Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser set the fourth fastest time in Superpole today and will start tomorrow’s 11th round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship from the front row of the grid.

His team mate Yukio Kagayama is just behind, in fifth place, and both are determined to get podiums in tomorrow’s pair of 21 lap races.

It was a also a good day for Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Max Neukirchner: The young German rode a superb Superpole and posted the sixth quickest lap of the 16-rider shoot-out, ahead of many of the top factory riders.

Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took Superpole with a lap of 1:48.804 with James Toseland (Honda) second and Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) third.

Troy Corser - 4th, 1:49.442:
“I’m pretty happy I am on the front row and that’s important here at Imola because there are not that many passing places. Taking Superpole was a possibility, but when the rear of the bike started moving around like it did, it was hard to go faster then Bayliss. But I’m satisfied with my bike set-up on race tyres and we’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow. I hope that I will not be involved in a big fight at the start of the race because I want to conserve my tyres a little for the end of the race. When it’s hotter, our tyres don’t seem to work as well, so I’d prefer cooler conditions than today.”

Yukio Kagayama - 5th, 1:49.497:
“I am sort of happy with the set-up of my bike for the race but a lot will depend on how hot it is tomorrow. For me, the tyres do not work the same way in hot conditions as cool conditions, so the end of the race is going to be very interesting if it is as hot as it was this afternoon. I am bit disappointed with my Superpole lap. I tried very hard and I really wanted a front-row place. So now I need two good starts and for me usually that is not a big problem. I want two podiums tomorrow and I will try my best to get them.”

Max Neukirchner - 6th, 1:49.840:
“I am very happy with my Superpole lap, even though I made a little mistake during it. But sixth is pretty good considering everything and it’s a sign that I am getting to understand the Alstare Engineering bike more and more. Unfortunately I had a bit of a crash in the afternoon practice and although I was ok, the bike was pretty badly damaged. I’m afraid I gave my mechanics a lot of work to do. Sixth was good today, but what’s important is tomorrow. I need a couple of good starts and be strong throughout the two races. If I can do that, I can look forward to a couple of good finishes.