CORSER WINS MONZA SUPERPOLE
 Team
Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser lived up to
his ‘Mr Superpole” reputation with a stunning
performance at the end of the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out
in today’s World Superbike qualifying at Monza in Italy.
Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) had stormed his way round
the 5.793 kilometre course and looked a certainty to claim
pole position. But after a cautious start, Corser stormed
back into contention with a faster second split. The third
split was pure magic, with his drive through and out of the
Parabolica virtually perfect that put him three-tenths-of-a-second
ahead of his rival.
Third quickest was Alex Barros (Honda) with Regis Laconi
(Kawasaki) fourth - making it four different manufacturers
on the front row of the grid.
Corser’s team mate Yukio Kagayama struggled with a
very painful right hand and then made a small mistake at the
first chicane on his Superpole lap. It was enough to relegate
him to the ninth fastest time and a third row grid place.
Joining him on row three is Team Alstare Engineering Corona
Extra Fabien Foret after posting his best qualifying result
of the season so far.
Troy Corser - 1st, 1:46.058:
“After taking things pretty steadily yesterday because
of the weather, it was good to be able to push harder today.
The bike worked pretty well and the guys gave me a great package
to use on my Superpole lap. In the free practice before Superpole
we tried a new qualifying tyre and decided to use it for Superpole.
I was a bit cautious on the brakes going into the first chicane,
but when I felt that the tyre was going to stick ok, I started
to go for it.
“The second split was good and the third was perfect.
For that I have to thank the whole team. Races at Monza are
never easy because it’s so difficult to get a gap on
the field and I think there's going to be a lot of tactics
going on. My aim is to stay in the front group, see how it
goes, and then make my move when I think the time is right.”
Yukio Kagayama - 9th, 1:47.156:
“My right hand is a problem. I put on some strapping
and that helped a lot, but after one lap or so I started to
lose feeling in the hand so I don’t think it’s
going to be possible to race with it strapped up. Although
there are many fast corners here, there are also some chicanes
and that’s where I find it hard getting the bike to
change direction quickly enough.
“I made a small mistake at the first chicane on my
Superpole lap and the back end came off the ground. That lost
me a lot of time and I could only finish ninth today. I need
two very good starts tomorrow and my hand to last the distance
without any big problems. It’s not going to be an easy
day!”
Fabien Foret - 12th, 1: 48.009:
“On the positive side I managed to qualify for Superpole
ok and that was good considering the problems I had in practice:
things mainly to do with the rear shock. We solved the problem
in the afternoon untimed practice and I felt more comfortable
straight away. But I don’t think I was aggressive enough
on my Superpole lap and so ended 12th. It’s going to
be two long, hard races tomorrow and I need good starts if
I am to have any chance of good results.”
Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:46.058, 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:46.360,
3 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:46.511, 4 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 1:46.597,
5 Walker (GB-Kawasaki) 1:46.978, 6 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:47.015,
7 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:47.082, 8 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:47.133,
9 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:47.156,
10 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:47..627. 12 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering
Corona Extra) 1:48.009.
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