2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Four - Queensland Raceway

Dorna Day 2 Report

A heaving paddock at Brno received a double treat today, with fine weather and some spectacular riding as the riders took part in qualifying for tomorrow's Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske republiky.

Valentino Rossi set the stage for an epic race at the Central European track, taking pole position with a late surge in the dying stages of the qualifying hour. The Camel Yamaha rider, also fastest in practice this morning, cut an incredible 1.3 seconds off Sete Gibernau's 2005 pole time, and made a huge statement of intent as he looks to return to winning ways.

Second place on the grid went to Loris Capirossi, who had looked to be on course for pole having broken the 1’57 barrier. The Ducati rider will be joined on the front row by Kenny Roberts Jr. who set a quick fast last lap to sneak in front of his compatriot Nicky Hayden.

Championship leader Hayden will therefore need to nurse his 34-point advantage from fourth place on the grid, on row two alongside Shinya Nakano and an impressive Toni Elias rounding off the top six. The third row comprises John Hopkins, Colin Edwards and Dani Pedrosa, all less than a second off Rossi’s time.

It promises to be yet another exciting battle at the front, as seen on so many occasions this season, with plenty of twists and turns both on the track and in the championship saga.

Jorge Lorenzo stepped up to the challenge laid down by 250cc title rival Andrea Dovizioso in today’s free practice session, firing back to consolidate the provisional pole that he earned yesterday. A time of 2’02.292, just 30 thousandths of a second off his own pole time last season, gave the Spaniard his eighth pole of 2006.

Dovizioso was six tenths further behind Lorenzo, and will line up alongside his persistent rival on the front row as both attempt to grab the championship by the horns. Just two points separate the duo, and Hiroshi Aoyama and Hector Barbera join them on the front line for the battle of Brno. Row 2 is headed by Alex de Angelis, 1.3 seconds off Lorenzo’s time, with Shuhei Aoyama, Roberto Locatelli and local rider Jakub Smrz close behind. Aleix Espargaro and Alex Debon, who suffered a crash late on, hold ninth and tenth respectively.

Shortly before the qualifying session, Aprilia confirmed to the gathered media that Lorenzo had extended his contract, in a move which delighted Racing Manager Giampero Saachi, who described the Spaniard as "like one of the family."

Mika Kallio took pole position for tomorrow's 125cc Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske republiky, his third of the season and with a time of 2’07.874 which came close to the circuit record.

Kallio’s lap was enough to beat World Championship leader Alvaro Bautista’s by an extremely small margin, with Czech rider Lukas Pesek and Spaniard Hector Faubel completing the front row. Row two will be comprised of Mattia Pasini, Nico Terol, Sergio Gadea and Julian Simon.

Young Briton Bradley Smith suffered a crash which fractured the 15 year old’s left wrist, leaving him out of the race at Brno.

Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha):
"I am really happy with this pole position, and it is much better to start from here than tenth like in recent races. I saw Loris' time and thought that it might be too fast for me to beat, but I tried my hardest and managed to take pole, I think the race will be very exciting tomorrow."

Second: Loris Capirossi (Ducati):
"It is a fantastic second position, especially considering that we started practicing yesterday and things were going terribly. We made some changes and tomorrow's race could be a good one for the team and Bridgestone."

Third: Kenny Roberts (Team Roberts):
"We had some problems with the fuel distribution systems, and I had to signal through the television cameras that we needed to change back to the old one. It didn't feel as comfortable but we still got a great front row and hopefully the race will go the same way."