Corser Takes First Pole Of 2008
February 22, 2008
Troy Corser powered to the 41st pole position of his career this afternoon in the first round of the 2008 World Championship Superbikes season. Holding off the challenge of Ruben Xaus and Max Biaggi (second and third respectively), the Yamaha Motor Italia rider posted a fastest time of 1′58.053 beating the Qatar course’s lap record by 4 tenths of a second set by Corser last year.
Corser left it late to take the pole position - Xaus and Biaggi, both on Ducati 1098 RS08 machines, were set for a solid 1-2 placing before the 36-year old Australian put in his super lap. The three of them will be joined on the front row of the grid by Alstare Suzuki’s young German rider Max Neukirchner.
The second row will be headed by Lorenzo Lanzi (RG Team), alongside Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), Troy Bayliss (private) and Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki). Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) round off the top ten.
Today also saw the first Alfa Romeo Superpole contest, won by Troy Corser. The prize, an Alfa Romeo 159 3.2 Sportwagon Ti, will be awarded to the rider who accumulates the most Superpole wins by the end of the season.
World Superbikes 2008 - Qatar Qualifying
Pos - Rider - Bike - 1st Quali - 2nd Quali - Best
1 - Troy Corser - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 1′59.627 - 1′58.560 - 1′58.560
2 - Troy Bayliss - Ducati 1098 F08 - 1′59.853 - 1′58.829 - 1′58.829
3 - Max Neukirchner - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - 2′00.904 - 1′58.990 - 1′58.990
4 - Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 2′00.476 - 1′59.173 - 1′59.173
5 - Lorenzo Lanzi - Ducati 1098 RS 08 - 2′00.724 - 1′59.337 - 1′59.337
6 - Max Biaggi - Ducati 1098 RS 08 - 2′00.744 - 1′59.435 - 1′59.435
7 - Michel Fabrizio - Ducati 1098 F08 - 2′00.937 - 1′59.554 - 1′59.554
8 - Carlos Checa - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′01.409 - 1′59.758 - 1′59.758
9 - Fonsi Nieto - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - 2′00.307 - 1′59.805 - 1′59.805
10 - Ruben Xaus - Ducati 1098 RS 08 - 2′00.695 - 1′59.940 - 1′59.940
11 - Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - 2′00.599 - 1′59.998 - 1′59.998
12 - Ayrton Badovini - Kawasaki ZX-10R - 2′01.677 - 2′00.033 - 2′00.033
13 - Jakub Smrz - Ducati 1098 RS 08 - 2′01.955 - 2′00.148 - 2′00.148
14 - Kenan Sofuoglu - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′03.765 - 2′00.292 - 2′00.292
15 - Gregorio Lavilla - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′01.729 - 2′00.438 - 2′00.438
16 - Roberto Rolfo - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′02.004 - 2′00.522 - 2′00.522
17 - Sébastien Gimbert - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 2′00.857 - 2′00.554 - 2′00.554
18 - Karl Muggeridge - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′01.086 - 2′00.607 - 2′00.607
19 - David Checa - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 2′01.984 - 2′00.643 - 2′00.643
20 - Ryuichi Kiyonari - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′02.494 - 2′00.698 - 2′00.698
21 - Vittorio Iannuzzo - Kawasaki ZX-10R - 2′02.256 - 2′00.854 - 2′00.854
22 - Russel Holland - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′03.006 - 2′00.971 - 2′00.971
23 - Makoto Tamada - Kawasaki ZX-10R - 2′04.264 - 2′01.303 - 2′01.303
24 - Luca Morelli - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′02.980 - 2′01.396 - 2′01.396
25 - Régis Laconi - Kawasaki ZX-10R - 2′02.100 - 2′01.429 - 2′01.429
26 - Shinichi Nakatomi - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 2′03.542 - 2′01.675 - 2′01.675
27 - Shuhei Aoyama - Honda CBR1000RR - 2′03.796 - 2′02.059 - 2′02.059
28 - Loic Napoleone - Yamaha YZF-R1 - 2′06.363 - 2′05.516 - 2′05.516
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