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2006 WORLD SUPERBIKE  ASSEN

2006 R8 OF 13: for latest update

• Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser shrugged off problems in World Superbike qualifying to take his 37th Superpole at Assen today - his first Superpole since Monza in early May and his third of the season - to move further ahead of his nearest rival Carl Fogarty, who has recorded 21 pole positions.
• It was a fantastic Superpole for Team Alstare and their GSX-R1000s because team mate Yukio Kagayama set the third-quickest time of the day and will line up on the front row of the grid.
• Between him and Corser is Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in fourth place.
• Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Max Neukirchner was a sore from yesterday’s crash and, in qualifying this morning, he was unable to force his way into the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out. But despite qualifying only 23rd, he is continuing his learning process at a pace and looking forward to improvement in tomorrow’s two 22-lap races.
• Troy Corser, 1st, 1:38.965: “After the small problems in qualifying, it’s fantastic to take Superpole today. It’s been a bit of a while, but once we’d improved the clutch feeling and got some more grip I knew that I was in for a chance of a front row place on the grid. And, to be honest, that’s what I expected, so to get Superpole is a bonus. Front row is so important here, as any race, because the first section of the track consists of four or five slow turns and you have to be up the front or else you’ll get left behind. Tyre-life is going to be a real factor tomorrow because nobody will have good grip in the second half of the race. I really hope that it doesn’t rain tomorrow because that’ll ruin the races and not make it so much for the fans.”
• Yukio Kagayama, 3rd, 1:39.176: “I like the new section of the track and maybe that’s because we are all seeing it for the first time so nobody has a big advantage or experience over me. For sure tomorrow’s races are going to be very hard because of the tyres. I don’t think there will be much grip in the latter part of the race and there will be many slides. I am happy that Troy-san took pole today but there is a lot of pressure on me to beat him off the line and get to the first turn ahead. He is a very hard rider, but I am ready for the big battle.”
• Max Neukirchner, 23rd, 1:41.617: “I was a second faster today then yesterday which makes me happy, but I felt tired and sore today and just couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to. My neck feels very stiff, so riding the bike is hard after a number of laps. The first few turns are particularly hard for me and it’s only when I get on to the old section that I begin to feel a bit more comfortable. But this is my first race weekend and I am learning as fast as I can. I’m learning the Alstare Engineering bike and I’m learning how to work with a brand new team. I really would like a couple of good finishes tomorrow and hope to be able to get into the points.”

YAMAHA QUALIFYING REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• Noriyuki Haga grabbed his third consecutive front row start after taking second place in today's grid deciding superpole session at Assen.
• The Yamaha Motor Italia star put in his fastest lap of the weekend on his superpole lap, boosting him up three places from his position at the end of regular qualifying.
• As always, Haga spent the day's two hour-long sessions working on finding a good set-up for tomorrow's 22-lap races. With his mechanics he was able to solve the tyre chatter problems that plagued him in Friday's practice and qualifying sessions. Team-mate Pitt was the biggest winner in superpole, elevating himself from 13th to eighth after setting his quickest lap of the weekend. The Australian has struggled to find a good set-up for the restyled Assen circuit this weekend, but finally made big progress in the afternoon's free practice session.
• Yamaha Motor France's trio of riders were typically close in qualifying, with just three-tenths of a second separating them after the two one hour sessions. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest of the three. He qualifyed for superpole in 12th place but was marginally slower on his grid deciding lap, pushing him back to 15th position on tomorrow's grid. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi will line up alongside Gimbert after making the cut for superpole on his Dutch debut. The former Japanese 250cc champion cut over two seconds from his Friday time as his knowledge of the circuit improved although, like Gimbert, he was unable to up his pace on the sticky superpole tyre and was unable to advance up the grid. Norick Abe just missed the cut on the third Yamaha Motor France-entered YZF-R1 and will start from 18th position.
• Pole position for tomorrow's race goes to defending champion Troy Corser (Suzuki), with Haga, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) completing the front row. Weather forecasts suggest a high chance of rain showers throughout the day, which could affect the races on a weekend when all track time has been in dry conditions.
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We made some big improvements today and the feeling with the suspension is now very good. For tomorrow we will make some final changes and finish testing some tyres. If it rains then that will also change the situation. Anyway, it is important to make a good start here so I am happy to be on the front row. We'll try to make the extra changes and then we must see what happens tomorrow."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We found a little problem with the bike and were able to make the bike better and more consistent. I was third fastest on the race tyre and although my superpole lap felt pretty good it was close but not close enough. Tomorrow's race is going to be tough and the last few laps are sure to be interesting!"
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "We have done a good job today although I was a little disappointed to lose some places on my superpole lap. I think that we're in good shape for the races and I hope we can get some good results."
• Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I was very pleased to make such a big improvement today. We made a few changes but mostly the improvement was down to me learning the track better. I'm looking forward to the races tomorrow and hope that we can get some good points in both races."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We've been working step-by-step to improve the bike and get the bike set up for the races. There is a very grippy surface here and we haven't had the same lack of traction that we've had at the last few races, it's just a case of making some small improvements. I know that there is a chance of rain tomorrow but I really hope that it stays dry."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Both the riders did an improvment today and there are still some things to try for tomorrow and will do some more tests with the tyres. I'm quite positive tonight but we have to wait until tomorrow as it may be wet. We want it to be dry because you just never know what will happen in wet."
• WORLD SUPERSPORT:
• Yamaha Motor Germany duo Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes will start tomorrow's ninth round of the Supersport World Championship from the front row, despite suffering a crash each in this afternoon's final qualifying session.
• Joint championship leader Curtain crashed his YZF-R6 immediately after setting the best time of the afternoon, a 1:42.056, with around five minutes of the session remaining. The 40-year-old was set to further improve his lap when he pushed too hard and lost front end grip going into the first corner. The incident meant he was unable to wrestle the pole position from his championship rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who denied Yamaha a fourth successive pole position in the class with his time from Friday.
• Earlier in the session Parkes had set his best lap of 1:42.170, only to miss the final 15 minutes of the session after crashing spectacularly next time around. The Australian escaped injury in the crash although his machine was badly damaged after flying through the air spectacularly.
• Yamaha Team Italia's Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli will start on the third row after ending qualifying in 10th and 11th places respectively, while Yamaha GMT94's David Checa was unable to improve on his Friday time and slipped back to 14th on the final grid.

