Team Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner (Photo: Suzuki Racing) » More Photos

NEUKIRCHNER ON MONZA FRONT ROW

It took a new lap record by series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) to deprive Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner of a Superpole win at the Monza World Superbike fifth round today.

Bayliss smashed Noriyuki Haga's 2007 time by well over a second to take his third Superpole win of the season.

Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama thought his Superpole lap was a fast one but was disappointed to find out he'd set the fifth quickest time instead. His teammate Fonsi Nieto made a big improvement in today's practice and qualifying sessions and will start tomorrow's pair of 18-lappers from the second row of the grid.

Max Neukirchner - 2nd, 1:45.287:

"I'm really happy today because I think we have a good bike set-up and I'm ready for the races. My engine felt strong today and although I made a small mistake in Superpole I'm happy to be on the front row of the grid. Monza is a fast track and I hope to enjoy myself and have some fun tomorrow.

Yukio Kagayama - 5th, 1:45.777:

"It's funny but I really thought that my Superpole was a good one and that it was fast also. But when I saw the times I realized that it had only been good enough for fifth position and I was disappointed. Today we did a lot of good work and tested many tires so we have a good idea of what set-up to use tomorrow. Maybe we'll make some small adjustments in the warm-up tomorrow morning but the bike is pretty good at the moment, so the rest is up to me!"

Fonsi Nieto - 7th, 1:45.942:

"Yesterday, I think I lost my way a bit so I feel that my weekend only started today. Now my bike is getting better and although I still have problems in two corners, we are going in the right direction. This racetrack is strange and there are many different points, like braking and slipstreaming, to consider. We more or less know which tires we will use, but a lot depends on the weather. But anyway, I'm a lot happier today than I was yesterday."