Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga go into tomorrow's Monza races in good spirits after a strong showing in today's final qualifying sessions.

Both riders have run consistently at the top of the timesheets, with Pitt third and Haga fourth at the end of the two one-hour qualifying sessions. Both men were to lose places in their grid deciding one-lap superpole runs, but with the leading riders covered by just fractions of a second around this long and fast circuit, Pitt and Haga are confident they can challenge at the front in what looks like being a pair of thrilling races.

Haga, who was fastest in yesterday's practice session, went into superpole as the fourth fastest rider but was hampered by a vibration from the rear of his machine. The Japanese star parked his machine immediately after crossing the finish line, with the source of the vibration being traced to a faulty component. The problem caused Haga to slip back to 10th on tomorrow's grid, although the rider is confident of running with the leaders in tomorrow's races.

Pitt ended regular qualifying as one of only three riders to break into the 1:46 bracket but was unable to replicate his best time on his superpole lap. The Australian was hampered on his flying lap due to the engine mapping switch not being set to the optimum position. Despite this handicap, Pitt was on schedule to take pole position at the second intermediate point, only to make a mistake on entry to the Parabolica corner. He ended the day in sixth position, confident he can make a good start and join the leading slipstreaming group around this unique circuit.

Yamaha Motor France's three riders missed out on superpole at Monza. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert was 18th fastest in the two one-hour sessions, only just missing out on a top 16 superpole place when his best time was eclipsed in the dying moments of the second session.

Norick Abe missed the morning's final qualifying session as a result of the crash he had yesterday. Abe's best time of 1:49.497, set in Friday's less favourable conditions, was still good enough to qualify him for the races and the former MotoGP rider has been passed to ride by medical staff. Should he be fit enough to ride, he will start tomorrow's races from 27th. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi improved his Friday time by over a second to start from 20th place in his first visit to the historic circuit.

Pole position for tomorrow's races goes to world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) from his countryman Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Alex Barros (Honda) and Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) complete the front row.

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
"My superpole lap wasn't that great. We only realized afterwards that we were using the wrong engine map setting and that would have cost us a little bit of power. Probably someone knocked it when they were taking the bike back to the pits after I ran out of fuel, but it's not a big deal, as I made a mess going into the last corner of my superpole lap and that has probably cost us a place on the front row. I'm quite happy though, because we are able to do good lap times on the race tyre. It's all about getting away with the leading group around here and from the second row I'm quite confident that won't be a problem for us."

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
"I felt a problem from the back of my bike throughout the superpole lap, a banging or vibration that said something was not right. I also had some fluid come up on my visor as I went into Parabolica, so I thought that it was best to park the bike at the end of the straight, just in case something serious was wrong. Superpole was not so good but for the race I think we are in good condition. The races will be close but I will try my hardest to go for the win."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Corodinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Noriyuki wasn't as fast today as he was yesterday but I am confident that he will find his best form for the races as he always does. Andrew was also able to do a good race simulation today and we are ready for what should be some interesting races."

Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France)
"We made some progress today and I was able to go faster in the afternoon practice session than I did in qualifying. This looks good for the race and after some good results in Valencia hopefully we can find some more points in the races tomorrow."

Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
"I am planning to race tomorrow but today I had too much pain in my back and wrists to ride. It was a very big crash and thankfully I cannot remember anything about it. Nothing is broken and the doctors say that I can race, although I decided not ride today so that I can be in the best condition for tomorrow."

Gianluca Vizziello was the leading Yamaha rider in today's final world supersport qualifying session at Monza.

The Yamaha Team Italia rider gunned his R6 around the fast Italian circuit in 1:51.753, an average speed of over 186kph, to take second on the grid for tomorrow's 16-lap race. The local rider won a national championship race at the circuit last weekend and would love to become the first man to win a world championship race on the latest model YZF-R6 in what is just his and the bike's fourth race in the class.

In a close qualifying session, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain continued his run of front row starts, claiming fourth spot with a best time of 1:51.878. Vizziello's team-mate Massimo Roccoli had his best performance of the season in fifth but, by contrast, Yamaha Motor Germany's Broc Parkes suffered his worst qualifying of the year at Monza. He was one of the few riders who failed to improve his Friday time and will start from the third row, in 11th position. The Australian put his lowly position down to nothing more than being unable to put a consistent lap together but is confident of improving in the race.

Pole position for tomorrow's race goes to championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda).