Superbike
Max Just Misses the Front Row!Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Max Neukirchner just missed out on a front row grid place in Superpole and will start tomorrows pair of 22-lap races from row two of the grid. He was the fastest rider in Superpole 1, nearly four tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival, but lapped two tenths of a second slower in Superpole 2 and eventually managed the sixth quickest time in Superpole 3.
His team mate Yukio Kagayama suffered a crash in the free practice and had to use his number two bike in Superpole. The number two bike was set up slightly differently and Yukio was unable to qualify for Superpole 3, despite turning in a lap of 1:38.288 - a time that wouldve qualified him just off the front row. Instead he will start the races from the third row. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) continued his run of good form by taking pole position this afternoon, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second, Leon Haslam (Honda) third and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) fourth.
Max - 6th, 1:38.353:
"I think we are in good shape on race tyres and although the bike is not 100 per cent, its quite good. Weve improved the bike since the last round in Valencia and if we can improve it a bit more, maybe wed be able to risk using race rubber in Superpole 1 and keep our two qualifying tyres for Superpole 2 and 3. I had no big problems today, but well try a little suspension change in the morning warm-up tomorrow and see if we can improve the bike. The track felt better today and I was also able to do some good practice starts, so I am pretty confident of being up with the leaders at the beginning. The start is important here because otherwise you get held up round the first three or so turns."
Yukio - 9th, 1:38.288:
"This new Superpole system is a bit funny really, because I went faster than Max, but hes on the second row of the grid and I am on the third! I was hoping to keep my position on the front row of the grid, but I crashed my number one bike in the free practice and had to use my number two bike in Superpole qualifying. It was set up a bit differently and I could not lap as confidently with it as my number one bike. There was no time to change the number two bike to the same settings as the number one bike, but we can do this OK for tomorrow. I am not sure why I crashed this afternoon. It was very sudden and I had no warning at all. My engineers will look at the data and then tell me if there was a problem or not. Fortunately I was not hurt at all, so I am in good condition for the races tomorrow. I need a podium!"
Final qualifying1. Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:37.628
2. Smrz (CZ-Ducati) 1:37.765
3. Haslam (GB-Honda) 1:38.072
4. Haga (J-Ducati) 1:38.202
5. Fabrizio (I-Ducati) 1:38.215
6. Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:38.353
9. Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:38.288Superstock
Front Row for ClaudioTeam Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti suffered some minor problems in qualifying today, but still managed to qualify on the front row of the grid for tomorrows 13 lap race. But he and the team know what to do to improve the bike and will make the changes in the warm-up tomorrow morning and be ready for the race. Frenchman Maxime Berger (Honda) took pole position today, with Davide Giugliano (MV) second and Sylvain Barrier (Yamaha) third.
Claudio - 4th, 1:42.199:
"We had a small problem with the front fork and I wasnt able to push as hard as I wanted to, but as long as I am on the front row, I think it is OK. It was quite windy out there today and it was a bit tricky going into the chicane at the end of the back straight, so I decided to stay steady and not do anything crazy. Its very important to get a good start and be in the front group here otherwise its easy to get held up in the first three or four corners. My plan is to make a good start and leave the rest to hold each other up."
Final qualifying:1. Berger (F-Honda) 1:41.108
2. Giugliano (I-MV) 1:41.638
3. Barrier (F-Yamaha) 1:41.988
4. Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:42.1995. Baz (F-Yamaha) 1:42.368
6. Burrell (GB-Honda) 1:42.446
