A Close Run Thing: In warm and balmy conditions the pace in Superpole proved to be frequently faster than that set in regulation qualifying. The eventual winner of the single fast lap Superpole competition, to determine the final grid positions for the top 16 qualifiers, was Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Only fifth last away, having been fifth fastest after regular qualifying, Kagayama had to wait for the best four regulation qualifiers to set their Superpole laps before he could be declared Superpole winner. It was his first such success, for a rider in his first full season of SBK competition, and came thanks to a time of 1’33.241 – over half a second faster than his best time from previous sessions.

Front Row Now Fixed: The remarkable Superpole contest delivered two major surprises and two minor ones. The first small surprise was that Troy Corser, Kagayama’s team-mate, did not capitalise on his qualifying pace. Corser had proved to be fastest man after both timed sessions but was beaten into fourth place on the grid after Superpole. The second small surprise was that SBK rookie Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda) took a superb third place, delivering on his good final qualifying pace - despite his lack of SBK, Superpole and Phillip Island experience. A major surprise was the performance of the Petronas triple, in the hands of Steve Martin. The rider may be an expert in the particular discipline needed for Superpole success, but with a largely outgunned machine under him, thanks to its 900cc engine capacity, Martin transcended all to go second fastest.
The second major upset was that neither of the factory Ducati Xerox machines managed to get onto the front row, and indeed both Petronas machines were ahead of the Ducati pairing of eighth placed Regis Laconi and tenth finisher, James Toseland.

Second Row Quartet: Yamaha’s rider line up in Superpole was headed by Andrew Pitt, who recovered from a serious collision with his own machine, after a huge highside exiting MG corner, He finished fifth fastest and heads the second row. Karl Muggeridge was the fastest Winston Ten Kate Honda pilot, sixth, while the joy for Petronas continued thanks to Garry McCoy, the diminutive Aussie screaming his triple to a seventh place, ousting Laconi by just over 0.15 seconds.

Third Rank: Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) made a couple of small but significant errors in his Superpole lap, and thus starts the two SBK races on Sunday from row three, just ahead of tenth place Superpole qualifier James Toseland. Toseland’s race tyre lap speed is comparable with most of the best riders on display, and thus two good starts for the 2004 champion should see him and his team-mate Laconi stay in contention for what should be two exceptionally close races. Giovanni Bussei had the pleasure of being top Kawasaki rider, taking his Bertocchi machine to 11th, and thus keeping Norick Abe’s Yamaha Motor France R1 in 12th place.
Superpole Wrap Up: Chris Walker (Kawasaki PSG-1) leads off the fourth row of the grid, one ahead of impressive SBK rookie Gianluca Vizziello (Team Lorenzini by Leoni), the Italian pilot showing the pace that made him the runner up in the European Superstock series in 2004. Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Extreme Sterilgarda), and Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki PSG-1), completed the Superpole contest 15th and 16th respectively.

Chili Out Injured: Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) had a painful end to his qualifying push, breaking his left collarbone for the third time in his career, ruling himself out for the Aussie race and probably the next round at Valencia. Chasing hi steam-mate Neukirchner, and having just passed a slower rider, he fell at the fast turn three, after clipping the inside of the kerb. Another experienced rider, Noriyuki Haga, was well out of sorts in Phillip Island, only finishing 19th on his Yamaha Motor Italia R1. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji), still not in possession of fully competitive equipment, was 23rd fastest, one place behind Spanish Superstar Fonsi Nieto, riding an SC Ducati 999RS. Lorenzo Lanzi, Nieto’s team-mate, was a disappointed 27th of the 29 riders on show.

Supersport: For the second race in succession Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) secured pole position, forming the head of a three-rider row of Honda pilots. Team Italia Megabike runners Michel Fabrizio and Fabien Foret ran out second and third respectively, but the top Yamaha rider on display was Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate Honda) will start Sunday’s Supersport race from the first grid position on the second row, after setting a lap time some 0.8 seconds removed from the pole man.

Stephane Chambon was sixth fastest on his Gil Motorsports Honda, with the best Ducati the SC machine of Gianluca Nannelli, despite the Italian charger suffering a late session fall.

Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) slotted into tenth but is not certain to start the race on Sunday, after taking a battering in a high-speed crash. Suffering from compressed vertebrae after tumbling end-over-end, Parkes will make a decision on his inclusion on Sunday morning.