World Superbike Championship leader James Toseland secured his first pole position of the 2007 series today in a thrilling Superpole session. The British rider will start tomorrow's 22-lap race on the top spot for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda after proving his skill with a blistering one-lap dash.
Toseland has been consistently quick during the free practice and qualifying sessions at the hot and sunny Assen Circuit. He entered this afternoon's Superpole session as the third fastest rider and rode a near-perfect lap to secure an impressive time of 1'38.603. In doing so, the 26-year-old set a new Superbike fastest lap for the Assen circuit, beating the previous record held by Troy Bayliss.
Roberto Rolfo improved on yesterday's lap times to qualify in the top sixteen for Superpole at HANNspree Ten Kate Honda's home track. The Italian worked hard aboard the CBR1000RR and put in a good lap to secure eleventh place on the grid for tomorrow's race. Rolfo is aiming for two top ten positions to bring in those all-important points for the team.
Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager:"We have seen James be consistently fast this weekend, but to see him doing such a great lap on the Superpole is just amazing. We know that he is not usually the best qualifier around but he comes through in the race. However, it seems for the home round he wanted to give us all a present and that's what he did. The main aim for James is always to be on the front row - the pole position is a big bonus. Tomorrow we have a hot race ahead, not only because of the temperatures but also because the race pace of the top five is so close. As for Roby, he is climbing back up the grid and we hope he can bring two top ten finishes tomorrow. On the whole, this has been a great day for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda"
James Toseland: "The main aim for today was to get on the front row so I'm feeling very pleased with the bonus of pole position. It's the third one of my career so it feels pretty special. We've been setting some fast times during the qualifying so I knew we were in with a chance of the pole, but I didn't want to focus on it too much. By the end of the second split I knew it was going to be a good lap, but to get the top spot is great. I'm happy to give the team a good result, but of course the result that counts is tomorrow's race so now I'll concentrate on that."
Roberto Rolfo:"I am a happier today because I feel I have improved compared to yesterday. In the qualifying this morning I was riding a lot more smoothly. In my Superpole lap I made a mistake on the brakes and I lost some time, but the lap in general was not too bad. I am not completely happy because I want to further up near the front but compared to the last race it's a lot better. I think the race setting we have at the moment is not too bad. We will do a bit of extra work in the warm-up tomorrow so hopefully the race will go well."
Superpole:1. J. Toseland 1'38.603
2. L. Lanzi 1'39.226
3. T. Bayliss 1'39.256
4. M. Biaggi 1'39.320
5. R. Xaus 1'39.411
6. T. Corser 1'39.422
7. M, Neukirchner 1'39.648
8. Y. Kagayama 1'39.928
9. K. Muggeridge 1'40.057
10. F. Nieto 1'40.288
11. R. Rolfo 1'40.328
Related Linkswww.hannspreeracingworld.com
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