Suzuki

Friday's fastest rider Katsuaki Fujiwara suffered a frustrating day in Misano during final qualifying for the third round of the World Supersport Championship after weather conditions changed.

Although all three Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders had been happy with the set-up of their GSX-R600 Suzukis in the wet, finding a quick solution in the dry was not so easy, although Fujiwara - runner-up at the race for the past two seasons - found the pace to post seventh fastest time and is now in a strong position to challenge for victory.

Team mates Vittorio Iannuzzo and Stephane Chambon were not so fortunate after struggling to find a good dry set-up and ended up 12th and 19th respectively.

Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) dramatically stole pole position from Broc Parkes in the closing moments. Third on the grid is Stefano Cruciani (Kawasaki) with Karl Muggeridge (Honda) fourth.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA - 7th, 1:41.616: "I'm not so happy because I wanted the front row. Yesterday I said that I thought that if the bike worked well in the wet, it should be OK in the dry, but that was not the case. At the moment I have one bike set up for a dry race and one for a wet one. We've had much more time in the wet, so maybe I'd actually prefer a wet race this time - though it will be hard whatever the conditions."

VITTORIO IANNUZZO - 12th, 1:42.145: "This morning was wet and the afternoon was almost dry, and while I was happy in the wet, I am not at all happy with my dry set-up. When we went to a dry set-up, we found the same problems we had experienced in Australia and, once again, we could not find any good solutions. There was nowhere near enough time in the dry to attack the problems and come up with some good directions, so tomorrow is going to be like another test for us."

STEPHANE CHAMBON - 19th, 1:43.318: "I hardly want to speak about my day today. There was hardly any dry time and it wasn't enough for us to get a good dry set-up, so I couldn't make any progress at all. Yesterday in the wet was pretty good, but today I just couldn't push hard in the dry. Now, I'm going to need the best start in the world if I'm to have any chance of a good result."

Garry McCoy

Rain and cold weather mortified also the second and final practice day on the Santamonica circuit of Misano Adriatico. Today too the results of Scuderia Xerox Ducati Nortel Networks' riders have been not excellent. Garry McCoy confirmed his 14th position on the starting grid for the two 25 lap legs of tomorrow.

"The conditions of the track didn't give me no feeling, too much wet areas and the asphalt was cold, so I avoid any risk today." - confessed Garry McCoy at the end of Superpole session - "The bike was absolutely better as yesterday, the problem of front look to be solved and the rear has a good grip. For tomorrow I'm confident in a couple of good races, also if to start from the middle of the grid makes everything more difficult."

Sixth row for the wild card Giancarlo De Matteis, who recorded the 22nd fastest on the 998RS 2003 type. "The asphalt was full of water puddles and so I keep care to avoid to crash. However I've been a couple of seconds faster, the bike is OK, for tomorrow I'm confident in a good day."

Troy Corser

After another day of varying conditions and a "Wet Superpole" session (instead of the usual one-lap dash), Troy was happy to finish on the second row of the grid. Troy was actually on course for a spot on the first row, but a slight misunderstanding regarding the number of laps available to him meant that he was overtaken by a couple of riders in the closing moments. Although Superpole was declared a "Wet Superpole" all riders were able to use slicks and the lap times soon began to fall. Aussie Steve Martin (Ducati) dramatically stole pole position in the closing moments, knocking Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati) off the top spot. Third on the grid is local favourite Frankie Chili (Ducati), with fellow countryman Lucio Pedercini (also Ducati-mounted) fourth.

TROY - 6th, 1:37.613 - "Well, I'm pretty happy with sixth place after the lottery that is a "Wet Superpole". I probably should've finished on the front row, but there was some kind of a mix-up with the number of laps I had left and I missed out on improving my time. I'm not sure how it happened - or why - but it did. It's just one of those things that's all. Bike's chassis is working well and we have an engine that's consistent - which is good - and all we are lacking is top speed compared to our rivals. I'm not sure what the weather is going to do tomorrow but, in a way, I'd probably prefer a wet race, because it would be easier on the bike and tyres. If it is dry, I'm going to have to work a lot harder - especially in the turns and braking - because I don't think I'm going to be able to pass anybody on the fast back straight. I'm hoping that it's going to be good day tomorrow for me and the team."

