Noriyuki Haga will start tomorrow's round of the World Superbike Championship in second place after an impressive Superpole performance today. Troy Corser will start from eighth position after sliding off during his Superpole lap, though he had been among the top three riders all weekend.
Dry weather today allowed Haga to make the most of his wild lines and focus on getting the right race set-up. Having qualified eighth this morning Haga went on to put in a hard to beat Superpole lap time. Only Troy Bayliss, the last man out, could better the Japanese rider's time, pushing him to second position. Haga goes into tomorrow's race with already 148 World Superbike race finishes in the points under his belt, dedicated to extending that number to 150 by the end of the day.
Troy Corser's fortunes were almost reversed to Noriyuki's during the day. He battled with Bayliss for the top spot throughout the practice and qualifying sessions only to crash out on the first corner of his Superpole lap due to a severe cross-wind. He will start tomorrow's race on the second row in eighth position. This is in accordance with the rules stating that if a rider starts Superpole in the top eight, he cannot drop lower than eighth position.
Shinichi Nakatomi had difficulties in finding the correct feeling, resulting in a disappointing qualifying session today. Tomi managed to improve only one position from yesterday's qualifying despite knocking almost four seconds off his best time. He will start in 22nd position, though with 50 laps completed is hopeful of a better end result.
Troy Corser (8th - 1'31.132 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"The wind kicked me out on the first corner and I just couldn't keep it up; it just means that I'll start from the second row. I'm feeling confident about the bike; it really feels like mine now. Since we lost time yesterday due to the weather we've still got a final rear tyre option for the race to test tomorrow morning during warm up."
Noriyuki Haga
Noriyuki Haga (2nd - 1'31.084 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"We only needed to make some small changes to the bike from yesterday and it is feeling good now. I had problems yesterday with the weather because it was still wet on my line so I could not push too much. Today the dry weather has given us a better opportunity to set the bike up well."
Shinichi Nakatomi (22nd - 1'34.985 - Team Yamaha YZF)"I am happy today because the weather has been better but I have only had two hours experience around this track. I am improving but we still have not found the best set up for the race. With my results slowly getting better I am hopeful for tomorrow."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"I am confident in both Troy and Noriyuki for tomorrow's races. They are both happy with the set-up; all we need to see is if the tyre can support the distance. We're checking all the data we have gathered so far to see if there is anywhere where we can improve during tomorrow's warm-up."
Circuit Length: 4023
Temp: 13
Weather: Dry
Superpole WSB Donington Park 31/03/2007:1. Troy Bayliss - Ducati - AUS - 1'30.370
2. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha - JPN - 1'31.084
3. Regis Laconi - Kawasaki - FRA - 1'31.377
4. James Toseland - Honda - GBR - 1'31.399
5. Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati - ITA - 1'31.504
6. Ruben Xaus - Ducati - ESP - 1'31.686
7. Max Biaggi - Suzuki - ITA - 1'31.689
8. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS1'31.999
9. Karl Muggeridge - Honda - AUS - 1'32.077
10. Fonsi Nieto - Kawasaki- ESP- 1'32.178
11. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki - GER - 1'32.185
12. Giovanni Bussei - Honda- ITA - 1'32.744
13. Michel Fabrizio - Honda- ITA - 1'32.750
14. Steve Martin - Honda - AUS - 1'33.536
Qualifying 2:1. Troy Bayliss - Ducati - AUS - 1'13.052
2. Troy Corser - Yamaha AUS - 1'31.132
3. Ruben Xaus - Ducati - ESP - 1'31.479
4. Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati - ITA - 1'31.655
5. James Toseland - Honda - GBR - 1'31.695
6. Max Biaggi - Suzuki - ITA - 1'32.182
7. Fonsi Nieto - Kawasaki - ESP - 1'32.188
8. Regis Laconi - Kawasaki - FRA - 1'32.199
9. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha - JPN - 1'32.360
10. Michel Fabrizio - Honda - ITA - 1'32.724
11. Karl Muggeridge - Honda - AUS - 1'32.847
12. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS - 1'32.857
13. Roberto Rolfo - Honda - AUS - 1'33.071
15. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki - GER - 1'33.092
23. Shinichi Nakatomi - Yamaha - JPN - 1'34.985
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