Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) set the fastest time of the first wet qualifying session at Vallelunga. In a great team display Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) went fourth fastest, despite the atrocious track conditions.
Haga also fell at high speed in the timed session, on a part of the track where many riders also ran off the track or crashed. Corser came close to falling at the same spot, but saved his potential high-side before coming into the pits to finish his session with a top four time.
The second day of qualifying, which will culminate as usual with Superpole, is expected to be run in dry conditions, which will allow the team to get back to the kind of settings they used in the summer test at Vallelunga in July.
David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) went 20th, one place up on his team-mate Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94). Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) was 24th from 27 entrants.
Noriyuki Haga (1st - 1'50.595 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team):
“We set the fastest time so we can be very happy with that but the rain made things much more complicated for us, and everyone else as well. I fell hard on the part of the track that flicks left before the back straight, and the bike landed on my head at one stage. I was surprised because I had found more feel with the back tyre grip through the session, and when the back tyre went it felt the same way as it does when you hit oil. No warning, no slide, just gone. But we set the fastest time, even though I also fell earlier in that same session, when I lost the front. I would be happy if tomorrow it is not raining!”
Troy Corser (4th - 1'51.228 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team):
“Today it was just a case of getting through the day, no crashes and find a bit of a set-up, just in case we need it tomorrow. The track itself is not too bad when it is not actually raining. In those conditions there is some kind of grip, but it's just a bit greasy in a few places. As soon as it starts to rain the water starts building up, especially in the new surface where Nori fell. The water is not running off, so it's like a pond. Through the back kink you could not see the edges of the track. It would have been nice to get some nice dry track set-up, but we have a good set-up from the test we did here in the summer anyway.”
Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team):
“today went well apart from the big Nori crash. Even though we effectively lost a day’s set up because of the rain today as we tested here in the dry in July we are confident we have a good base set up to go into the weekend with. Considering the weather on track we are very happy with our riders who both qualified well.”
Times: | | | | | |
| 1. | Noriyuki Haga | Yamaha | JPN | 1'50.595 |
| 2. | Ruben Xaus | Ducati | ESP | 1'50.879 |
| 3. | Troy Bayliss
| Ducati | AUS | 1'51.146 |
| 4. | Troy Corser
| Yamaha | AUS | 1'51.228 |
| 5. | Ryuichi Kiyonari | Honda | JPN
| 1'51.419 |
| 6. | Gregorio Lavilla | Honda | ESP | 1'52.012 |
| 7. | Carlos Checa | Honda | ESP | 1'52.143 |
| 8. | Roberto Rolfo | Honda | ITA | 1'52.407 |
| 9. | Regis Laconi | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'52.463 |
| 10. | Chris Walker | Honda | GBR | 1'52.466 |
| 11. | Yukio Kagayama | Suzuki | JPN | 1'52.507 |
| 12. | Kenan Sofuoglu | Honda | TUR | 1'52.640 |
| 13. | Lorenzo Lanzi | Ducati | ITA | 1'52.649 |
| 14. | Fonsi Nieto | Suzuki | ESP | 1'52.719 |
| 15 | Jakub Smrz
| Ducati | CZE | 1'52.738 |
| 20. | David Checa | Yamaha | ESP | 1'53.374 |
| 21. | Sebastien Gimbert | Yamaha | FRA | 1'53.464 |
| 24. | Shinichi Nakatomi | Yamaha | JPN | 1'57.138 |
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