Troy Corser (Yamaha Italia) was the fastest rider going into the Superpole contest at Misano and despite being down in the first two splits he rallied on the final section of the 4.226km circuit to record an outstanding 1'35.993 second lap. That new track best time delivered Corser his 42nd career Superpole win, extending his record to exactly twice as many as the next best riders in the all-time rankings. The Misano circuit has proved to be bumpier than last year, but its altered layout proved no challenge to Corser, who was simply peerless in getting the most out of the available grip from the track surface in the two days of qualifying and practice. He is looking for his first win of the 2008 season, despite some tremendous front-running rides and five podium finishes so far.
Troy Corser - Yamaha Italia - Superpole Practice has been going well and we've found a good setting for the race tomorrow. We made some changes for Superpole, and it helped the bike. I feel I can push the bike as hard as I want to and it feels just like it did in Germany. It's always good to beat Ducati here in qualifying or Superpole or a race. It is going to be two long races tomorrow in the heat, so we'll see how we go then.
Troy Bayliss - Ducati Xerox - 2nd We've been working well all weekend. In Superpole I knew I was making good time but then I made a small mistake in the last split which cost me the pole I think, but we're happy. Corser was really fast today and he has had some good results here in the past, as have I, so tomorrow we should see great racing. We're all going to have to cope with the heat but it's always this way at Misano so overall I'm feeling pretty confident for tomorrow.
Michel Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox - 4th I'm very happy with a front row start. I had a bit of cramp at the end of my Superpole lap which perhaps affected me a little but I'm content with the result. Tomorrow will be hard as Troy and I will have to get ahead of a Yamaha and the heat wont help of course, but I hope we can do well and build on our points. The Ducati's are going well here this weekend so let's hope that continues tomorrow.
Superpole Best Lap
Superpole Highlights
Regis Laconi - Kawasaki PSG-1 - 8th I think a front row start was really possible today but we experienced some vibration from the rear of the bike, but in every practice so far we have been able to get rid of the chatter. I think something happened with the wheel - maybe the tyre spinning on the rim. It's a shame because the bike has been good all weekend. We improved all the time, and we are on the second row, and that is one of our best pre-race positions this year. I want to go out and make a good result for Kawasaki - and for the team and San Marino, as this is their home race.
Fonsi Nieto - Suzuki Alstare - 9th Today was very hard, because of the heat, but also because we have six very strong Ducatis in the championship and this circuit seems to suit them well. It's going to be two hard races tomorrow and the heat is going to affect the performance of the tyres for sure. My Superpole wasn't so bad and one tenth of a second made such a big difference. It seems that I'm never lucky on my Superpole lap, so once again I'm going to have to get two good starts in the races to get good results.
Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare - 10th My first Superpole split was good, but the second was not because I made a small mistake at one of the fast right-handers and lost a little time. I've had a little problem getting the bike to keep the line on the brakes and that has been costing me time. My set-up is not quite right so we may try something in the warm-up tomorrow and see if we can improve the bike. It's really strange to see six Ducatis in the top seven, but I am determined to get two good starts and make sure they don't dominate the races.
Carlos Checa - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda - 11th It has been difficult all weekend to find the right set-up for the bike on this track. It looked like we made some improvement in the second qualifying, but I haven't been able to ride a perfect lap in the Superpole. We're still struggling with the tyres, I have lost the rear of the bike quite some times. Nothing has changed much since yesterday. We are still a second behind the front runners. I can't point out just one thing, it is a combination of issues that makes us unable to find the right pace. We still have some work to do this evening to find some improvement. It will be a hard race tomorrow.
Makoto Tamada - Kawasaki PSG-1 - 12th I was sure I could do better than 12th because the bike is so good now. We still have to improve the feeling with the front so tomorrow, during the warm up session, we'll try making the suspension a little bit more rigid. I started to feel pain in my hand and now it is quite swollen. I really hope that it will be OK for tomorrow as I want to do my best for the races.
Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki Alstare - 13th I think the base set-up of my bike is quite good, so we will not make any big changes in the warm-up tomorrow. We've been working a lot on the electronics, trying to improve the feeling of the bike and we're making progress. But my biggest problem is my injury. I had a small painkilling injection this morning, but I don't think it worked! I had a stronger one in the afternoon, but I was still suffering a lot of pain - especially on the braking. Tomorrow is going to be very, very hard. But my job is a racer and I have to race tomorrow. If I have to forget the pain, that's what I have to do, because I want to race.
Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha Italia - 14th I am not completely happy with the set up we have right now and we will have to find something more for tomorrow, in the warm-up session. It has not been as simple in practice as we hoped it would be but we know which direction to go in and we still have the chance to check our final set-up before the races. For sure I expect the races to be better than qualifying.
