SECOND ROW FOR YAMAHA ITALIA DUO
06 August 2005 - Yamaha Racing

Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow''s two 25-lap superbike races from the second row after a strong showing in superpole at Brands Hatch today.

Both riders clocked their best lap of the weekend on their grid deciding qualifying lap, with the popular Haga recording sixth with a 1:27.044 while Pitt will start alongside his Japanese team-mate, in seventh, just a fraction of a second behind with a 1:27.192.

Ending regular qualifying in third and fifth respectively, there was a slight disappointment at being unable to improve the rider''s provisional grid positions but the team, boosted by Haga''s win last time out in Brno, have been impressed by the strong showings of both riders throughout the race weekend. In race trim, Haga was fastest in the final free practice session, with Pitt also able to put in consistent lap times on race settings.

Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe endured a tough initiation to the Brands Hatch circuit, slipping back to 21st place on his first outing at the technically demanding English circuit, one place ahead of team-mate Sèbastien Gimbert.

Pole position for tomorrow''s race will be championship leader Toy Corser (Suzuki).

Noriyuki Haga
''We have been strong all weekend. The bike is not 100 percent how I want it, but it is close and we will try a few more things to make it even better for the race. My superpole lap was ok, not perfect but not bad. I think we can be strongest when it matters most in the race.''

Andrew Pitt
''I made a bit of mistake at Dingle Dell, which cost me some time, but I''m happy to be on the second row and happy with our preparations for the race. I''ve had a good feeling for the bike all weekend and now I just can''t wait for tomorrow''s race. I''ll be looking for a good start and aiming to get on the podium.''

Massimo Meregalli
''I am very happy with how things have gone so far this weekend, but of course it tomorrow''s race that matters. Both our riders have found good settings and we are decided on which tyres we will use in the race. Noriyuki always likes to try some last minute changes to the bike, so we will try a few things there, but otherwise we are all looking forward to the races.''

Norick Abe
''Brands Hatch is another new circuit for me and although I was able to improve my time from yesterday, unfortunately the other riders improved more. For the race we still have a few more adjustments to make and with some good starts I can make improvements in the races.''

Round: 8 - Europe
Circuit: Brands Hatch
Circuit Length: 4197
Lap Record: 1'' 26.755 (Shane Byrne, 2003)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'' 26.248 (Shane Byrne, 2003)
Date: 6 August 2005
Temp: 24ºC

Session 2 :
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 2nd Qualifying Superpole
1 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1'' 27.123 1'' 26.957 1'' 26.672
2 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'' 27.742 1'' 27.569 1'' 26.833
3 J. Toseland Ducati GBR 1'' 28.072 1'' 27.674 1'' 26.910
4 R. Laconi Ducati FRA 1'' 27.652 1'' 27.173 1'' 26.982
5 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'' 27.656 1'' 27.440 1'' 27.014
6 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1'' 28.541 1'' 27.065 1'' 27.044
7 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'' 28.023 1'' 27.236 1'' 27.192
8 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 1'' 28.056 1'' 27.010 1'' 27.196
9 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'' 29.863 1'' 27.424 1'' 27.618
10 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1'' 28.318 1'' 27.788 1'' 27.653
11 G. McCoy Petronas AUS 1'' 29.198 1'' 27.985 1'' 27.672
12 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'' 27.767 1'' 28.399 1'' 27.883
13 D. Hobbs Yamaha GBR 1'' 29.093 1'' 27.956 1'' 27.961
14 G. Bussei Kawasaki ITA 1'' 29.228 1'' 27.827 1'' 28.230
15 P. Riba Kawasaki ESP 1'' 28.932 1'' 27.470 1'' 28.378
16 B. Bostrom Honda USA 1'' 28.926 1'' 27.646
21 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1'' 29.044 1'' 28.661
22 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'' 28.750 1'' 28.813
23 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'' 28.960 1'' 29.153
24 L. Alfonsi Yamaha ITA 1'' 29.880 1'' 29.079
25 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP 1'' 30.656 1'' 29.356

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Curtain second fastest at Brands Hatch

6/8/2005

Kevin Curtain will start tomorrow''s eighth round of the Supersport World Championship from second on the grid after setting a stunning lap in today''s final qualifying session.

The 39-year-old Yamaha Motor Germany rider took advantage of improved weather conditions and a new tyre option to improve his Friday time by over a second, ending the day with a best of 1:29.196. Team-mate Broc Parkes also found an improvement of over a second and will start from the second row of the grid, his 1:29.723 being good enough for eighth.

Championship leader Sèbastien Charpentier (Honda) starts the 23 lap race from pole position, with a circuit best time of 1:28.376. Gianluca Nanelli (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Honda) complete the front row of the grid.

Kevin Curtain
''I gave it everything I had on that fast lap and didn''t worry about crashing. We were trying out a new tyre so it was a bit of a gamble, but she stayed on the rails and held together well. I''d have liked to have got into the 1:28s but I think that what I did was the best possible. The new tyres worked well but we''ll have to do more endurance testing during the morning warm-up to see if they will last the race distance.''

Broc Parkes
''Second row again! I had a tough session and didn''t really find a good rhythm, which wasn''t helped by the fact that there always seemed to be a queue of four or five riders waiting to get a tow from me. Pirelli supplied us with some different specification tyres for this race and they definitely work better with our bike. We''ll use the new front in the race and will decide on the rear in the morning warm-up.''

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