Press release:
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus finished Superpole with the 15th and 16th fastest laps and will start alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid at Donington tomorrow.
The team had some new parts from Munich to evaluate, so most of the day was used working with these instead of chasing lap times.
At the end of the day, both Troy and Ruben were happy with the new material and are looking forward to more time on the bike and further improvement.
American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his eighth Superpole of the season in a rain-affected Q3, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) second, Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) fourth.
Troy - 15th, 1:30.916:
"We had some new stuff to try today and the first signs are encouraging. It was a bit more easy to use the throttle and a bit of an improvement in set-up. Everything feels a bit more fluid and, although there’s still a lot of work to do, I am looking forward to further progress.
"This series is the hardest and most competitive it has ever been and there are so many strong teams out there all fighting for positions. Considering the level of competition this year, I think we’re doing pretty well at this stage of our development."
Ruben - 16th, 1:31.120:
"I am going two seconds or so a lap faster than last year and that makes me happy. The new parts have had an impact on me straightaway and I think we can improve the bike quite a bit as we carry on the good work. This series is tough for sure, and it’s interesting to realise that today’s lap times are so much faster than last year. I had a bit of a problem with the brakes on one of my bikes today, otherwise I think I could’ve pushed harder in Superpole. But the important thing is that we are all working hard. Today has given us all something to work towards because we can see the possibilities better."
Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Director):
"The new parts seem to give the bike better rideability and now we need to do more work and analyse the results. Our bike works normally on race rubber, but it seems quite sensitive when it is on very soft tyres and then it requires different settings. We decided to use this weekend more as a test, then look at the data and go for further improvements at the next two tests. Our positions today are not wonderful, but consider that both our riders are quicker than last year’s lap record. That shows how competitive and hard this series is this year. I don’t think this championship has ever been so tough, but we’re ready for the fight and feel positive about the future."
Final qualifying:
1. Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:29.846
2. Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:30.080
3. Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:30.535
4. Nakano (JPN-Aprilia) 1:30.671
5. Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:30.734
6. Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:31.023
15. Troy Corser (AUS-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:30.916
16. Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:31.120
