bMoto

I am back ! After the jetting around Australia, visiting the awesome Phillip Island MotoGP round, it is time to settle back in and report some news. Work, work, work, it’s always the same. Australian  Troy Bayliss (can’t get away from Australia related news at the moment), will wrap up the 2006 World Superbike Championship on Sunday.

Well, that is, unless something goes awefully wrong. Another Australian, the venerable Kevin Curtain, is very close to securing the World Supersport Championship in front of the highly fancied frenchman.
Score another win for Yamaha over Honda? Honda will be getting stroppy about all this.

Without further ado, here is the qualifying and super pole results and team reports from the penultimate round of the 2006 wSBK championship.

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Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) set a blistering lap of 1 minute 48.804 seconds in Superpole for tomorrow’s Italian Round of the World Superbike Championship at Imola. The 37 year-old Australian, only sixth after the two qualifying sessions, knocked more than a second off his performance to take his fifth Superpole of the year and the twelfth in his career, outrunning second-placed James Toseland (Honda) by almost six-tenths of a second.

Troy Bayliss - “We put a good lap together in Superpole but Imola is a really difficult track, it’s very technical and has a strange surface so we’ve been working hard with the bike to make it do what I want and honestly it took until the last session to find what we’re looking for. Right at the end of the session, we found it and straightaway I just felt comfortable on the bike. I knew I was going to do a good lap anyway but wasn’t sure about a 1m48. Now I’m really confident and I’ve done a lot of laps on the race tyre. The situation I’m in right now in the championship, I’m really happy with pole. We’ll wait and see how it all goes tomorrow but it’ll be interesting for sure.”

Lorenzo Lanzi looked much more confident in the one-lap Superpole session as he recorded his quickest time this weekend but it was only good enough for tenth place on the third row of the grid.

Lorenzo Lanzi - “My lap in Superpole was not bad but it could have been better. It was my best lap of the weekend but it wasn’t enough. Pity, because it means I start from the third row. However after my long-run in the afternoon session I am quite happy with the pace on my race tyre. I aim on getting a good start because at Imola it’s not easy to overtake.”

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Team Suzuki Press Office – September 30, 2006.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser set the fourth fastest time in Superpole today and will start tomorrow’s 11th round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship from the front row of the grid.

His team mate Yukio Kagayama is just behind, in fifth place, and both are determined to get podiums in tomorrow’s pair of 21 lap races.

It was a also a good day for Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider Max Neukirchner: The young German rode a superb Superpole and posted the sixth quickest lap of the 16-rider shoot-out, ahead of many of the top factory riders.

Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took Superpole with a lap of 1:48.804 with James Toseland (Honda) second and Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) third.

Troy Corser - “I’m pretty happy I am on the front row and that’s important here at Imola because there are not that many passing places. Taking Superpole was a possibility, but when the rear of the bike started moving around like it did, it was hard to go faster then Bayliss. But I’m satisfied with my bike set-up on race tyres and we’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow. I hope that I will not be involved in a big fight at the start of the race because I want to conserve my tyres a little for the end of the race. When it’s hotter, our tyres don’t seem to work as well, so I’d prefer cooler conditions than today.”

Yukio Kagayama - “I am sort of happy with the set-up of my bike for the race but a lot will depend on how hot it is tomorrow. For me, the tyres do not work the same way in hot conditions as cool conditions, so the end of the race is going to be very interesting if it is as hot as it was this afternoon. I am bit disappointed with my Superpole lap. I tried very hard and I really wanted a front-row place. So now I need two good starts and for me usually that is not a big problem. I want two podiums tomorrow and I will try my best to get them.”

Max Neukirchner - “I am very happy with my Superpole lap, even though I made a little mistake during it. But sixth is pretty good considering everything and it’s a sign that I am getting to understand the Alstare Engineering bike more and more. Unfortunately I had a bit of a crash in the afternoon practice and although I was ok, the bike was pretty badly damaged. I’m afraid I gave my mechanics a lot of work to do. Sixth was good today, but what’s important is tomorrow. I need a couple of good starts and be strong throughout the two races. If I can do that, I can look forward to a couple of good finishes.”

Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:48.804, 2 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:49.394, 3 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:49.433, 4 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:49.442, 5 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:49.497, 6 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 1:49.840, 7 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:49.856, 8 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:49.888, 9 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:49.958, 10 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:50.081.

Press release courtesy of Suzuki.

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Yamaha Motor Italia’s Andrew Pitt rode a super-smooth lap during today’s superpole session to take a front row start for tomorrow’s races in Imola, with team-mate Noriyuki Haga on the second row after making big improvements to his machine set-up.

Having worked methodically on finding a good race setting throughout the four one-hour practice sessions, Pitt demonstrated his ultimate pace with a blistering 1:49.433 lap time to take third on the grid for tomorrow’s races. Despite being almost half-a-second quicker than his previous best lap of the weekend, the Australian’s YZF-R1 looked like it was running on rails as he shot himself up from seventh to third on the final grid.

Haga had struggled to find a perfect set-up for his machine around the demanding five kilometre Imola track on Friday, hindered in no small part by ligament damage to his left wrist. The Japanese rider’s pit crew made changes to the chassis set-up of his R1 overnight to find something closer to a satisfactory solution for tomorrow’s races, although the Yamaha Motor Italia team will make some further changes to the set up overnight in a bid to further improve Haga’s competitiveness. Like Pitt, Haga set his best lap of the weekend on his superpole outing, dipping into the 1:49 bracket for the first time of the weekend.

Norick Abe was the fastest of the Yamaha Motor France riders in qualifying. The Japanese rider qualified for superpole after ending the two one-hour timed practice sessions in 14th position, although he was unable to improve his qualifying position on his grid-deciding lap and will start the race from 15th. Abe’s team-mates both failed to make the cut for superpole. Shinichi Nakatomi will start his first race at the circuit from 22nd position, while Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert struggled with set-up and fitness problems throughout the weekend. He will start tomorrow’s races from 25th on the grid.

Pole position for tomorrow’s races goes to series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati), with a superpole lap of 1:48.804. James Toseland (Honda) will start second, with Pitt and outgoing champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) completing the front row.

Andrew Pitt - “We had a difficult day yesterday and even this morning we were still trying to find that little bit extra. We finally found the right direction this afternoon, so thanks to the team for their efforts. Te lap itself felt good, although I ran out of tyre towards the end of the lap and wasn’t sure just how quick I was. This is a track where it is important to be on the front row and I’m really pleased as it has turned out to be a good day’s work for us.”

Noriyuki Haga - “As usual we made a lot of changes overnight and the feeling of the bike is definitely better, although still not quite good enough. For me, qualifying is not so important, so second row is ok. Tonight we will try to make another step forward for the races, so we will see how it goes in the morning. One of the problems is that this is a bumpy track and I still have pain in my wrist. I still need a painkiller to race, so I hope that the wrist does not affect my performance tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli - “I’m happy with the performance of the riders today. Both found improvements today, not big changes but enough to help improve the balance of the bike for superpole. As always you never know what is going to happen in the races but I am happy and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Norick Abe - “This morning went quite well and I was able to run in the 1:50 bracket. For the afternoon we put in a new engine which has much better performance but which meant the gearbox settings needed changed. Because the gearbox setting was not quite right it was difficult on the superpole lap, but still my lap time was ok. I think we can make some improvements tomorrow. Always the second race is better for us anyway, so hopefully we can have a good first race and a better second one.”

Shinichi Nakatomi - “Step by step we are improving the bike but there are many fast riders in superbike and this makes it difficult. I am sure I can make some more improvements for the races but we must wait and see what tomorrow brings.”

Sebastien Gimbert - “For sure I am disappointed to be starting 25th, especially as this is a track that I like and have done well at before. After riding at the Bol d’Or it’s proving difficult to adapt to this bike again. I am still not 100 percent fit after my crash in Assen and because I destroyed the bike there we are still having to work on finding a good set-up.”

Press release courtesy of Yamaha.

