Foggy Petronas - Rain spoils first day action in Qatar
 Wet
conditions on the first day of the new Superbike World Championship
season hindered meaningful progress for Steve Martin and his
new Foggy PETRONAS Racing team-mate Craig Jones.
Craig showed encouraging early form in finishing the first
practice session, ruined by the first rain in Qatar since
last season’s SBK round, in sixth place.
But as the track dried slightly for afternoon qualifying,
and as times dropped, the FPR pair concentrated on set-up
issues with typically dry and sunny conditions forecast for
tomorrow and Saturday’s races.
Troy Bayliss, returning to the series after a three-year
absence, set the pace with a time of 2:17.326, while Steve
was 17th with a fastest lap of 2:21.505. Craig finished his
first day of Superbike World Championship competition in 23rd
with a time of 2:24.221.
Craig said: “I was pleased with the
way this morning went and to get a feel for it straight away.
It was awesome to be so high up so early and it was a big
confidence booster to be ahead of the likes of Barros. That
really gets your blood pumping. We had a stability problem
this afternoon that we hadn’t managed to dial out from
the morning session. I am hoping it will be dry tomorrow so
that I can find a set-up, get stuck in and show what I can
do.”
Steve said: “I was happy with the
handling of the bike when it was very wet. However, we hadn’t
really run this new engine configuration in those conditions
and we found some problems with the set-up. We know we can
fix them and know which direction to go in, by adding some
more weight to the front to make steer better. It was good
to get the first day of the new season out of the way and
I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Friday qualifying, Superbike World Championship,
round 1, Losail, Qatar: 1 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox)
2:17.326; 2 Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:19.064; 3 Corser (Alstare
Suzuki Corona) 2:19.614; 4 Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:19.684;
5 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 2:19.687; 6 Barros (Klaffi Honda)
2:19.834; 7 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 2:19.991; 8 Haga (Yamaha
Italia) 2:20.164; 9 Battaini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 2:20.200;
10 Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:20.469; 17 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS
Racing) 2:21.505; 23 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:24.221
Friday morning free practice, Superbike World Championship,
round 1, Losail, Qatar: 1 Gimbert (Yamaha France)
2:25.734; 2 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2:26.705; 3 Laconi (PSG-1
Kawasaki) 2:27.269; 4 Chili (DFX Treme) 2:28.761; 5 Nieto
(PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:29.145; 6 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing)
2:29.997; 7 Battaini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 2:30.403; 8 Rolfo
(Ducati SC - Caracchi) 2:30.417; 9 Barros (Klaffi Honda) 2:30.437;
10 Abe (Yamaha France) 2:30.711; 11 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS
Racing) 2:31.996
|
