Round 11 , Imola (I), Friday 30th September 2005, Friday Qualifying
Circuit: 4.933 kms. Weather: Damp then dry, sunny/cloudy 18-23 C

Troy masters mixed conditions and takes provisional pole

The overnight rain saw many areas of the 4.933 Imola kilometre circuit covered
in damp patches, but that didn’t worry Troy at all. He went out and attacked the
track and found himself nearly six seconds ahead of his nearest challenger at
one stage - such was his dominance. Later in the afternoon, the timed session
saw almost perfect conditions and the lap times fell and were closer together.
But Troy was more then equal to the task and he posted the fastest lap of the
day - 1:49.16. Second quickest is his nearest rival in the championship - Chris
Vermeulen (Honda). Local hero Lorenzo Lanzi (who has been given a full factory
Ducati for this event and the next) was third fastest, with Steve Martin
(Petronas) fourth quickest.

TROY - 1st, 1:49.161

It felt a bit strange this morning when I went out and then was six seconds
ahead of everybody else! I knew it wouldn’t last, but it was a bit weird at the
time! In the afternoon timed session, the track didn’t feel as grippy, but this
was probably because the temperature was much hotter then it had been in the
morning. It also felt a bit dirty for some reason, but I was still quicker then
anybody else, so it didn’t matter too much. We tried different gearings today
and also some different tyres but, because of the change in temperature, we have
not decided which ones to use in the races. The recent test helped us all and
the set-up here at Imola is not far off what we were running at those tests, so
we’re almost there. The only problem I had today was a little bit of ‘bumping’
at Acque Minerali, but apart from that the set-up was pretty good. I know we’re
coming to the end of a long season and Ducati will be very strong here (as it is
their home track), but I feel relaxed and ready to race.

Friday qualifying:

 1 TROY CORSER ((Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)  1:49.161
 2 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda)                           1:49.280
 3 Lanzi (I-Ducati)                                1:50.007
 4 Martin (Aus-Petronas)                           1:50.028
 5 Chili (I-Honda)                                 1:50.029
 6 Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)        1:50.126
 7 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha)                               1:50.142
 8 Toseland (GB-Ducati)                            1:50.487
 9 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda)                          1:50.537
10 Laconi (F-Ducati)

TROY CORSER WEBSITE - http://www.troycorser.com