2007 Superbike World Championship
Round 10, Brands Hatch, GB
Final qualifying,
Weather: Dry, mostly sunny 26 C.
FRONT ROW FOR YUKIO, SECOND ROW FOR MAX.
The superb weather continued at Brands Hatch today and both
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama improved
their positions in the Superpole shoot-out qualifying session.
Yukio finished fourth fastest overall and will start from
the front row of the grid for the first time this season and
Max showed he too will be a force to be reckoned with after
a stunning Superpole lap. Despite his relative lack of circuit
knowledge, he managed to shave over a second off his previous
best lap time to end sixth quickest.
Troy Bayliss (Ducati) put in a blistering Superpole lap to
deprive James Toseland (Honda) from taking top spot in front
of his home fans. Third quickest is Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha),
with Yukio fourth, making it four different manufacturers
on the front row.
Yukio - 4th, 1:25.961
I am very happy to be on the front row here at Brands Hatch.
It is a circuit I like very much and I am happy because I
have many fans in England and this is a good way to say ‘thank
you’ to them all. My Superpole lap was not so bad and
I am happy because this is my first front row of the year.
I think tomorrow will be two long, hard races and because
the weather is probably going to be as hot, or maybe hotter,
they are going to be very physical races. I don’t think
anybody will make a break on the rest and I expect that four
of five riders will be fighting for the podium. Hopefully
I will be one of them!
Max - 6th, 1:26.200
I think that sixth fastest today is not too bad at all, considering
that this is my first time here and all I’ve done is
four hours and one lap! We’ve been progressing every
session and trying to get as much circuit knowledge as quickly
as possible at one of the most difficult racetracks in the
world. Laguna Seca is strange but Brands Hatch is ten times
more complicated, because there are so many ups and downs,
blind corners and lots of bumps. But the more I ride this
track, the more fun it becomes. I know that’s it’s
going to be hot tomorrow and there are going to be two long,
hard races but I’m happy that there are two races because
it gives me more opportunity to learn the track
Final qualifying
1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:25.607, 2 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:25.635,
3 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:25.878, 4 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 1:25.961, 5 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:26.127, 6
Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:26.200, 7 Xaus
(E-Ducati) 1:26.476, 8 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:26.488, 9 Rolfo
(I-Honda) 1:26.717, 10 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:26.946,
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