Pirelli

Instead of the normal Superpole procedure the wet patches around the Misano circuit made for a ‘Wet’ Superpole, during which the top 16 qualifiers are allowed 50 minutes and a limited number (12) of pit exits in which to set their best lap times. This complicated matters somewhat for all competitors, some of whom had fewer qualifying specification tyres to use. Others used a ‘cocktail’ of slick and intermediate tyres on occasion. The final winner on the end of a peculiar day was a deserving one, Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) who has been a long time Pirelli user. Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila), winner of both previous Superpole contests, took second place, only a couple of tenths behind Martin’s 1:36.823. The top Italian rider Pierfrancesco Chili secured third on his home soil and Lucio Pedercini, went fourth and took the last position on the first row for Sunday’s two Superbike races. Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) gave his team a morale boosting fifth position at his local circuit, while the unique three cylinder machine of Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas) roared to an excellent sixth, his team mate Chris Walker completing the second row in eighth. Seventh, lucky for him in the first year of competitive life of the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, was Chris Vermeulen, 2003 WSSS Champion and rookie in the Superbike class this year. James Toseland (Ducati Fila) the current championship leader, has been a haunted man this weekend, and failed to qualify for Superpole, going only 20th fastest in a field of 27 eventual race qualifiers.

A highly competitive contests as always, Supersport final qualifying had the additional edge of being conducted on an unpredictably wet and dry track, holding down outright lap times and making it impossible to finalise a set-up should raceday dawn fully dry. Friday qualifying was conducted in wet conditions, with the Sunday race conditions still predicted to be somewhat changeable. Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) secured the fastest lap of the day and thus the weekend, with a 1:40.422. Second quickest, only two tenths behind, was the Ten Kate Honda of Broc Parkes, with his team-mate Karl Muggeridge fourth. Third place went to a Kawasaki, the Bertocchi machine of Stefano Cruciani, with a personal career best qualifying position. As each of the Supersport riders still to make final decisions on tyre choice for the race itself, morning warm up on raceday will be particularly busy.

Giorgio Barbier (Pirelli Racing Manager): “At this race we have brought 5,900 tyres, for all three classes, a huge number, but it is the last time we will bring so many! In the first wet sessions Walker and Toseland ran an intermediate front, even in the dry laps at the end. At that time the laptime was good and that means that the newer designs of wets work well in the dry, which is pleasing for us all.
In the afternoon of Saturday we only had a chance to test a few slicks and so some of the the teams are still a little confused about things. A lot of riders made the laps with a slick rear and an intermediate front.
In the wet Superpole they used slicks front and rear, and a few qualifiers. They mostly used the softest race tyre we have because it seemed to work the best for them in these conditions. Many saved qualifying tyres for the wet Superpole session and in my opinion Steve Martin was smart to go out at the end - because those were the best conditions. The track itself was incredible, some bits completely dry and others completely wet in patches but the times they put in are basically race times. If it is dry then the riders cannot do a full race simulation so I think that people will try at least two tomorrow so they can choose which one they want. Most of them tried the softest race tyres today, so they may go another way if it is a bit warmer.

In Supersport there was a lot of confusion from some teams on what is an intermediate and a dry tyre, even though the race director declared the track dry at the beginning. In these circumstances you have to use only the DOT tyres which are only the dry options while intermediate and rain aren’t. If it’s dry in the morning tomorrow - we will have some fun!

Fila Ducati

Just two hundredths of a second separated Regis Laconi from his third pole position of the year at Misano Adriatico's Santamonica circuit. In the 50 minute extra 'wet procedure' session, the Frenchman was beaten out of pole by a fraction by Australian Steve Martin (DFX Ducati 999).

"Let's say that I am not happy for me because obviously I wanted to get pole, but I am happy anyway for Steve, who did a great lap" declared Regis. "Hopefully things will go better tomorrow, the most important thing for me is to finish the two races, maybe with two wins, and to get as many points as possible for the championship. We are working well with the team, we give everything and even though I am only second, it's good to be on the front row of the grid, and then we will see tomorrow how things go. I've got a good feeling with the bike in wet set-up, a bit less for the dry, we will see what conditions are like tomorrow."

James Toseland will start from row 5 of the grid after a disappointing final qualifying session in which he moved up into the top 10 but then slipped out of contention in the last few minutes of the session.

"I'm not happy about that at all" declared Toseland. "Basically we just got caught out by the conditions and I was unable to set a decent time in that session. We changed the settings too much during the hour, I switched from one bike to the other and then in the last few minutes I was too late in setting a time and the others passed me. This sort of thing shouldn't happen, but it did. I'll just have to see what I can do tomorrow from row 5."

Italian rider Lorenzo Lanzi will start tomorrow's third round of the World Supersport Championship at Misano Adriatico from row 4 of the grid after a disappointing final qualifying session with the Ducati 749R.

Eighth after Friday's first qualifying, the Ducati Breil rider was in a bit of difficulty on a still-damp track and was unable to improve on his position in the afternoon's final session.

