The first day of qualifying at Vallelunga went well for the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team today, with Corser claiming provisional pole and Haga just behind in third.
The day started off wet and quite cool following overnight rain, with temperatures only hitting 19°C compared to the scorching 50°C experienced during testing here in July. The difference in weather conditions meant that the data gathered in the test proved less helpful than hoped during this morning’s free practice. But both Corser and Haga didn’t let this faze them and got on with the job of finding the best set-up for the conditions. By the end of the session Corser was fastest with Haga in fourth.
This afternoon’s qualifying session was a dry affair, giving the team the chance to find a dry set-up. Both riders spent the session in the top four until Corser pulled it out of the bag in the last ten minutes to take the provisional pole position. Haga put in a strong performance to finish third, in front of his key focus for the weekend - Toseland.
Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi managed his best first qualifying position ever during today, qualifying in ninth position. The young Japanese rider was only a second off Corser’s time in this afternoon’s timed session and showed his potential.
Troy Corser (1st - 1’37.537 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I’m pretty happy with what we’ve achieved today. We started from where we left off at the test and today we’ve made some engine braking adjustments along with suspension and front fork alterations. The bike felt a bit nervous to start with but after the changes it now feels much better. We’ve made good progress and the set-up for this weekend is really getting there. It’s really good to be in first as tomorrow could be wet again so getting as good time today was important. “
Noriyuki Haga (3rd - 1’37.951 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “The bike felt good today; we found some good settings during the two sessions, although we’re not completely there yet. I’ve found a good dry rear tyre as well, so it’d better not rain on Sunday! Third position is good for a Friday and I’m pleased with my lap time. There’s just a bit more work to do tomorrow on the suspension settings. “
Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “Today has been a good day for the team. Both riders have got good qualifying positions and we are getting there with the set-up for each rider. We will check all the data from the test as well as from today and I’m confident that we can make the necessary adjustments to get the best set-up for both Troy and Nori. “
Shinichi Nakatomi (9th - 1’38.573 - Team Yamaha YZF) “Today was my best first qualifying session ever! It’s a very good result and a good grid position but I still feel I can improve on the set-up. If we can improve the bike’s feeling during tomorrow then my times will be quicker. “
Martial Garcia (Team Manager, Team Yamaha YZF) “Thanks to the FGSport test here in July, the bike set-up is already quite good, which gave Nakatomi the opportunity to really show his potential and get the result that we expected from him. We are confident of maintaining this good work tomorrow. “
Circuit Length: 4110, Temp: 21, Weather: Dry
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