INJURED KAGAYAMA 3RD ON MISANO OPENING DAY
Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama defied the doctors and pain at Misano yesterday and finished quickest in qualifying for Sunday's World Superbike eighth round.
His time of 1:37.209 was less than two-tenths-of-a-second slower than provisional pole man Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) as team mate Fonsi Nieto ended the day with the 18th quickest lap time, and is confident of further progress tomorrow as he continues his steep learning curve onboard the 2009 GSX-R1000 K9.
Yukio Kagayama - 3rd, 1:37.209:
"I am lucky because my right foot is broken in the heel area and I don't use this area much when I ride my bike. Of course, after some laps, I feel some pain, but it is a matter of understanding the pain and managing it when I am on the bike. If it rains tomorrow, or on race day, it would be kinder to my body, but unfortunately not for the bike as this track is very slippery in the wet. I am really hoping for dry conditions and finishing both races with good results."
Fonsi Nieto - 18th, 1:37.979:
"Although I am only 18th fastest, the lap times are pretty close and so I am not unhappy. I am still understanding this bike and every session it becomes a bit more comfortable for me. We will continue to try some things tomorrow - maybe change the gearbox a little - and see how much we can improve. We had no big problems today and hopefully we will not have any tomorrow."
Friday World Superbike qualifying: 1 Fabrizio (I-Ducati) 1:37.016, 2 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:37.102, 3 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:37.209, 4 Rea (GB-Honda) 1:37.238, 5 Parkes (Aus-Kawasaki) 1:37.281, 6 Kiyonari (J-Honda) 1:37.396, 18 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:37.979.
SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP:
Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti took things steadily in today's practice session for round four of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, but still managed to end with the fourth fastest lap.
The young Italian didn't want to push hard, but found a good set-up towards the end of the session and is looking forward to tomorrow.
Frenchman Maxime Berger (Honda) set today's fastest time with Davide Giugliano (MV) second.
Claudio Corti - 4th, 1:41.969:
"I had no problems today, but I found the track a bit slippery so I didn't push hard. Five minutes or so from the end of the session we found quite a good set-up, so we will work on that tomorrow and hopefully go quicker. It's been a month or so since I rode a bike, so I felt a bit rusty at first today, but I will be OK tomorrow for sure. I think the biggest problem this weekend may be the weather, but I really hope that it doesn't rain, because there would be a lot of crashes."
Friday Superstock 1000 qualifying: 1 Berger (F-Honda) 1:41.245, 2 Giugliano (I-MV) 1:41.652, 3 Magnoni (I-Yamaha) 1:41.855, 4 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:41.969, 5 Massei (I-Yamaha) 1:42.126, 6 Barragan (E-Honda) 1:42.126.
