World Superbike 2008 - Round Two

World Superbike 2008 - Round Two - Phillip Island

Superbike Superpole

Transcript from our live coverage of the event. Entries are time coded and start from the bottom, please scroll down and read up to follow proceedings as they unfolded.

1639 - Bayliss crosses the stripe for pole with a 31.493.
1638 - Bayliss runs a little wide on the change of direction through the Hayshed... But up an incredible nearly half a second at second split.... On course for a mid 31....
1637 - Bayliss down the chute and a few wobbles after the hump before turn one... A fairly tidy run out of Southern Loop... 0.132 quickest at split one...
1636 - Second split for Corser and 0.019 up at second split... Round 11 and 12 he goes.... Crosses the line to top the sheets with a 32.011.... Only Bayliss to run... Eight stitches in his arm and a few bruises but ready for battle as ever is the #21 Ducati man...
1635 - Corser complaining about rear grip most of the weekend but hopeful of putting a good lap together this afternoon.. Quite a stiff breeze across the track that will cause the riders a few problems through the Hayshed and perhaps responsible for Fabrizios run off line... Corser a tenth quicker at split one...
1633 -Michel Fabrizio on his flyer now... And 0.15 under at the first split... A little messy through the hayshed but still quicker at the second split, 0.253 under despite that mistake... Very slip slidy untidy run onto the main straight but the Italian still puts in the best time with a 32.164.... Mr Superpole, Mr Troy Corser about to start his run now...
1631 - Checa lineball at the first split... An awesome 4-tenths quicker at second split and looking good... 32.3 to Checa puts him at the top of the charts despite recording about the lowest top speed down the chute of all the riders to hit the track in this session...
1630 - Another Spaniard having his crack now, Carlos Checa about to show us what he can do...
1628 - Lanky Spaniard Ruben Xaus on his Superpole lap now... Screwing his rear Pirelli into the Phillip Island tarmac out of Southern Loop... A bad first sector though, 4-tenths down on the previous benchmark... He claws that ground back though through the middle sector... And a 32.983 puts the Sterilgarda Ducati man down in seventh and with a few riders still to go Xaus will lost grid positions in this session...
1627 - Smrz quickest at first split by 0.06.... A tenth under at second split... A great lap for the Ducati man... He wriggles down the main straight to the second quickest time of the session, a tiny 3-thousandth of a second behind Nieto
1625 - Neukirchner third quickest on the charts after putting in a 32.767 on what had looked like a shocker of a lap... But it obviously went a whole lot better than it looked... Czech rider Jakub Smrz starting his Superpole lap now...
1623 - Max Neukirchner winding up his Suzuki now for his Superpole effort... A huge slide for the German out of Southern Loop and across the ripple strip on the inside of turn three... Very messy and this can't be a good lap... Well that shows how much I know, he is lineball at split one and a tenth under at split two...
1622 - Anyway, Neukirchner on his warm up lap now and Biaggi walking back down pitlane... Perhaps his Ducati had some sort of problem on the warm up lap...?
1620 - Massimiliano Biaggi on his warm up now... Hang on, something happening here now... A temporary halt to proceedings maybe... Biaggi looked to have come back into pitlane perhaps... (We later found out that it was a broken shifter that brought a premature halt to Biaggi's Superpole efforts)
1619 - 3-tenths down at second split for Nieto... But an amazing final sector promotes him to the top of the sheets with a 32.71...
1618 - Fonsi Nieto on his Superpole lap now on the #10 Suzuki GSX-R1000. The bike looking very smooth and the note from the wailing four cylinder absolutely fantastic... Nieto a tenth slower than the previous best at split one...
1617 - Regis runs a little wide through the Hayshed and that must have cost him some time... No, not too much, only a tenth down on Haga at the second split... Third quickest for Laconi despite that mistake... Perhaps the #55 Kawasaki a dark horse for a good performance tomorrow...
1616 - Laconi warming up for his flyer now... Crosses the stripe with the #55 Kawasaki actually looking quite tidy. The Kawasaki like the Honda and all new bike for 2008 and thus the teams under the pump to get the new mounts up to race standard... Laconi fairly lineball with Haga at the first split...
1614 - Haga hits the second split time marker more than 3-tenths under than the previous best... Sliding through 11 and 12 he goes.... Down the chute.... Haga to the top of the charts, a 32.72...
1613 - Noriyuki Haga has had a very average weekend thus far by his standards but out to make amends in this Superpole session and the Japanese tyro quickest at the first split by nearly 2-tenths....
1612 - Holland does a great final sector to hit the top of the charts with a 32.90. His lap tidier than Karl's
1611 - Fellow DFX pilot Russell Holland having his crack at Superpole now, will be his first experience of a Superpole session I believe. First split has him...... Fairly much lineball with Muggas at first split... The young Sydneysider looking much more in control than Muggas but a fraction slower than Karl again at the second split...
1609 - The DFX Fireblade obviously making lots of top end power or perhaps more likely suffering some rear suspension woes as the machine lifted the front wheel over the hump at the end of the main straight and also lifted quite horribly out of Southern Loop... Muggas climbing all over it to keep it under control and doing a great job.... He is quickest at the second split but between 11 and 12 the bike again gets untidy... The result, a 33.028 to the top of the charts but gee he really had to work for it and that certainly doesn't suggest a good race set-up under him for tomorrow...
1608 - Checa slowest thus far, Karl Muggeridge on the DFX Fireblade next to step into the breech...
1606 - Lavilla a 34.06 for the Spaniard... Davide Checa getting stuck into this Superpole run now... Doesn't look as though he is going to improve his lot...
1604 - Gregorio Lavilla on his run now, the Spaniard this year riding for the Ventaxia Honda squad on the all new for 2008 Fireblade, 3-tenths slower than Rolfo at the first split... 6-tenths down at the second split..
1603 - A 1m33.104 to Rolfo
1602 - Rolfo crosses the line to start his flyer... The timers are running on this lovely sunny Phillip Island afternoon, yes sunny... Some wind gusts may cause riders a few problems but the track surface should be nice and clean. Some riders have reported the track getting quite bumpy however and blaming the V8 Supercars for wrecking the track, like they pretty much wreck every track they go to...
1600 - Superpole session about to get underway and it is Rolfo that will be first out due to ending qualifying as the 16th quickest rider, he is on his warm up lap now in preparation for his mad one lap dash for glory...
1552 - I just went out of the media centre for a while to enjoy the smells and sounds a little closer and managed to see a few things that should be commented on. Kiyonari rarely has both wheels pointing in the same direction and looks as though his throttle is on or off and that's about that... The four-cylinder machines carry one gear all the way through turn 12 and all the way down the straight past the start-finish line and to the second bridge before selecting another cog. In contrast the twins grab another gear under the first bridge. Riders that look tidiest include Checa and Nieto's machine also looks quite settled. All the Yamaha France bikes look to be having major rear suspension troubles, actually the Yamaha France bikes seem to suffer the same thing here every year from as far back as I can remember