Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) put in a blitzing personal weekend best lap in Superpole at Assen, securing sixth place on the grid, one place ahead of his team-mate James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda). Muggeridge had a more incident free Superpole lap than his fellow squad member, after qualifying tenth in regulation qualifying, and thus edged him out by only 0.022 seconds. Toseland, who was second fastest on race tyres after the two pre-Superpole qualifying sessions, had to survive a few moments in his single flying lap of the new-look Assen, finishing seventh fastest.

The threatening Assen weather held off and Superpole was declared dry, and was taken by Troy Corser, from Noriyuki Haga, Toseland’s most immediate championship rival. The shortened 2006 season Assen track distance of 4.555km means that the Assen races on Sunday will now consist of 22 laps.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“To be honest I was hoping for front row starts from both the riders, because for sure, in the last free practice on race tyres it looked like we would be in for something really good. But there were some mistakes in the laps of both of the riders, so we have to be happy with the second row. The race set-up is almost there, but we still have to resolve some small problems. We can run constant laps, and if it is dry tomorrow I’m sure they can both ride right at the front.”

Karl Muggeridge – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(6th Position – Superpole Lap 1’39.543 – 42 Laps)
“The bike is working a lot better now and we have found a reasonable setting. We just need to work out which tyre to use. We know that the bigger 200 tyre will work better for durability, but the smaller one is good, yet doesn’t last so well. I would like to run the skinny one but we’ll have to make a decision. Maybe it will be wet anyway, as there are high odds of rain for tomorrow."

James Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(7th Position – Superpole Lap 1’39.565 – 44 Laps)
“I had a bit of a slide and wheelie out of the first section and I had to apply the rear brake, which lost me maybe a couple of tenths down the back straight, but the rest of the track was pretty good until the last chicane. I changed direction too aggressively and on the camber the whole bike lifted up, so I lost another tenth or two there, which cost me a front row start. We have been pretty consistent on race tyres, we need to be a little bit quicker, maybe three or four tenths, but if we can find that tomorrow, which I think we can, then I will be quietly confident. I’m just not on that front row that I have been used to now.”

Supersport

Despite not making any improvement to his single best lap time from the first qualifying session on Friday, Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) will start Sunday’s 21-lap Assen Supersport race from an important pole position. Tied on points with second place Assen qualifier Kevin Curtain, Charpentier has earned an advantage off the line, which may prove important on Sunday. His team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) pushed hard in the final two laps of the day and improved from 12th on Friday to ninth today, and thus starts from the head of the third row.

Dry yet cool weather greeted the start of both the final unofficial and timed qualifying sessions at Assen, but Charpentier was denied a chance to improve his time when a muscle spasm caused him to call a temporary halt, until he was checked over by medical staff.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“The majority of the job was done yesterday by Seb, doing a blistering lap around the new Assen circuit. Today we had some problems as he suddenly found a muscle in his back aching, and we had to get that checked and dealt with by the Clinica Mobile this afternoon. It should be OK for tomorrow because he did not have a crash, so the damage cannot be a lot. I feel a bit sorry for Kenan, because he improved quite a bit from yesterday and he was riding strongly, but he couldn’t get in that one perfect lap around here, and he made little mistakes all through his laps. But I am sure he is also up for a fight again tomorrow. We’ll definitely see him further up the times sheets tomorrow for the race.”

Sebastien Charpentier – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(Pole Position - Fastest Lap 1’41.906 - 25 Laps)
“I wanted to improve my time from yesterday, and everything was set, but I twisted a muscle in my back and decided to stop. After such a big lay off from injury to my back it was the only safe thing. The race is tomorrow, not today. I will get it massaged later again to straighten it out and starting from pole should be perfect.”

Kenan Sofuoglu – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(9th Position - Fastest Lap 1’42.869 - 34 Laps)
“We made things better today with the set-up and my approach to this new style of Assen, but I just could not get in a completely clean lap. So I improved my time, but not as much as I wanted to. I know that a good start is essential and I’m sure I can make progress in real race conditions.”