Corser takes Superpole

From Yamaha Racing

DOHA, QATAR -- Troy Corser continued his dominance in Losail qualifying to further his record Superpole winning tally today, posting a remarkable new track best of 1:58.053, nearly four tenths of a second faster than his Superpole record from '07, using a race tire on his Yamaha YZF-R1.

It was Corser's 41st career pole win in WSB racing, and it could have been a 1:57 lap but for a slight wobble in the middle of his high-speed chase around the 5.380km Losail circuit. Corser was fully 0.636 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, Ruben Xaus, in the kind of competition that Corser has made his very own.

Noriyuki Haga shook off the effects of a big highside crash on day one to record the sixth fastest Superpole time, and earn a second row start. Haga feels confident in his race set-up, and was not worried to be off the front row, as he had qualified fourth fastest going into Superpole, and has good race pace.

The winds that plagued day one at Losail continued today, albeit at a reduced level, but final set-up adjustments may remain to be made in warm up on raceday morning. Tire choices will be vital at this most changeable of WSB circuits, and therefore the team members expended a lot of time and effort in trying to choose a suitable combination for raceday.

"I do like this track although the grip levels are not always that good," Corser said. "The bike is in balance even if I did have some sort of a tank-slapper halfway through the Superpole lap - mainly because I was pushing it so hard. I had chosen a soft race tire over the qualifying tire because it makes the bike easier to control."

Fabien Foret marked the first competitive appearance of the new Yamaha YZF-R6 in fine style by taking pole position in Supersport and a new track best lap time of 2:01.928.

Superpole Qualifying Results
1. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 1:58.053
2. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1:58.689
3. Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 1:58.767
4. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1:58.964
5. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1:58.975
6. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1:59.017
7. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1:59.224
8. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1:59.285
9. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1:59.417
10. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1:59.450
11. Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 1:59.921
12. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1:59.984
13. Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 2:00.095
14. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 2:00.313
15. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 2:01.208