QUALIFYING 1 REPORT - 27/04/2007

Yamaha in provisional second and fifth after a good day at Assen

Yamaha have had a good day in the first qualifying session today at the fifth
round of the World Superbike Championship in Assen. In sunny, warm and dry
weather Haga took provisional second qualifying place and Corser finished in
fifth with both riders promising more progress tomorrow.

Noriyuki Haga started the afternoon qualifying session in fourth place but went
on to top the board in front of Xaus and Toseland with only five minutes to go.
Unfortunately, in the dying minutes of the session Toseland came back to take
the top slot, pushing Haga down to second.

Troy Corser started the afternoon qualifying session in second where he
remained for most of the session until Toseland knocked him down into third.
Muggeridge and Bayliss also posted faster times putting him in a comfortable
fifth slot for tomorrow's second qualifying.

Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi also had a good day, much preferring
Assen's dry conditions to the wet weather experienced at Valencia two weeks
ago. Concentrating on getting a good set-up, the young Japanese rider put in 20
laps, doing the second fastest speed of over 285kph and finishing the day in
14th.

Toseland currently tops the provisional qualifying grid at his team's home
track with Haga only 0.147 seconds behind in second and Xaus in third.

Haga currently holds the Superpole record at Assen with a 1'39.009 which he
claimed last year. He will be looking to equal this in tomorrow's qualifying
and Superpole sessions, especially as this weekend will be his 137th race start
with Yamaha. This will equal Fabrizio Pirovano's record with Yamaha.

Noriyuki Haga (2nd - 1'39.750 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I used a soft tyre for this afternoon's session but I know I won't be able to
use it for the race because it will be too warm for it to last the race
distance. I have already made a tyre choice for tomorrow, though, and we will
make some more minor modifications tomorrow to try and get pole position.
Second place is okay today but I want to go for pole position tomorrow."

Troy Corser (5th - 1'39.938 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Today has been good for my first day on this bike at this track. We now have a
good idea of the direction we need to go in tomorrow. This afternoon we made
some changes and found some positive results as well as some negative ones. I
also rode both bikes to get as much data as possible, but we didn't have enough
time to really try out all the changes we made.

Tomorrow will be about finding a good race setting and to continue testing the
changes we have made to the gearbox and suspension. I'm feeling good about how
it's going, though. We're really close."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I am quite confident after today's practice and qualifying sessions. We've had
a problem free start to the weekend and tomorrow we will focus on deciding
which tyres to use for the race. We already have an idea which we will confirm
tomorrow."

Shinichi Nakatomi - 14th - 1'41.032 - Team Yamaha YZF)
"I have had a good day today and so far this weekend everything feels much
better than at Valencia. I am very positive for this weekend's result and I am
working hard on finding a good set-up. I am certain that tomorrow we will find
it."

Qualifying 1

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 1'39.603
2, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'39.750
3, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 1'39.765
4, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'39.806
5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1'39.938
6, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 1'40.092
7, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 1'40.201
8, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 1'40.355
9, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 1'40.445
10, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 1'40.480
11, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1'40.537
12, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 1'40.804
13, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 1'40.844
14, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 1'41.032
15, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 1'41.109
16, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'41.155
17, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 1'41.273
18, Christian Zaiser, MV Agusta, AUT, 1'43.732
19, Luca Morelli, Ducati, ITA, 1'43.756
20, Dean Ellison, Ducati, GBR, 1'44.869
21, Marek Svoboda, Yamaha, CZE, 1'45.352


QUALIFYING 1 REPORT - 27/04/2007

Parkes takes second in day one qualifying at Assen

Parkes showed that he is back on the pace today by taking second place in
qualifying following his accident at Donington only a month ago when he broke
his right collar bone. And with Steve Martin settling into Curtain's seat while
he recovers from the leg injuries he sustained at Valencia, the team is
confident of good results this weekend.

Parkes started the morning's free practice session focusing on ensuring he was
happy with the set-up and trying out several tyre options for the race. In the
qualifying session Parkes proceeded to take second place on a flying lap before
being knocked down to fourth by Sofuoglu and Charpentier. The session was then
red flagged but as soon as it was re-started Parkes went out and re-took second
place where he ended up only 0.017 seconds off pole position man Charpentier.
Time ran out before the Australian could push any further for first place.

