World Superbike - round 1 qual 1

Posted by StickyAdmin, Thursday, February 22nd 2007

Yamaha's new-for-2007 YZF-R1 demonstrated that it is a weapon to be reckoned with in world superbike competition, with Noriyuki Haga scoring provisional pole on the bike's world championship debut in Qatar today. In today's tight qualifying session it was British rider James Toseland (Honda) who pushed Haga closest, recording a time of 1:59.056 to take second in the overnight standings. Joining them and Troy Corser (Yamaha) on the provisional front row is former 250cc world champion and Yamaha MotoGP rider Max Biaggi (Suzuki), who was third fastest on his superbike debut.

The Yamaha Motor Italy WSB Team rider topped the timesheets for much of the session onboard the MotoGP-inspired R1, with the Japanese rider particularly happy with his performance because he was concentrating on finding a good set-up to last Saturday's 18-lap race rather than going for an ultimate pole position time. Haga's 1:59.019 provisional pole time was set on race rubber and is the fastest ever superbike lap of the Losail circuit, being over half-a-second faster than Troy Bayliss' qualifying lap last year, and a full second quicker than his own race record.

There was double delight for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad as team-mate Troy Corser also ended the day on the provisional front row. The Australian was also under Bayliss' previous best, posting a 1:59.440 to end the day fourth on the timesheets in his debut with the Italian squad.

Having tested at the circuit just a few weeks earlier, the team arrived in Qatar with a good base setting for their R1s. Despite this, the squad still had a great deal of work to get through in order to get the best out of their machines for Saturday's races. With track temperatures approaching 45 °C on the tarmac, tyre selection could prove critical this weekend. Corser and Haga have access to newer-specification Pirelli tyres this weekend than they had during testing, giving them a heavy programme of tyre testing in the practice sessions.

Noriyuki Haga : "I am surprised to be fastest because when we tested here I did not have a really good feeling with the bike. This morning I tried the set-up we left the test with but the feeling was still the same. For the afternoon we changed a few things and made a big step and I am now happy with the way the bike turns. We worked hard to find a good setting for the race and I still want to get better tyre life. For six or seven laps the tyre is very good but then we find that the rear falls away a lot on the right side. The new bike is working well. We only had our shakedown tests a few weeks ago but luckily we are able to carry forward many of the parts and knowledge from the previous R1 so we already have a very good base to work from."

James Toseland : "It's been a good day. I was quickest in this morning's practice, but this afternoon we had a problem with the number one bike. So, I had to use my second bike for the whole of the qualifying session. It would have been a lot better to be on the number one bike, but to come out with a time of 1.59 flat - which is my personal best at Qatar - is not bad at all. I'm really pleased."

Max Biaggi : "I don't feel that there's been a big change to the track since we tested here recently, but for sure the hotter conditions this afternoon had an effect on the grip level. It's normal that when the track gets hot, the performance or grip goes down. That's when you have to understand your tyres and try and conserve them towards the end of a race. The rear is not a problem for me but the front tyre is worked much harder and that's why you have to work to get the best chassis set-up and balance to be able to run hard at the end of a race. At the moment, the area where we are working the most is on the acceleration of the bike. Of course, like all riders, I want better acceleration but I feel that it is in this area where we are a bit lacking. If we can improve that, without losing anything elsewhere, I think we can have a good race day."

Troy Corser : "I'm fairly happy with that. The track feels different from when we tested here and that's had an effect on how the bike is performing. We need to improve the front end tyre feel and there are quite a few little things for us to try out tomorrow. For sure it would have been nice to have had a few more tests before the first race but we've got a good base to work from and fourth is a pretty decent start."

2007 WSB Qatar - 22/02/2007 Qualifying day 1
Circuit Length -5380
Weather - Dry

1. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'59.019
2. James Toseland Honda GBR 1'59.056
3. Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 1'59.369
4. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 1'59.440
5. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'59.459
6. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'59.507
7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'59.805
8. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 2'0.244
9. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 2'0.258
10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 2'0.309
11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 2'0.467
12. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 2'0.626
13. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 2'0.733
14. Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 2'0.936
15. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 2'1.948


World Supersport

Fastest man on show was Japanese rider Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda) who recorded a 2:03.258 lap in the last minute of the session. Italian Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati) and Honda team-mates Kenan Sofuoglu and Sebastien Charpentier complete the provisional front row. The Yamaha World Supersport team made a promising start to Saturday's opening round of the 2007 Supersport World Championship at a hot and sunny Losail circuit in Qatar today, ending first qualifying with both riders on the provisional second row.

Last year's championship runner-up Kevin Curtain was the fastest of the YZF-R6 runners, setting a best lap of 2:03.941 around the long and fast desert circuit. Team-mate Broc Parkes was just five hundreds of a second behind his fellow Australian to take eighth place in a tight session that saw the top eight all in the 2:03 bracket. Encouragingly both of the Yamaha Motor Europe entered machines were able to run consistently at race pace, putting in consistent 2:04 lap times during their runs.

The season certainly got off to a spectacular start when Curtain's R6 was destroyed in a pile-up just minutes into the morning practice session. The accident claimed four Yamaha riders with Yamaha GMT94's David Checa and Sebastien Gimbert, as well as Italian privateer Gianluca Vizziello, all going down on oil deposited by another rider's machine. Thankfully all riders escaped without injury and were able to return to the circuit when the session was restarted, allowing the protagonists to work on finding a good set-up for Saturday's 18 lap race.

Yamaha Motor Italy Lorenzini by Leoni rider Massimo Roccoli ended the day 11th on his YZF-R6, with supersport newcomer Gimbert and team-mate Checa ending the day 17th and 21st places respectively.

2007 WSS Qatar - 22/02/2007 Qualifying day 1
Circuit Length -5380
Weather - Dry

1. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 2'3.258
2. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 2'3.477
3. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 2'3.608
4. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 2'3.744
5. Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 2'3.862
6. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 2'3.941
7. Pere Riba Kawasaki ESP 2'3.949
8. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 2'3.991
9. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 2'4.308
10. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 2'4.484
11. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 2'4.953
12. Davide Giugliano Kawasaki ITA 2'5.054
13. Yoann Tiberio Honda FRA 2'5.399
14. Vesa Kallio Suzuki FIN 2'5.450
15. Javier Fores Honda ESP 2'5.456

The 13-Round series starts at the Losail circuit in Qatar on Saturday 24 February, with round two coming just one weekend later, at Phillip Island, Australia, on Sunday March 4.

** New World Superbike pictures will be available real soon **