FG Sport

The superb pace shown by Chris Walker (HM Plant Ducati) since the very early minutes of the first untimed session had a measurable effect later in the day, when he set the provisional pole time of 1:41.089. The British rider, like many benefiting from an earlier test session at the Magny Cours Circuit shortly after the previous Imola round, has set the circuit best with today’s lap time, at a track layout never before used in SBK competition.

The 4.411kms Magny Cours track was bathed in winter sunshine but the temperatures of both air and track were greatly reduced compared to their summer maximums, the air being 17°C and the track rising to only a best of 30°C.

For the local fans the first day had plenty to shout about, as Regis Laconi (NCR Ducati 998 RS) duelled it out with Walker. The Englishman’s final day one pace was impressive enough to leave Laconi 0.365 seconds adrift of the leader, just ahead of third place rider Gregorio Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki). Lavilla was once more the top four-cylinder pilot in attendance, outpacing James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati), who was confirmed alongside Laconi as an official Ducati Fila SBK rider during a pre-race press conference.

The most experienced man in SBK racing, Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati PSG-1) stuck in a fast lap at the end to go fifth.

The factory Ducati duo of Ruben Xaus and new World Champion Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila 999 F03) were down in the doldrums on day one, with Xaus a late sixth and Hodgson only ninth. A lack of grip in the cold conditions was the main reason stated by the riders and team.

The seventh place time of Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1) did not do justice to the possible front row performance of the 900cc three-cylinder machine, with Corser slugging it out with the best throughout the final hour of the opening day’s qualifying.

In among the factory entrants was the ever aggressive Steve Martin, who took eight best time, just 1.018 seconds from provisional pole.

A good day for the multi-cylinder machines was rounded out by the efforts of local wild card Sebastien Gimbert (SERT Suzuki), with frequently injured series regular David Garcia in a strong 11th. British wild card Leon Haslam went 13th fastest, and the FP-1 of James Haydon pushed itself into the top 16 of Superpole qualification, a performance that he will attempt to emulate if the weather conditions permit on day two.

Ducati Fila

Ducati Fila riders Ruben Xaus and Neil Hodgson could only manage sixth and ninth quickest times respectively in Magny-Cours first qualifying as Chris Walker (HM Plant Ducati) headed Regis Laconi (NCR Ducati) for the top slot.

Both the Spaniard and the British rider complained of lack of grip around the 4.411 km circuit but were confident they would improve in tomorrow's final session. Conditions were unusually cold throughout the day at Magny-Cours, with the weather forecast promising more of the same over the weekend.

"I didn't expect to be that far down on the grid" declared the new world champion, Neil Hodgson, "especially after we tested here last Friday. We've got a lot of work to do in all areas basically because the bike just doesn't feel the same as it did last week. In particular we're struggling with the gearing and with the tyre spinning coming out of the slow corners, but we'll make a few changes tomorrow and I'm sure you'll see me up at the front at the end of the day".

"I have a lot of problems with the rear at the corners, but not when I come out, it's when I go in" explained Ruben Xaus. "I can't stop the bike at the reference points I had last week, because I go really long. The conditions are different for sure, including the temperature, so maybe the rear doesn't grip as much and you tend to brake more at the front and that makes the rear lighter. When you go long in the corners, that ruins your exit. We know what we have to do, we've had a few Fridays like this before, Sunday is the race, that's the important thing".

HM Plant Ducati

The HM Plant Ducati team has started its last ever Superbike World Championship round in superb form with Chris Walker and James Toseland on the provisional front row. Walker was in pole position with a time of 1:41.089 and his team-mate was only 0.634 seconds behind the Nottingham rider in fourth place.

It has been a promising start for HM Plant Ducati at Magny-Cours’ first ever World Superbike event. On the French 4.411km circuit, Walker and Toseland also topped this morning’s free practice in first and second positions respectively. The British duo is already looking good for possible podium finishes in Sunday’s two races.

“Generally speaking, I’ve been quite strong on the first day of qualifying this year,” said Walker, who last qualified on provisional pole at Sugo in Japan in April. “I am determined that I’m going to remain focussed on Sunday’s two races, and that means I’m not going to get too carried away at this stage.

“The HM Plant Ducati has been working really well today and we’ve been fine-tuning our race set-up with Dunlop. I’m expecting that the other riders will come back strongly tomorrow, but I feel that I’ve got a bit more in reserve for the second qualifying session and Superpole.”

Toseland, who celebrated his 23rd birthday earlier this month, is also in good shape. “I was a bit anxious about coming here after missing one of the two test days last week,” said the Sheffield star, who has signed to ride for the Fila Ducati team in next year’s series. “However, I needn’t have worried because the team has done a great job with the HM Plant Ducati and I’m confident that we can move up a gear tomorrow.” 

Suzuki

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra ride Gregorio Lavilla finished the first day of qualifying at Magny-Cours with the third quickest time, but is looking for further improvement tomorrow. Conditions today were very different to when Gregorio and most of the other teams tested two weeks or so ago and the much colder weather affected the Suzuki's settings considerably. Despite posting the third fastest time of the day, Gregorio is trying to get the GSXR1000 Suzuki's feeling the same as during the tests and once he does that, the his lap times will fall even more. Briton Chris Walker (Ducati) set today's fastest time, with a lap of 1:41.089, with local favourite Regis Laconi (Ducati) second. Joining them and Gregorio on the front row of the grid is James Toseland (Ducati), with Frankie Chili (Ducati) fifth and Ruben Xaus (Ducati) sixth.

GREGORIO LAVILLA - 3rd, 1:41.523 - "So far it's been OK, but the conditions are very different to when we were here a couple of weeks ago. I don't know exactly what the temperature was then, but it was definitely a lot warmer then now! Then, I managed to get a good feeling with the GSXR1000 and at the moment, I have not been able to repeat that feeling - probably because of the conditions - even though the lap times are pretty similar. Today the tyres felt different, though that may be because we haven't got exactly the same tyres as when we tested. This is a one-line track, so it's very important to be on the front row of the grid and make a good start. The first section of the track (up to the Adelaide hairpin is OK, but the second part is not so good. It's a track where it's easy to make a small mistake and lose a lot of time as a result. Also, this is a track where I have to use first gear four times (more then any other circuit) and so getting the gearing right is vital. I hope to get a better feeling tomorrow and push much harder."

Troy Corser

Troy was pretty happy with seventh on the first day of qualifying at Mangy-Cours today and is looking forward to improving his lap times tomorrow. The weather was much colder then when Troy tested about two weeks ago, so he and the team had a lot of work to do today. At the end, Troy's lap times were more or less the same as the tests despite the start-finish straight being narrower at both ends. Briton Chris Walker (Ducati) set the quickest time today, with a lap of 1:41.089, ahead of local hero Regis Laconi (Ducati). Spaniard Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki) posted the third fastest lap, James Toseland (Ducati) completing the front row of the grid. Frankie Chili (Ducati) is fifth, Ruben Xaus (Ducati) sixth and Troy seventh.

Troy, 7th - "The conditions were much better when we tested here two or so weeks ago, so there was quite a lot to do again. Also, they've made the track narrower at both ends of the start-finish straight, so to do more or less them same lap times (on race tyres as well!) we did at the tests is very good, so I'm pretty happy. I think, I'll be able to get into the low 1:41s - or maybe even into the high 1:40s. On my first lap on a qualifying tyre I got into turn one a bit too hot and I must have lost about four tenths of a second, so I know that I can improve substantially. At the moment, the bike doesn't feel the same as it did at the tests, but I'll sit down with the team and work out what changes we need to make for tomorrow.