2ND ROW START FOR SUZUKI ALSTARE BRUX2009-04-04 12:20Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner qualified in fifth and sixth places respectively after Superpole qualifying and will start tomorrow's pair of 23-lap races at the third world Superbike Championship at Valencia in Spain alongside each other on the grid. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his third pole in a row with Regis Laconi (Ducati) second and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) third. Yukio Kagayama - 5th, 1:34.755: "My back is still sore from yesterday's crash, but when I am on the bike I forget about the pain. My job is to race and this morning we improved the set-up and suspension of the bike from yesterday, and although it is not perfect, it is better. I don't think we will make any big changes for the races tomorrow, but I know I need to go faster! Before Superpole, my mission was to get into the last eight and I managed that, though it would've been good to get on the front row. It will be very important to get good starts tomorrow because the lap times are very close. At one time today, I think the top 20 were separated by only one second! Max Neukirchner - 6th, 1:34903: "We improved the handling of the bike today and also found a bit more grip, but our biggest problem is that we need more side grip. I had a crash this morning but it was not my fault because I fell on somebody else's oil. It was at the first right-hander and when I saw yellow flags, I slowed down, but I still crashed because I couldn't see the oil. I think Superpole was one of our best this year, or maybe the best, but the lap times are very close this year and it's all very, very competitive. This new Superpole system is a bit of a gamble - with just two qualifying tyres available - so I decided to use them in Superpole 1 and 2, instead of keeping one for Superpole 3. I need a good start tomorrow because it is not so easy to pass in the infield, so I hope to get off the line quickly in both races." Final Superbike Qualifying:1 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:33.270, 3 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1:33.955, 3 Haga (J-Ducati) 1:34.082, 4 Fabrizio (I-Ducati) 1:34.259, 5 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:34.755, 6 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:34.903 FIM SUPERSTOCK 1000: Despite a problem in final qualifying this afternoon, Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti managed to finish final qualifying with the second quickest time. Davide Giugliano (MV) took pole position, just 0.159 faster than Corti, with Xavi Simeon (Ducati) third and Sylvain Barrier (Yamaha) fourth. Claudio Corti - 2nd, 1:37.461: "I had a problem with one of my bikes this afternoon, so had to switch to the other one. But the other one had a very different feeling and it took me a few laps to get used to it. I managed to put in some fast laps towards the end and I am happy enough to be on the front row of the grid. In the warm-up tomorrow we might make a small adjustment to the rear shock, but not much more. I was glad I had conserved one of my tyres from yesterday because it came in handy when I had the problem this afternoon. I hope to make a good start and begin my debut with this great team in the best possible way." Final Superstock 1000 Qualifying: 1 Giugliano (I-MV) 1:37.302, 2 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:37.461, 3 Simeon (B-Ducati) 1:37.868, 4 Barrier (F-Yamaha) 1:37.944, 5 Berger (F-Honda) 1:38.186, 6 Jezek (CZ-Honda) 1:38.265. Source: Team Suzuki Press Office Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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