With the heavy rains that characterised most of the opening day of track action at Losail stopping before the end of the first timed Superbike session, Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Karl Muggeridge and James Toseland had to work hard to try and get into contention. With wet weather settings in place at the start of the one-hour timed session, but a drying line appearing slowly, the riders had no opportunity to adjust their machines to match the new conditions. Each rider is aware that today’s results may count for little, with the advent of better weather expected in the final qualifying and Superpole sessions on Friday.

Muggeridge and Toseland opted not to take part in the morning session, held in fully wet conditions, but on the drying track in the afternoon Muggeridge was 13th fastest, Toseland 18th. An indication of the prevalent track conditions comes from the fact that fastest rider Troy Bayliss was still some 16 seconds from the previous track best.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager - “Today did not work out the way we wanted. The boys went out in timed qualifying but did not feel too comfortable on the bikes. We adjusted their bikes to make softer settings and then a dry line started to appear, so the adjustments proved to be the wrong way. Towards the end they could not improve their lap times, as the bikes were set-up for a wet track. Tomorrow will be dry and we will be moving up quite a bit then.”

Karl Muggeridge – (13th – 2’21.152) - “Not the best start but the good thing is we tried something we had never tried before in the wet. In the beginning it was not too bad, but in the end, when the track dried out, the feeling was terrible. By that stage, we had no time left to change. So we crossed paths, but we know how to improve in the dry tomorrow. I am not too bothered about today, the bike is running well and we are looking to tomorrow. No drama.”

James Toseland - (18th – 2’21.732) - “It took me a little while to get used to the conditions today. We put a softer spring in and put the ride height up, but maybe a bit too much. Going into the corners we had very little grip. We just ran out of time at the end to adjust the bike, and when you don’t have the right set-up in those conditions life is very difficult. To only be four seconds off, the way I was sliding and struggling, I felt that I would be ten seconds off. Tomorrow should be dry and Saturday the same, but even if it is wet, we now know how adjust the bike to suit now.”

Supersport

A sensational debut for new Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu saw him score provisional pole position in what were unexpectedly wet surface conditions at Losail. Such was his pace that he was almost two seconds clear of his nearest challenger, Kevin Curtain. To make Sofuoglu’s impact all the more remarkable, this was his first ever World Supersport timed session, and despite his lack of experience Sofuoglu made the best of his recent test experiences at Qatar, and the slowly drying line around the circuit in the last few minutes of action.

The 5.4km track, in the deserts outside Qatari capital Doha, was not so kind to reigning World champion Sebastien Charpentier, who started his title defence for his Winston Ten Kate Honda team with the 12th fastest time of the 33 starters. Unhappy with early track conditions when the rains were at their worst, he sat out the morning untimed session, venturing out in the afternoon to put in a safe qualifying lap, even though conditions are fully expected to be dry from now on.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager - “It’s peculiar to have rain once more in Qatar, in a place where you expect it the least. But the circumstances on track are the same for everyone, so it is good to see Kenan performing well. He has shown more of his potential today and has been very good in testing in the off-season. Tomorrow may be a very different day when it is dry, and I’m sure Sebastien will be picking up a bit of form in those conditions. Sebastien has a quite good rhythm at the moment, and he thinks he can immediately pick up the pace he enjoyed in testing, when he was two seconds quicker than the former best. But for now, I think Kenan will sleep very well tonight, and he can enjoy the moment.”

Kenan Sofuolgu – (Provisional Pole – 2’21.890 ) - “I am very happy about this but it was in wet conditions. If I can score this position again in the dry tomorrow, then I really will be happy. In the rain we are not so bad, but if I can be second in the dry conditions, behind Sebastien, then I will be even happier.”

Sebastien Charpentier – (12th – 2’27.755) - “I’m happy because I qualified at least, in 12th. I felt bad on the bike right away because the track was not clean. I didn’t ride in the morning free session, but tomorrow is a new day. The bike is ready and the weather should be better, so I am prepared. Kenan did very well, he is a good asset for the team. Today was difficult for me, but I have good possibilities here when it dries out, because of the very positive test we made here in the winter.”