The following is from Ducati… The Ducati Xerox Team rode the Miller Motorsports track in Salt Lake City for the first time today, completing an impressive first qualifying session in dry conditions here this afternoon. Troy Bayliss quickly found his feet to take the fastest qualifying time and hence another provisional pole, as well as a new lap record, while team-mate Michel Fabrizio was fifth fastest, also recording one of the top speeds of the day. A brand new track for all the World Superbike teams and riders, the Ducati Xerox squad and its’ F08 machines have quickly got up to speed at Miller, and are enjoying the circuit, so they look forward to a weekend of great racing. With a track temperature of 43°C this afternoon, forecasts promise even warmer conditions over the next couple of days. Troy Bayliss 1m49.3s “I’m very happy with how we’ve gone seeing as it’s our first time here. I like the track a lot, it reminds me a little of Qatar and the surface is similar to that of Misano, with a few little bumps and things here and there. The times are already fast, and we hope to go even faster tomorrow. We’ve already made good progress and we already have some ideas with regard to what we’re going to use in the race tyre-wise. The weather is supposed to get hotter and it’s a very physical track so that will definitely make for some great racing!” Michel Fabrizio 1m49.8s “I must admit I’m very satisfied with my performance today. There are a couple of curves where I’m losing a couple of tenths and hope to get those right tomorrow to go even faster, but I can say it’s a really nice track to ride. I feel really comfortable with the bike and everyone seems to be going fast already which makes it good and competitive. Today’s weather conditions were advantageous too so we hope that that continues for tomorrow and Sunday too!” The following is from Suzuki… Team Suzuki Alstare riders Fonsi Nieto, Yukio Kagayama together with Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner used the first day of practice and qualifying at the Miller Motorsports Park to learn their way round the track and get used to racing at high altitude. The 4.907 kilometre circuit is about 1500 metres above sea level and all the bikes are suffering a drop in performance as a result. At the end of the day, Fonsi had qualified sixth, Yukio seventh and Max fifteenth. Series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) is on provisional pole, ahead of fellow countryman Troy Corser (Yamaha), with Carlos Checa (Honda) third and Jake Smrz (Ducati) fourth. Fonsi – 6th, 1:49.895 I’m happy with today, even though we had some problems with my my favourite bike and that caused us to lose some time. I like this track – it’s not difficult to learn and it’s safe, but it is difficult to shave off that last fraction of a second when you are trying to go faster. I think the high altitude is affecting the bike, but it’s the same for everybody, so we just have to get down to it. Yukio – 7th, 1:50.135 It’s a very big, wide track, so it’s a bit difficult to find a good line at the moment. In the afternoon, I began to find it a bit more easy and it’s just a case of putting in many, many laps and learning this circuit as fast as I can. I think the grip level is quite good and although the high altitude is affecting the bike, I have finished the day in a positive mood. Max -15th, 1:50.929 I’m a little angry because I’m finding this track difficult – especially in the first split where I know I’m losing time. The second and third splits are not too bad, it’s just the first one where I’m suffering and I think this is because of some chassis problems. We changed the bike from the morning session to the afternoon qualifying and I think maybe we went the wrong way, so tomorrow we’ll change it more back to where we started from and work from there. The altitude doesn’t seem to affect the top speed so much, but I feel it is affecting the acceleration out of the corners. We have some work to do tomorrow, but I’m sure my team will manage it OK. The following is from Miller Motorsports Park… Two-time Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss set the pace as the HANNspree Superbike World Championship riders got their first taste Miller Motorsports Park in the first practice and qualifying sessions for the StriVectin-SD USA Round on Friday. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox Team) was fastest in both HANNspree Superbike World Championship sessions on Friday. He lapped the 3.048-mile Outer Course in 1:49.394 on his No. 21 Xerox-sponsored Ducati 1098 F08 in the day’s final session, edging the No. 11 Yamaha YZF-R1 of fellow Australian Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) by 0.242 sec. Spaniard Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was third-fastest on his No. 7 Honda CBR1000RR, a further 0.096 sec. in arrears. Ducati riders Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Racing by Grifo’s) and Bayliss’ teammate Michel Fabrizio completed the top five, followed by Team Suzuki Alstare teammate Fonsi Nieto and Yukio Kagayama, Ducati-mounted Ruben Xaus, Ayrton Badovini (Kawasaki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). The top 10 riders were separated by .0955 sec. There will one more qualifying session for the HANNspree Superbike World Championship riders prior to the Superpole session, in which the top 10 riders will take to the track one at a time to determine the starting grid, at 4:00 pm on Saturday. In AMA action today, Erion Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke stamped his name in the record books as the Formula Xtreme Championship’s winningest rider by leading today’s race from start to finish,. Breezing to his 16th victory in this class, Zemke topped teammate Josh Hayes, the defending series champion and 10-time class winner, by 2.678 seconds after nine laps around the 4.5-mile Full Course. Attack Kawasaki rider Steve Rapp filled out the podium. With his fourth consecutive victory, Zemke leads the 11-race championship by 26 points over Rapp, with LeoVince Foremost Insurance Ducati Team rider Larry Pegram five points back and Hayes moving up to fourth, 47 points adrift of his teammate. In the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, defending champion Ben Spies took the provisional pole with a 2:45.568 run, topping fellow Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Mat Mladin and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing rider Jamie Hacking. Final AMA Superbike qualifying will take place on Saturday at 9:30 am, with the first of two races taking the green flag at 12:45 pm. Riding a two-race streak of pole positions and race wins in AMA Superstock Series presented by Dynojet competition, Corona Honda Racing’s Jake Holden took another pole, fending off Michael Jordan Motorsports – Suzuki rider and series points leader Aaron Yates with a 2:47.639-second lap. Yates’ teammate Geoff May and M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young fill the front row for tomorrow afternoon’s race s scheduled for 1:55 pm. Off the track, Miller Motorsports Park helped the Federation International De Motocyclisme (FIM), the international sporting body for motorcycle racing, celebrate World Environment Day with a ceremony at the facility’s new Adminisrtation Building. Top riders Corser, Checa and Max Neukirchner joined officials from the FIM, FGSport (which owns and operates the HANNspree Superbike World Championship) and Miller Motorsports Park to plant six ash trees to commemorate the occasion. The HANNspree Superbike World Championship® StriVectin-SD® USA Round and Honda Summit of Speed AMA Superbike Championship weekend is the biggest event ever staged at Miller Motorsports Park, and may well be the biggest international sporting event in the State of Utah since the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Superbike World Championship races will be broadcast live on 95 television networks to 173 countries and an estimated television audience of 120 million. Advance ticket sales have exceeded any other event in the track’s history. In addition to the on-track action, the weekend includes a myriad of off-track entertainment for fans including stunt bikes, freestyle motocross exhibitions, live bands, helicopter rides and sky diving. For more information on the HANNspree Superbike World Championship, visit the series website at www.WorldSBK.com. For more information on the AMA Superbike Championship, visit their website at www.AMASuperbike.com. For event or facility information, or to purchase tickets, call (435) 277-RACE (7223) or visit www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com
