BIAGGI ON MONZA FRONT ROW
 Team
Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Max Biaggi will start tomorrow's
pair of 18-lap World Superbike races at Monza from the front
row of the grid.
Throughout the season, Biaggi has increased his feeling for
the Pirelli qualifiers and in today's Superpole he took over
half a second off his previous best lap time and finished
with the third fastest lap in the 16-rider shoot-out.
Team mate Yukio Kagayama had been struggling a little in
regular qualifying, but he too put in a good Superpole lap
to bag a place on the second row of the grid.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) posted the fastest lap, smashing the
lap record by almost two seconds. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss
(Ducati) is second with Biaggi third and Troy Corser (Yamaha)
fourth.
Max Biaggi - 3rd, 1:45.415:
"This is only my sixth Superpole and I think I am becoming
more and more used to it. It doesn't stress me and, because
I understand the qualifying tyres a lot better, I am confident
when I go out and do the flying lap. I am surprised and happy
how well the sticky tyres are working; the grip is good and
it makes these kind of laps easier to deal with. Monza is
a track where tactics are important. It's also a place where
slipstreaming and drafting is part of the game. I didn't really
have any problems today except in some high-speed corners
when the front feeling was not so good. That's when it's difficult
to find the limit, but it's something that we are working
on and I'm sure we can improve it.
"Here, it's so important to have a bike that accelerates
well and to know exactly where and when to brake. It's easy
to lose a 10th of a second here and there and that can be
the difference between a good result and an average one. I
don't think anybody is going to make a break tomorrow and
I think it could be four or five riders all fighting until
the end in both races. But I'm looking forward to that kind
of battle and enjoying myself at the same time."
Yukio Kagayama - 8th, 1:46.696:
"We have spent a lot of time working, working, working.
And a lot of that time has been on our ignition system and
trying to develop it. This track has many high-speed corners
and the entries to these corners are critical if you want
to make good laps. At the moment, the rear stability is not
perfect and the bike is sliding a little. The feeling is a
bit harsh and I do not like it, so we have to try and improve
it. My engine today did not feel so strong and I feel I am
losing out to the other top riders. I need better engine acceleration
because Monza is a track where you have to have good engine
performance and acceleration otherwise you cannot make any
advantage when you pull out the slipstream and try to go past
another rider. It is going to be a long, hard day tomorrow
and although my body is not yet 100%, I will be fighting hard
for two good results."
Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Haga (J-Yamaha)
1:44.941, 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:45.345, 3 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:45.415, 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:45.430,
5 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:45.824, 6 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:46.232,
7 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 1:46.437, 8 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare
Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:46.696, 9 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:46.753,
10 Rolfo (I-Honda) 1:46.758.
SUPERSTOCK 1000:
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon ended
final qualifying with the eighth quickest time and will start
tomorrow's 11 lap race at Monza from the second row of the
grid.
After the problems yesterday, he was much happier with his
bike today and was able to challenge the top runners - five
of whom raced here at Monza during the Italian championship
last weekend and so have considerably greater track knowledge.
Michele Pirro (Yamaha) took pole position today with a lap
of 1:49.741, almost four tenths of a second ahead of his nearest
rival Claudio Corti. Third quickest is Danilo Dell'Omo (MV),
with Matteo Baiocco (Yamaha) fourth.
Xavier Simeon - 8th, 1:51.140:
"I feel much happier today than yesterday because my
bike is working a lot better. It feels fast and really we
are not so far from the best riders except Pirro and Corti.
Apart from those two, I feel confident that I can fight with
everybody and that gives me a lot of encouragement. I know
I need to make a good start tomorrow because it is so easy
to get held up round here and then it's difficult to get back
in touch with the leaders. This is an important race for the
team and I want to give them, and myself, a good result. I
know it's going to be a very hard race but that is the kind
of race I like."
Final Superstock Qualifying: 1 Pirro (I-Yamaha)
1:49.741, 2 Corti (I-Yamaha) 1:50.158, 3 Dell'Omo (I-MV) 1:50.413,
4 Baiocco (I-Yamaha) 1:50.476, 5 Van Keymeulen (B-Yamaha)
1:50.662, 6 Dionisi (I-Suzuki) 1:50.688, 7 Aitchison (Aus-Suzuki)
1:50.851, 8 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)
1:51.140, 9 Tode (D-Honda) 1:51.407, 10 Morais (RSA-Ducati)
1:51.469.
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