Superpole Quotes
Troy Corser grabbed a new track best lap and BMW’s first ever Superpole win. Second on the grid for Sunday’s races will be championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) who was surprised and delighted to be so far forward at a circuit like Misano.
Third went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and fourth to the charging Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda). BMW, Aprilia, Ducati and Yamaha machines share the front row places, after the usual close competition for grid places in a class with seven competing
Troy Corser says: “I don’t know who’s older, Max or me but here we are! I’m very happy with what we did today, it’s been a long time since I was on pole, but the team has put in a lot of work since Miller and this is a really good result. I am happy with the set-up of the bike, it’s easier to ride and it has a more balanced position. It was very hot this afternoon and the surface was a bit more slippery but it is the same for everybody. If we get a good start tomorrow I will go from the front and see what happens.”
Max Biaggi says: “I’m very satisfied with this result which, to be quite honest, I didn’t even really expect. This is a track where it is very difficult to overtake, so starting up front was important. I’m quite pleased. In the last lap I gave it my all and was very quick, but what counts now is being strong for the entire race. There are a lot of riders here, not only Troy, who are capable of making very fast laps and they showed that today as well, so we’ll have to try to stick close to the leaders. Everything is still not sorted with the bike, which is suffering from a bit of instability, but for now this is the best possible compromise. Now we’ll just have to give our all in the race without making too many calculations, but just trying to obtain the best result”.
Michel Fabrizio says: “It is very important to start on the front row of the grid here in Misano, where I have never really gone very well. I made a little mistake on the final lap when I saw the chequered flag a little bit too late to put in anything extra. In tomorrow’s races the early laps are going to be difficult, I don’t want to be controversial because once again we’re missing a bit in engine power with respect to the fours, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Noriyuki Haga says: “Of course I’m disappointed with today’s Superpole result, I missed out on entry into the last phase by just a fraction of a second. I wasn’t able to find a good rhythm with the qualifiers and even though we made some small changes to my bike during the day, I didn’t feel any big difference as I had hoped to. Having said that, I think we have a good set up for tomorrow’s races and I’m happy with the choice of tyres we have made. We’ll see tomorrow.”
Cal Crutchlow says: “Testing here went OK, but we’d like to have some new parts because now we’ve come here to race we’re doing the same pace as in all the tests with the same set-up. We do need to find something extra because everyone else is going really well here, but in any case congratulations to Corser and I’m satisfied to be on the front row for tomorrow’s races.”
“It was disappointing not to get pole but to be honest I think we were going as fast as we could. It was a good enough Superpole session and I’m pleased to be on the front row, keeping my tally of front rows going. It’s going to be a close battle tomorrow, we’re still deciding on race tyres, but I think most people are. We’ve made some improvements from yesterday and I’m feeling confident we can be up there and fighting for the win.”
Leon Camier says: “Nothing went right today. I wasn’t able to ride a clean lap without mistakes. I’m sure I can do better. Fourteenth place does not represent our potential. I tried to be more aggressive but on this track maybe that’s not the best choice. For tomorrow I won’t jump to conclusions. We know we can ride two good races if we get a good start. Sure, starting from the fourth row isn’t the ideal situation, but I’ll truly give it my best”.
Ruben Xaus says: “I feel good on the bike. I did my fastest qualifying lap today on race tyres, so I know we have a strong race pace. Unfortunately I struggled to make the qualifying tyre work for me.”
“Troy has posted an unbelievable time today. I just need to work on my riding style so it suits the characteristics of the qualifying tyre. Based on my lap times this weekend, I am confident for tomorrow. I have left myself a lot of work to do from the third row, but I know anything can happen in racing, so I am still optimistic for some good results. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad WSBK Team Manager)says: “I am really happy today. Troy secured the young team’s first ever pole position. The bike is definitely improving all the time, but Troy made the difference today. We have made some improvements with the S 1000 RR over the last couple of weeks.”
