Troy Corser heads the field after the first qualifying session for the Australian Round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island. The 36-year-old Australian, who stands to become the record holder for Superbike rider presence this weekend, set a time of 1 minute 32.336 on his Yamaha YZF-R1 to clinch the overnight pole.
Fellow Aussie Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) was a shade slower at 1’32.374 on his Ducati 1098, with team-mate Michel Fabrizio another tenth behind in third. “The track is a bit bumpier each time we go out, even compared to the winter tests we did here” commented Corser. “I’m happy enough with that but we’ve still got work to do on the settings for race day. It’s only Friday but I’m pretty happy with the performance on this first day”.
“Maybe because of the rain yesterday, there’s still not fantastic grip on the track, but we tried a few different things to deal with it. We only made a few small changes between the free practice and the afternoon qualifying and things are going well, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow and Superpole”, said Bayliss.
“I was really happy with that, we didn’t change much between the morning and the afternoon session. We’ve been working mainly on the tyre set-up and for the moment it’s all good. It’ll all depend on the weather on Sunday but so far, so good”, declared Fabrizio.
Half-way through the session, the standings had an unfamiliar look about them, as Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) headed Max Neukirchner (Alstare Suzuki), but the Czech rider crashed out shortly before the end and the German slipped down to fourth ahead of Smrz.
Max Biaggi was sixth on the Sterilgarda Ducati 1098, ahead of team-mate Ruben Xaus, who crashed, while Regis Laconi showed some progress in eighth on the PSG-1 Kawasaki machine. Spaniards Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Suzuki), race 2 winner in Qatar, and Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) made up the top 10. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB) currently lies in thirteenth place.

World Superbike – Q1
1. Corser T. (Yamaha) 1’32.336;
2. Bayliss T. (Ducati) 1’32.374;
3. Fabrizio M. (Ducati) 1’32.570;
4. Neukirchner M. (Suzuki) 1’32.808;
5. Smrz J. (Ducati) 1’32.827;
6. Biaggi M. (Ducati) 1’32.827;
7. Xaus R. (Ducati) 1’32.827;
8. Laconi R. (Kawasaki) 1’33.188;
9. Nieto F. (Suzuki) 1’33.269;
10. Checa C. (Honda) 1’33.283;
11. Holland R. (Honda) 1’33.340;
12. Muggeridge K. (Honda) 1’33.489;
13. Haga N. (Yamaha) 1’33.588;
14. Lavilla G. (Honda) 1’33.718;
15. Kiyonari R. (Honda) 1’33.995.
World Supersport
1. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.426
2. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.506
3. Fabien FORET (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.674
4. Josh BROOKES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.788
5. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Hon CBR600RR), 1:35.808
6. Ivan CLEMENTI (Tri Daytona 675), 1:35.920
7. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.392
8. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.501
9. Gianluca NANNELLI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.565
10. Garry MCCOY (Tri Daytona 675), 1:36.577
11. David SALOM (Yam YZF-R6), 1:36.581
12. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.689
13. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:36.941
14. Chris WALKER (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:37.028
15. Didier VAN KEYMEULEN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:37.069
16. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:37.146
17. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.152
18. Gregory LEBLANC (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.294
19. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.340
20. Mirko GIANSANTI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.586
21. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:37.680
22. Andrea ANTONELLI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.899
23. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.077
24. Vesa KALLIO (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.143
25. William DE ANGELIS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.536