"Qualifying was rather unfortunate because at the start of the afternoon session the track was still a bit damp and we were unable to find the right set-up" declared Lanzi.

"I was only able to record the fifteenth quickest time, and I was struggling to do that as well, because my 749R was sliding around a lot at the rear.

"Today it was really difficult out there" added Lanzi.

FG Sport

The new rules of the World Superbike Championship, and the spec Pirelli tyres used by all riders, enjoyed more measurable success in the Superpole qualifying session at Misano, with Steve Martin, riding a customer spec Ducati DFX Sterilgarda 999RS, securing his first Superpole win. Martin’s best time of 1:36.823 came in changeable track conditions, with the frequently wet weather of the opening two days leaving wet patches on an otherwise dry track. Allied to the changing surface of the circuit all day, qualifying and Superpole were both challenging times for all teams and riders

Superpole was held under ‘wet’ rules, during which the format changes from a single lap against the stopwatch to a 50-minute session, during which the riders have a limited number of chances to set their fastest lap, which will eventually determine their grid position. Martin’s best lap came near the end, as tactics came into play, but the fastest man in regular qualifying in most sessions this year, Regis Laconi, went second on his factory Ducati Fila machine.

James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) has a nervous first two days in Misano, and such was his misfortune and lack of confidence in the wet/dry conditions, he ended up only 20th after regular pre-Superpole qualifying - missing out a Superpole start by a full handful of places. He was not the only top rider in trouble, with Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999 RS) 11th and Garry McCoy (Xerox Scuderia Caracchi Ducati 999RS) only 14th after Superpole.

Having experienced problems in the season with his new 999 Ducati, Pierfrancesco Chili has used his previous 998RS racer in SBK before, but this time around he even reverted to a 998R roadbike, heavily modified with race chassis components in qualifying, alongside his 998RS machine. He went third, using his local knowledge and smooth style to great effect.

Local rider Lucio Pedercini, on a self-entered 998RS, was a force throughout the second day of qualifying, running his two year old machine to fourth by using his control Pirelli tyres to best advantage. Pedercini has a reputation for good performances in difficult track conditions, making him a somewhat unexpected force if raceday dawns wet once more.

An excellent ride from another Italian rider, Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi ZX-10) propelled him to fifth in the wet Superpole, on a track the rider knows better than any other. His success is another stride forward for the four-cylinder machines, as he proved to be the top man using this engine format, displacing Chris Vermeulen’s Ten Kate Honda Fireblade to a still-creditable seventh.

The increasing prowess of the Foggy Petronas project saw both three cylinder
FP-1 machines in top positions after the final wet qualifying sessions while in Superpole Troy Corser ran out sixth, with Chris Walker eighth. Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati) boomed his big twin to ninth, the second DFX Ducati of Marco Borciani rounding out the top ten.

In the World Supersport Championship a sometimes contentious session of final qualifying, during which confusion reigned in some teams about the eligibility of using intermediate tyres on a patchily wet track, in a declared dry qualifying session, Honda riders were largely to the fore.

Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda) was on pole for the first time this year, beating the hard chasing Broc Parkes and a resurgently quick Stefano Cruciani (Bertocchi Kawasaki). The last spot on the front row was taken by Karl Muggeridge, who chose discretion in the still quite unpredictable weather conditions and ended up fourth.

Top Yamaha belonged to wild card rider Antonio Carlacci (Start Team), followed by Yamaha Germany rider Kevin Curtain and the fastest Suzuki of Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki). Lorenzo Lanzi (Breil Ducati) was a lowly 15th, albeit top Ducati 749 runner.

Ten Kate

A flurry of initial activity in the final qualifying session at Misano brought about an almost immediate change at the top of the timesheets, but not enough to depose the Ten Kate riders Broc Parkes and Karl Muggeridge from their front row start positions with Parkes overall second and Muggeridge fourth.

After a fully wet first session, and with the prospect of a largely dry circuit awaiting them, all the top Supersport riders attacked the track in the first few laps, but by the end of the final 45-minute session both riders maintained their front row status.

The track conditions proved to be treacherous and inconsistent, making qualifying a game of risk versus reward, a game played well by the experienced Ten Kate Team.

Parkes, second quickest overall, was happy enough with the work done on the second day and feels largely ready to race, whatever the conditions. "Front row is pretty good," he confessed. "Everything is OK, but I got trapped behind lapped riders right at the end of my last few laps. Otherwise I'm happy, even if I've been second four times this weekend! The bike is pretty good but we still have to make some changes. The problem now is deciding on a race tyre."