Today was Steve Martin's first opportunity to ride the R6 since stepping into
Curtain's boots. Martin started the morning's free practice session using
Parkes settings which he adapted to suit his riding style. Martin hasn't ridden
in the supersport class since 2000 but that didn't stop the highly experienced
World Superbike rider taking to the R6 within the first few laps.

Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli comes to Assen confident after a win
in the national Italian championship last weekend at Mugello. His new-found
confidence showed today in both sessions with him finishing in eighth.

Broc Parkes (2nd - 1'42.191 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"Today's sessions felt good. We tried two bikes which were set-up quite
differently and have found a good direction for this weekend. Tomorrow we will
concentrate on riding race distance to see if we can find the right tyre before
the second qualifying session in the afternoon. But at the moment everything is
going the right way for a good result this weekend. My collar bone is still
sore and I'm finding it a bit hard to change direction in some of the
fast-change corners but it certainly feels a lot better than it did at
Valencia."

Steve Martin (13th - 1'43.297 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I'm happy with what I've achieved today considering I have only been on the
bike for less than two hours. The bike is great to ride and I feel I am making
solid progress. I didn't manage to get a good run on the tyres today due to the
oil flag during the session, but I am confident we will go faster tomorrow. I
just need to get to know the bike more and understand what it can and can't
do."

Massimo Roccoli (8th - 1'43.010 - Yamaha Team Italia)
"Last weekend's win for me was a great boost to my confidence and the bike is
very fast here. Those two things combined make me very happy and confident this
weekend. It is thanks to my race engineer that the bike is so good. I am happy
with my position and will look to improve on it tomorrow."


Qualifying 1

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, FRA, 1'42.174
2, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'42.191
3, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 1'42.482
4, Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'42.755
5, Vesa Kallio, Suzuki, FIN, 1'42.773
6, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 1'42.875
7, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 1'43.000
8, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 1'43.010
9, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 1'43.040
10, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Honda, JPN, 1'43.167
11, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1'43.241
12, Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, ITA, 1'43.245
13, Steve Martin, Yamaha, AUS, 1'43.297
14, Davide Giugliano, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'43.369
15, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 1'43.414
16, Vladimir Ivanov, Yamaha, RUS, 1'43.478
17, Simone Sanna, Honda, ITA, 1'43.539
18, Pere Riba, Kawasaki, ESP, 1'43.578
19, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'43.601
20, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 1'43.624
21, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 1'43.804
22, Javier Fores, Honda, ESP, 1'44.159
23, Arie Vos, Honda, NED, 1'44.162
24, Yoann Tiberio, Honda, FRA, 1'44.200
25, Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, ITA, 1'44.227
26, Joan Veijer, Honda, NED, 1'44.252
27, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 1'44.475
28, Chris Peris, Yamaha, CAN, 1'44.789



Yamaha Racing Communications

Thanks Shane. :thumbup

JT :cool: Traction control works

Nitro is going to be out for blood on this one.

I believe he can win one and podium the other . I hope Corser does well also , but at this point I:fork am a huge Haga fan !!

i'm a big haga fan to, but i really want JT to win the championship again this year then move onto motogp, he deserves it:rock

JT on pole, awesome lap:rock

QUALIFYING 2 REPORT - 28/04/2007

Yamaha quietly confident of good race pace at Assen

The Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team had mixed fortunes in today's Superpole
session but are confident of a good race tomorrow following a weekend of
consistent lap times and good practice sessions.

Having made some adjustment alterations overnight Corser was confident of
improving his provisional fifth place from yesterday. This confidence was
rewarded with a move up to second place in this morning's qualifying session. A
small mistake on his Superpole lap saw Corser slip to sixth position.

Haga's Superpole lap was looking good for a front row start until he almost
lost the front tyre going into Mandeveen and had to take to the grass. He
remained on board and re-joined the circuit but was unable to push for the
remainder of the lap due to dirty tyres. Haga had been running in sixth place
going into the Superpole session but had to accept the near miss putting him on
the fourth row for his 137th race start with Yamaha.

