SpidermanSS
04-13-2007, 01:29 PM
QUALIFYING 1 REPORT - 13/04/2007
Fourth and sixth provisional qualifying for Yamaha WSB Team
Valencia's notoriously changeable track conditions provided an interesting day
at the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship at Valencia. The damp
track this morning dried out with slightly warmer and drier conditions this
afternoon for the first qualifying session of the weekend.
Haga had the most success of the day in the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team, being
third fastest in this morning's free practice. He then went on to finish in
fourth in qualifying having spent the session focusing on testing various tyre
and suspension options. Having finished the morning practice session second
fastest, Corser then fought throughout the afternoon session to find the right
set-up. He ended the day in sixth position.
Shinichi Nakatomi, riding for the French Team Yamaha YZF squad, finished the
day in 18th position. Nakatomi was keen to try and find a good set up, so spent
the day focusing on small suspension and tyre settings.
The day's result is headed by Bayliss (Ducati), who surprised everyone with
such a good result in light of the injuries he sustained at Donington. Spaniard
Ruben Xaus (Ducati) finished in second today at his home circuit. James
Toseland (Honda) finished in third and Haga completes the line up in fourth.
The Ricardo Tormo circuit is renowned for being very changeable in its grips
conditions due to the variety of vehicles that use the circuit. Any damp brings
out the rubber and oil that has been laid down previously, making it very
slippery.
The rapidly changing conditions were nowhere more evident than towards the end
of the day's on-track sessions, when thunder and lightning accompanied a sudden
downpour, leaving the track under a couple of inches on rainwater.
Noriyuki Haga (4th - 1'35.440 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I managed some improvement in my lap times during today but I struggled with
finding the right tyre. We tried three different tyres this afternoon but I
didn't find the right one for the race. Although it was still damp on the track
this morning, the lower track temperatures actually suited the tyre.
I'm not feeling too bad, tomorrow I hope to find the right tyre and I am hoping
it is not raining, as this track gets very slippery when it is wet."
Troy Corser (6th - 1'35.483 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Today has been tough - all day I have struggled with the engine character.
Following the test session here last month and after Donington, we made some
engine changes which have completely altered the feel of the bike somehow. The
engine character is different between my main and my spare bike, even.
I'm glad we found this out today as it gives us tomorrow to sort out the
problem so we are ready for race day. We think we have already worked out the
problem and are working on a solution, which we will test out in the morning."
Shinichi Nakatomi (18th - 1'36.757 - Team Yamaha YZF)
"Today we have made many small changes and improvements throughout both
sessions. Now we just need to combine the changes for tomorrow's qualifying
session. I am hopeful of a higher qualifying position tomorrow - I just hope it
is not raining."
Qualifying 1
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'34.599
2, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 1'35.023
3, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 1'35.147
4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'35.440
5, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 1'35.453
6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1'35.483
7, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 1'35.709
8, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1'35.767
9, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 1'35.804
10, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 1'35.814
11, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 1'35.856
12, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 1'36.012
13, Giovanni Bussei, Honda, ITA, 1'36.016
14, Carmelo Morales, Yamaha, ESP, 1'36.032
15, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 1'36.094
18, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 1'36.755
QUALIFYING 1 REPORT - 13/04/2007
Curtain and Parkes show their determination in first qualifying
Kevin Curtain took third place in this weekend's first qualifying session -
only two weeks after breaking his left collar bone in four places at Donington
Park. Team mate Broc Parkes struggled with his collar bone injury also,
managing 11th place during the 45 minute session.
Both riders have broken collar bones - Parkes his right and Curtain his left -
after crashing in practice at the previous round at Donington. Since their
respective accidents both riders have undergone surgery to plate and bolt the
collar bones. They have had less than two weeks recovery since the last round
and have surprised everyone by the efforts they have gone to in order to race
here this weekend.
Having attending last month's Pirelli tyre test, the team preferred to sit out
the damp morning practice session rather than aggravate the riders injuries,
confident that they have good set up information from these testing sessions.
In the dry afternoon session, Kevin had an unexpected but excellent ride and
secured third place whilst Broc found his injuries were more aggravated by the
many twists and turns in the middle section of the circuit.
Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni rider, Massimo Roccoli, had an average
performance and only managed to qualify in 16th position.
Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) topped today's qualifying session with a best time.
Fujiwara (Honda) came in second with Curtain taking third and Riba (Kawasaki)
completing the provisional front row in fourth place.
Kevin Curtain (3rd - 1'37.885 - Yamaha Word Supersport Team)
"My injuries don't feel too bad - until I have to brake hard. I surprised
myself in that session, getting third slot, considering I've just had quite a
major operation. The doctor has done a good job! I'm happy with securing third
position today because, if it rains tomorrow as it is forecast to, the risk of
crashing will be higher. I have to consider my injuries and take it a bit more
gently if it rains tomorrow."
Broc Parkes (11th - 1'38.681 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"My collar bone is giving me some trouble in the middle section of a lap when I
have to use my right arm a lot. It really hurts when I have to switch from left
to right, which makes changing direction quite difficult. I'm okay on the
brakes with it, but then I have a different riding style to Kevin. I'd like to
qualify in the top eight; hopefully I can get to the second row in tomorrow's
qualifying, depending on the weather."
Massimo Roccoli (16th - 1'39.016 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
"Unfortunately today was a bad day for me. There was no technical problem; it
was more of a personal issue with me struggling with my feeling of the track.
The bike and the tyre is the same when we tested here in March, but for some
reason I am 1.5 seconds slower than at that test. The difference is too big to
be technical, it is something I need to try and resolve myself for tomorrow."
Qualifying 1
Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time
1, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 1'37.521
2, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Honda, JPN, 1'37.729
3, Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, AUS, 1'37.885
4, Pere Riba, Kawasaki, ESP, 1'38.095
5, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 1'38.478
6, Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'38.524
7, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 1'38.532
8, Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, ITA, 1'38.564
9, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 1'38.568
10, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 1'38.649
11, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'38.681
12, Javier Fores, Honda, ESP, 1'38.734
13, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 1'38.753
14, Davide Giugliano, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'38.915
15, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 1'39.008
16, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 1'39.016
17, Simone Sanna, Honda, ITA, 1'39.086
18, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 1'39.160
19, Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, ITA, 1'39.243
20, Vesa Kallio, Suzuki, FIN, 1'39.245
21, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1'39.283
22, Gilles Boccolini, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'39.524
24, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'39.575
Yamaha Racing Communications