Bayliss grabs Superpole with record lap at Brno Jul 19, 2008
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) grabbed Superpole for round 9 of the WSBK championship with a blistering record lap of 1 minute 58.345 seconds at the newly-resurfaced Automotodrom Brno circuit. Today’s pole was the 22nd of the points leader’s career, and his fourth this season, a result that takes him past Carl Fogarty in the all-time pole classification into second behind Troy Corser on 42.
Bayliss’s chief rival today in Superpole was in fact Corser (Yamaha Italia), who was just one tenth of a second down. Third quickest was Bayliss’s Ducati Xerox team-mate Michel Fabrizio, while fourth went to another Italian Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Ducati), quickest overall in qualifying.
Troy Bayliss - Ducati Xerox - Superpole Brno has always been something of a bogey track for me but I hope that this weekend we are finally turning that around. The new surface of the track has really improved the grip which is great news. This morning went well and then in Superpole this afternoon, when I saw Corser's time, I knew I was going to have to put in a really fast lap to be able to beat it and I managed that, but then Max (Biaggi) went out and I was worried he might in turn beat me. I hope tomorrow stays dry and then we'll see but I have to say it would be pretty special to have a win here this time around.
Troy Corser - Yamaha Italia - 2nd I am pretty happy with how the weekend has gone so far and happy to be mixing it with all those Ducatis. I think the last three of four races have been good for us and the bike is working very well. The grip here has been improving throughout the weekend and I think it’s going to be as good, if not better, tomorrow. I had a bit of an unfortunate crash this morning and hurt my right shoulder a bit. It’s a bit sore, but it isn’t a problem when I’m on the bike and I don’t expect it to hold me back tomorrow. We had changed the front end geometry a bit to get more stability and to allow me to brake harder. After one lap, I tried to brake a bit later in one corner and down I went. I tumbled into the gravel trap and got hit by my bike and that’s what made my shoulder sore. I guess I was lucky that I didn’t hurt myself badly. But, we learnt something from the experience and that’s good. I feel we have quite a good set-up for the race and the tyres are consistent. I hope the weather stays dry and we can put on a good show for the fans.
Michel Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox - 3rd It's a circuit that I really like and so I'm happy to get a place on the first row here. We have to see tomorrow whether I can make the good start that I need to really be in the running. We did a long-run this morning and it seemed to go ok but it's obviously going to be hard tomorrow and I'll no doubt have to fight once again against the two Troys and Biaggi!