“Tomorrow will not be easy because the times on race tyres have been really close. Nevertheless, I believe in the package we have. Sadly Ruben was unlucky today. He was riding well and pushing hard, but he crashed on his flying lap which prevented him from posting a quick time. I still believe he will be able to finish in the top eight tomorrow.”
Roger Lee Hayden says: “This morning it was really better compare with my yesterday qualifying. I learned the circuit and I entered the Superpole that’s an important results for my team , my sponsor and me. I was really happy to participate to the Superpole here in Misano that’s my team’s home circuit. It was only my second Superpole of the season and for sure I need more experience to take advantage of the soft tires but overall I’m pretty happy for my today result and tomorrow I hope to be able to collect some good points.”
Matteo Baiocco says: “I’m not satisfied for my result but today I found a better feeling with my bike and we are not so far from the Kawasaki official riders. We had some problems with the general set up and we need more acceleration out of the curves. I’m disappointed only because this morning I missed the Superpole. I know tomorrow’s races will be very difficult for me, but this afternoon my race pace was pretty good and tomorrow I’ll try my best to reach good results”.
James Toseland says: “It’s been a tough Superpole session as far as position is concerned and also for the earlier qualifying. I’ve been really concentrating on a good race pace and race set up and that’s definitely not a problem. Unfortunately when we tried to go 0.3 or 0.4 of a second faster we struggled. It’s so close but it means the difference between front row and fourth row and I just missed out. I know the pace is there for the race we just need to work hard now to make sure we’ve got a good setting to get past people and get up to the front.”
Massimo Meregalli says: “Troy Corser put together a really unbelievable lap. We took the first row with Cal which is very important here because the Misano circuit is not an easy place to overtake on. Unfortunately James had an issue which didn’t work well this afternoon so he will start from the fourth row which will make his life harder tomorrow. He is a good fighter and is capable of moving through the pack.”
Sylvain Guintoli says: “Today was much better than yesterday and I managed to get a much better feeling with the bike. It was great to get into Superpole 3 and that made me so happy – especially after yesterday’s performance. The track had much better grip today and seemed less dirty, so I was able to get more and more confident.
“We have a choice of two different tyres for the races, so we will wait and see what the weather is doing before we make our final choice. My right shoulder and hand is a bit sore after my crash this morning when I was hit by Troy Corser: I didn’t see or hear him at all. I was minding my own business and suddenly ‘bang!’ I don’t think anything is broken in my hand, but I will get the physio to work on my shoulder so that it’s OK for tomorrow.”
Leon Haslam says: “We had a few issues with electronics and the clutch and because the problems weren’t consistent I was unable to get a really good rhythm going. It’s not a big deal, because the second row of the grid is OK here, but we’ll have a look at all the data and see if we can fix the problem in the warm-up tomorrow morning.
“I really had to grit my teeth to get into Superpole 3 today, but I was determined not to have to start from the third row of the grid because that would’ve given me a lot of work to do in the opening laps and that’s the kind of thing that wears the tyres out more quickly.
“The track has improved from yesterday and there is a bit more grip, but only if you stay on line. If you drift off line, you can still get into trouble easily. Second row of the grid may not seem good, but I’m confident that I can get on the podium tomorrow.”
Carlos Checa says: “It went quite well”, said the Spanish rider. “Starting from the front row would have been better of course but the second row isn’t too bad. I tried a soft tyre in Superpole 3 but it slid around a lot and I was unable to improve. I could only have fought for the second position anyway because Troy was unbeatable today. We’ve made some great times with the race tyres and hope to be up at the front tomorrow.”
Genesio Bevilacqua says; “We can blame the continual search for perfection that made us work so hard. The choice of tyre for Superpole 1, made during the free practice, perhaps caused us to lose focus with regard to recording the fastest times. We hoped for the front row but it was impossible to catch Corser. We’re confident for the races, having a strong race pace, and Carlos hasn’t lost the will to fight back. As far as Shane is concerned we are regretful after practice sessions in which he was one of the main players, but he unfortunately doesn’t have a great feeling with the qualifiers. Tomorrow, even though he’ll start from further back, I hope to see him in the top ten.”
