ENCOURAGING START FOR FPR AT PHILLIP ISLAND
01 April 2005 - Foggy PETRONAS Racing

Foggy PETRONAS Racing pair Garry McCoy and Steve Martin enjoyed a promising opening day''s qualifying for round two of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, Australia.

Garry clocked the seventh fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:34.491, with team-mate Steve just eight thousandths of a second behind in eighth place.

Steve had earlier finished fastest in morning free practice - the first time that an FPR rider had ended a dry hour-long session in first place - and was consistently second fastest behind provisional polesetter Troy Corser during afternoon qualifying on race tyres.

Garry, who was able to slice more than a second off his best time when using a qualifier, said: ''The qualifier felt good, although I am not one of these people who like to do one fast lap as I need to trust the tyres. If we have good conditions tomorrow I am positive I can go quicker as I was taking it a little bit easier at the start of that lap. The best thing for me is to have had two full days on the bike at last weekend''s test and we are definitely getting there. But I am not at 100 per cent yet and we still getting a bit of chatter at the front. We have tried all the rear tyres and they all feel pretty good, so the choice will depend on the temperature.''

Steve, who recorded the fastest time on the PETRONAS FP1 of 309kmh on a day when the World Superbike record was set at 316kmh, said: ''Finishing the first session fastest was a great way to start the weekend. I have been getting more and more used to the bike and the handling has improved for my style. I am really starting to ride the wheels off it. The conditions were a lot worse than at the test last weekend, with a strong wind and a more slippery surface, so I am happy with my consistent times on race tyres. I didn''t get a perfect run on my qualifier as someone came in front of me and I am confident I can go quicker on a qualifier.''

Friday qualifying times, Superbike World Championship round two, Australia: 1 Corser 1:33.191; 2 Kagayama 1:33.787; 3 Laconi 1:34.084; 4 Pitt 1:34.094; 5 Muggeridge 1:34.364; 6 Vermeulen 1:34.405; 7 McCoy 1:34.491; 8 Martin 1:34.499; 9 Sanchini 1:34.676; 10 Chili 1:34.775

Free practice times: 1 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:34.801; 2 Corser (Alstare Suzuki) 1:34.877; 3 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1:35.283; 4 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki) 1:35.305; 5 Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:35.512; 6 Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) 1:35.524; 7 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:35.675; 8 Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1:35.724; 9 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1:35.739; 10 Abe (Yamaha France) 1:36.117

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