Today's World Superbike qualifying sessions were all about the weather as rain, standing water and excess rubber on the track turned the EuroSpeedway circuit into a slippery customer. But Corser and Haga persevered and were rewarded with fourth and eighth qualifying positions respectively. This morning's final qualifying session was declared wet and unfortunately 11 riders fell foul of the track conditions during the hour. Corser, Haga and Nakatomi were all victims during the session but without injury. Corser and Haga both re-joined the session but Nakatomi sat the remainder out. With lap times 20 seconds slower than yesterday there was no change to the rider order from the first qualifying session.
Superpole was confirmed as a wet session meaning that, instead of the usual single flying lap, the top 16 riders had a 50 minute session and a maximum of only 12 laps in which to post their fastest time. Although the session was declared wet there were dry patches on the track, making set-up choice challenging for everyone. Corser went straight out at the start on his dry set-up hoping to make the most of the drying track but the rain started again, forcing him back to the pit box for a change of tyres.
Haga was forced to go out on his second bike following a late crash in free practice just before Superpole and he struggled during the session due to a knee injury he picked up in the crash. Corser will start tomorrow in fourth while Haga starts in eighth.
Shinichi Nakatomi will start his 40th race in 15th position tomorrow after a good Superpole session. Following his crash in this morning's qualifying, the Team Yamaha YZF rider was in 16th but managed to improve by one place in Superpole.
Corser will start his 270th WSB race tomorrow on the front row accompanied by Nieto, Laconi and Bayliss. With rain forecast for the rest of the weekend all eyes will be on the weather reports tomorrow morning.
Troy Corser (4th - 1'55.360 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"Today has been challenging to say the least! It was unfortunate that the weather deteriorated during Superpole as we had to change the bike settings mid-session which cost time and effort. The track is very slippery, more than it should be when it's wet, and it's not consistently slippery. You just can't push it because there are patches in weird places caused by all the car tyre rubber that's still down on track. It's not so bad in practice but in the race it could prove dangerous; if someone comes off the bike's likely to take everyone else out like skittles. I feel that more should've been done to remove the car rubber; they should've been ready for the rain."
Noriyuki Haga (8th - 1'57.782 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I'm sore after two crashes today; the second was the worst and I've hurt the inside of my left knee. My biggest concern today though, is that I haven't found the right rear tyre for the wet. I tried three and none of them are right. Every other aspect of the set-up can be fine but without the right rear tyre it is useless; it puts more pressure on the front which you just can't do in these conditions without crashing. There's also lots of rubber on the track making it even more difficult."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)"It has been so wet today and we've taken a lot of damage. We weren't ready to start when the green light went for the Superpole session when it was dry and then the rain came just as we went out, which is why we missed pole. The front row for Troy is good though, and Nori doesn't usually have a problem making up places from the second so I'm not concerned for him. It all depends on the weather now; dry weather would mean better racing for everyone but we are unlikely to see that."
Shinichi Nakatomi (15th - 2'05.278 - Team Yamaha YZF)"I don't like the rain so today has not been good for me! But I am pleased to qualify in 15th here in such bad conditions. The bike is set-up well and I hope tomorrow is drier."
Circuit Length: 4265
Temp: 17
Weather: Wet
Superpole - WSB Lausitzring: 1. Fonsi Nieto - Kawasaki - ESP 1'50.681
2. Regis Laconi - Kawasaki - FRA 1'54.559
3. Troy Bayliss - Ducati - AUS 1'55.196
4. Troy Corser - Yamaha - AUS 1'55.360
5. Max Biaggi - Suzuki - ITA 1'56.746
6. Ruben Xaus - Ducati - ESP 1'57.271
7. James Toseland - Honda - GBR 1'57.384
8. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha - JPN 1'57.782
9. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki - GER 1'58.528
10. Roberto Rolfo - Honda - ITA 1'59.127
11. Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati - ITA 2'1.899
12. Michel Fabrizio - Honda - ITA 2'2.021
13. Martin Bauer - Honda - AUT 2'2.197
14. Karl Muggeridge - Honda - AUS 2'2.930
15. Shinichi Nakatomi - Yamaha - JPN 2'5.278
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