Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) adapted his YZF-R1 to the cool track temperatures of the Nürburgring to great effect on day one of practice, leading qualifying with a lap of 1’57.257. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) felt only a degree of muscle fatigue a few days after having a plate inserted to his broken collarbone, and managed to set a 1’58.020 best lap.
Both Yamaha riders have raced at the Nürburgring before, albeit in 1999 and on a different track layout, with Corser a race winner last time out.
A cold and blustery wind affected qualifying to some degree, but the main issue on day one appeared to be a slightly dirty track surface, which took some time to clean up, especially after the damp morning session held back lap times and lap totals. Corser slid off his machine late in the qualifying session, shortly after setting his best lap, but he was unhurt and his bike only scuffed.
Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) will have already made it into Superpole if the second qualifying session dawns fully wet tomorrow, having set the 14th best time in dry conditions, 1.249 seconds from Corser’s provisional pole. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 19th on day one, Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) 21st.
Final qualifying and then Superpole for the top 16 riders takes place on Saturday, afternoon, with Superpole in its usual 16.00hrs slot.
Troy Corser (1st - 1’57.257 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
“The ‘new’ section of track is the early section and that is also the trickiest. Turn one especially. I think because it is blind and goes downhill, downhill, downhill, it’s hard to get a braking point. If you go straight for the apex of the corner you can’t get the bike turned. The rest of the track feels the same as last time I raced here but it still feels a bit dirty, like it needs bike rubber on it to deliver more grip. I think that’s because of the rock concert they had here recently. We have steadily progressed with the bike and I’m pretty happy so far.”
Noriyuki Haga (7th - 1’58.020 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
“I don’t have so much pain from my injured shoulder but the muscle tends to tire very easily so I will have to get a massage to bring it back for tomorrow. The racetrack I last rode on in 1999 and it is just the first part that seems different. The first corner is strange under braking, because there is a very tight hairpin and the braking is very heavy. But I am enjoying the track. Today was not so bad. I tested two tyres, one soft one and one harder. The soft one will be impossible to use for the race because it won’t go the distance and right now the next one feels too hard. So I have to work on suspension to match the set-up and tyre choices.”
Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
“It was a very positive session today. Troy is leading and also Nori is close to the front times. We had been waiting for today to see how Nori was going to be and we are pleased that he has reacted well to his surgery. Both sides of the garage are working well to get the final set-up and be ready tomorrow morning and the last chance to qualify before Superpole.”
Sebastien Gimbert (14th - 1’58.506 seconds - GMT94 Yamaha)
“It’s my very first time at this track so obviously I am happy to be inside the Superpole qualifying group already. I did my best lap on my own, without a tow from another rider, but I may have to get some help to go much faster tomorrow. The bike has been good from the start and I have to say thanks to all the technical staff for finding such a good set-up so early. My chassis feels very good and I can ride the bike the way I want.”
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