World Superbike
Assen: Ducati Friday report
THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM REMAINS CONFIDENT AFTER FIRST QUALFIYING AT ASSEN Assen (The Netherlands) Friday 24th April The Ducati Xerox Team concluded the first day of the race weekend at the TT Circuit of Assen in warm, dry conditions. The two factory ...
Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:51 PM
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THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM REMAINS CONFIDENT AFTER FIRST QUALFIYING AT ASSEN
Assen (The Netherlands) Friday 24th April The Ducati Xerox Team concluded the first day of the race weekend at the TT Circuit of Assen in warm, dry conditions. The two factory riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio completed the early afternoon free practice session among the fastest ten riders; Noriyuki did not experience any particular set-backs while Michel felt he was suffering from a lack of rear grip.
Later on, in the first qualifying session, nearly all of the Superbike riders were faster than they had been in the practice. Fabrizio continued to suffer from the same grip issues at the start but then found a solution on the latter part of the session that he felt more comfortable with, allowing him to register the fifth fastest time of the day. His team-mate Haga closed in twelfth position but remains positive ahead of tomorrow's second qualifying. The fastest 16 riders today lapped in under 1m40 and all within a second of each other, with the exception of Spies who was the only man to duck under 1m39.
Michel Fabrizio 1m39.2s
"I am feeling fairly happy with today's performance. I am losing a few tenths, all in the first split and that has to be resolved tomorrow. I think we've already identified a rear tyre solution for the race but we're still unsure as to the front. I had some grip problems with the front today but towards the end of the qualifying the feeling I had with the bike began to improve so we hope that we can continue to make improvements tomorrow too."
Noriyuki Haga 1m39.6s
"It's been a fairly positive day and I'm feeling comfortable. The only real problem is that we have good rear traction that means we are consuming tyres too quickly. So tomorrow we need to find a way to increase the life of the tyres without losing grip. So although I wasn't fastest today, the Race is Sunday and as far as I'm concerned, the sessions on Friday are for finding solutions for the race. Tomorrow I aim to qualify at the front of the grid."
-credit: ducati
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