Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Max Biaggi and Yukio Kagayama finished the first day of qualifying at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit with the fifth and 12th fastest times, giving Biaggi a provisional second-row start.
Throughout the day Biaggi struggled a little with finding a good set-up for his GSX-R1000 K7 but is hopeful of significant progress tomorrow. His team mate Kagayama is still suffering the effects of his heavy fall at Donington two weeks ago, so took things very steadily today.
Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) topped the standings after qualifying, over half a second inside the current lap record. Second quickest today is Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Ducati) with series leader James Toseland (Honda) third and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) fourth.
Max Biaggi - 5th, 1: 35.453:
"We're struggling a bit today and I'm not as close to the leaders as I would have liked. But we've had some problems at Valencia when we tested here and we know it's a bit of a problem track for us. We have some ideas to try tomorrow but a lot will depend on what the weather does because if it rains, everything changes. At the moment, we are a bit of a way off what we want and until we get closer, it'll be difficult for me to push as hard as I'd like."
Yukio Kagayama - 12th, 1:36.012:
"Today I tried to use my head and ride very steady. I didn't want to have another crash so soon after my fall at Donington in the last round. At the moment, my ribs and shoulder are still sore, so it's making changing direction on the bike very hard. There are lots of changes in direction at this track so it's a bit of a problem. But each day I'm getting stronger and tomorrow I will push harder for sure. Valencia circuit seems particularly sensitive to temperature changes and that affects how the tyres perform a lot. If it rains, it may be an easier race for me physically, but the track is very slippery when it's wet and I think there could be many crashes!"
Friday WSB Qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1:34.599, 2 Xaus (E-Ducati) 1:35.023, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1:35.147, 4 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1:35.440, 5 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:35.453, 6 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1:35.483, 7 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:35.709, 8 Neukirchner (D-Suzuki) 1:35.767, 9 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1:35.804, 10 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:35.814. 12 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:36.012.
SUPERSTOCK 1000:
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Xavier Simeon finished a very creditable sixth on the first day of qualifying at Valencia today.
Despite having grip problems the youngster battled away to a provisional second row grid place - a far better result than at Donington two weeks ago. Italian Ayrton Badavoni (MV) finished the day with the quickest lap time with Michele Pirro (Yamaha) second and Claudio Corti ((Yamaha) third.
Xavi Simeon - 6th, 1:39.212:
"Today I am quite happy because the result is much better than at Donington but I am a little unhappy because I know it could've been better. We had big problems with grip and I didn't find it so easy to control the bike. Having said that, my lap times are not so bad and I'm not far away from the leaders, so that is good news. Tomorrow we'll try a harder rear shock and see if that helps. I know this track very well and I would prefer a dry race because it's very slippery here when it's wet."
Friday Superstock Qualifying: 1 Badovini (I-MV) 1:38.369, 2 Pirro (I-Yamaha) 1:38.546, 3 Corti (I-Yamaha) 1:38.701, 4 Van Keymeulen (NL-Yamaha) 1:38.974, 5 Canepa (I-Ducati) 1:39.071, 6 Xavier Simeon (B-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:39.212.
