Temperatures well into the 30s and high humidity made the first day of qualifying a tough task for all 31 Superbike riders at Brno, but a sudden rain shower a few minutes from the end of the afternoon timed session ensured that James Toseland's new fastest lap time in an SBK race weekend - a 2'02.349 set early in the afternoon - would stay as the fastest of the day. Times were not quite at the same level as those set in an earlier Pirelli test at Brno, in June, but track conditions were cited by many riders as not being equal to those experienced last month.
For some riders, notably championship leader Troy Bayliss, who could only finish 11th fastest, the rain helped deprive them of an opportunity to set some fast final laps, leaving many to look to the second and final regulation qualifying on Saturday morning to ensure qualification for Superpole, or a better grid position.
Nieto Second Despite Early Problems Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) went second on the timesheets, some 0.374 seconds from Toseland, despite his machine breaking down in the morning's unofficial session. Nieto made the most of the cooler track conditions at the start of the afternoon, and cited recent tests on part worn race tyres as a great help in his push at a track he knows well.
With his team-mate Bayliss stuck outside the top ten, Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox), enjoying some highly vocal support in pit lane from his fan club, went third fastest and the top Ducati rider of all. The provisional front row was completed by 2005 Brno race winner, Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia), ensuring that four different manufacturers would be represented on the 'overnight' front row.
Muggeridge Fifth Despite Track ConditionDespite problems with rear traction on his Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, Karl Muggeridge scored a top five finish opening day time, just ahead of the resurgent Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) the fastest GSX-R rider on display. Reborn riders were in vogue at Brno on day one, as the recently injured Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) forgot the pain from his collarbone and rode to seventh fastest. Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) went eighth; complaining of a reduction in grip from the track compared to the recent Brno tyre tests.
Laconi Ninth After A Month OffDespite not taking part in the recent SBK tests at Lausitzring, Regis Laconi felt at home on his ZX-10R enough to score a top ten finish at the first attempt, and missed out on setting an even faster time right at the end. A fantastic ride from Steve Martin at this fast track delivered his Petronas team an early top ten, with his rookie SBK team-mate Craig Jones 22nd.
The provisional third row was completed by two true SBK megastars, Troy Bayliss and Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Winner of the most recent SBK race on the calendar, Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) went 13th, with another big name rider, Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) 14th, after suffering electronics problems with his number one bike. The last two riders currently qualified for Superpole are Berik Sterilgarda Ducati rider Ruben Xaus, and the ever popular Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Treme Honda). Twenty riders were within two seconds of provisional pole, despite Toseland's 0.374-second advantage over Nieto at the top of the rankings.
Supersport World ChampionshipKevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) headed the afternoon's first qualifying session in World Supersport, but could not quite match the unofficial lap time set by his team-mate Broc Parkes in the morning session, a new best Supersport lap of the circuit on a race weekend, at 2'06.103. Parkes was second quickest in the hotter conditions of the afternoon session, and thus currently sits second in official qualification.
The Megabike Honda machine of Simone Sanna (standing-in for the injured Katsuaki Fujiwara once more) was third fastest, ahead of Winston ten Kate Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu. Championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) went fifth fastest after a single day of track action, in his return after injury.
Superstock 1000 FIM CupA wet Superstock 1000 qualifying session saw British rider Richard Cooper (MS Racing Honda) lead the pack, with a 2'17.494 lap. Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni racing MV Agusta) was second, with local rider Matej Smrz, Cooper's team-mate, third. Championship leader Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki Italia) went fourth overall, with Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) way down in 21st place. At the present time, only 24 riders have qualified, from a possible 36.
Superstock 600 European ChampionshipLocal knowledge of a semi-wet track helped Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (Gold Fren Team Erinec Kawasaki) set the fastest 600 time, ahead of championship leader, Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Renato Constantini (Junior Team Italia Honda) was the third fastest rider, with championship contender Davide Guigliano (Lightspeed Kawasaki Racing) in the top four.
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