The challenging weather that started on Friday continued throughout today, making riding conditions very difficult and slippery. A damp qualifying session this morning was followed by a wet Superpole, in which the top 16 riders go out at the same time for a maximum of 12 laps during a 50 minute session. Corser felt happier with engine changes that had been made overnight following on from yesterday's initial qualifying session. These changes included trying some of the settings that had been used at Donington two weeks previously. Haga focused on continuing to find the right wet set-up. Overall, the wet conditions meant that everyone's lap times were slower, with no one improving on their best times from yesterday.
Track conditions did not improve at all for Superpole this afternoon, with sunshine but no dry line anywhere on the circuit. Corser had a good start to the session moving up to third position from yesterday's provisional start position of sixth. With such wet conditions, he then waited to see the progress of other riders.
Honda rider Joshua Brookes took third position on a flying lap, forcing Corser to try and reclaim it. Unfortunately, conditions were too slippery and he was unable to succeed and so will start from fourth tomorrow. Haga was one of the many to struggle with grip throughout the 50 minute session and moved down to ninth from fourth. He managed a flying lap with less than three minutes to go to take seventh place Kagayama.
Team Yamaha YZF rider, Nakatomi, continued to try and improve with his confidence in the wet weather today. Having achieved a best qualifying position of 18th in this yesterday's qualifying, he then spent today's track time doing lots of laps to build up his confidence. The team is also trying various new engine and chassis parts this weekend, so focused on putting in as much track time as possible to maximize the best opportunity from these new parts.
Tomorrow's world superbike races will start with Bayliss (Ducati) in pole position after an impressive day's riding. Local rider Ruben Xaus (Ducati) will start in second and Joshua Brookes (Honda) lies in third.
Troy Corser (4th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"This morning we went back to the Donington set-up and that seemed to help. The engine and bike are working well and we have made some changes to the rear suspension set-up during the day. Unfortunately, none of these changes have given us the extra grip that they normally would, and that we need. It's partly the geometry of the bike but we still have more work to do.
My objective for tomorrow is to stay upright, especially if the track is as slippery as it was today."
Noriyuki Haga (7th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"Today I tried some rain settings but I have not yet found the best set-up for this possibility - we still need to work on the best rear tyre option as I can find good grip but no tyre life, or good tyre life but no grip. I am happy with a second row qualifying position and that I didn't crash today in the wet! Today's conditions were unbelievable with no grip anywhere. Tomorrow I will push hard for a podium finish at the very least, whatever the weather."
Shinichi Nakatomi (18th - Team Yamaha YZF)"I really don't like the rain after a nasty incident I had last year, when I lost a lot of confidence. But, we had some success today finding a good set-up for the race. Tomorrow, I am hoping for dry weather though, and I want to finish in the points at the very least."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"This is our first time in the rain here at Valencia with the new R1, so we have been concentrating on preparing the bike as good as possible. Unfortunately, we haven't found the best set-up yet so tonight we will check all the data and see what we can improve for tomorrow.
I am very pleased with the front row position for Troy and the second row is fine for Nori, who has a history of making good starts."
Circuit Length: 4005
Temp: 24
Weather: Changeable
Superpole - WSB Valencia 14/04/2007:1. Troy Bayliss - Ducati - AUS 1'51.982
2. Ruben Xaus - Ducati - ESP 1'52.085
3. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS 1'52.199
4. Troy Corser - Yamaha - AUS 1'52.733
5. James Toseland - Honda - GBR 1'52.801
6. Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati - ITA 1'52.942
7. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha - JPN 1'52.961
8. Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki - JPN 1'53.634
9. Michel Fabrizio - Honda - ITA 1'53.750
10. Karl Muggeridge - Honda - AUS 1'54.108
11. Giovanni Bussei - Honda - ITA 1'54.972
12. Max Biaggi - Suzuki - ITA 1'55.196
13. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki - GER 1'55.965
14. Fonsi Nieto - Kawasaki - ESP 1'56.275
15. Regis Laconi - Kawasaki - FRA 1'56.332
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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