Noriyuki Haga put in an exceptionally fast lap in today's Superpole at Monza to take his first pole of the season. This success at the team's home circuit was made even better by Troy Corser completing the front row of tomorrow's grid in fourth. The team now goes into tomorrow's race ready to fight for the World Superbike Championship. The day started well with both riders making good progress in this morning's qualifying session. Haga put in several long runs during the qualifying session to check his set-up and took third qualifying position going into Superpole. Corser and his team worked on improving the braking and front end set-up of his bike with the results quickly showing as he moved up from 12th to finish in sixth, with only 0.3 seconds gap up to second.
Corser was the first rider in the team to do his Superpole lap and comfortably beat the Superpole lap record he had set last year. He just missed the top of the leader board by under 0.09 seconds. Haga was one of the final riders to complete his lap and took the pole position as well as setting a new Superpole lap record of 1'44.941 - taking off almost 2 seconds from the standing record.
Today's track action puts both Yamaha Motor Italia riders on the front row which will be important as they go into the first tight chicane. Both riders will need to be in front when they reach this corner if they are to contend for the lead. The front row grid is completed by Bayliss in second and Biaggi in third.
Shinichi Nakatomi's weekend took a turn for the worse today as he crashed out of qualifying and ended his race hopes for Monza. He had been progressing well in this morning's qualifying practice and had secured 20th qualifying place when he lost the front of the bike and crashed into the gravel trap at the Ascari corner. He re-mounted and re-joined the circuit but a collision with another rider sent him back into the gravel where the bike fell on his foot, braking two toes and cutting short his weekend. It is hoped he will return at Silverstone.
Noriyuki Haga (1st - Yamaha Motor Italia)"I am very happy with pole but tomorrow is the most important day - that is when it all counts. The weekend so far has gone very well for myself and the team and I am confident for tomorrow. We have already fixed a race setting and tyre and have only a few minor suspension changes to do before the race."
Troy Corser (4th - Yamaha Motor Italia)"Today has gone well. We got a good set-up in practice this morning and put in some good lap times. Then Superpole went well, I was just a bit cautious going into the first chicane as I have overshot there twice already this weekend. It feels good to be on the front row at the team's home round. The bike feels really good and I am looking forward to tomorrow a lot."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator Yamaha Motor Italia)"This round is at the team's home of Monza. To have both riders on the front row with good set-ups and tyre choices done is excellent. Haga's Superpole lap was fantastic and I am very happy that we have solved Corser's problems from yesterday. The weekend has come together very well so far and we are now ready to fight for the championship tomorrow."
Circuit Length: 5792
Temp: 30
Weather: Hot and Sunny
Superpole - 2007 WSB Monza:
1. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha - JPN 1'44.941
2. Troy Bayliss - Ducati - AUS 1'45.345
3. Max Biaggi - Suzuki - ITA 1'45.415
4. Troy Corser - Yamaha - AUS 1'45.430
5. James Toseland - Honda - GBR 1'45.824
6. Karl Muggeridge - Honda - AUS 1'46.232
7. Regis Laconi - Kawasaki - FRA 1'46.437
8. Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki - JPN 1'46.696
9. Michel Fabrizio - Honda - ITA 1'46.753
10. Roberto Rolfo - Honda - ITA 1'46.758
11. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS 1'46.948
12. Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati - ITA 1'46.067
13. Fonsi Nieto - Kawasaki - ESP 1'47.145
14. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki - GER 1'47.146
15. Ruben Xaus - Ducati - ESP 1'47.553
Rider Standings:1. James Toseland - Honda - GBR 196
2. Max Biaggi - Suzuki - ITA 164
3. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha - JPN 144
4. Troy Bayliss - Ducati - AUS 128
5. Troy Corser - Yamaha - AUS 114
6. Ruben Xaus - Ducati - ESP 99
7. Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati - ITA 98
8. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki - GER 71
9. Roberto Rolfo - Honda - ITA 64
10. Michel Fabrizio - Honda - ITA 47
11. Fonsi Nieto - Kawasaki - ESP 46
12. Regis Laconi - Kawasaki - FRA 43
13. Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki - JPN 41
14. Jakub Smrz - Ducati - CZE 37
15. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS 35
16. Shinichi Nakatomi - Yamaha - JPN 19
Manufacturer Standings:1. Honda 205
2. Ducati 173
3. Yamaha 167
4. Suzuki 164
5. Kawasaki 69
The Yamaha World Supersport Team showed its determination today and was rewarded with a front row start position for tomorrow's race. Having spent the morning practice session focusing on finding the right race setting, Parkes went on to claim fourth position on tomorrow's grid.
