Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) powered his 1098 F08 to the top of the Superpole time sheets this afternoon in Assen, taking his second pole position of the 2008 season and recording a new best lap time for a Superbike at the Dutch track. With six riders, and four different manufacturers, lapping in under 1m39, the battle for places on the front row was hard fought today and the Ducati Xerox Team were therefore very satisfied with the results.
Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser of Yamaha Italia put in their best performances of the weekend when it really counted to take a second and fourth place respectively in the one-lap Superpole qualifying session at Assen. The Catalan rider Ruben Xaus powered to a great Superpole lap, recording the final third best time of the qualifying - making it an all Ducati and Yamaha front row.
Germany's Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki) showed no ill-effects from his collarbone injury to take fifth, ahead of Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate) on the first of the Honda CBR machines.
Troy Bayliss - Ducati Xerox We lost the way a little this morning for some reason and so I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't improve on the qualifying time I set yesterday. It's looking good so far. All the sessions have gone well except for this morning, and the team has been constantly working towards a better set-up. As I managed a good time in free practice this afternoon, I thought I could maybe do a flat 1'38 or high 1'37 during Superpole but it wasn't to be. Anyway I did enough to start from the front row and so although tomorrow's bound to be difficult against these guys, I'm happy with how today finished and I thank the team too for their hard work this weekend.
Assen SBK Superpole Highlights
Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha Italia It's great to be on the front row because it is the first time that has happened this year. I am already happy with the bike settings and the tyre choice for tomorrow, so I am really ready for the race. It's going to be tough and we can see that the lap times are very close, but I will try to ride aggressively from the front row and go for the best result possible.
Ruben Xaus - Sterilgrada GMB Ducati I have run a great Superpole, especially doing my best in the second part of the track. As yesterday I was out of the Superpole I had to work hard this morning to get my 'pass' for the afternoon contest. I also had some time to get everything ready for the race, although I will focus on it during tomorrow morning warm-up. Starting from the front line is crucial here because passing is really hard on this track. Tomorrow I will play a defensive game until the tenth lap, then I suppose that many riders will be forced to slow down and at that moment I will move in to attack.
Troy Corser - Yamaha Italia I spent a lot of laps trying to find a good race set-up so I wasn't too concerned about my lack of early pace. I had struggled on day one with front and rear grip, but we went back to what we knew and were able to improve our overall set-up. I knew we could go fast in Superpole and it's very important to be on the front row here. The first corner is tight and we can't afford to let the other guys get away. We're in a good position for the races.
Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare For me, my Superpole lap was a good one, except for the first corner! I think I might have braked a bit too late, pushed the front and lost some time. That tenth or two-tenths of a second was enough to knock me off the front row. But I'm quite happy because we found a good set-up for the race and I think we will be very competitive. We may make a few small adjustments in the warm-up tomorrow morning, but they will only be minor changes because I am pretty happy with what we've got already.
