The second qualifying session of the weekend, held this morning, saw all three Ducati Xerox riders improve on the times they set yesterday, to qualify for Superpole in third (Bayliss), seventh (Fabrizio) and eighth place (Canepa).
Superpole was action packed from the offset, with an immediate flying lap by Kiyonari, the first rider out, which really set the pace, as the next seven riders to exit were unable to beat his fast time. Niccolo' Canepa, participating in his very first Superpole here this afternoon, was the first of the three Ducati Xerox riders to go out and completed a near perfect lap to take eventual sixth place on tomorrow's grid. Michel Fabrizio followed him out, beating the times set by the entire field up until that point. The final group of three riders included Troy Bayliss who really made his Superpole lap count to take pole position for the fourth time this season.
Troy Bayliss 1m58.3s
"Brno has always been something of a bogey track for me but I hope that this weekend we are finally turning that around. The new surface of the track has really improved the grip which is great news. This morning went well and then in Superpole this afternoon, when I saw Corser's time, I knew I was going to have to put in a really fast lap to be able to beat it and I managed that, but then Max (Biaggi) went out and I was worried he might in turn beat me. I hope tomorrow stays dry and then we'll see but I have to say it would be pretty special to have a win here this time around."
Michel Fabrizio 1m58.8s
"It's a circuit that I really like and so I'm happy to get a place on the first row here. We have to see tomorrow whether I can make the good start that I need to really be in the running. We did a long-run this morning and it seemed to go ok but it's obviously going to be hard tomorrow and I'll no doubt have to fight once again against the two Troys and Biaggi!"
Niccolo' Canepa 1m59.3s
"As it's the first time that I've ever taken part in Superpole I have to say I'm really pleased with my performance. During my Superpole lap I made a small mistake and if it weren't for that I'd have been a couple of tenths faster I think but I can't complain with a place on the second row for tomorrow's race. We're still planning to make a few more little changes this evening to try during the morning's warm-up as we could still improve our race pace but for now, I'm more than happy."
TIMES (Superpole):
1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m58.3s
2. Corser (Yamaha) 1m58.4
3. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m58.8s
4. Biaggi (Ducati) 1m59.0s
5. Kiyonari (Honda) 1m59.3s
6. Canepa (Ducati Xerox) 1m59.3s
