CORSER SUFFERS GRIP PROBLEMS IN SUPERPOLE
 Reigning
World Superbike Champion Troy Corser suffered grip problems
during today’s Superpole for the British World Superbike
fifth round at Silverstone.
The Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider finished a disappointing
10th in a wet qualifier with team mates Yukio Kagayama and
Fabien Foret 16th and 25th.
The top 16 riders from timed qualifying had 50 minutes in
which to complete a maximum of 12 laps. Although it had stopped
raining by the time Superpole started, the track was mostly
soaking wet - conditions that turned out to be more difficult
then when it had been raining steadily.
Wild card rider Tommy Hill (Yamaha) surprised everybody by
setting the quickest lap of the Superpole session with series
leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) second, Chris Walker (Kawasaki)
third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth.
It was an unhappy Superpole for Kagayama who crashed after
eight laps. He highsided at the end of the start-finish straight
and landed heavily on his back and damaged the index finger
of his right hand in the process. Fortunately he didn’t
break any bones but he will be very sore when he lines up
on the grid tomorrow.
Troy Corser - 10th, 1:40.181:
Obviously I’m not happy being so far down the grid,
but I was lucky to complete Wet Superpole without crashing!
I could’ve crashed on virtually every lap - that’s
how bad my grip problem was. I didn’t want to hurt myself
or damage the bike with two races to do tomorrow, so I just
tried to stay upright and go as fast as I could. Every time
I touched the throttle, the bike just wanted to come round.
“Funnily enough, the grip felt better when the track
was soaking wet. When the rain eased and then stopped, my
problems began. The weather forecast says it’s going
to be dry tomorrow and I know that we’ve got a pretty
good set-up for a dry race, so if that’s so, all I need
is a couple of really good starts.”
Yukio Kagayama - 16th, 1:42.262:
“I am so sore! I highsided at the end of the front
straight and I went over the front of the bike while I was
still holding on! I remember looking at my front wheel and
thinking I would wait for the situation to improve, but it
never did! I hit the ground very hard and cut my finger bad
enough to have three stitches in the wound. When the track
was fully wet, I think the grip felt ok. Maybe it is because
we were going slower and controlling the bike better. In Superpole,
the grip did not feel good at all and it was very difficult.
I will have an early night tonight and hope I feel ok in the
morning.”
Fabien Foret - 25th, No Superpole time:
“I don’t like the rain so much but I put in quite
a few laps today because I need to understand how my bike
works in the wet. I am disappointed not to have qualified
for Superpole, but now I have to think about the races tomorrow
and getting some good starts if I am to have any chance of
a good result. I hope the track is dry because I know I can
race much harder. This year we’ve lost some time due
to rain at every round except one, so my understanding of
my bike has not happened as quickly as I would’ve liked.
But I am determined to get some good results tomorrow.”
Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Hill (GB-Yamaha)
1:38.001, 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:38.254, 3 Walker (GB-Kawasaki)
1:38.265, 4 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:38.546, 5 Fabrizio (I-Honda)
1:38.899, 6 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:389.082, 7 Xaus (E-Ducati)
1:39.388, 8 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:40.023, 9 Laconi (F-Kawasaki)
1:40.042, 10 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)
1:40.181. 16 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)
1:42.262. 25 Fabien Foret (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra).
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