Tom Sykes says: “We have made steady progress, but unlike many others were could not test here recently. We have a different nominated test track, not Misano, so nothing we could do about it. We wouldn’t choose to start the race from where we are but there are a few riders around us who are not normally in that position either, so it has been a bit of a peculiar weekend so far. Our times are good, under the lap record pace on race tyres, but everybody else has lifted their game too. Tomorrow is another day and we will make a bit of a set-up change for morning warm-up up. We will treat the races just like any others, give it our best and see how far up we can finish.”
Chris Vermeulen says: “We had some new parts to try this weekend, some worked well and we have found some positive points. But the new settings also make the bike harder to use in other ways right now. We still have some work to do so we will try something new in warm-up tomorrow morning to see if we can find even more improvements. We didn’t get into Superpole because we did not use the qualifying period to the best of our abilities. It’s not the easiest place to pass other riders here, but it is a long old race at Misano, lots of laps. If we can come away with some points from our starting position I will be happy. This is Superbike racing, anything can happen, and we will give it our full effort to take the best finishes we can.”
Jonathan Rea says: “It’s difficult to know what to say after what is probably the worst qualifying performance of my career. Actually, we made a wee bit of progress by going slightly harder at the front today, but it was nowhere near enough to make the jump to the guys at the front. Our backs are against the wall really, and I’ll just have to show what I’m made of tomorrow and ride the wheels of the bike for 24 laps. Twice! To get anything like some good results, I’ll need to make a blinding start and rely on other people’s mistakes but, as ever, we’ll give it a good go.”
Max Neukirchner says: “It’s very frustrating because whenever we are able to find extra grip – either by changing something on the bike or fitting a qualifying tyre – the chatter just seems to become worse. Looking at the times from last year’s qualifying, it seems that everyone has made a step forward except us. It will be difficult starting from the fift h row of the grid for the races tomorrow, but we will try to make some improvements in warm-up and see what happens when the lights go off.”
Ronald ten Kate says: “Needless to say, we are not at all happy with the results from today’s qualifying and Superpole. Yesterday now feels like a completely wasted day but at least today we have made some progress. Despite the fact that Jonathan will start from the fourth row of the grid, I’m still more than hopeful that we can make a big leap forward tomorrow.”
Jakub Smrz says: “It wasn’t a very lucky Superpole for me, even though everything went smoothly in the first two sessions. I’m disappointed because I could’ve qualified in the front row, but I guess I’ll have to settle for tenth place. However, my goal is still the same and I’ll ride an attacking race”.
Luca Scassa says: “It ‘s definitely a good time because everything is going in the best way. We made a small mistake in the first step of mounting a Superpole front tire too soft and has a qualification game settings later to return on time . The second everything went very well and I shot consistently fast arriving for the first time in eight fateful last qualifying brackets. It ‘was very satisfying because the last time trial I’ve unplugged and race tires this is some very tomorrow. I realize that I still make mistakes, a few tenths in truth, but in this Superbike seem an infinite time. The race will be tough and go free to the first two corners will be crucial, since we say and so much fun for our audience came specifically for us. Thanks to Danilo Soncini and the guys have been fantastic …. a few months ago I was a pilot one step away from retirement, now part of many officers in front! ”
Danilo Soncini says: “After gaining entry to the third step of Superpole I must say we were overjoyed to see Luke in turn strongly with race tires has given us tremendous satisfaction. I’ll be honest, without diminishing our opponents, we are really a small private team 100% but we can work with very harmonious getting excellent results. We are satisfied only in part …. tomorrow we have to offer! ”
Superbike Misano – Superpole Results
1. 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’35.001
2. 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’35.502
3. 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’35.680
4. 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’35.683
5. 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’35.851
6. 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’36.096
7. 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’36.302
8. 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’36.607
9. 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’36.093
10. 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’36.170
11. 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’36.200
12. 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’36.204
13. 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.216
14. 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’36.245
15. 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’36.376
