Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi rode a superb Superpole lap at Assen today and ended up with a position on the front row of the grid. He had been twelfth in regular qualifying but the changes he and the team made to the engine braking and balance of the bike made the bike more comfortable to ride this afternoon and he was able to push much harder in Superpole as a result. His front row grid place means that he will not have to work his way through the field, as he did in Valencia. He knows that a good start is vital at Assen and that is what he will try and do in tomorrow’s pair of 22-lappers. His team mate Yukio also struggled in normal qualifying, partly due to the fact that he is working on the development of a completely different ignition system.
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona rider Yukio Kagayama had his best day of the year so far, taking a superb podium in race one and finishing fifth in race two. His third place in race one was by far his best result of the season and, but for tyre problems in race two, another podium would’ve been on the cards. In contrast, reigning Superbike World Champion Troy Corser had a day to forget. A crash in both races left him without any points to show and he has now slipped to fourth place in the championship.