"We struggled a little bit," said Muggeridge. "Just didn't have the right settings. So I pushed the bike around a little bit to make a good lap time. The conditions weren't really dry but it's a good reference when the bike hits a wet patch, and how it reacts to that. You can understand a lot by how the bike reacts and we know what to do now in warm up."

"Considering the conditions we had out there the main thing was to qualify on the front row," said Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate. "Pole would have been a nice bonus but it was difficult on a slightly drying track. Both boys are up there and we're happy with the set-up for the half-dry track. So now we have to see what tomorrow will bring. Warm up will be busy because I don't see too many people around who have made a definite decision about tyres or set-up if it's completely dry."

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) secured seventh place after an intense Superpole qualifying session, run under wet Superpole rules. On a changeable track, mostly dry but with wet patches here and there, Vermeulen had to condense the normal set-up routine into a short space of time in the afternoon untimed qualifying session, before fighting for his grid place for real in the 50 minute Superpole session.

His time of 1:37.891 made him seventh, still an excellent achievement for man and machine as each is in its first season of Superbike qualifying, and Superpole was conducted in such trying conditions. Winner of the Superpole fight was Vermeulen's countryman Steve Martin (Ducati), with a time of 1:36.823.

For Vermeulen, "It was OK for my first wet Superpole," said a modest Vermeulen. "We're still fiddling with settings because we've not had a lot of time on the bike and most of that was in the wet. We're getting better fast but we got caught out a bit by having only two of the tyres I really liked. We do have a good idea on the race tyre choice, and we've got two to choose from. I'll go out on both of them to see which I prefer, because they both should last the race."

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate was pleased with the weekend thus far, especially as it has been another new challenge for the SBK arm of Ten Kate's operations. "Setting up the bike is a new experience on every track, for us, and here with changing conditions. It makes it more difficult. When the weekend is fully dry we are normally just getting to the right settings on Sunday, so the weather has made it all very much more complicated. Chris had only two qualifiers left from his allocation so we did the last bit on a sifter race tyre. But we still almost equally his best lap time. We'll be ready for another good race tomorrow."

Foggy Petronas

Foggy Petronas Racing riders Troy Corser and Chris Walker will start tomorrow's races in the third round of the World Superbike championship from the second row of the Misano grid.

Troy qualified in sixth and Chris in eighth after a Superpole session in which Steve Martin claimed pole position. Earlier in the day Troy had missed out on finishing the morning qualifying session in first place when he was squeezed into second behind Lucio Pedercini on the final lap of the damp one-hour session.

And he followed that with the third best time on a dry track for afternoon free practice before confusion surrounding the wet Superpole rules prevented a front row start. With riders allowed a maximum of 12 pit-lane exits, Troy was docked his best lap time, which would have left him as third fastest, after being advised to complete an extra flying lap.

Troy said: "The bike is handling well and I am riding well but it is a shame that there was a mistake in how the rules of wet Superpole are implemented as the difference between first and second rows is a big one as you can get held up at the first hairpin. We will just have to get past people on the brakes at the end of the back straight. It would have been nice to be at the top again in the final qualifying session but I am feeling good on the bike and the set-up is good. We have also found which of the gearing variations works best.

Chris said: "I didn't end up doing too badly, but more by luck than judgement. I am pleased to be on the second row for the first time this year, although I struggled here last year on the Ducati so I will need a good start and to get my head down. But the afternoon free practice was my first dry session on the FP1, so I suppose I was up against it a little bit and I am desperate to find that little bit extra. We are trying to get a different setting so that I can ride a bit more smoothly as I have been riding a little aggressively and you need to just let it happen here."

Karl Muggeridge

Ten Kate’s Karl Muggeridge qualified on the front row with the fourths fastest time of this afternoon’s final qualifying session of the 3rd round of the World Supersport Championship at Misano in Italy.

But before the 23 lap race tomorrow Muggas and the team will have some work to do to find a good race set-up for dry conditions in case the spring decides to come and show it’s face for Sunday, as nearly all the practice sessions have been wet or damp so far.

Karl is confident that they will get the CBR handling a bit better and reckons it will be better to be at the front of the race as having had another pole position.

Muggas comments: “We struggled a bit with the set-up for these conditions and it was difficult to get the bike around the corners. So I basically pushed the CBR around the track for the last two laps to get a decent time and make it on that front row, which I’m pretty happy about. As far as the settings we know what we have to do to fix it. It shouldn’t be a too big problem if it’s gonna be a dry race and for the wet race we are all set.”

Sebastien Charpentier and Broc Parkes sorted the watch out between the two of them were as Charpentier walked away as the lucky winner and took his first ever pole position. Muggas team-mate Broc took second place and third on the grid will be Kawasaki’s Cruciani.