Parkes spent the morning practice trying a series of small setting changes and was looking positive in second position for most of the session. In this afternoon's qualifying session he went on to knock 0.5 seconds off his best time from yesterday to move up to fourth slot. The front row tomorrow is headed by Sofuoglu (Honda) with fellow team mates Charpentier and Fujiwara completing the grid alongside Parkes.
Anthony West, who is standing in this weekend for the injured Kevin Curtain, had only his second day on the YZF-R6 and spent the morning session continuing to familiarise himself the bike's handling and weight characteristics. As the pace quickened throughout the day the 250 GP star found himself hampered by his non-standard leathers and was unable to improve upon his time from yesterday, eventually qualifying in 14th place.
Massimo Roccoli made better progress today after completely reviewing and revising his set up from yesterday. In qualifying he rapidly moved up from 13th place to eighth, taking almost a second off his best time so far this weekend.
Broc Parkes (4th - 1'50.903 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"Today has been good, especially as the lap times have been so fast this weekend. We have made a series of small changes and found a good direction in today's qualifying. A new front fork setting and other changes have given me much better braking feeling, which we have been trying to solve since Assen. The team has worked hard to achieve this and I feel we have a pretty good bike for tomorrow's race now. It's going to be tough out there tomorrow but I'm looking forward to it."
Anthony West (14th - 1'51.867 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I have learnt a lot more about the bike today and I have a much better understanding of what needs to be done to set it up for me. We are very short on time though. The biggest things for me to get used to have been the weight of the bike and the way it handles when flicking from corner to corner. I'm not happy with fourteenth by any means. I want to be in the top five tomorrow and I need to get a good start tomorrow to have any chance of achieving that."
Massimo Roccoli (8th - 1'51.420 - Yamaha Team Italia)"This morning I went back to the beginning and slowly changed everything about the set up of my bike and it worked because I have got a much better setting than yesterday now. The second row is a decent place to start and the front row is very close. I need to get a good start tomorrow which I am confident I can do."
Circuit Length: 5792
Weather: Sunny
Qualifying 2 - 2007 WSS Monza 12/05/2007
Pos. - Rider - Nat. - QUAL I - QUAL II1. Kenan Sofuoglu - TUR 1'50.791 - 1'50.459
2. Sebastien Charpentier - FRA 1'50.711 - 1'51.167
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara - JPN 1'50.866 - 1'50.817
4. Broc Parkes - AUS - 1'51.557 - 1'50.903
5. Gianluca Nannelli - ITA 1'51.889 - 1'51.006
6. Fabien Foret - FRA 1'51.098 - 1'51.071
7. Barry Veneman - NED 1'51.837 - 1'51.370
8. Massimo Roccoli - ITA 1'52.315 - 1'51.420
9. Robbin Harms - DNK 1'52.570 - 1'51.664
10. David Salom - ESP 1'52.851 - 1'51.711
11. Gianluca Vizziello - ITA 1'52.148 - 1'51.766
12. Joan Lascorz - ESP 1'52.989 - 1'51.833
13. Pere Riba - ESP 1'51.848 - 1'52.256
14. Anthony West - AUS 1'51.867 - 1'51.937
15. Vesa Kallio - FIN 1'52.672 - 1'51.873
20. David Checa - ESP 1'52.960 - 1'52.167
25. Sebastien Gimbert - FRA 1'53.148 - 1'52.872
Rider Standings:
1. Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda - TUR 120
2. Fabien Foret - Kawasaki - FRA 67
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Honda - JPN 43
4. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS 40
5. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 39
6. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED 30
7. Gianluca Nannelli - Ducati - ITA 30
8. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 28
9. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 27
10. David Salom - Yamaha - ESP 27
11. Pere Riba - Kawasaki - ESP 26
12. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 25
13. Kevin Curtain - Yamaha - AUS - 25
14. Sebastien Charpentier - Honda - FRA 23
15. Vesa Kallio - Suzuki - FIN 21
17. David Checa - Yamaha - ESP 18
22. Sebastien Gimbert - Yamaha - FRA 9
Manufacturer Standings: 1. Honda 120
2. Kawasaki 77
3. Yamaha 66
4. Suzuki 37
5. Ducati 30
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