FIM Superbike World Championship
Losail International Circuit
Doha, Qatar
February 21, 2007
Provisional Qualifying Results:




1. Troy CORSER (Yam YZF-R1), 1:59.627
2. Troy BAYLISS (Duc 1098F08), 1:59.853
3. Fonsi NIETO (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:00.307
4. Noriyuki HAGA (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.476
5. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:00.599
6. Ruben XAUS (Duc 1098RS), 2:00.695
7. Lorenzo LANZI (Duc 1098RS), 2:00.724
8. Max BIAGGI (Duc 1098RS), 2:00.744
9. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yam YZF-R1), 2:00.857
10. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:00.904
11. Michel FABRIZIO (Duc 1098F08), 2:00.937
12. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.086
13. Carlos CHECA (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.409
14. Ayrton BADOVINI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:01.677
15. Gregorio LAVILLA (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.729
16. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 1098RS), 2:01.955
17. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R1), 2:01.984
18. Roberto ROLFO (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.004
19. Regis LACONI (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:02.100
20. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:02.256
21. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.494
22. Luca MORELLI (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:02.980
23. Russell HOLLAND (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:03.006
24. Shinichi NAKATOMI (Yam YZF-R1), 2:03.542
25. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:03.765
26. Shuhei AOYAMA (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:03.796
27. Makoto TAMADA (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:04.264
28. Loic NAPOLEONE (Yam YZF-R1), 2:06.363

Qualifying Cut-off Time (107% Of 1:59.627): 2:08.002

From Various Press Releases:

Xerox Ducati:
BAYLISS AND FABRIZIO BATTLE AGAINST THE ELEMENTS AT THE LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT

Losail (Qatar), Thursday 21st February: Bayliss and Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) faced difficult climactic conditions today as the 2008 World Superbike championship officially got underway. Winds of up to 40 km/h meant that riders were unable to record any particularly fast laps and the morning practice session was instead used to check the settings of the new Ducati 1098 F08 machines. The afternoon qualifying session went ahead in similar conditions at the Losail International Circuit with both riders attempting to improve on the times recorded in the morning.

Troy Bayliss 1m59.8s
"I'm reasonably happy with how it went today but we all found it tough and every lap had to be ridden in a different way simply due to the conditions. The wind meant that I was never completely comfortable and there is only so much we can do to change the settings of the bike because conditions may be different again tomorrow. Looking at this weekend's entry list I reckon it's going to be a very competitive championship this year, we're a strong field and I'm looking forward to the competition!"

Michel Fabrizio 2m00.9s
"It was very difficult out there today and although sand on the track wasn't such a problem, I wasn't totally confident on the bike with the strong winds. Having said that, there were several of us who were lapping around the 2 minute mark so we were all having similar problems with the weather I think. We've changed a few settings on the bike throughout the day and I hope that we can make better progress tomorrow."

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda:

Qatar Superbike qualifying dominated by strong wind

The afternoon qualifying for the Superbike riders saw little change in the circumstances leaving the riders once again struggle with wind and sand. The new Spanish arrival to the team secured the team’s fastest time of 2’01.409, placing him on the 13th place of the timesheets. WSB rookies Kiyonari and Sofuoglu put in a lot of work aboard the ‘work-in-progress’ CBR1000RR Fireblade and gradually reduced their lap times set over the day to end with a final best of 2’02.494 and 2’03.765 respectively. After changing the set-up of the bikes overnight, the team hopes to be able to put in a better performance in tomorrow’ s qualifying session.

Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager:

Today has been a very difficult day for our Superbike riders. Not only the conditions played havoc, but also riding a brand new bike that is still a work in progress proved to be a hard one for our riders. We will analyse the gathered data tonight and make some important changes in order to increase the performance for tomorrow’s qualifying. The potential is in our hands, but we still have to work on finding the right balance.

Carlos Checa, 2'01.409;

It has been very difficult to put in good lap times on the bike this morning. We still need to understand the bike balance and find consistency in order to improve our lap times. This basically is the last leg of testing for us, considering we missed out on some important pre-season testing. The CBR1000RR is completely new so we’ll just have to continue developing. It will be difficult to get ready for the race on Saturday, but I am confident about the bikes’ potential, we just have to find the best way to make it work for us.

Ryuichi Kyonari, 2'02.494

I am not satisfied at all with my performance. Today has been very difficult for me trying to find the right balance on the bike, which makes it even harder to ride in these conditions. We have tried different set-ups to find the best balance, which will hopefully make me faster in tomorrow’s qualifying session. I am facing a difficult task ahead of me but am glad to hear the weather predictions are looking better for tomorrow.

Kenan Sofuoglu, 2'03.765

My first qualifying in Superbike was very difficult for me because of the harsh circumstances. If you can control your bike it’s probably easier to control the bike, but right now it’s the conditions that seem to control the bike instead of me. For sure I will need to be a lot faster then this. We will have to change some settings on the bike for tomorrow. With the changing weather conditions I am hoping to be able to put in a better performance.