YRC News
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WSB : Haga third in Lausitz qualifying
Round: 10 - Germany
Circuit: Lausitzring
Date: 9 September 2005
Temp: 24ēC
Weather: Sunny
In-form Noriyuki Haga grabbed the third fastest time in today's first qualifying
session for Sunday's 10th round of the Superbike World Championship at
EuroSpeedway Lausitz.
Yamaha Motor Italia's Japanese star was in fine form to post a best time of
1:40.102 around the tight and technical German circuit. With rain a strong
possibility tomorrow, the Japanese rider ditched his usual policy of only
running race tyres on a Friday - using his soft qualifying tyre to ensure
qualification for the top 16 superpole session should the heavens open during
tomorrow's final qualifying session. Haga also used today's sessions to evaluate
a new specification swingarm on his R1, which he is expected to test further
tomorrow before deciding whether or not to use it in Sunday's 24 lap races.
Team-mate Andrew Pitt ended the day in eighth place, half-a-second behind pole
sitter Chris Vermeulen (Honda). The Australian showed his trademark consistency
throughout the day's sessions, ending the morning's free practice in fourth
place but being denied the chance of a higher qualifying position when he
encountered a slower rider while on his fast qualifying lap.
Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe ended the day 20th
and 21st on their first visit to the EuroSpeedway circuit. Both men were impeded
by minor mechanical glitches which saw them both switch to their spare machines.
An electrical failure saw Gimbert's number one bike stop early in the session,
while his Japanese team-mate made a precautionary change of machine due to an
off-tune engine.
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
"With rain forecast for tomorrow it was important to make a good lap time today.
I got in a good lap time on my qualifier and I am generally quite happy. I know
that the grid will change in superpole, but this circuit is so difficult to
overtake on that a good start position is important. This is an unusual track
where handling is more important than power. We already have a good base with
the R1, but I hope that the weather stays dry and we can make some changes and
evaluate them properly tomorrow."
Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
"The bike's working well and we're able to put in good consistent lap times. My
final position should've been higher but I lost some time when I came across
another rider. Nothing is decided until superpole but it will be important to
get a good position as this is a difficult circuit to overtake on."
Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
"We had a problem with the first bike which meant I had to switch bikes. The
second bike was not quite the same as the first so it felt a little bit strange.
This is my first visit to Lausitz so tomorrow I think we can make some
improvements."
Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
"This is my first experience of Lausitz so today was about learning the course
and trying to find a good setting for the race. Tonight we will make some
changes to the set-up which I hope will allow me to push harder tomorrow."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
"I am happy that our riders have been on the pace from the first session here,
which is especially good considering that many of our rivals have tested here
and we haven't. It was also good that Noriyuki was able to make a big
improvement on the qualifying tyre, which he hasn't always been able to do. He
tried a new swingarm out today but it is a little early to say if we will use it
for the race as Noriyuki says he wants to test it again tomorrow before he makes
the decision. Andrew has also been strong today and it was a shame he met with
some traffic as he would surely have been faster."
Round: 10 - Germany
Circuit: Lausitzring
Circuit Length: 4265m
Lap Record: 1' 40.599 (Troy Bayliss, 2001)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 40.036 (Steve Martin, 2001)
Date: 9 September 2005
Temp: 24ēC
Session 1 :
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying
1 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 1'39.847
2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.092
3 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'40.144
4 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'40.155
5 P. Chili Honda ITA 1'40.249
6 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1'40.276
7 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.417
8 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.417
9 M. Neukirchner Honda GER 1'40.669
10 M. Schulten Honda GER 1'40.700
11 B. Bostrom Honda USA 1'40.772
12 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1'40.924
13 M. Borciani Ducati ITA 1'41.005
14 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'41.063
15 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA 1'41.128
16 I. Clementi Ducati ITA 1'41.258
17 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP 1'41.268
19 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'41.707
20 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'41.790
21 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1'41.797
26 M. Praia Yamaha POR 1'43.166
Front row for Yamaha Germany stars
9/9/2005
Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes made the ideal start
to their team's home race, ending first qualifying on the front row at
EuroSpeedway Lausitz today. In warm and sunny conditions, the Australian pair
blasted their YZF-R6s to second and fourth places respectively, with Curtain
ending the day just a fraction of a second behind new world champion Sebastien
Charpentier (Honda) despite being less than happy with his machine's set-up.
Having tested at the impressive Lausitz facility just over a month ago, the
Yamaha Motor Germany team arrived at its local race with proven machine
settings. Curtain held the pole position for much of the 45 minute session, only
to be eclipsed by Charpentier in the closing 15 minutes. The Yamaha rider did
make a late run to improve his time to 1:42.698 to end the day just 0.165 behind
the world champion.
Parkes too led the timesheets during the session, ending the day on a 1:43.490
and one of his best qualifying performances of the season, joining Charpentier,
Curtain and Fabien Foret (Honda) on the provisional front row. With the weather
forecast suggesting a high chance of rain on both tomorrow and Sunday, today's
times could well determine the final grid positions for Sunday's race.
Kevin Curtain
"I'm actually quite disappointed because I really want the pole position here. I
thought I could do it and I'd really like the watch that comes with it! I am on
the limit and struggling with the front end over the bumps. There are a few
things we can try for tomorrow to try and get some weight over the front, so I
hope it stays dry."
Broc Parkes
"I'm up there but still just a bit behind the leading guys. I'm still about half
a second slower than I was when we tested here and I'm sure that, if the
conditions stay the same, I can go quicker tomorrow. I never really had a
perfect lap. I had a few goes but got held up in traffic a few times and messed
up a corner on another. Today Fuji (Katsuaki Fujiwara) and Fabrizio were
struggling and I expect that they will go quicker. I'm happy to be on the front
row and want to keep it tomorrow because I need to be up there and getting away
with the leaders on Sunday."
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