2008 Superbike World Championship
Round 4, Assen, NL - Final qualifying
Circuit: 4.555 kms
Conditions: Damp in the morning, dry and sunny/cloudy in the
afternoon, 17-19 C.
MAX MISSES OUT ON THE FRONT ROW BY A WHISKER
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner made the smallest
of errors in the first corner of his Superpole lap and lost
a place on the front row of the grid by just a tenth of a
second. But the young German is confident that a good start
tomorrow will give him a chance to challenge for a podium
or two. Team Suzuki Alstare riders Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi
Nieto finished their Superpoles with the seventh and ninth
fastest times respectively. Both know they will have to get
off the line quickly in tomorrow’s pair of 22-lap races
if they too want podiums. Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
took Superpole today, with a lap of 1:38.428, nearly a second
inside the lap record set by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) last year.
And it is Haga, who is his nearest challenger today, with
Ruben Xaus (Ducati) third and Troy Corser (Yamaha) fourth.
Max - 5th, 1:38.840
For me, my Superpole lap was a good one, except for the first
corner! I think I might have braked a bit too late, pushed
the front and lost some time. That tenth or two tenths of
a second was enough to knock me off the front row. But, I’m
quite happy because we found a good set-up for the race and
I think we will be very competitive. We may make a few small
adjustments in the warm-up tomorrow morning, but they will
only be minor changes because I am pretty happy with what
we’ve got already.
Yukio - 7th, 1:39.029
I think I made two small mistakes on my Superpole lap. The
first was at turn nine when I braked a bit too early and the
second was at the final chicane when my line wasn’t
as good as it could’ve been and I lost speed on the
exit. Today, in normal practice and qualifying we found a
good set-up for the bike and that means I can make a good
start and push hard right from the first lap. I like this
Assen layout and I am hoping for some good results tomorrow,
but I hope that it doesn’t rain any more!
Fonsi - 9th, 1:39.189
I am not so happy because all weekend I’ve been up the
front but, in Superpole, I missed the second row by just two
tenths of a second! I had no real problems in Superpole, I
just didn’t manage a fast enough lap time. I am not
100% happy with the set-up of my bike, but it’s OK and
I think I can make some good races as long as I make two good
starts. I know that I am faster than some of the riders in
front of me on the grid, so as long as I have chances to overtake,
I think I can make good results.
Final qualifying
1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:38.428, 2 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:38.546,
3 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:38.587, 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:38.761,
5 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) 1:38.840, 6 Checa (E-Honda)
1:38.864, 7 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare) 1:39.029, 8
Smrz (CZ-Ducati) 1:39.058, 9 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare)
1:39.189, 10 Tamada (J-Kawasaki) 1:39.307,
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