Neukirchner just misses front row

From Team Suzuki Alstare

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner made the smallest of errors in the first corner of his Superpole lap and lost a place on the front row of the grid by just a tenth of a second in qualifying for the Assen World Superbike round Saturday.

"For me, my Superpole lap was a good one, except for the first corner," Neukirchner said. "I think I might have braked a bit too late, pushed the front and lost some time. That tenth or two tenths of a second was enough to knock me off the front row. But, I’m quite happy because we found a good set-up for the race and I think we will be very competitive. We may make a few small adjustments in the warm-up tomorrow morning, but they will only be minor changes because I am pretty happy with what we’ve got already."

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto finished their Superpoles with the seventh and ninth fastest times respectively. Both know they will have to get off the line quickly in tomorrow’s pair of 22-lap races if they too want podiums.

Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took Superpole with a lap of 1:38.428, nearly a second inside the lap record set by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) last year.