competition. Bayliss and Hodgson had the joint fastest machines in the opening timed session, with 293.5kmph being recorded at the quickest track on the SBK calendar. Three-time Monza winner Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) ripped through the cool but humid Monza air to go second fastest. World Champion Bayliss, the double race winner last year, was on good form, running third on the stopwatch after the opening day. Ben Bostrom, a rider with bad Monza memories after his injurious shoulder dislocation last year, put them to one side to take the last place on the provisional front row on his L&M Ducati. Ride of the day may have come from Pierfrancesco Chili, was making his comeback ride after an operation to pin and plate his shoulder, a legacy of his big Kyalami crash. The NCR Ducati pilot is also a multi-Monza winner, and will be one of the men to beat if his form continues in this vein. James Toseland, team-mate of Hodgson, lost little ground to his more illustrious compatriot by taking sixth fastest position. A good day for the British contingent put Chris Walker a fine seventh in qualifying, the best Kawasaki rider in play at Monza. The fours gave a decent account of themselves all round, with Gregorio Lavilla on the provisional second row on his Alstare Suzuki, eighth fastest, 1.6 seconds from provisional pole. Marco Borciani (Pedercini Ducati) was the fastest of the true privateers, ahead of part-time factory Kawasaki rider Eric Bostrom, although he was still getting used to an SBK spec ZX-7RR machine and Monza’s awesome peculiarities. Noriyuki Haga’s Aprilia was a somewhat lowly 11th, ahead of Juan Borja’s Spaziotel Ducati. Ruben Xaus was the most troubled factory rider, missing out on a Superpole starting place so far and only 17th fastest after a staccato session, as he struggled with his injured left hand. The Benelli factory effort, which has returned to the fray at Monza, put lone rider Peter Goddard 24th on the first day grid, with his three-cylinder machine only 24th fastest through the speed trap.
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