TEAM ALSTARE SUZUKI RIDERS TAKE IT STEADY ON DAY ONE.
Regular Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi
and stand-in Max Neukirchner endured difficult conditions
in the first qualifying session at Magny-Cours this afternoon.
Just as the session began, light rain began to fall, making
the 4.411 kilometre circuit very slippery in places. Although
the rain soon stopped, most riders stayed in the garages and
waited for the track to dry out before trying to set a fast
qualifying time.
Max Neukirchner, deputising for the injured Yukio Kagayama,
managed to go out and complete a lap in 1:42.397 to end the
day 13th quickest overall. His team mate Max Biaggi set a
lap of 1:42.620 and finished 14th overall. Neither rider wanted
to take any risks, on a track that was still damp in places,
so took things steadily instead. Italian Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati)
posted the day’s fastest time in qualifying, with a
lap of 1:40.962, with Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second and Noriyuki
Haga (Yamaha) third.
MAX NEUKIRCHNER - 13th, 1:42.397
Even before the conditions worsened in the afternoon, I wanted
to ride steadily and get to know the bike and the team. The
Alstare Suzuki K7 feels very different to my K6
and works much better in all areas. The chassis, engine and
brakes are wonderful and I found it quite easy to get a good
rhythm in the morning untimed session. I spent the day learning
the bike and also the team. I know that this is not going
to be an easy weekend, so I have to try and get a lot of work
done very quickly. In qualifying this afternoon, the track
never completely dried out. Because the new parts of tarmac
are very dark, it was impossible to see how wet it was in
places. I didn’t want to crash, so I took it pretty
steadily this afternoon, knowing that tomorrow will see a
big improvement.
MAX BIAGGI - 14th, 1:42.620
I know I have been here before, but the conditions (and the
bike) were very different then. That was about a year ago,
so basically I started afresh here today. At the moment I
a still trying to learn the secrets of the track, but once
I do that I can push a lot harder. We started today with our
Vallelunga set-up, but it didn’t really work, so we
will make changes for tomorrow. This afternoon, it wasn’t
necessary to take any risks, so I just rode steadily and tried
to get us much info as possible to help us tomorrow.
Friday qualifying
1 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1.40.962, 2 Bayliss (AUS-Ducati) 1.41.334,
3 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1.41.402, 4 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1.41.423,
5 Corser (AUS-Yamaha) 1.41.423, 6 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1.41.731,
13 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.42.397,
14 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.42.620
|
