FRONT ROW FOR MAX! HUGE IMPROVEMENT ALSO FOR YUKIO.
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi rode a
superb Superpole lap at Assen today and ended up with a position
on the front row of the grid. He had been twelfth in regular
qualifying but the changes he and the team made to the engine
braking and balance of the bike made the bike more comfortable
to ride this afternoon and he was able to push much harder
in Superpole as a result. His front row grid place means that
he will not have to work his way through the field, as he
did in Valencia. He knows that a good start is vital at Assen
and that is what he will try and do in tomorrow’s pair
of 22-lappers. His team mate Yukio also struggled in normal
qualifying, partly due to the fact that he is working on the
development of a completely different ignition system.
He just scraped in to the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out, after
final qualifying, but then the improvements made to the Magneti
Marelli system allowed him also to push much harder in the
untimed afternoon session and Superpole. Series leader James
Toseland (Honda) took Superpole (his first of the season),
with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) third, Troy Bayliss (Ducati) third
and Max fourth.
MAX - 4th, 1:39.320
We had some problems during the first three sessions and we
did a lot of work to get the engine braking and the balance
of the bike right. The bike is not perfect yet and it is better
in some parts of the track then others, but at least I am
finding it easier to ride then on Friday. Also, Superpole
is still a relatively new thing for me and I think I am beginning
to understand how to attack it better. Of course, the level
of grip is so much different on a Superpole lap to when you
are on race tyres and that’s another thing to understand.
It shows that, on race rubber, we have to try and get more
traction. It felt a bit strange sitting around in the pits
watching another eleven riders go out and try and beat my
lap time. In Superpole anything can happen - just look at
Haga today and Corser in Donington.
Having now ridden on this new Assen layout, I can say that
I prefer the ‘old’ Assen. That was a real challenge
and it had a lot of very high-speed turns, so it was great
fun to ride. The new design has slowed us up and it’s
difficult to use full power. Now it’s important to have
a well-balanced bike, with good throttle response. I’m
happy to be on the front row, because this is not an easy
track for overtaking and you certainly do not want to get
held up at the start.
YUKIO - 1:39.928
My Superpole lap was so-so, because I made a few little mistakes,
but considering I had only just managed to get into Superpole
after normal qualifying, to get on the second row of the grid
is good and that makes me a happy. This afternoon was so much
better then Friday. We made some changes to the settings and
improved the bike. The grip level is now better and I have
a better feel for what is going on, but it is not enough.
I am working a lot on developing another ignition system and,
like all things at the start, there have have been many things
to work on and try and improve. But I think this system has
good potential and each time out we learn something more.
Sometimes this kind of situation can be a bit frustrating,
but this is part of my job and I want to do it well. Tomorrow
I am hoping that I can get a good pair of starts and follow
with good results.
Final qualifying
1 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:38.603, 2 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:39.226,
3 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:39.256, 4 MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 1:39.320, 5 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:39.411, 6 Corser
(Aus-Yamaha) 1:39.422, 7 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki) 1:39.648,
8 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:39.928,
9 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:40.057, 10 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1:40.288,
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