Yamaha World Supersport Team riders Fabian Foret and Broc Parkes finished second and third respectively after the first day of qualifying at Monza, after a busy period of action at the classic Italian parkland venue. Air temperatures hit 28°C during the qualifying session, in which 37 riders attempted to qualify for Sunday's race.
Foret was held up at the Lesmo corners on his fastest lap, losing some time to fastest qualifier Joshua Brookes.Foret is happy with his basic machine set-up and aims to take his first win of the year on Sunday.
Parkes was unsure if he could ride at all even one day before the start of qualifying. Despite his recent left hand, elbow and wrist injuries, suffered during an Assen practice crash and a subsequent fall from a mountain bike in training, Parkes gritted his teeth to take a strong third, only 0.043 seconds behind Foret.
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) was the next best Yamaha rider on day one, securing tenth place at his first home event of 2008.
Angel Rodriguez continued to show strong form as replacement rider for regular Yamaha Spain World Supersport rider David De Gea. He qualified 15th overall, with his team-mate David Salom 21st today. Both are hopeful of improvements for tomorrow's final qualifying session.
Fabien Foret (2nd - 1'50.774 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I'm reasonably happy so far, but I expected to do a little bit better. On my fast laps I found Lascorz, who was pushing hard but just going slower than me, and I could not pass him before the Lesmo corners. I lost some speed there. I kept pushing anyway and got a 1'50.7, but I think there was more to come, maybe two or three tenths. Tomorrow should be OK, and the main thing is get ready for the races. I would be happy with a normal start in the race on Sunday, never mind a good one!"
Broc Parkes (3rd - 1'50.817 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I have no power at all in my left arm and I can't change direction properly. I am very pleasantly surprised at my result today because yesterday I didn't even know if it was possible to ride the bike. I was already very happy with a top ten in free practice this morning so to be top three this afternoon was unbelievable. Every day my condition improves.Sunday will be tough, but I feel I can get a little bit better and stay in the slipstream in the races. That aspect is possible because of our bike, which is quite fast. We put some padding on the back of the fuel tank and some grip panels on the side, so I can use my knees to help under braking, but I just feel I can't move around."
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team
"Broc was good today considering he is carrying a couple of recent injuries. He is less than a tenth from Fabien, and they both like the track here. The bikes are running well and we have no real issues so far, so it is a case of following the path we are on, joining up the dots tomorrow. We can see in the times that no-one will be able to break away so it is a case of making sure our riders will be in there on Sunday. We need to be near the front at the start of the race because all things are possible at Monza when you get away with the front group."
Massimo Roccoli (10th - 1'51.855 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
"I had a little problem today with the front of the bike chattering and pushing me wide so tomorrow we will change to another tyre choice to see if that makes the difference. With better settings I know we can go faster."
Angel Rodriguez: (15th - 1'52.174 - Yamaha Spain)
"This is my first race at Monza. I don´t know the track, and I´ll need to know every corner, every part, for the race. Unfortunately, I crashed this morning during the free session and we had to use the second bike for the qualifying session. Even so, I improved my time by more than a second."
David Salom: (21st - 1'52.760 - Yamaha Spain)
"I hope to improve my time and go faster tomorrow. I like this circuit, it's fun to ride, fast, with heavy braking and a mix of fast and slow corners. My injured hand is better, it gives me just a little pain under braking, but it's not an excuse. Tomorrow we´ll improve for sure."
Circuit Length: 5792
Weather: Hot
Qualifying 1 - WSS Italy - Monza:
1. Joshua Brookes - Honda - AUS 1'50.334
2. Fabien Foret - Yamaha - FRA 1'50.774
3. Broc Parkes - Yamaha - AUS 1'50.817
4. Andrew Pitt - Honda - AUS 1'50.969
5. Gianluca Nannelli - Honda - ITA 1'51.361
6. Craig Jones - Honda - GBR 1'51.392
7. Jonathan Rea - Honda - GBR 1'51.411
8. Gianluca Vizziello - Honda - ITA 1'51.497
9. Barry Veneman - Suzuki - NED 1'51.609
10. Massimo Roccoli - Yamaha - ITA 1'51.855
11. Katsuaki Fujiwara - Kawasaki - JPN 1'51.963
12. Robbin Harms - Honda - DNK 1'51.981
13. Chris Walker - Kawasaki - GBR 1'52.114
14. Cristiano Migliorati - Kawasaki - ITA 1'52.157
15. Angel Rodriguez - Yamaha - ESP 1'52.174
21. David Salom - Yamaha - ESP 1'52.760
