Troy Corser is targeting a place in the final Superpole session on Saturday after going eighth quickest on Friday afternoon at Monza.
The Australian completed an excellent day for BMW after teammate Leon Haslam claimed provisional pole position with a lap of 1:42.934, fractionally faster than Max Biaggi.
The BMW Motorrad Italia squad also performed well at their home event, with Ayrton Badovini going fourth, and James Toseland returning to action after six weeks out with a wrist injury.
Corser was encouraged with the performance of the S1000 RR after trying some new parts in practice, and feels there is room for improvement tomorrow.
“Today was not too bad really, and I'm pretty satisfied with how things went. The bike felt good in the morning and I was able to get a feel for the track – especially the new layout of the first chicane.”
“We tried some different forks and a rear shock and I think that there is an improvement in bump absorption now. But obviously, we need more time working with this new suspension before we can understand it completely. I sort of feel a bit happier with the old set up at the moment, so we'll probably go back to it tomorrow morning.”
The day didn't pass without incident for the double world champion, who nearly came together with the current series leader.
“There were no big dramas really except for an incident with Carlos (Checa). He went off the track and then really fast through a gravel trap before rejoining the track just in front of me! It was a pretty close thing and we nearly collided!”
Corser's season has yet to really spark into life, with sixth at Assen his best result to date, but the 39 year old feels confident of improving on that this weekend.
“I think my bike has good speed and is fast here, so I am looking forward to tomorrow and a place on either the front or second row of the grid. If I can do that, then I think I can get a good pair of results on Sunday.”
