ALSTARE MEN HAVE SECOND ROW START
09 September 2006 - Suzuki Racing

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama will start tomorrow’s 10th World Superbike Championship round our Eurospeedway Lausitz from the second row.

Both suffered from tyre problems on their Superpole laps and were unable to maintain their top-three placings from regular qualifying: Both Corser and Kagayama’s qualifying tyres didn’t work as well as expected in the cooler conditions this afternoon but the duo are confident that their race rubber will be more competitive tomorrow.

Team Alstare Engineering Corona Extra Max Neukirchner managed to qualify for the 16-rider Superpole shoot-out at the Eurospeedway Lausitz and ended thirteenth fastest. He and the team were happy to have achieved their goal of taking part in Superpole, after qualifying sixteenth, and then delighted when Max managed to beat SBK regulars Chris Walker (Kawasaki), Ruben Xaus (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Honda) in the process.

Once again it was Troy Bayliss (Ducati) who took Superpole with the only sub-1:38 lap of the 16-rider shoot-out. Second is Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) with James Toseland (Honda) third and Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) fourth.

Troy Corser - 6th, 1:38.507:

“I knew from turn one that winning Superpole was going to be out of the question because our qualifying tyre just doesn’t seem to work so well when the conditions are cooler. I knew I was down on the first split and although I tried my hardest, I just couldn’t make up the time. We made a little change to the bike just before Superpole and the grip level was down a little. But sixth place on the grid is not so bad and, as long as I make good starts, podiums are by no means out of the question. I’m pretty happy with the set-up of the bike on race rubber and feel we can still challenge for a podium or two for sure. Lausitz is almost a one-line racetrack so I need to be in the front pack otherwise it’s easy to lose ground. Hopefully the conditions will be a bit warmer tomorrow and that would make our tyre-life a bit better. We’ll have to see.”

Yukio Kagayama - 8th, 1:38.734:

“I am disappointed today because I really felt that I could do a 1:37 lap. But on my Superpole lap, my front tyre kept tucking in and the grip was not so good. It was not the same feeling as I had with this type of tyre in practice so maybe the track was much colder. I pushed as hard as I dared, but I did not want to crash. I need two good starts tomorrow; this is my plan. I want to be on the podium again!”

Max Neukirchner - 13th, 1:39.322:

“I suppose that our goal before the weekend was to qualify for Superpole, so we certainly did that ok. My Superpole lap was not so bad and I definitely tried my best to make sure I wasn’t the last of the sixteen - so that was good. Now I have two long and difficult races ahead of me tomorrow. Starting so far back on the grid is never easy, but I am not under any big pressure here as I am still learning the bike and team. Every time I go out on the bike, I learn a bit more and then we analyse the information and try and improve the next time out. So far the plan is going ok.”

Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:37.923, 2 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:38.079, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:38.254, 4 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha) 1:38.291, 5 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:38.479, 6 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:38.507, 7 Barros (Bra-Honda) 1:38.613, 8 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:38.734, 9 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:38.749, 10 Martin (Aus-Petronas) 1:39.065. 13 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 1:39.322.

SUPERSTOCK 600:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra ride Xavier Simeon raced to third place at the Eurospeedway Lausitz today and still leads the series by a healthy 25 points with just two rounds remaining.

The young Belgian had a terrific race-long fight with David Giugliano for second spot, but decided that third place was better then making a risky pass.

Italian Nicola Canepa (Ducati) led all but the first lap of the race and took the chequered flag by four-tenths-of-a-second.

Xavier Simeon - 3rd:

“The race was a good one and I enjoyed the battle very much. The three of us at the front had a good, fast rhythm and we soon pulled away from the rest of the field. I did get past Giugliano one time, but he re-passed me almost straight away and after that I just shadowed him and waited in case he made a mistake. If I had tried a difficult move, I might have crashed, so I did the best I could with an eye on the Championship.”

Superstock Results: 1 Canepa (I-Ducati), 2 Giugliano (I-Kawasaki), 3 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Colucci (I-Ducati), 5 Lundh (S-Honda), 6 Jezek (CZ-Kawasaki),

Championship Points: 1 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 176, 2 Canepa 151, 3 Giugliano 120, 4 Antonelli 68, 5 Colucci 68, 6 Jezek 61.

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