RAIN PREVENTS FPR SUPERPOLE CHALLENGE IN QATAR
25 February 2005 - Foggy PETRONAS Racing

More unseasonal rain at the desert circuit of Losail in Qatar denied Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Garry McCoy and Steve Martin the chance to challenge for Superpole slots for tomorrow''s opening races of the Superbike World Championship season.

The pair were outside the top 16 after a dry Thursday qualifying and no rider was able to better their first day''s time in today''s final wet morning qualifying session. So Steve will start the races from 20th on the grid, with Garry in 25th position.

But, despite the frustrations of the changeable weather, Steve was able to set the 13th fastest time of the dry final free practice session, slicing 0.8 seconds of his best time from yesterday.

Garry was also able to build confidence in the wet and was 12th fastest in the wet qualifying session. Regis Laconi pipped Troy Corser during a wet Superpole session to clinch pole position.

Steve said: ''I can''t believe we have done such a good job at setting the bike up in such a short space of time. It''s frustrating we didn''t get a chance to make those improvements in the dry in the qualifying session but I am really happy to knock 0.8 seconds off my time this afternoon. If I can get a good start, I reckon I can go well tomorrow as I now feel really comfortable in the dry. But if it''s raining I won''t be crying either! I was having a problem with the bike packing down but we changed the rear a bit and it made a huge difference. I also changed the gearing and every change we made was a step forward.''

Garry said: ''I think we are pretty much on top of the wet setting now but the morning rain robbed us of another hour of working on the dry setting. It was a bit of a nightmare trying so many things at once but right at the end of the afternoon session we changed the pivot for the swing arm, made adjustment to the forks and changed a clutch setting. And I think we have pretty much solved why I haven''t been comfortable on the bike.''

Day two free practice times, Superbike World Championship round one, Doha, Qatar: 1 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona) 2:01.466; 2 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona) 2:01.713; 3 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 2:01.876; 4 Cardosa (DFX) 2:02.094; 5 Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 2:02.285; 6 Chili (Klaffi Honda) 2:02.309; 7 Silva (La Glisse) 2:02.625; 8 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 2:02.640; 9 Lanzi (Ducati Caracchi) 2:02.780; 10 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 2:03.008; 13 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:03.269; 27 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:04.933

Day two qualifying times, Superbike World Championship round one, Doha, Qatar: 1 Silva (La Glisse) 2:21.602; 2 Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:23.646; 3 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 2:23.844; 4 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 2:24.041; 5 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 2:24.187; 6 Bostrom (Renegade Koji) 2:25.164; 7 Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 2:25.330; 8 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona) 2:25.345; 9 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 2:25.419; 10 Haga (Yamaha Italia) 2:25.941; 12 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:26.472; 18 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:27.986

Superpole results, Superbike World Championship round one, Doha, Qatar: 1 Laconi 2:01.593; 2 Corser +0.048; 3 Gimbert +0.296; 4 Kagayama +1.050; 5 Pitt +1.077; 6 Cardoso +1.152; 7 Haga +1.173; 8 Vermeulen +1.367; 9 Silva +1.456; 10 Chili +1.507; 11 Walker +1.545; 12 Bussei +1.596; 13 Toseland +1.764; 14 Neukirchner +2.078; 15 Abe +2.761; 16 Borciani +3.448

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