NEUIKIRCHNER JUST OFF ASSEN FRONT ROW
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner made the smallest
of errors in the first corner of his Superpole lap and lost
a place on the front row of the grid by just a tenth of a
second. But the young German is confident that a good start
tomorrow will give him a chance to challenge for a podium
or two.
Team Suzuki Alstare riders Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto
finished their Superpoles with the seventh and ninth fastest
times respectively. Both know they will have to get off the
line quickly in tomorrow's pair of 22-lap races if they too
want podiums.
Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took Superpole today
with a lap of 1:38.428, nearly a second inside the lap record
set by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) last year. And it is Haga, who
is his nearest challenger today, with Ruben Xaus (Ducati)
third and Troy Corser (Yamaha) fourth.
Max Neukirchner - 5th, 1:38.840:
"For me, my Superpole lap was a good one, except for
the first corner! I think I might have braked a bit too late,
pushed the front and lost some time. That tenth or two-tenths
of a second was enough to knock me off the front row. But
I'm quite happy because we found a good set-up for the race
and I think we will be very competitive. We may make a few
small adjustments in the warm-up tomorrow morning, but they
will only be minor changes because I am pretty happy with
what we've got already."
Yukio Kagayama - 7th, 1:39.029:
"I think I made two small mistakes on my Superpole lap.
The first was at turn nine when I braked a bit too early and
the second was at the final chicane when my line wasn't as
good as it could've been and I lost speed on the exit. Today,
in normal practice and qualifying, we found a good set-up
for the bike and that means I can make a good start and push
hard right from the first lap. I like this Assen layout and
I am hoping for some good results tomorrow, but I hope that
it doesn't rain any more!"
Fonsi Nieto - 9th, 1:39.189:
"I am not so happy because all weekend I've been up
the front but, in Superpole, I missed the second row by just
two tenths of a second! I had no real problems in Superpole;
I just didn't manage a fast enough lap time. I am not 100%
happy with the set-up of my bike, but it's OK and I think
I can make some good races as long as I make two good starts.
I know that I am faster than some of the riders in front of
me on the grid, so as long as I have chances to overtake,
I think I can make good results.
Final WSB qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati)
1:38.428, 2 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:38.546, 3 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:38.587,
4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:38.761, 5 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare
Suzuki) 1:38.840. 7 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki) 1:39.0299.
9 Fonsi Nieto (E-Alstare Suzuki) 1:39.189.
SUPERSTOCK 1000:
After the problems yesterday, Xavi Simeon enjoyed a trouble-free
ride in today's free practice and timed qualifying and was
able to set the fourth quickest lap of the day. His time of
1:42.254 puts him on the front row of the grid behind pole-setter
Claudio Corti (Yamaha), Maxime Berger (Honda) and Michele
Pirro (Yamaha) for tomorrow's 13-lap race.
Xavi Simeon - 4th, 1:42.254:
"I'm happy that I've made the front row because now
I know I can fight for the podium. This afternoon the bike
felt very good and I am looking forward to the race - especially
after the problems we had yesterday. This morning I went out
in the free practice and although some of the track was dry,
some of it was not and I nearly had a 'moment' at the final
chicane because it was quite wet! But I didn't crash and was
able to carry on without too much of a problem. I was on the
third row of the grid in Valencia and managed to get on the
podium, so now that I am the front row I know that I have
a better chance to do it again."
Final Superstock 1000 qualifying: 1 Corti (I-Yamaha) 1:41.576,
2 Berger (F-Honda) 1:41.658, 3 Pirro (I-Yamaha) 1:41.719,
4 Xavi Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki) 1:42.254, 5 Roberts (Aus-Ducati)
1:42.417, 6 Magnoni (I-Yamaha) 1:42.422.
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