PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR LANZI ON DUCATI XEROX TEAM DEBUT – TOSELAND SEVENTH

Lausitz (Germany), Friday 9 September: Lorenzo Lanzi made a ‘supersub’ debut for
the injured Régis Laconi in the Ducati Xerox Team at the Lausitzring as he
powered to a provisional front row grid position in first qualifying. The
23-year-old was right on the pace from the morning free practice session and
finished the day with fourth quickest time of 1m40.144s, just a fraction away
from provisional poleman Chris Vermeulen (Honda). James Toseland was just
two-tenths of a second off the front row in seventh place with a time of
1m40.276s, set on race tyres, as the British rider was unable to make the best
use of his qualifiers in the final few minutes.

“Today was great, I was always up with the front-runners throughout the entire
session” declared Lanzi. “It was a pity about the end of the session because I
was clearly quicker but there was traffic on the track, and that gives me hope
that I can be more competitive. The team has done a great job, it managed to put
me at ease both with them and with the bike in just two hours. I am the first
Ducati rider and on the front row, I couldn’t ask for more. On a single lap
there isn’t much difference between the F05 and the 999RS that I usually ride,
but on your race laps, when the tyres start to wear, the F05 consumes them
better and you can keep a higher pace, which allows you to stay up at the front.
It’s easier to ride and it allows me to enjoy myself, which is important”.

“I was really disappointed with myself on the qualifier, I got a bit of traffic
on the first lap and the tyre didn’t really hold out on the second lap so I was
quite surprised where I ended up because the time Vermeulen did would for me be
quite comfortable to reach if I put a good lap together” commented Toseland. “I
did my time on race tyres, got a bit of traffic, did three 40.5s on the trot and
then went straight on at the chicane, but I’m quietly confident. The circuit is
actually quite physically demanding, totally different to Assen and you have to
get your head round feeling a bit slow, because it is slow and tight compared to
Assen. The things I’ve learned at Assen and the previous round in my riding are
all coming together, everything is going to plan and I’m comfortable on the bike
now”.

TIMES:

 1. Vermeulen (Honda)       1m39.847s
 2. Corser (Suzuki)         1m40.092s
 3. Haga (Yamaha)           1m40.102s
 4. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox)    1m40.144s
 5. Muggeridge (Honda)      1m40.155s
 6. Chili (Honda)           1m40.249s
 7. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m40.276s
 8. Pitt (Yamaha)           1m40.417s
 9. Neukirchner (Honda)     1m40.669s
10. Schulten (Honda)        1m40.700s