1. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 2:02.081
2. Sebastian CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), 2:02.183
3. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 2:02.376
4. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 2:02.752
5. Fabien FORET (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:03.266
6. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:03.342
7. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 2:03.396
8. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 2:03.477
9. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR), 2:03.806
10. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 2:03.921
......
13. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR) 2:04.308
Lidt teamkommentarer:
Team Stiggy -
At a sunny and hot, yet slightly windy, Qatar race track, the second
day and final qualifying session started with a bit of struggle for
Stiggy Motorsport riders Yoann Tiberio and Robbin Harms. Both riders
suffered suspension problems in the morning session. The Stiggy
Motorsport crew managed to improve the bikes for final qualifying, but
not enough for the riders to finish further up on the grid - as they
had hoped for.
Robbin: There is some more work to be done before tomorrow’s race and
I’m sure we can get that same feeling back in the bike as we had
yesterday. So far, I’m not happy with my settings - especially the
tyres. I really hope we can improve on that before the race tomorrow.
Yoann finished the qualifying session with a best lap time of 2.03.8
scoring 9th place on the grid. He improved a lot since yesterday,
despite having to take time learning the track. He is feeling much
more comfortable on the bike and managed to find a good set-up today.
Yoann: It (2:03.8) is a lot better than yesterday, but we still have
to improve the suspension. I managed to put in lots of laps out there
which was important for me. I like the track, but I’m still not
comfortable enough with it to go faster. Tyres are looking good and
I’m confident we´ll get it all working for the race. We’ll see in the
warm up tomorrow.
Johan (Team Manager): I have to say I was hoping both riders would
qualify higher. Yesterday we were really improving in every practice,
but today I think we took a few steps backwards in terms of the
suspension. We encountered some problems that we couldn’t solve
immediately and that made us loose valuable time during qualifying.
I’m sure we will get it together for the race tomorrow though.
More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda:
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders secure front row starts
The first race of the 2007 World Supersport Championship in Qatar will
see HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders Sébastien Charpentier and Kenan
Sofuoglu start from the front row. Today's final qualifying saw the
pair fight hard for the top spots in an exciting session that took
place in the dry desert heat.
Sébastien Charpentier put in an impressive display and even managed to
smash the Qatar Supersport lap record, which he set himself during the
2006 series. His best lap for 2007 now stands at 2'02.183 - nearly one
full second faster than his previous record. The Frenchman held on to
the best lap until the final 30 seconds of the 45-minute session when
Kevin Curtain stole it with a time of 2'02.081.
Kenan Sofuoglu fought just as hard for his front row position,
changing places with the top four riders throughout the session to
finally finish in fourth place. The 22-year-old set his best lap times
of the week so far with a final recording of 2'02.752. He hopes to
continue this form in tomorrow's race now that the new CBR600RR has
been adjusted to his preferences and is ready to go.
Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager
"To be honest, this a good result for the first event with a new bike.
We didn't test here so this is the first time the new CBR600RR has
been on this track. Second and fourth is good because it is important
that we start tomorrow's race from the front row. Pole position would
have been an extra bonus, but we just had it grabbed away from
Sébastien in the closing stages. It's not too much of a problem though
- we are making step-by-step improvements to the bike and the riders
are becoming more and more familiar with the CBR600RR. I'm still
confident that we can race to win tomorrow."
Sébastien Charpentier
"To be in second place is not what I wanted but it is OK. I am really
happy with the set-up of the bike and the team has worked really hard
to make sure the bike is good enough to get the best lap times. I have
a plan for tomorrow, I know the other riders and I am ready for the
race. I think I have a good chance to finish in front tomorrow."
Kenan Sofuoglu
"I can't say I am really happy but the good thing is that we are in
the first row, which is the important thing. I'm also happy to have
got my lap time down and if I can keep this up for the race it will be
good. Today's times were much better than in yesterday's sessions and
tomorrow is a new day so I hope we improve further for the race. The
bike is now set up and ready to go, we have no more changes to make so
in the warm up I can concentrate on my riding and getting ready to
race. Hopefully I can get a win for the team."
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:
Yamaha's Curtain storms to Qatari pole
Kevin Curtain made his intentions for the 2007 Supersport World
Championship clear by blasting his Yamaha YZF-R6 to pole position for
tomorrow's opening race at the Losail circuit in Qatar.
The Australian had endured a tough day in yesterday's practice,
destroying his preferred machine when he was an innocent victim of a
pile-up during the first practice session, but the Yamaha World
Supersport team rider gave a virtuoso performance in today's second
session, improving his time by almost two seconds. Curtain instantly
improved his Thursday time and topped the timesheets for most of the
session, although it was his perfectly timed run right at the end of
the session that finally grabbed the pole and gave his rivals no time
to respond. The Yamaha man's 2:02.081 lap was a whole second quicker
than last year's pole position and gives the 2006 championship runner
up the third world championship pole of his career.
Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes battled set-up problems throughout the
qualifying sessions and will start tomorrow's 18 lap, 97km, race from
the second row after improving his time and one place from yesterday's
opening session. Parkes stopped the clock at 2:03.396 on the second of
his three qualifying runs and although he went out to try and move up
the grid at the end of the session, he was unable to improve his time.
Italian youngster Massimo Roccoli improved his opening day time by
over a second to make round out the top ten and make it three YZF-R6s
in the first three rows.
Joining Curtain on the front row for what is expected to be a closely
fought race will be Sebastien Charpentier, Katsuaki Fujiwara and Kenan
Sofuoglu (all Honda). Last season's race saw Curtain finish second to
eventual champion Charpentier on the still-developing R6's race debut.
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World Supersport team)
"Today's been a great start for us and, to be honest, a little
unexpected after what happened yesterday. I was a big victim of the
oil on the track yesterday and I have to thank my mechanics for
building me a brand new bike overnight, because the other one was
destroyed. Thanks to them we were able to get on and concentrate on
the work we wanted to concentrate on yesterday. The bike is working
very good here and we've been able to do a lot of work on the chassis
and suspension over the winter, so hopefully we can take advantage of
that here this weekend."
Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport team)
"It's been a frustrating few days so far because when we came testing
here I was able to do 2:02 laps all day long but so far this we've had
a lot of problems with chattering and we can't quite put our finger on
why that is. We've virtually turned the bike upside down but we've not
been able to make much progress. We know that the bike's quick because
Kevin's right on it, which is great for the team but frustrating for
me. I know we'll try a few things for tomorrow and hopefully that will
help us solve the chatter problem and put in a good race."
--
-Michael
Div. Aprilia RS250 og Honda CBR600+VF500-dele m.m. til salg på:
http://cbr600.dyndns.dk/