TROY SUFFERS GRIP PROBLEMS IN THE WET.
Today’s final qualifying was a disappointing day for
Team Alstare at Silverstone, with Troy Corser ending tenth,
Yukio Kagayama sixteenth and Fabien Foret twenty-fifth. The
heavy rain in the morning eased a little in the afternoon,
but the conditions were wet enough for the organisers to declare
a “Wet Superpole”. The top sixteen riders from
timed qualifying then had fifty minutes in which to complete
a maximum of twelve laps.
Although it had stopped raining by the time Superpole started,
the track was mostly soaking wet - conditions that turned
out to be more difficult then when it had been raining steadily.
Wild card rider Tommy Hill (Yamaha) surprised everybody by
setting the quickest lap of the Superpole session, with series
leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Chris Walker (Kawasaki)
third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth. Team Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra rider Troy Corser struggled with grip problems
throughout Superpole, but fought the slippery conditions to
take tenth place.
It was an unhappy Superpole for his team mate Yukio Kagayama,
who crashed after eight laps. He highsided at the end of the
start-finish straight and landed heavily on his back and damaged
the index finger of his right hand in the process. Fortunately
he didn’t break any bones, but he will be very sore
when he lines up on the grid tomorrow. Team Alstare Engineering
Corona Extra rider, hadn’t qualified for Superpole,
so his twenty-fifth place on the gird is where he will start
from in tomorrow’s pair of 28-lap races.
TROY - 10th, 1:40.181
Obviously I’m not happy being so far down the grid,
but I was lucky to complete Wet Superpole without crashing!
I could’ve crashed on virtually every lap, that’s
how bad my grip problem was. I didn’t want to hurt myself
or damage the bike with two races to do tomorrow, so I just
tried to stay upright and go as fast as I could. Every time
I touched the throttle, the bike just wanted to come round.
Funnily enough the grip felt better when the track was soaking
wet. When the rain eased and then stopped, my problems began.
The weather forecast says it’s going to be dry tomorrow
and I know that we’ve got a pretty good set-up for a
dry race, so if that’s so, all I need is a couple of
really good starts.
YUKIO - 16th, 1:42.262
I am so sore! I highsided at the end of the front straight
and I went over the front of the bike, while I was still holding
on! I remember looking at my front wheel and thinking I would
wait for the situation to improve, but it never did! I hit
the ground very hard and cut my finger bad enough to have
three stitches in the wound. When the track was fully wet,
I think the grip felt OK. Maybe it is because we were going
slower and controlling the bike better. In Superpole, the
grip did not feel good at all and it was very difficult. I
will have an early night tonight and hope I feel OK in the
morning.
FABIEN - 25th, No Superpole time
I don’t like the rain so much, but I put in quite a
few laps today, because I need to understand how my bike works
in the wet. I am disappointed not to have qualified for Superpole,
but now I have to think about the races tomorrow and getting
some good starts if I am to have any chance of a good result.
I hope the track is dry because I know I can race much harder.
This year we’ve lost some time due to rain at every
round except one, so my understanding of my bike has not happened
as quickly as I would’ve liked. But I am determined
to get some good results tomorrow.
Final qualifying
1 Hill (GB-Yamaha) 1:38.001, 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:38.254,
3 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1:38.265, 4 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:38.546,
5 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:38.899, 6 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:389.082,
7 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:39.388, 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:40.023,
9 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 1:40.042, 10 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:40.181, 16 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:42.262, 25 FABIEN FORET (F-Alstare
Engineering Corona Extra),
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