Yamaha World Supersport Team riders Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret earned front row starts for Sunday’s Monza WSS race, with Parkes taking pole and a new track record of 1’49.868 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. It was Parkes’ second pole in succession and the third Yamaha pole of the 2008 season. It was also his sixth career pole win.
Parkes, carrying elbow, wrist and hand injuries, was unstoppable in the final qualifying session, beating the previous track best of second place qualifier Josh Brookes with the first ever Monza WSS lap under the 1’50 bracket.
Foret was just over one second from Parkes’ impressive best and fully confident that his pre-race form would be able to be transferred to real race conditions on Sunday.
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) made the changes to his machine set up that he knew would be an improvement from those on day one, and subsequently joined Parkes and Foret on the front row, making it three Yamahas in the first four places.
Angel Rodriguez and David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) finished their Monza qualifying sessions 14th and 22nd respectively, finding day two a tough test in such a competitive field of 37 would-be qualifiers.
Broc Parkes (Pole – 1’49.868)
“That was a bit of a surprise because from Wednesday to now I have come a long way. I never expected the pole here after suffering some injuries. I knew the bike would be good here, and normally me too, but to get pole is unreal. I’m not sure about running race distance tomorrow, but every day so far I have been getting better, working with the Clinica Mobile. I haven’t done many long runs so tomorrow we’ll have to see what happens.”
Fabien Foret (3rd – 1’50.420)
“Not fastest today but I am ready for the race. Taking a front row start was the main thing, and there is nothing wrong with our set-up. Nothing is ever perfect, of course, but we are ready to go. The race here is always like a freight train of people locked together, so I hope to be in this train. If I am, I’m sure I can be strong at the end of the race.”
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager)
“We have to be happy with both riders on the front row and you can’t expect more. We were there also in Assen but still we were not that happy after the race, so we should not cheer so loud right now. It will be a tough race; Pitt and Brookes will be there, because they have also done good lap times. But it was good to see that we could do our times here, in the afternoon, on our own, and the others couldn’t be as sharp as we were in the warmer temperatures. It is not so easy for Broc but I am happy that he was able to come back and come back so strong. He has another night of rest so we will see how he is in the morning.”
Massimo Roccoli (4th - 1’50.533 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
“Today was very good because we made a new front tyre choice and the bike was completely changed for the better. My best fastest lap was very satisfying, riding with Andrew Pitt. In Monza everyone has the opportunity to slipstream. I think tomorrow my bike and I will be able to fight for the win.”
Angel Rodriguez: (14th - 1’51.532 - Yamaha Spain)
“I crashed again during the free session, because I was pushing to go faster and today I had a good engine. The track is amazing, very fast, but here the official bikes are just a bit too strong. Our bike is not bad, but with more acceleration we wouldn’t have to take so many risks.”
David Salom: (22nd - 1’52.643 - Yamaha Spain)
“I broke an engine after the first lap of qualifying and I had to ride with another for the rest of session. It is not bad but it lacks a little acceleration. We’ve been working on that. It’s a shame, but tomorrow we’ll do everything possible to be up ahead.”
