Team Alstare Suzuki - 2006 Superbike World Championship
Round 1, Losail circuit, Qatar
Friday 24th February
Circuit: 5.380 kms
Conditions: Dry, mostly sunny 20-23 C.
SECOND ROW FOR TROY AND YUKIO
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser missed
a place on the front row of the grid by a tenth of a second
at Qatar today and will line up directly behind Superpole
winner Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Yukio made a couple of small
mistakes on his Superpole lap and finished seventh quickest,
so he too will be on the second row of the grid. Meanwhile
SBK rookie Fabien Foret continued his steep learning curve
and was happy to get dry track time today and start working
with his Alstare Suzuki in earnest. Lining up on the front
row alongside Superpole winner Troy Bayliss is Lorenzo Lanzi
(Ducati), Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) and James Toseland (Honda).
Troy Corser - 5th, 2:00.206
In my Superpole lap we tried a soft front tyre - to get more
feel - but we hadn’t tried it before and I wasn’t
fully confident that I could really stick it in the turns
as I wanted. We tried it because, with the harder tyres, I
didn’t have much front end feel and couldn’t turn
the bike in like normal. The soft one definitely felt better,
but I don’t think we could use it for the race because
it wouldn’t last. Also, because the track is a bit dirty
(after the rain yesterday) the good line is quite narrow.
When we tested here in December, I used different lines going
into the turns, but today I had to follow everybody else’s
lines. The bike is feeling a bit different here compared to
December, but maybe that is because I am five kilos lighter,
and we may need to alter the settings to compensate. Overall
though, I’m reasonably happy and all I need is a couple
of good starts.
Yukio Kagayama - 7th, 2:00.895
Today was a bit mixed. I had a big crash in the morning and
broke my bike. I think my front tyre may have been a little
too hard and I couldn’t feel it very well. I lost the
front and the bike went a long way before somersaulting in
the gravel. Fortunately I was lucky and had no injuries -
but I have given my mechanics a lot of work to do! I tried
many different tyres today, but I am not sure which to use
for the race. I really wanted a front row grid place, but
I made a couple of small mistakes on my Superpole lap and
they were enough to push me down to the second row. Now I
must make a good start in both races because I want to be
on the podium.
Fabien Foret - 25th, 2:03.798
It was good to get dry laps today and finally I began to start
understanding my bike. Yesterday was a waste of time for me,
because I learnt nothing. In the morning today I didn’t
have a good feeling about the front, but in the afternoon
I became a bit more comfortable and improved my time by nearly
one and a half seconds. Every time I get on the bike I get
a better feeling. For me, the result here is not so important.
What is important is that I understand my bike. Having said
that, I would still like to get into the points and that will
be my goal.
Friday qualifying
1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:59.696, 2 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 2:00.028,
3 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 2:00.110, 4 Toseland (GB-Honda) 2:00.112,
5 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:00.206,
6 Haga (J-Yamaha) 2:00.613, 7 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 2:00.895, 25 FABIEN FORET (F-Alstare Suzuki
Corona EXtra) 2:03.798,
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