Shinichi Nakatomi had less success in today's qualifying when setting changes
made prior to the morning's session failed to improve the rider's position.
Even though Nakatomi managed to go almost half a second faster compared to
yesterday's qualifying, he dropped to 17th overall as other teams made more
progress than the Team Yamaha YZF squad.

James Toseland will start in pole position with team mates Lanzi and Bayliss in
second and third respectively. Biaggi rounds up the front row.

Troy Corser (6th - 1'39.422 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Superpole was disappointing, there's no denying it. I made a small mistake on
the back part of the circuit and went into one corner a bit fast and ran a bit
wide. But the second row is okay, I'm confident in the lap times so I just need
to get a good start tomorrow. I'm happy with the race set up and I have done
several long runs on the tyres in free practice so I am comfortable with
those."

Noriyuki Haga (15th - 1'41.093 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I lost the front tyre at Mandeveen corner in the middle section of the lap and
I had to pick the bike up to save it. Up until that point the bike had been
feeling good, though we still need to make some suspension modifications - the
data from the Superpole lap will help us with that. I am not thinking about the
race win tomorrow right now, I just want to focus on getting our set-up
completely sorted and adding to my championship points."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"I am still confident despite our Superpole results because we have been in the
top five in practice all weekend. It will be okay for Troy because he starts
from the second row and had more opportunity to push through to the front row.
It will be more difficult for Nori but we have performed miracles in races
before now. We will make some more adjustments overnight and I am sure we will
be ready to race tomorrow."

Shinichi Nakatomi (17th - 1'40.824 - Team Yamaha YZF)
"I am disappointed today after such a good start yesterday. We just need to
continue working on our set-up tomorrow morning to see where we can make
improvements. Seventeenth is not a good start but we must focus on finishing in
the points now."


Superpole

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 1'38.603
2, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 1'39.226
3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'39.256
4, Max Biaggi, Suzuki, ITA, 1'39.320
5, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 1'39.411
6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1'39.422
7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1'39.648
8, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 1'39.928
9, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 1'40.057
10, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 1'40.288
11, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 1'40.328
12, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 1'40.376
13, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'40.561
14, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 1'40.674
15, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'41.093
16, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 1'41.213

Qualifying 2

Pos., Rider, Nat., QUAL I, QUAL II
1, Troy Bayliss, AUS, 1'39.806, 1'39.245
2, Troy Corser, AUS, 1'39.938, 1'39.386
3, James Toseland, GBR, 1'39.603, 1'39.391
4, Ruben Xaus, ESP, 1'39.765, 1'39.567
5, Lorenzo Lanzi, ITA, 1'40.445, 1'39.655
6, Noriyuki Haga, JPN, 1'39.750, 1'40.111
7, Fonsi Nieto, ESP, 1'40.201, 1'39.955
8, Jakub Smrz, CZE, 1'40.355, 1'39.956
9, Max Neukirchner, GER, 1'40.537, 1'39.987
10, Karl Muggeridge, AUS, 1'40.092, 1'40.280
11, Regis Laconi, FRA, 1'41.155, 1'40.377
12, Max Biaggi, ITA, 1'40.804, 1'40.378
13, Joshua Brookes, AUS, 1'40.480, 1'41.172
14, Michel Fabrizio, ITA, 1'40.844, 1'40.480
15, Roberto Rolfo, ITA, 1'41.109, 1'40.666
16, Yukio Kagayama, JPN, 1'41.273, 1'40.822
17, Shinichi Nakatomi, JPN, 1'41.032, 1'40.824
18, Christian Zaiser, AUT, 1'43.732, 1'42.102
19, Dean Ellison, GBR, 1'44.869, 1'43.662
20, Luca Morelli, ITA, 1'43.756, 1'44.438
21, Marek Svoboda, CZE, 1'45.352, 1'44.901


QUALIFYING 2 REPORT - 28/04/2007

First and second row starts tomorrow for Yamaha in World Supersport

Both Parkes and replacement rider Steve Martin put in excellent performances
today to take third and sixth qualifying places respectively on the grid for
tomorrow's race. Having both done two long runs during this morning's free
practice session to test out two tyre options for tomorrow, the riders went
into the second qualifying session of the weekend confident of their setting
choices.

