BMW Motorrad's Troy Corser was delighted after qualifying on the front row of the grid for the first time this year.
The experienced Australian was confident of qualifying for Superpole 3 after an encouraging display in Friday practice, and he did exactly that, lapping in 1:42.688 to claim fourth on the grid.
Despite outqualifying teammate Leon Haslam, Corser felt he could have gone even quicker, but would not have been able to challenge pole sitter Max Biaggi.
“I am quite happy with today's result. I tried to push in Superpole 2 and made a small mistake at La Roggia, where I hit the kerbs and lost some time. In Superpole 3 I took it a little bit more cautious, and I braked a little sooner. As a result, again I lost a few tenths.”
“Nevertheless, I am happy enough as I made it to the front row for the first time this season. I now hope for a good start and for getting through the first chicane without any issues. On the race tyre I have a consistently good pace. I think wherever we are after the start; we can be at the end of the race as well. I am looking forward to tomorrow's races.”
Haslam's afternoon was spoiled by a mistake in Superpole 1, causing to use up an extra set of qualifying tyres to get into the top eight, leaving him without any when he got there.
The Briton had set the fastest time in the second qualifying practice session though and is confident the S1000 RR will be in the mix tomorrow.
“I made a slight mistake in Superpole 1 which meant that I went for a qualifying tyre to ensure I posted a quick time and that's why my lap time in SP1 was my fastest of the three sessions. In Superpole two I used the second and final set of qualifiers, but again I caught some riders in the wrong place on the track and my lap time wasn't as quick.”
“Still, I made it through to Superpole 3, but I was forced to do the whole session on a race tyre although I managed sixth place. In regards to tomorrow I am feeling pretty confident, our race pace is good so I am really looking forward to getting out there.”
Rainer Bäumel, Head of Race Operations for the BMW Motorrad team, stressed the importance of being near the front on the long straights of Monza, and felt fourth and sixth was a successful result.
“It was important for us to make it through to Superpole 3 today so we could qualify for the front two rows. In Superpole the results are determined by how much of a slipstream you have to benefit from. Still we are starting the races tomorrow from fourth and sixth position and we have a good base setting to work with. The races here are always about using the slipstream effect to your advantage and I think the podium is a real possibility.”