Monza Provides Perfect Backdrop For Suzukis: After a day of thunderstorms and rainfall in and around the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza before the start of proceedings the opening day of qualifying was hosted in magnificent conditions, allowing Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) the chance to set the fastest lap of the day, with a 1’47.878. His team-mate Yukio Kagayama was a close second, only 0.235 seconds shy of the Aussie’s time, leaving Corser as the only rider inside the 1’47s at present.

Rookie Third, Wild Card Fourth: The usual flurry of late session activity saw one-time leader Karl Muggeridge in an eventual third spot, a good start for the Superbike class rookie and his Winston Ten Kate Honda. His 1’48.203 left him in the position of stand alone third placed rider, some 0.6 seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Riding in both Superbike and Supersport classes, Gianluca Nannelli (SC Caracchi Ducati) made an impact on both provisional grids, going fourth overall in Superbike – the best Ducati rider. Standing in for the injured regular Lorenzo Lanzi, Nannelli was a revelation, and even outpaced both factory Ducati entrants.

Works 999 Riders In the Hunt: The factory Ducati Xerox squad of James Toseland and Regis Laconi (Ducati Xerox 999F05) had a good first day of work, as each attempted to put the previous rounds behind them. Toseland, having a tough initial period in his title defence, stated in pre-race comments that he just needs his fortune to change to show his real speed, and was fifth quickest today, juts under a second from Corser. Laconi, who missed both previous Valencia races with concussion, was declared fit prior to qualifying, and secured a seventh provisional grid placing.

Vermeulen In the Vanguard: Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR rider Chris Vermeulen slotted his Fireblade into sixth spot, easing out Laconi in the later stages. On a day when the four-cylinders had mixed fortunes, Yamaha Motor Italia rider Andrew Pitt promoted himself to the status of top R1 competitor by setting eighth best qualifying time. Top Kawasaki rider was once more Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10), ninth fastest. Noriyuki Haga, Pitt’s team-mate, gave his local team a second rider inside the top ten. With his team-mate Max Neukirchner missing from the line up, due to a recent hand operation, four time Monza race winner Pierfrancesco Chili roared his Klaffi Honda to 11th at his favourite circuit on the calendar.

Private Riders Pile In: DFX rider Marco Borciani’s swap from Yamaha to Ducati power placed him 12th on the provisional grid, with Giovanni Bussei (Bertocchi Kawasaki) 13th, well inside the top echelon of 31 qualifying riders. Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha Extreme Sterilgarda) and Fonsi Nieto (SC Caracchi 999RS) had a joint fall in qualifying, the two Spaniards walking away from their entanglement. Cardoso nonetheless qualified 14th, Nieto 16th. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji) slotted his ever-improving Honda into 17th fastest time, improving his best position late in the session. Yamaha Motor France riders Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert found their machines not quite capable of running with the fastest machines on the day, with Abe 20th and Gimbert 22nd.

Petronas Riders Move ON: Aussie pairing Garry McCoy and Steve Martin had differing fortunes at Monza on day one, with McCoy 15th (inside Superpole qualification if times stay the same on Saturday) but Martin was a disappointed 23rd.

Supersport: Championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) once more proved the fastest competitor of all in Supersport, taking provisional pole with a 1’51.971, already under the lap record and less than half a second away from the best ever Supersport lap in qualifying.

His team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara ran out second on his CBR600RR Honda, 1.014 seconds from Charpentier’s best time. The first Yamaha rider, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) was only just behind Fujiwara, 0.107 seconds adrift. Team Italia Megabike Honda runner Michel Fabrizio scored fourth fastest time 1’53.606. The speed of Team SC Caracchi’s Ducati 749R allowed the exceptionally busy Gianluca Nannelli to secure fifth place, 1.636 seconds from overnight pole – and only one thousandth of a second from Fabrizio’s Honda.

The 45-minute session was split into two parts, after an oil leak at the entrance to the Parabolica delayed proceedings. Championship contender Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda) was disqualified from the event for practicing at an Italian Supersport Championship round at Monza less than a week before the start of the Monza WSS race, and without Monza being his team’s designated test track. One more qualifying session, on Saturday 7th, will determine the final grid positions.