World Superbike

Magny-Cours: Ten Kate Honda Friday notes

Positive start at Magny-Cours Day one qualifying for the final round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship took place in unpredictable weather at Magny-Cours in France today. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda's James Toseland ended the day as ...

Published: Oct 6, 2007, 4:35 AM

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Positive start at Magny-Cours

Day one qualifying for the final round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship took place in unpredictable weather at Magny-Cours in France today. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda's James Toseland ended the day as the seventh fastest rider while team-mate Roberto Rolfo qualified in 11th position.

The morning free practice took place in warm and sunny weather and saw Toseland remain at the top of the timesheet for the entire 60 minutes. The British rider - who turns 27 years old today - beat his own fastest lap three times in quick succession and ended with a best time of 1'40.718. In the end, this turned out to the quickest lap of the day.

As the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders prepared to mount their bikes for the afternoon qualifying, a sudden rain shower halted their plans as the session was declared wet. The majority of riders chose to remain in the garages until the sun made a welcome return with just 30 minutes left on the clock.

Although the track surface dried out quite quickly, some wet patches remained and this made it difficult for the riders. Despite this, both Toseland and Rolfo managed to put in a number of good laps before the time ran out. At the end of the session, they finished in seventh and 11th respectively.

Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager:

"Despite the rain coming in just in time for the qualifying session, we have actually had a positive day. This morning went really well with James staying at the top of the timesheet for the whole session. The afternoon was a little strange with the weather but we still saw some good laps from both riders. Tomorrow should be dry and we have done some good work today so we are not at all worried."

James Toseland:

"It's nice to end the day knowing that I've put the fast lap of the day in. This afternoon's conditions didn't allow me to improve, nor anybody else. The track dried out during the session but there were still a few wet patches and that made it difficult to get a fast lap in. I made a mistake on my last lap out there and it was too late to try again. Anyway, we've got tomorrow and the weather looks good for the rest of the weekend so we should be ok. I really want to end the season with a race win as well as the championship."

Roberto Rolfo:

"This was a strange session. I waited in the garage for the first half of the session because of the rain. With 15 minutes left I went out and tried to push hard - I got in a few good laps when everyone was riding slower. As the track dried, I wanted to try for another good lap but we didn't have time to change the tyre. This meant that my last few laps were on a used tyre and I couldn't get another fast lap in. In any case, we will start tomorrow with the setting we ended on today and I am aiming for at least the second row."

-credit: hannspreeracingworld.com

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