Two Suzuki GSX-R1000 machines headed the field in the opening qualifying session for the Spanish WSBK Round at Valencia, but it was German Max Neukirchner with a time of 1m34.806s and his Japanese team-mate Yukio Kagayama, rather than Fonsi Nieto, who were up at the front. The Alstare duo were the only riders to dip under the 1m35s mark. Nieto, currently lying second in the championship, was surprisingly down in sixteenth position after struggling with rear tyre grip.
Carlos Checa took third quickest time on the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda, the Spaniard closely followed by four twin-cylinder Ducati 1098 machines. The factory Xerox pairing of Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio were fourth and fifth, separated by two-hundredths of a second, with Lorenzo Lanzi (RG) and Jakub Smrz (Guandalini) next up.
Régis Laconi (Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse) made progress on the ZX-10R machine, notching up the eighth quickest time, ahead of the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB pairing of Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga.
Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) has so far struggled with his injured left wrist in the two sessions today and is down in 24th position.
1. Neukirchner M. (GER) - Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'34.806
2. Kagayama Y. (JPN) - Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'34.932
3. Checa C. (ESP) - Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.042
4. Bayliss T. (AUS) - Ducati 1098 F08 1'35.060
5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) - Ducati 1098 F08 1'35.080
6. Lanzi L. (ITA) - Ducati 1098 RS 08 1'35.085
7. Smrz J. (CZE) - Ducati 1098 RS 08 1'35.262
8. Laconi R. (FRA) - Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.278
9. Corser T. (AUS) - Yamaha YZF-R1 1'35.424
10. Haga N. (JPN) - Yamaha YZF-R1 1'35.548
11. Kiyonari R. (JPN) - Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.550
12. Tamada M. (JPN) - Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.598
13. Muggeridge K. (AUS) - Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.634
14. Rolfo R. (ITA) - Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.756
15. Gimbert S. (FRA) - Yamaha YZF-R1 1'35.766
16. Nieto F. (ESP) - Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'35.766
World Supersport Andrew Pitt followed up his Phillip Island win with provisional pole for the third round of the Supersport championship. The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider clocked a time of 1m36.773s to shave a couple of tenths off Charpentier’s circuit record. Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda) was three-tenths of a second away in second, followed by the improving Kawasaki ZX-6R machine of Katsuaki Fujiwara. Round 1 winner Broc Parkes was fourth for Yamaha World Supersport ahead of championship leader Joshua Brookes (HANNspree Stiggy Motorsport Honda) and the similar Glaner Motocard.com CBR of the young Spanish rider Joan Lascorz.
Superstock 1000 The opening qualifying session for Superstock 1000 was red-flagged with a couple of minutes remaining after Rene Maehr (KTM) crashed on oil left by Freddy Foray (Suzuki), but was unhurt. New Yamaha WSB tester Claudio Corti broke the Superstock circuit best lap with a time of 1m37.513s to finish ahead of Davide Giugliano (Suzuki) and former champion Alessandro Polita (Ducati). Aussie Brendan Roberts took the Junior Team 1098 to fourth ahead of team-mate Domenico Colucci, while Maehr ended up in an encouraging eighth place for the Austrian KTM team, which is making its championship debut.
European Superstock 600 The first session of European 600 Superstock was dominated by Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team), the 17-year-old Italian from Ancona posting a new record time of 1’39.951 with his YZF-R6 machine, just a whisker ahead of Frenchman Loris Baz (Yamaha Junior Team) and a similar Yamaha of Danilo Petrucci (Team Trasimeno).