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James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored second in an intense Superpole competition at a warm and dry Imola, having secured his best lap time of the weekend with a 1’49.394. Superpole was taken by championship leader Troy Bayliss, with a blitzing 1’48.804, with Andrew Pitt and Troy Corser now also on the front row of the grid thanks to their Superpole performances. James’ immediate championship rival, Noriyuki Haga, was seventh fastest, and starts from row two.

In 13th place Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) will now start from the fourth row of the grid for Sunday’s 21-lap Superbike races, after not setting a Superpole lap as fast as his best time from the opening day of qualifying. Sliding off his machine shortly before Superpole began restricted Muggeridge’s speed in Superpole, but he his confident in his race pace for Sunday’s competition.

Ronald Ten Kate – “Good for James to be on the front row and I would say his time was quite good. I never expected that anyone would go into the 1’48s, to be honest. On race tyres we are pretty consistent; we have shown that in all the sessions so far. With raceday to come James always has a little extra to bring, so we are looking forward to the races, which should be very good around here, and all the top guys are up there. Karl I feel sorry for a bit, because crashing out before Superpole does not boost your confidence so he’ll have to put up a fight tomorrow to show what we all know - that he is worth more than his Superpole starting position. We have some work to do in the garage tonight with the electronics package, because finally we have time to do it, now that the chassis set-up is basically OK. We need to fine tune the electronics system and that should bring us quite a bit for tomorrow’s races as well.”

James Toseland – “My Superpole lap was good but I saw Troy’s lap before I went out and that was pretty good also, so he deserves a round of applause for that one - going from a 50.2 to a ‘48.8! But we’ve been good all weekend, top three all weekend, and I put a good consistent lap together to get a front row start. That was important because there is hardly a straight in a straight line here, it’s all braking on angles and braking into corners, then it’s straight into the next one, so it will be tough to pass. It will be tough to win tomorrow over the full race distance but it is possible - and I will be going for it. I want to finish off the season strong.”

Karl Muggeridge – “Due to fall I had in the last session, I wasn’t confident enough to push the bike the way I would normally do in Superpole. I could have done better without the crash but I will have warm-up tomorrow to set the bike up the way I want it again, to be competitive in the race.

Press release courtesy of Ten Kate Honda.

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Superpole

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1′48.804
2, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 1′49.394
3, Andrew Pitt, Yamaha, AUS, 1′49.433
4, Troy Corser, Suzuki, AUS, 1′49.442
5, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 1′49.497
6, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1′49.840
7, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1′49.856
8, Alex Barros, Honda, BRA, 1′49.888
9, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 1′49.958
10, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 1′50.081
11, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 1′50.362
12, Ivan Clementi, Ducati, ITA, 1′50.737
13, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 1′50.892
14, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1′50.963
15, Norick Abe, Yamaha, JPN, 1′51.147
16, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki, ITA, 1′51.306

Qualifying 2

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 1′49.758
2, Troy Corser, Suzuki, AUS, 1′49.875
3, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 1′50.039
4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 1′50.155
5, Alex Barros, Honda, BRA, 1′50.212
6, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1′50.214
7, Andrew Pitt, Yamaha, AUS, 1′50.250
8, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 1′50.350
9, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1′50.376
10, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1′50.745
11, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki, ITA, 1′50.755
12, Ivan Clementi, Ducati, ITA, 1′50.768
13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 1′50.799
14, Norick Abe, Yamaha, JPN, 1′50.832
15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 1′50.882
16, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1′50.922
17, Steve Martin, Petronas, AUS, 1′50.971
18, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 1′51.077
19, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 1′51.227
20, Kurtis Roberts, Ducati, USA, 1′51.259
21, Joshua Brookes, Kawasaki, AUS, 1′51.405
22, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 1′51.406
23, Marco Borciani, Ducati, ITA, 1′51.527
24, Norino Brignola, Ducati, ITA, 1′52.001
25, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 1′52.034
26, Pierfrancesco Chili, Honda, ITA, 1′52.120
27, Roberto Rolfo, Ducati, ITA, 1′52.324