Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra news
2007 Superbike World Championship
Round 1, Losail, Qatar
Final qualifying, Friday 23rd February
Circuit: 5.380 kms. Conditions: Dry, mostly sunny 22-25 C.
SUPERMAX!
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi stunned
everybody by storming to second place in Superpole despite
never ever having done a Superpole lap before. He had qualified
fifth overall in regular qualifying, but a super smooth lap
of 1:58.724 saw him finish just behind Superpole winner Troy
Corser (Yamaha). Third quickest was James Toseland (Honda),
with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth. Max’s team mate
Yukio Kagayama made a few mistakes on his Superpole lap and
ended seventh and so will start tomorrow’s pair of 18-lap
races from the second row of the grid.
MAX - 2nd, 1:58.724
Superpole was another new experience for me and I can tell
you that I was a bit nervous before I started it. I didn’t
want to make any mistakes or crash, so I tried to ride as
smoothly as I could and get round in the best time. I am very
happy because my Superpole lap was the fastest lap I’ve
done this weekend and it means that I am well-placed on the
front row of the grid. The bike is working well and I am enjoying
all these new experiences, but what matters now is what happens
in the races tomorrow. I think we can make a good result and
for that I have to thank my Alstare team for all the work
they’ve done. I am just sorry that Francis (Batta) is
not here to see us and I hope he watches it on TV and we can
give him a good result.
YUKIO - 7th, 1:59.964
I think I made small mistakes almost all round the circuit
in my Superpole lap and that lost a lot of time. That was
mainly because I did not have a good feeling with the qualifying
tyre. Maybe I was a bit too aggressive in the first part and
by the time I smoothed myself out, it was too late. But my
set-up for the race is good - better then for Superpole -
and I am confident that I can make good results. After all,
second row at this track is not so bad, because the first
turn is a long way from the start. As long as I make a good
start, I can be on the podiums.
Final qualifying
1 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:58.402, 2, MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 1:58.724, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:59.005, 4
Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:59.294, 5 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:59.537, 6 Bayliss
(Aus-Ducati) 1:59.668, 7 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 1:59.964, 8 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki) 2:00.098,
9 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 2:00.240, 10 Rolfo (I-Honda) 2:00.414,
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