Toseland and Laconi Third and Second At Misano - June 25th 2005

Tomorrow's two races in round six of the World Superbike Championship at a sweltering Misano Adriatico (air 33°/track 52°) promise sparks all the way as the Ducati Xerox Team's Régis Laconi starts from the front row of the grid after an exciting Superpole session. The Frenchman will be surrounded by three Australians at the start, with Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Chris Vermeulen (Honda) just a couple of tenths quicker and Karl Muggeridge one place behind. The other Ducati Xerox Team rider James Toseland set seventh quickest time in Superpole and will start from row two, behind Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and Pierfrancesco Chili (Honda), who celebrates his 250th World Superbike race tomorrow.

"I knew that Corser would be the man to beat in Superpole so I just tried to be as quick as I could" declared Laconi. "Maybe I was a bit too aggressive on my lap because I made a few small mistakes and lost a bit of time, but anyway starting from the front row is good enough for me here at Misano. We worked really well on the race set-up all weekend and everything looks good for tomorrow. The choice of tyre is fine and the feeling with the bike is good, so I am sure I can get a couple of good results tomorrow".

"I thought my Superpole lap was pretty good" commented Toseland, "it's just a pity it wasn't good enough for the front row of the grid. Yesterday things went well but during this morning's second and final qualifying session, we had a few problems that prevented me from improving my position. I did low 37s all morning but I need to get a bit more comfortable as I felt I was riding like I'm a bit on the edge at that and shouldn't be. We tried a few things but they didn't really work and we lost a bit of time, but things improved in the afternoon when I managed to lap in the low 37s, just like all the other guys".

Starting Grid:

1. 1. Corser (Suzuki) 1'35.330
2. 2. Vermeulen (Honda) 1'35.685
3. 3. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1'35.798
4. 4. Muggeridge (Honda) 1'35.866
5. 5. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1'35.868
6. 6. Chili (Honda) 1'35.961
7. 7. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1'35.963
8. 8. Martin (Petronas) 1'36.147