YRC News
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WSB : Second row for Pitt and Haga
Round: 10 - Germany
Circuit: Lausitzring
Date: 10 September 2005
Temp: 26ēC
Weather: Sunny
Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga will start tomorrow's
two 24 lap superbike races from the second row of the grid after setting the
fifth and seventh fastest times in today's superpole session.
Pitt replicated his superpole performance of just one week ago to finish fifth,
equaling his position from the two one-hour qualifying sessions. The
Australian's superpole lap of 1:39.899 was slightly slower than his best from
regular qualifying but still good enough to retain his position. The former
Supersport World Champion was a little disappointed to have missed out on a
front row start but is confident he and the YZF-R1 can produce a strong
performance on race day.
Haga used the morning session to further evaluate the new swingarm he tried for
the first time yesterday. The Japanese ace confirmed that the new unit offered
some advantages over the previous item but, with a lack of testing time and the
longer swingarm changing the balance of the R1, he reverted to tried and tested
settings for the afternoon free practice and superpole sessions. Despite being
unable to beat his best time from Friday, Haga was able to produce a 1:40.109 to
take a crucial second row start at a circuit where overtaking is notoriously
difficult.
Yamaha Motor France pairing Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert both improved their
overnight positions. Abe's ever-improving track knowledge allowed him to make
the top 16 superpole session, where he improved one place further to 15th on the
grid. Gimbert will start one row further back, in 19th.
Pole position for tomorrow's race went to Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) with a 1:39.019
superpole lap. Championship leader Troy Corser (Suzuki), Assen winner Chris
Vermeulen (Honda) and world champion James Toseland (Ducati) complete the front
row.
Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
"Fifth again! Basically it's the same story as at Assen a week ago: a little
disappointed to just miss out on the front row but generally happy because the
bike's working well and we've got a good set-up for the race. Hopefully we can
get a good start and see how it goes. Certainly our times are very consistent on
the race tyre and the target is to make it onto the podium tomorrow."
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
"The characteristic of this circuit means that chatter is a problem. We tried
out a new swingarm yesterday and this morning but it changed the feeling of the
bike and we couldn't find a good set-up in time, so we decided it is better to
change back to what we used before. Second row is not so bad considering we are
still to find a perfect feeling with the bike. Tonight we will make more changes
to try and find a solution for tomorrow."
Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
"My superpole lap was not good but my knowledge of the track is improving and
today I was able to make some consistent lap times on the race tyre. I think we
have a good setting for the races and we should be able to improve the
qualifying position in the races."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
"Unfortunately we could not find a good set-up with Noriyuki today but for
tomorrow we have a few things to try. Andrew made a small mistake on the first
split of his superpole lap which maybe cost him a place, but tomorrow I have a
feeling it could be wet and that will change everything anyway!"
Round: 10 - Germany
Circuit: Lausitzring
Circuit Length: 4265m
Lap Record: 1' 40.599 (Troy Bayliss, 2001)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.019 (Lorenzo Lanzi, 2005)
Date: 10 September 2005
Temp: 26ēC
Session 2 :
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 2nd Qualifying Superpole
1 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'40.144 1'39.548 1'39.019
2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.092 1'39.091 1'39.092
3 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 1'39.847 1'39.667 1'39.275
4 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1'40.276 1'40.053 1'39.665
5 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.417 1'39.845 1'39.899
6 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'40.155 1'39.567 1'39.924
7 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.417 1'41.618 1'40.109
8 M. Neukirchner Honda GER 1'40.669 1'40.136 1'40.187
9 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'41.063 1'40.541 1'40.191
10 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1'40.924 1'40.343 1'40.282
11 P. Chili Honda ITA 1'40.249 1'40.259 1'40.494
12 I. Clementi Ducati ITA 1'41.258 1'40.873 1'40.564
13 B. Bostrom Honda USA 1'40.772 1'41.054 1'40.825
14 M. Schulten Honda GER 1'40.700 1'40.132 1'40.875
15 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1'41.797 1'41.034 1'41.448
16 M. Borciani Ducati ITA 1'41.005 1'41.733 1'41.600
19 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'41.790 1'41.224
20 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP 1'41.268 1'41.382
23 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'41.707 1'41.680
26 M. Praia Yamaha POR 1'43.166 1'43.319
Curtain and Parkes grab crucial front row starts
10/9/2005
Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes secured vital front
row starts for tomorrow's 10th round of the Supersport World Championship at
EuroSpeedway Lausitz.
In warm and sunny conditions Curtain, a winner at the EuroSpeedway in 2001, set
the early pace, slashing half a second from his Friday pace to take pole
position with a 1:42.017, only for new world champion Sebastien Charpentier
(Honda) to post a 1:42.017 in the final minutes and relegate Curtain to second.
Team-mate and fellow Australian Parkes was another rider to make big
improvements in terms of lap time but, like Curtain, he retained his overnight
position - fourth. The youngster set a time of 1:42.548 around his team's home
circuit to take the front row start alongside Charpentier, Curtain and Fabien
Foret (Honda). With overtaking usually at a premium around the technical Lausitz
circuit, both riders are hoping for a good start in tomorrow's 23 lap race.
Kevin Curtain
"I really wanted pole position but in the end it was the same story as usual -
we set the early pace and Charpentier came out and did us with a lap at the end.
We've made some small improvements to the bike from yesterday and our race pace
is good. There's only one way for me to race - for the win - so I hope to get a
good start tomorrow and see what happens by the chequered flag."
Broc Parkes
"It's great to be on the front row and fourth actually works out pretty good as
I'll be on the inside for the first turn. Again I never really got a clean lap
today. On my best lap I come across someone, I think it was Corradi, and we
touched on the final turn, which cost me a bit of time."
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