Round 3, Valencia, Spain
Final qualifying, Saturday 5th April
Circuit: 4.005 kms. Conditions: Dry, sunny 18-21C
MAX’S DEBUT SUPERPOLE VICTORY!
Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner stunned his rivals by
storming to his first ever Superpole win this afternoon at
the Ricardo Tormo circuit, Valencia, smashing the lap record
by well over a second in the process. Max’s Superpole
was something special, but to make it an even better day for
the Belgian based team, Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama
took second place. Third quickest is Troy Bayliss (Ducati),
with local hero Ruben Xaus (Ducati) fourth. Team Suzuki Alstare
rider Fonsi Nieto suffered grip problems again and finished
thirteenth in the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out and so will
face an uphill task starting from the fourth row of the grid
in tomorrow’s races.
Max - 1st, 1:33.805
I am really happy because my Superpole lap was a great lap,
but I feel I have been fast all weekend and I was hoping for
a front row grid position. This afternoon’s free practice
was hotter then the morning and the grip level went down,
but fortunately it cooled off a little for Superpole and I
was able to really go for it. We didn’t make any big
changes to the bike from yesterday, because the bike was working
so well. For that I’d like to give a big thank you to
my whole team.
Yukio - 2nd, 1:33.928
I knew I had to do something good to beat Troy (Bayliss) in
Superpole and I was able to put in a good, fast lap and beat
his time. We’ve done a lot of good work these two days
and the hard work has paid off this afternoon. My body is
not 100% but, as I said before, that is a good thing because
I am riding smoothly and not taking any risks by pushing too
hard.
Fonsi - 13th, 1:34.959
Just like yesterday, I had problems with grip - both front
and rear - and so I couldn’t use the throttle as I wanted
to. The rear was spinning quite a bit and I had no confidence
about what the bike was going to do today. We did a long run
and my laps were consistent, so that is a positive sign. We’ll
change the bike back to how it was this morning and hopefully
it will feel better and more comfortable to ride.
Final qualifying
1 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) 1:33.805, 2 Yukio Kagayama
(J-Suzuki Alstare) 1:33.928, 3 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:33.976,
4 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:34.322, 5 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:34.370, 6
Kiyonari (J-Honda) 1:34.370, 13 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare)
1:34.959,
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