DUCATI QUALIFYING REPORT   (TOP OF PAGE)

• Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) will start from the front-row of the grid for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen tomorrow after setting fourth quickest time in Superpole. Despite being quickest in both qualifying sessions, Troy's one-lap dash for pole wasn't one of his best and he will start the two races behind polesitter Troy Corser (Suzuki), Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki). Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was also quick in qualifying but made a mistake in Superpole and will start from row 3.
• "The whole weekend has been looking really good so far, we've been quickest in most of the sessions and not much has really gone wrong" declared Troy. "We made a good long-run this afternoon and even though my Superpole lap wasn't great, I'm happy to be on the front row because this place has never been a great place for overtaking, even when there was the old circuit. In racing every day is a new day and you never know what's going to happen, especially at Assen where tomorrow we could get any sort of weather. We've had no wet practice so we'll just see how things are for the race tomorrow morning".
• "We've been up at the front all weekend, it was a real pity that I made an error in Superpole" commented Lorenzo. "I touched the gearshift pedal, which caused the bike to cut out and I had a nasty moment when it went out of control. Luckily I managed to stay upright and finish the lap but I'm obviously not satisfied because there's a big difference between the first and the third row. With the long-run things were fine and as for tyre choice, everything's OK, we have some clear ideas and I feel sure we can do a couple of good races. The only thing is that tomorrow the forecast is for rain. Hopefully it'll be dry because we've got a couple more things to do in the warm-up to prepare for the race".

• Yamaha Motor Italia's Andrew Pitt ended today's first qualifying session in sixth position on his first acquaintance with the remodeled Assen circuit in the Netherlands, with team-mate Noriyuki Haga just behind in ninth.
• As usual, the Australian spent the day's two sessions working on a race setting for Sunday's two 22-lap races, spending most of his time circulating with used tyres and heavy fuel loads. The Misano race winner put on a new set of rubber on his last stint to find a one-second improvement in his lap time. His 1:40.474 places him just over a second behind fastest man Troy Bayliss (Ducati).
• Noriyuki Haga
• The Assen track has been radically remodeled since the superbike series visited last September, with a shorter circuit making lap times around 25 seconds less than on the previous incarnation - much to the displeasure of many riders who miss the fast and flowing opening section of the old track.
• Haga remained unfussed with the new layout, spending the entire session on a single set of tyres to simulate a full race distance. The Japanese star was generally happy with his day's work but will work with his technicians in a bid to solve a tyre chatter problem and find some additional traction from his machine. Despite concentrating on race trim, Haga ended the session just a few tenths of a second behind his team-mate Pitt finishing the session in ninth place.
• Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert led the Yamaha Motor France trio, setting the 16th fastest time on has YZF-R1. Team-mate Norick Abe was the fastest rider through the speed trap, recording a top speed of 278 kph. Despite the obvious speed of his Yamaha, the former MotoGP rider struggled to find an ideal set-up for the twisting circuit, ending the session in 18th. Yamaha Motor France's third rider, Shinichi Nakatomi, was 25th fastest on his first visit to the legendary circuit. He spent the two hours track time learning the layout of the circuit and hopes to cut his lap time significantly in tomorrow morning's second qualifying session.
• Norick Abe
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "I struggled for most of the session but we changed the balance of the bike at the end and found a big improvement. We tried to get through as much as we could today, just in case it rains tomorrow, and it was hard work. In the end I improved my lap time by a second at the end, although it didn't feel that fast when I was out there. We still need to work on the set-up for the race though, although I think we've found the tyre to use in the race. It's a shame that they've changed the circuit because the bit that's been taken out was my favourite part. The new section is not really a problem, though, as it is so slow that you can probably run anything through there, it's the rest of the circuit where I still have a few problems."
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Not so bad. It's a new circuit now so it was important to learn the layout. The new part is slower not a problem for me, but we have a bit of chatter and I would like some more rear traction. We'll change some settings for tomorrow and I think that this will be a solution. I hope so, but as always we must just wait and see what tomorrow brings."
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "It's been a busy time recently as I have been testing at Magny Cours for the Bol d'Or. I'm quite confident for this weekend. Already the feeling with the bike is good and I think that we will be able to have a good weekend here."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "I'm looking to improve on 19th place tomorrow and I think that if we can make some improvements to the settings then we can challenge for superpole tomorrow."
• Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France)
  "After a month's break in Japan my wife and family are with me in Europe for the first time, which is very nice. Today I had to learn the Assen track, as I have never been here before, so I am confident that I can make some improvements to my time tomorrow."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "The settings for both riders were not the best today but they are in the top ten and making progress. Nori worked on his race setting and only used one set of tyres in the qualifying session, while Andrew had found it hard until the end, when he put a different tyre in and made a big improvement. It is only Friday so we must see what happens tomorrow."

  (TOP OF PAGE)