NEUKIRCHNER ON BRANDS WSB 2ND ROW
Team Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner will start from the
second row of the grid for tomorrow's World Superbike Championship
round at Brands Hatch in the UK.
Just before the start of Superpole, rain began to fall on
the circuit and so the organisers decided that the 16-rider
shoot-out would be a "Wet Superpole", giving the
riders 50 minutes and a maximum of 12 laps to set their fastest
times.
Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama was one of the few
riders to venture out on the wet track, whilst most of the
others stayed in their pit boxes waiting to see if the rain
would stop and the track dry out for the end of the session.
The rain did stop, the sun came out, and the track dried sufficiently
for everybody to use slicks at the end of the session.
Not everybody was able to take advantage of the improved
conditions at the end and the last five minutes were filled
with confusion and frantic tyre changing. In the end, Neukirchner
qualified eighth fastest, with Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto in
ninth and 10th places respectively.
Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took pole position with
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) second and Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda)
third.
Max Neukirchner - 8th, 1:26.226:
"I am not so happy to be on the second row of the grid
but I think I should be OK for the races. Brands is a difficult
track and it's going to be hard to win here, but I will be
trying my best for sure. We had some chatter problems yesterday
and today and I'm not sure if the problem is worse here because
of all the bumps. Also, I had a bit of a problem with my bike
exiting the corners, so tomorrow we will alter the front and
rear suspension to see if we can make the bike more stable.
I don't think anybody got a good wet set-up today, so I am
hoping it will be dry tomorrow and we have two good races."
Yukio Kagayama - 9th, 1:26.501:
"Superpole was not easy today because of the conditions.
I thought the rain would carry on throughout the session and
I would be in a good position. But the rain stopped, the track
became almost dry but I did not have enough time to put in
as many fast dry laps as I would've liked. But we've got a
good set-up for a dry race and I am hoping that it will be
dry tomorrow. Ninth is actually not a bad grid position because
you are the best side of the track for the run down to turn
one. If I can make good starts, I can challenge for the podium."
Fonsi Nieto - 10th, 1:26.688:
"We didn't really have many problems in practice and
qualifying today except that the bike was spinning up in a
couple of places and that meant that I was losing drive. But
the rest of the track was OK and I am quite happy because
I did my best lap on old tyres. Superpole was not so good,
but Superpole is not normally good for me anyway, so no difference!
Tomorrow I will have a fresh engine and, because we have quite
a good dry set-up, I think I can make good races."
Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:25.656, 2
Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:25.679, 3 Kiyonari (J-Honda) 1:25.840, 4
Smrz (CZ-Ducati) 1:25.960, 5 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:26.021,
6 Sykes (GB-Suzuki) 1:26.166, 7 Biaggi (I-Ducati) 1:26.169,
8 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki) 1:26.226, 9 Yukio Kagayama
(J-Suzuki Alstare) 1:26.501, 10 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare)
1:26.688.
RIZLA SUZUKI REPORT:
Rizla Suzuki World Superbike debutant Tom Sykes scorched
to sixth place on the second row of the grid in his first
ever Superpole qualifying session at Brands Hatch in Kent,
building his confidence for tomorrow's World Championship
10th round double-header races.
His first ambition was to achieve a top 16-placing in qualifying
to ensure he made it through to Superpole and he achieved
it comfortably, placing 10th. In the following practice session
before Superpole he tried his first ever Pirelli qualifying
tyre and went even faster again, finishing fourth, setting
himself up for the final qualifying shoot out.
Rain forced the afternoon's one-lap Superpole format to be
declared wet, giving the riders a maximum of 12-laps within
a 50-minute period. Tom and the other riders dashed out at
the start on qualifiers with a dry track but the rain fell
before he could record a fast lap time. The next 30-minutes
were spent in a tense garage waiting while the track dried
out.
With 15-minutes remaining, and in bright sunshine, Sykes
briefly took pole position on his Rizla Suzuki before times
started to tumble. Always in the hunt for the first two rows,
he kept a cool head to bring his GSX-R1000 home in dramatic
weather conditions.
Tom Sykes:
"A second row start my first time out in Superpole
is fine with me. The weather made for tricky conditions but
we have got a good starting position and know we have decent
race pace.
"On my final quick lap I didn't push quite as hard as
I might have. I wanted to get a good starting position and
once that was achieved I didn't want to risk a crash trying
a little bit too hard for a couple more 10ths of a second
- there was still a damp line at Stirling's. This is a new
experience for me and we are all really enjoying ourselves
and hopefully putting on a good show. I am confident for tomorrow
and it is all credit to my Rizla Suzuki team for giving me
a fantastic bike that is so competitive. I'm not sure what
we can achieve in the races but if I do get a sniff of the
podium, I'll be going for it."
Jack Valentine - Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:
"Everything is going to plan so far; we wanted to be
in Superpole and we got it; then we wanted a start on the
front two rows and we got that as well. It was hard for Tom
to have such mixed weather in his first Superpole but he coped
well and could've been quicker but decided not to risk a crash
which is exactly the right thing to do. Sixth place is simply
fantastic on his WSB debut and I am proud of him and the whole
Rizla Suzuki team.
"We are the first Suzuki in qualifying, which is astounding
when you consider we are running a British Superbike-specification
race bike which is in a state of lower tune than the other
bikes here. I think it shows just how well Rizla Suzuki as
a team and the GSX-R1000 as a race bike are performing and
the success we are now enjoying in BSB can transfer to the
world stage.
"A big thank you to the crowd during Superpole - we
could hear the cheers and air-horns and it lifted the guys
in the garage as well as Tom on the bike. That sort of support
really counts, so please keep it up folks."
SUPERSTOCK 1000 REPORT:
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Xavi Simeon set the fourth quickest
lap of final qualifying today and will start on the front
row of the grid in tomorrow's 14-lap race.
In the afternoon qualifying, Simeon took a tumble and banged
his right ankle. He was taken to the Clinica Mobile, but no
breaks were revealed, though his ankle was heavily swollen.
But Xavi is determined to race tomorrow and will be going
all-out for a podium.
Xavi Simeon - 4th, 1:29.297:
"In the afternoon qualifying session I had a crash.
I was braking late, hit a bump and the bike wobbled and I
knew I couldn't make the turn. So I got the bike upright and
went straight into the gravel. Unfortunately the gravel trap
was not so big and I ended up hitting the air fence! I went
to the Clinica Mobile and they checked me out, but all was
OK, so I stayed there for a while with an ice-pack on my ankle
to try and reduce the swelling.
"I am confident that it will be OK for the race tomorrow,
though 14 laps round here is going to be quite hard. Today
we changed the front and rear suspension on the bike and straight
away there was a big improvement and I felt more comfortable.
I was able to go quicker than yesterday and that made me happy.
Now I think I have a bike that can challenge for the podium
and that's what I will be trying to do."
Final Superstock 1000 Qualifying: 1 Berger (F-Honda) 1:28.879,
2 Pirro (I-Yamaha) 1:29.205, 3 Roberts (Aus-Ducati) 1:29.258,
4 Xavi Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki) 1:29.297, 5 Corti (I-Yamaha)
1:29.589, 6 Morais (RSA-Kawasaki) 1:29.618.
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