Haga takes confident second in Brands Hatch superpole

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga is hopeful of repeating his last visit to Brands Hatch, where he won a race in the season's most exciting meeting, after claiming a front row start in superpole today.

The Japanese star only narrowly missed out on his second successive pole position, losing time as he fought to control a massive slide on his grid-deciding lap. Haga lost a few tenths of a second in the incident but was able to compose himself and set his fastest lap of the weekend - an impressive 1:25.857. Only series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was able to go quicker than the Yamaha man, setting a pole time four tenths of a second quicker than Haga. Despite the minor disappointment of missing out on the honour of pole position, Haga and his team were delighted to secure a front row start and are confident that their machine settings will allow them to fight at the front in tomorrow's races. Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow's races from the second row after setting the sixth fastest time in superpole. The Australian had experienced a few small problems in the morning's second qualifying session, including a trip through the gravel after an incident with another rider, but was back to his best in superpole - recording a 1:26.291 on his flying lap.

Local rider Tommy Hill upheld British honour on board his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1. The 21-year-old wild card ended regulation qualifying in seventh position and eventually ended up tenth in his first ever dry-weather superpole.

Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest of the Yamaha Motor France trio in 15th. The Frenchman squeezed into superpole in 16th place, despite a high-speed accident in the morning's final qualifying session. His Japanese team-mates both missed the cut: Norick Abe failed to improve his Friday time in the morning qualifying session and will start 19th, although he was able to go quicker in the afternoon free practice, while team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi will start 26th on his first visit to the demanding British course.  

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The front row was our target so I am very happy with second because I made a mistake on my superpole lap when I grabbed too much brake and came out of the saddle. We have a very good setting and have been able to do two long race settings yesterday and today, so we know what tyres to use and how they are likely to work late in the race. Troy (Bayliss) is very fast but I think that tomorrow we will have the opportunity to go for the win. I am second in the championship but have not won a race yet, so I hope to fix this at Brands Hatch."

Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We made a few changes to the bike overnight and it didn't feel quite as good in the morning session. We changed some things around in he afternoon and I think we're in good shape for the race. I had a few slides on my superpole lap and that probably cost me some time but the second row's alright and I'm confident for the race."   

Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "It's great to be running up there with these top riders. I'm learning a lot. Following Corser I could see tyre smoke everywhere from him spinning it up, so I'm taking it in and trying to do the same. Superpole was also a good experience and I'm looking forward to the races. The support from the fans is great but I'm not feeling any pressure - I'll do my best and try to enjoy the racing."

Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "My lap time is one-and-a-half seconds quicker than last year and I'm pleased to have made superpole and the progress we have made with the bike. There is still a little bit more work before we are ready for the race, but we are going in the right direction and I am confident of a good result tomorrow."

Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We tried some changes this morning but it was not really an improvement from yesterday. We improved the set-up in the afternoon and still have some things to try in the warm-up. This is the most difficult track of the year in terms of suspension settings so I hope we can find a good solution tomorrow."   

Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I still have not found a good rhythm with this track. We still have some more things to try for tomorrow but mainly I need to improve my riding. I am quite far back on the grid but I am sure we can improve our performance in the races."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "So far things have gone well this weekend, with no real troubles to speak of. Both Andrew and Noriyuki have been able to do many laps in practice and we are ready to fight in what should be two very close races."

Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 22 Weather: Sunny     2006 WSB Brands Hatch 05/08/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'25.449 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'25.857 3 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'25.901 4 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'25.933 5 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'26.000 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'26.291 7 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'26.323 8 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'26.542 9 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'26.560 10 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 1'26.580 11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'26.794 12 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'26.814 13 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'26.850 14 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'27.047 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'27.102

Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'26.272 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'26.376 3 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'26.433 4 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'26.494 5 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'26.601 6 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'26.635 7 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 1'26.665 8 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'26.702 9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'26.741 10 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'26.844 11 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'26.955 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'27.059 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'27.229 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'27.465 15 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 1'27.648 16 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'27.690 19 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'27.940 26 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'28.896

QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 05/08/2006 Parkes top of the pops in practice   Broc Parkes   

Broc Parkes gave the Yamaha Motor Germany squad their third successive pole position after setting the fastest time in today's final qualifying at Brands Hatch.

The Australian fired in a lap of 1:28.447 late in the session to grab his second pole position of the season. Parkes' team-mate, Kevin Curtain, had topped the timesheets for most of the session with a 1:28.574 lap time, only to be deposed in the closing minutes of the session. World champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) was another late improver, moving to second, with Curtain third on tomorrow's grid. Provisional pole sitter Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) will start fourth after failing to improve his time from Friday.

Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello will start from eighth and tenth places respectively after finding small improvements overnight. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa will start tomorrow's 23-lap Supersport World Championship round from 19th after missing most of yesterday's action due to a crash.

Tomorrow's supersport race takes place between the two superbike contests, with Curtain and Parkes looking to close the gap on series leader Sebastien Charpentier. Going into the race Charpentier leads Curtain by just 10 points, with Parkes a further 17 behind in third.

Circuit Length: 4197

  2006 WSS Brands Hatch 05/08/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'28.447 2 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'28.500 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'28.574 4 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'28.634 5 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'28.653 6 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 1'28.792 7 Leon Camier Honda GBR 1'29.083 8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'29.170 9 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'29.222 10 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'29.323 11 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 1'29.334 12 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'29.447 13 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'29.505 14 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'29.546 15 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'29.666 19 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'29.881