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Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was only three places behind Haga on day one, looking for greater top speed and general set-up to get back into contention at the fastest track on the WSB calendar.
Qualifying was conducted in warm and sunny conditions, a great contrast with the deluge of rain that cursed the team's attempt to test at their home circuit of Monza last month.
Team YZF Yamaha rider Shinichi Nakatomi went 19th in qualifying, with Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) one place and 0.461 seconds behind him.
David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was unable to ride at Monza because of his recently dislocated hip his place was taken by American rider Michael Beck. He took 29th place on the provisional grid in his first ever ride outside the USA.
Final qualifying and then Superpole for the top 16 riders takes place on Saturday, with two SBK races taking place on Sunday 11th.
Noriyuki Haga (12th - 1'47.074 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) - "OK I guess, but we have had some issues with the rear traction but that, I think, is coming from the tyre. We have three different tyres and we have to make suspension settings for them all. I tried a few things this morning and this afternoon but we haven't found a good feeling yet. Tonight we change and we see what happens tomorrow. The front tyre choice has been made. Some of the other bikes seem very fast here."
Troy Corser (15th - 1'47.232 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) - "The bike is not fast enough at the top end of the scale. The chassis we are finding some improvements with, we're not a long way away with it but we are still losing maybe half a second in straightline speed. Having it rain during our test here last month was not so good but we are just not accelerating onto the straights the way we want to so far."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) - "Both riders are looking for more grip exiting the corners to let them hit full speed at the end of the straight and we are working for an overall better bike set-up. We lost some testing time last month but there was nothing we could do about that. Tomorrow we will make some improvements and we will try our best as always."
Michael Beck (29th - 1'51.869 - Yamaha GMT94) - "This is the first time I have been out of the USA and this has been a great experience already. I always wondered what it was like racing over here in Europe and I finally got to experience it here. There are one or two tracks like this in America, but this place has a lot of straightaways and fast corners, and the Parabolica corner is pretty amazing."
Foret and Parkes well placed after day one at Monza
Yamaha World Supersport Team riders Fabian Foret and Broc Parkes finished second and third respectively after the first day of qualifying at Monza, after a busy period of action at the classic Italian parkland venue. Air temperatures hit 28°C during the qualifying session, in which 37 riders attempted to qualify for Sunday's race.Foret was held up at the Lesmo corners on his fastest lap, losing some time to fastest qualifier Joshua Brookes.Foret is happy with his basic machine set-up and aims to take his first win of the year on Sunday.
Parkes was unsure if he could ride at all even one day before the start of qualifying. Despite his recent left hand, elbow and wrist injuries, suffered during an Assen practice crash and a subsequent fall from a mountain bike in training, Parkes gritted his teeth to take a strong third, only 0.043 seconds behind Foret.
Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) was the next best Yamaha rider on day one, securing tenth place at his first home event of 2008.
Angel Rodriguez continued to show strong form as replacement rider for regular Yamaha Spain World Supersport rider David De Gea. He qualified 15th overall, with his team-mate David Salom 21st today. Both are hopeful of improvements for tomorrow's final qualifying session.
Fabien Foret (2nd - 1'50.774 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) - "I'm reasonably happy so far, but I expected to do a little bit better. On my fast laps I found Lascorz, who was pushing hard but just going slower than me, and I could not pass him before the Lesmo corners. I lost some speed there. I kept pushing anyway and got a 1'50.7, but I think there was more to come, maybe two or three tenths. Tomorrow should be OK, and the main thing is get ready for the races. I would be happy with a normal start in the race on Sunday, never mind a good one!"
Broc Parkes (3rd - 1'50.817 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) - "I have no power at all in my left arm and I can't change direction properly. I am very pleasantly surprised at my result today because yesterday I didn't even know if it was possible to ride the bike. I was already very happy with a top ten in free practice this morning so to be top three this afternoon was unbelievable. Every day my condition improves.Sunday will be tough, but I feel I can get a little bit better and stay in the slipstream in the races. That aspect is possible because of our bike, which is quite fast. We put some padding on the back of the fuel tank and some grip panels on the side, so I can use my knees to help under braking, but I just feel I can't move around."
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team - "Broc was good today considering he is carrying a couple of recent injuries. He is less than a tenth from Fabien, and they both like the track here. The bikes are running well and we have no real issues so far, so it is a case of following the path we are on, joining up the dots tomorrow. We can see in the times that no-one will be able to break away so it is a case of making sure our riders will be in there on Sunday. We need to be near the front at the start of the race because all things are possible at Monza when you get away with the front group."
Massimo Roccoli (10th - 1'51.855 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) - "I had a little problem today with the front of the bike chattering and pushing me wide so tomorrow we will change to another tyre choice to see if that makes the difference. With better settings I know we can go faster."
Angel Rodriguez: (15th - 1'52.174 - Yamaha Spain) - "This is my first race at Monza. I donŽt know the track, and IŽll need to know every corner, every part, for the race. Unfortunately, I crashed this morning during the free session and we had to use the second bike for the qualifying session. Even so, I improved my time by more than a second."
David Salom: (21st - 1'52.760 - Yamaha Spain) - "I hope to improve my time and go faster tomorrow. I like this circuit, it's fun to ride, fast, with heavy braking and a mix of fast and slow corners. My injured hand is better, it gives me just a little pain under braking, but it's not an excuse. Tomorrow weŽll improve for sure."
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