ALSTARE SUZUKI FASTEST AT PHILLIP ISLAND
01 April 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama grabbed first and second places in the first day of qualifying for Sunday''s World Superbike Championship second round at Phillip Island, Australia.

Corser was in superb form and blitzed his way round the 4.45 km circuit with a time of 1:33.19, almost six-tenths-of-a-second faster than Kagayama.

Third quickest was Frenchman Regis Laconi (Ducati) with Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) just behind. Current World Champion James Toseland (Ducati) had a disappointing opening day and could only manage the fifteenth quickest time.

Troy Corser - 1st, 1:33.191:

''I knew my quick lap would be good, but I didn''t expect it to be as fast as it was. I was sort of expecting somewhere in the mid 1:33s, but 1:33.191 came as a bit of a surprise - especially as I wasn''t really pushing very hard. We had a bit of clutch problem this morning, but that was fixed and it''s been ok ever since. The wind was a bit of a problem this morning, but in the afternoon it was more consistent.

''Today, each time I went a bit quicker all the other riders seemed to improve as well. I didn''t want to go any faster today - I''ll keep that for tomorrow. The GSX-R1000 is working really well and I''m having fun riding it. The bike is good enough to win a championship, so it''s up to me and Yukio to try and do that.''

Yukio Kagayama - 2nd, 1:33.787:

''I''m very happy today and I want to thank all my team for giving me a good bike to work with. We still have some work to do though because I would like to improve the bike some more. At the moment I think we can improve the handling and the way it goes though the turns, so tomorrow we will make some small suspension adjustments and see if we can make it better.

''I had some problems with the wind this morning, but it was not so much of a problem in the afternoon and that was when I think we all improved our lap times. Troy-san knows his way round here very well but I aim to chase him all the way round to the flag on race day.''

Friday World Superbike Qualifying: 1 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.191, 2 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:33.787, 3 Laconi (F-Ducati) 1:34.084, 4 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:34.094, 5 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:34.364, 6 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:34.405, 7 McCoy (Aus-Petronas FP1) 1:34.491, 8 Martin (Aus-Petronas FP1) 1:34.499, 9 Sanchini (I-Kawasaki) 1:34.676, 10 Chili (I-Honda) 1:34.775.

WORLD SUPERSPORT QUALIFYING:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fores struggled with sickness today and could only manage the12th fastest time in first qualifying.

The Spanish rider decided to get on his GSX-R600 so that he could start to learn his way round the challenging circuit, but in the afternoon, he was so unwell he was physically sick in his helmet.

Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) topped the standings with a time of 1:35.999, three tenths of a second ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Honda). Third fastest was Aussie Kevin Curtain (Yamaha), with Fabien Foret (Honda) fourth.

Javi Fores - 12th, 1:38.922:

''I felt rough this morning and really didn''t feel much better later in the day. Phillip Island is a very hard track when you are 100%, so I found it very tough out there today. I suppose that 12th today is not so bad for my first time here, but realistically I must make a big improvement tomorrow. My first target will be a 1:37 lap and we will see how we will go from there. I hope I feel better tomorrow so I can attack this track much harder. It is a great track, so I really want to ride it well..''

Friday World Supersport Qualifying: 1 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1:35.999, 2 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1:36.327, 3 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1:36.932, 4 Foret (F-Honda) 1:37.075, 5 Fujiwara (J-Honda) 1:37.177, 6 Stigefelt (S-Honda) 1:37.912. 12 Javi Fores (E-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:38.922.

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