In qualifying Parkes lost his provisional second place that he achieved
yesterday in the early stages of the session but sliced off over 0.4 seconds to
take third qualifying slot in the last five minutes of the session - his
highest qualifying position so far this season. This puts Broc in an ideal
position to fight for the race win tomorrow and move up the championship
standings board.

Martin put in a strong show in only his second day on the YZF-R6 and came up
from 13th, where he started the day, to sixth position. The ex-World Superbike
rider has not ridden in the Supersport series since 2000 but has adapted to the
team and the bike with speed and ease. He is replacing fellow Australian Kevin
Curtain while he recuperates from the leg injury he suffered at Valencia two
weeks ago.

Just in front of Martin, Massimo Roccoli continued his positive weekend by
securing fifth qualifying place this afternoon. The young Italian's confidence
has been boosted by his win in the national championship at Mugello last week
as well as finding a good set-up during the day.

Broc Parkes (3rd - 1'41.595 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"This is my best qualifying result so far this year. I'm happy because it means
I can get on the pace from the very start tomorrow rather than having to battle
through the field first. This morning we did two long runs trying two tyre
options for tomorrow but we have yet to decide which to use. We will now sit
down and look over the data gathered and make the choice."

Steve Martin (6th - 1'41.684 - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"I'm pretty happy with sixth considering this is only my second day on the
bike. We have constantly made steps forward this weekend so far and if we keep
doing that then tomorrow will be even better. I was going for the front row,
naturally, but second row is okay. The team has made the transition for me
really easy and that has helped enormously. We are in a good position for
tomorrow's race."
Massimo Roccoli (5th - 1'41.672 - Yamaha Team Italia)
"Last week's win has been a huge boost to my confidence. I found my race set-up
very quickly and I feel my bike is very competitive. I must thank my chief
engineer Vanni Lorenzini for this. Today I did my best lap time with the rear
tyre that we will use tomorrow so I am very optimistic. I normally get a good
start and I am confident that will be the case tomorrow."


Qualifying 2

Pos., Rider, Nat., QUAL I, QUAL II
1, Kenan Sofuoglu, TUR, 1'42.482, 1'41.144
2, Sebastien Charpentier, FRA, 1'42.174, 1'41.192
3, Broc Parkes, AUS, 1'42.191, 1'41.595
4, Fabien Foret, FRA, 1'42.755, 1'41.618
5, Massimo Roccoli, ITA, 1'43.010, 1'41.672
6, Steve Martin, AUS, 1'43.297, 1'41.684
7, Andrew Pitt, AUS, 1'43.040, 1'41.761
8, Katsuaki Fujiwara, JPN, 1'43.167, 1'41.835
9, David Salom, ESP, 1'43.000, 1'42.043
10, Vladimir Ivanov, RUS, 1'43.478, 1'42.322
11, Vesa Kallio, FIN, 1'42.773, 1'42.348
12, Pere Riba, ESP, 1'43.578, 1'42.388
13, Barry Veneman, NED, 1'42.875, 1'42.392
14, David Checa, ESP, 1'43.241, 1'42.433
15, Davide Giugliano, ITA, 1'43.369, 1'42.510
16, Craig Jones, GBR, 1'43.414, 1'42.531
17, Joan Lascorz, ESP, 1'43.804, 1'42.547
18, Lorenzo Alfonsi, ITA, 1'43.624, 1'42.748
19, Gianluca Nannelli, ITA, 1'43.245, 1'42.779
20, Javier Fores, ESP, 1'44.159, 1'42.803
21, Arie Vos, NED, 1'44.162, 1'42.812
22, Sebastien Gimbert, FRA, 1'43.601, 1'42.948
23, Joan Veijer, NED, 1'44.252, 1'43.231
24, Gianluca Vizziello, ITA, 1'44.227, 1'43.233
25, Chris Peris, CAN, 1'44.789, 1'43.385
26, Simone Sanna, ITA, 1'43.539, 1'43.426
27, Miguel Praia, POR, 1'44.475, 1'43.795
28, Julien Enjolras, FRA, 1'45.525, 1'43.893
29, Gilles Boccolini, ITA, n/a, 1'43.930
30, Yoann Tiberio, FRA, 1'44.200, n/a



Yamaha Racing Communications

:rock tough day today, wsb & bsb, bbq & beer, wish me luck:drunk: