WSB/WSS Portimao - qualifying 1

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QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 31/10/2008 Corser fastest at all new WSB venue Troy Corser Stunning surroundings at the all-new Portimao circuit went hand-in-hand with a stunning lap from Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) to put the Australian rider and his Yamaha YZF-R1 in provisional pole after the first day of action at the circuit. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) also set a time better than most on the opening day, going 11th out of 31 entrants, on a drying 4.592km circuit. Changeable conditions determined much in the overall timesheets in first qualifying, with only the final laps showing any kind of real dry line to aim for. The circuit did not experience quite the same torrential rainfall as Thursday, but a fully wet track surface to start, and many delays due to teething problems at the new circuit, made for a confused schedule on the opening day. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 21st on day one with his team-mate Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) two places back. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) was 27th fastest on his first visit to the new track. Troy Corser (1st - 1'55.791 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "It all came down to who put on an intermediate tyre at the right time. We did it and I managed to put a good lap in and set the fastest time. It's a great circuit and it's not a fast track or a slow one; it's really a bit of both. There are some sections that remind me of Laguna or Road America. The surface is a bit like Qatar was first time, slippery off line, and there are some parts of the track where the tarmac itself is slippy and others where the grip is really good. It's a case of finding out where they are as you go. The hardest corner is the one immediately behind the pits, because you go in over a rise and have no braking marker." Noriyuki Haga Noriyuki Haga (11th - 2'00.152 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "For me this track is very exciting, but unfortunately the track was wet and the conditions not so good. I really hope for sunshine tomorrow and then I can have a little more fun with this track, and set much better times. It was difficult to control the bike on the surface today but I had a good feeling with the machine and finally we set a time to stay inside the top 16. That is important so we can qualify for Superpole, just in case it is raining tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team Manager) "In these conditions Troy is always very fast because he is one of the best in changeable conditions. When there is only a narrow dry line he can use it very well. We saw in Miller the same thing. I think the bad track situation actually helped him a bit to learn the way around today. In the end this year we have been to two all-new circuits and he has been fast right away. We didn't even come here to test and still he set the best lap. Should be dry tomorrow and even better on Sunday but we are ready for everything anyway. It is an unbelievable track, one of the most beautiful circuits in the world. They did a great job here, and all in ten months. I think it is also a good winter test venue, especially as it is in Europe." Circuit Length: 4692 2008 WSB Portugal - Portimão 31/10/2008 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 1'55.791 2 Leon Haslam Honda GBR 1'57.214 3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'57.440 4 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'58.115 5 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 1'58.327 6 Chris Walker Honda GBR 1'58.557 7 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'59.356 8 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1'59.676 9 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'59.939 10 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 2'0.012 11 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 2'0.152 12 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 2'0.194 13 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 2'0.263 14 Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 2'0.288 15 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 2'0.362 21 David Checa Yamaha ESP 2'2.086 23 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 2'4.094 27 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 2'4.570 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 31/10/2008 Parkes and Foret caught out by rain at new circuit Broc Parkes The stunning new Portimao circuit was a real challenge to most of the WSS field and after the weather turned for the worse halfway though qualifying, it prevented many of the top riders from qualifying in the first timed session. Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) each found themselves in a similar position, with an increasingly wet track preventing them from making a push towards a qualifying place. A delayed first day of action was once more affected by poor weather conditions, which combined with an unfamiliar circuit layout made for some peculiarities in the overall rankings. An improvement is expected in the weather tomorrow. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) felt his machine moved around too much in the morning session and in the afternoon he pushed a touch too hard in his efforts to qualify and he fell, without injury. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was another caught out by the conditions as he posted 22nd best lap time. Broc Parkes (24th - 2'07.830 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We were OK when it was properly wet on the track this morning but in the afternoon we had a drying track, then a wet track again so we missed the best chance to set a quick time. I'm a bit disappointed because I was happy this morning and feeling good. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and we can wipe today away. The new track is awesome I reckon it's great. I was surprised because it was not as slippery as we thought it would be and it's got everything you could want in a track. Open corners, slower sections, ups and downs. It's going to be awesome in the dry." Fabien Foret Fabien Foret (30th - 2'10.663 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "The track itself is very nice but the conditions are quite bad. The weather forecast says that tomorrow should be better so we are looking forward to that, if it happens. The grip was fine but we just need to get more confidence and understanding of the track." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "A little bit of a strange day, to say the least. What can we say except that in the morning in the wet it was OK after we had made some adjustment to the machines. The tyres we used in the early part of the qualifying session were maybe a little too soft so changed them but as soon as the riders went out again the rain came back. So we missed the best chance, and it was disappointing to not qualify when we had the best chance to do it." Massimo Roccoli (25th - 2'08.485 seconds - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "We had a few problems with the bike moving around on the track this morning, under braking and also under power. It felt slippery because the track was dirty in some places. I lost the front and crashed near the end of the session while trying to go for a better time. I am fine no injuries, so we will be back again Circuit Length: 4692 Weather: Wet 2008 WSS Portugal - Portimão 31/10/2008 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 1'58.614 2 Josh Hayes Honda USA 2'0.021 3 Joan Lascorz Honda ESP 2'1.576 4 Gianluca Vizziello Honda ITA 2'2.784 5 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 2'3.083 6 Gianluca Nannelli Honda ITA 2'3.083 7 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 2'3.683 8 Didier Van Keymeulen Suzuki BEL 2'4.297 9 Jesco Gunther Triumph GER 2'4.098 10 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 2'4.929 11 Miguel Praia Honda POR 2'5.064 12 Russell Holland Honda AUS 2'5.444 13 Mark Aitchinson Triumph AUS 2'5.496 14 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 2'5.639 15 Ivan Clementi Triumph ITA 2'5.787 22 David Salom Yamaha ESP 2'7.057 24 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 2'7.830 25 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 2'8.485 30 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 2'10.663 Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com