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An amazing single flying lap during the Superpole competition delivered
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) his fourth Superpole of the year and
ripped the existing Superpole record to shreds. The Australian rider
made history again, decimating Neil Hodgson’s previous Superpole record
of 1’35”235 with a time of 1’33”525.
A margin of improvement of this calibre is huge at any venue and it is
especially impressive on a short 4.060km circuit like Misano, which once
more experienced track temperatures of over 50°C, and ambient air levels
of 32°C.
It was a day of outstanding personal performances, illustrated by the
fact that all top six riders went faster than the previous Superpole lap
record.
Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati) cranked up the pace after the
first few riders had completed their single flying lap; a lap that
determines the final grid positions for the top 16 qualifiers from the
two previous official sessions.
James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati,) attacked the circuit on his 2001
factory machine, snatching half a second from Pedercini’s best.
Playstation2 Aprilia pilot Noriyuki Haga, fifth last away, could not
make any impact on the young Englishman’s time and had to settle for an
eventual sixth place and a second row start. Toseland’s time was fully
0.46 seconds faster than he could manage in the two hour-long timed
qualifying sessions.
Neil Hodgson, Toseland’s team-mate, was the first one to topple the
youthful Brit from his pole position placing, setting a time of 1’34”356
- another rider well under his own qualifying best and almost a second
faster than his record from last season.
Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati), the third last rider away, was faster than
Hodgson through every split and ended up almost in the 1’33s, with time
of 1’34”074.
Colin Edwards’ time of 1’34”258 was enough for third behind Bostrom,
with only Bayliss able to overhaul Bostrom’s already impressive time.
The traditional two races are scheduled in for Sunday race
day, with Bostrom and Bayliss, the individual race winners from
last year, keen to replicate their wins, while Edwards and Hodgson are
especially keen to win their first ever Misano races.
- Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati 998 F 02 1m33.525
- Ben Bostrom USA Ducati 998 F 02 1m34.074
- Colin Edwards USA Honda VTR 1000 SP2 1m34.258
- Neil Hodgson GBR Ducati 998 F 01 1m34.356
- James Toseland GBR Ducati 998 F 01 1m35.004
- Noriyuki Haga JPN Aprilia RSV 1000 1m35.032
- Lucio Pedercini ITA Ducati 998 RS 1m35.459
- Ruben Xaus ESP Ducati 998 F 02 1m35.511
- Steve Martin AUS Ducati 998 RS 1m35.517
- Pierfrancesco Chili ITA Ducati 998 RS 1m35.931
- Juan Bautista Borja ESP Ducati 998 RS 1m36.054
- Chris Walker GBR Kawasaki ZX-7RR 1m36.202
- Gregorio Lavilla ESP Suzuki GSX-R 750 Y
1m36.253
- Marco Borciani ITA Ducati 998 RS 1m36.480
- Alessandro Antonello ITA Ducati 998 RS 1m36.893
- Mauro Sanchini ITA Kawasaki ZX-7RR 1m37.227
- Serafino Foti ITA Ducati 996 RS 1m37.016
- Broc Parkes AUS Ducati 998 RS 1m37.273
- Peter Goddard AUS Benelli Tornado 900 1m37.296
- Ivan Clementi ITA Kawasaki ZX-7RR 1m37.774
- Hitoyasu Izutsu JPN Kawasaki ZX-7RR 1m37.811
- Michele Malatesta ITA Ducati 996 RS 1m38.746
- Alessandro Valia ITA Ducati 996 RS 1m38.855
- Mark Heckles GBR Honda VTR 1000 SP2 1m39.069
- Bertrand Stey FRA Honda VTR 1000 SP1 1m39.123
- Paolo Blora ITA Ducati 996 RS 1m39.322
- Giuliano Sartoni ITA Ducati 996 RS 1m40.153
- Marjan Malec SLO Ducati 996 RS 1m40.883
NQ Jiri Mrkyvka CZE Ducati 996 RS 1m41.065
NQ Yann Gyger SUI Honda VTR 1000 SP1 1m41.229
NQ Cristian Caliumi ITA Ducati 996 RS 1m42.055
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