World Superbikes 2008 - Qatar - A tale of two Troys
Subscribe to our newsletter and keep up to date!
Simply enter your email address below and you will be added to our mailing list. Rest assured your email will remain private and will never be passed on to other parties. We hate spam as much as you do!
The first day of the 2008 World Superbikes season went to the Australian pairing of double world champion’s Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss as they took the top positions in the opening qualifying session amid tricky track conditions. Violent gusts of wind made the Losail track conditions extremely difficult, the two Troys were the only riders to dip under the 2 minute mark, posting times of 1m59.627s and 1m59.853s respectively.
Practice pace-setter Fonsi Nieto was the closest challenger to the Aussie supremacy, albeit some seven tenths of a second shy of former double world champion Corser’s best effort. The Team Alstare Suzuki rider was followed on the timesheets by Corser’s Japanese team-mate and 2007 WSBK runner-up Noriyuki Haga, with compatriot Yukio Kagayama rounding out the top five for Alstare – the last man to wind up within a second of the outright pace.
Further down the timing screens, former MotoGP star Carlos Checa struggled in 13th spot for reigning champions Hannspree Ten Kate Honda, former BSB champions Gregorio Lavilla (Ventaxia VK Honda) and Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) occupied the 15th and 21st positions respectively.
Day One Qualifying Times
- Troy Corser - AUS - Yamaha Motor Italia - 1min 59.627 secs
- Troy Bayliss - AUS - Ducati 1098 F08 - 1min 59.853 secs
- Fonsi Nieto - ESP - Team Alstare Suzuki - 2min 00.307 secs
- Noriyuki Haga - JPN - Yamaha Motor Italia - 2min 00.476 secs
- Yukio Kagayama - JPN - Team Alstare Suzuki - 2min 00.599 secs
- Ruben Xaus - ESP - Sterilgarda Go Eleven - 2min 00.695 secs
- Lorenzo Lanzi - ITA - R.G. Team Ducati 1098 RS - 08 2min 00.724 secs
- Max Biaggi - ITA - Sterilgarda Go Eleven - 2min 00.744 secs
- Sebastien Gimbert - FRA - Yamaha Motor France-Ipone - 2min 00.857 secs
- Max Neukirchner - GER - Team Alstare Suzuki - 2min 00.904 secs
- Michel Fabrizio - ITA - Ducati 1098 F08 - 2min 00.937 secs
- Karl Muggeridge - AUS - DFX Treme - 2min 01.086 secs
- Carlos Checa - ESP - Hannspree Ten Kate - 2min 01.409 secs
- Ayrton Badovini - ITA - Team Pedercini - 2min 01.677 secs
- Gregorio Lavilla - ESP - Ventaxia VK - 2min 01.729 secs
- Jakub Smrz - CZE - Guandalini Racing by Grifo’s - 2min 01.955 secs
- David Checa - ESP - Yamaha Motor France-Ipone - 2min 01.984 secs
- Roberto Rolfo - ITA - Hannspree Honda Altea - 2min 02.004 secs
- Regis Laconi - FRA - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse - 2min 02.100 secs
- Vittorio Iannuzzo - ITA - Team Pedercini Kawasaki - 2min 02.256 secs
- Ryuichi Kiyonari - JPN - Hannspree Ten Kate - 2min 02.494 secs
- Luca Morelli - ITA - Alto Evolution Honda Superbike - 2min 02.980 secs
- Russel Holland - AUS - DFX Treme Honda - 2min 03.006 secs
- Shinichi Nakatomi - JPN - YZF Yamaha - 2min 03.542 secs
- Kenan Sofuoglu - TUR - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Jr. - 2min 03.765 secs
The Biker Place is a motorcycle racing website with up to date news and race reports. Check out our section on the up and coming racers and keep up to date with their progress.
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:58 am
Quite a few former MotoGP and 250cc names on the list ….