CORSER EARNS SUGO POLE POSITION

Troy Corser will start Sunday's 13th and final round of the World Superbike championship from pole position after setting the fastest time in Saturday's Superpole final qualifying competition.

The Australian rider was marginally faster than Japanese wild card rider Shinya Takeishi in the dramatic one-lap Superpole, held in sunny conditions at the 2.32-mile circuit in the north of Japan.

Former Japanese superbike champion Takeishi will be joined on the front row by third-placed Akira Ryo on a factory Suzuki. Ryo finished runner-up in last year's opening race of the 1998 World Superbike round at Sugo.

Akira Yanagawa, a World Superbike regular, put his works Kawasaki into fourth place to complete the front row of the grid.

World champion Carl Fogarty heads the second row after taking fifth place in Superpole. The Ducati rider is joined on row two by sixth-placed Wataru Yoshikawa, Noriyuki Haga in seventh and last year's opening race winner Keiichi Kitigawa who qualified in eighth.

Italian Suzuki rider Pier-Francesco Chili in ninth and Castrol Honda's Colin Edwards complete the top 10 for the two 25-lap races.

Edwards said: "It was bad enough with a lot of very fast wild card riders here but also the sun was going down and that really caught me out at the end of the back straight - it was in my eyes and I struggled to find my regular braking point."

Edwards team-mate Aaron Slight qualified in 16th place after being unnerved by marshals sweeping the track on a fast right-hand corner as he was on his Superpole warm-up lap.

Final World Superbike championship qualifying times

1 Troy Corser, Australia (Ducati) 1:29.910
2 Shinya Takeishi, Japan (Kawasaki) 1:30.048
3 Akira Ryo, Japan (Suzuki) 1:30.089
4 Akira Yanagawa, Japan (Kawasaki) 1:30.142
5 Carl Fogarty, GB (Ducati) 1:30.269
6 Wataru Yoshikawa, Japan (Yamaha) 1:30.347
7 Noriyuki Haga, Japan (Yamaha) 1:30.357
8 Keiichi Kitigawa, Japan (Suzuki) 1:30.375
9 Pier-Francesco Chili, Italy (Suzuki) 1:30.695
10 Colin Edwards, USA (Castrol Honda) 1:30.728

Corser Quote:
"You need a lot of laps to know Sugo really well and then you've still got to get every corner right if you are to set a good time. The wild card riders are always strong here and I knew that there would be a whole heap of them in with a chance of taking Superpole. I think my Superpole lap could have been quicker because I had to go round some debris on the track at chicane. I saw some small rocks on the track on my warm up lap and they were right on my line, so I had to remember to avoid them on my quick lap. If they had not have been there, I reckon I could've gone a bit quicker.
It's going to be a couple of hard races tomorrow and it's vital to get a good start. Ideally, I'd like to be first into turn one and run my own race from the front. If you get caught up in a bunch at the start, it's very hard to get past and into the lead. I don't think we're going to have any problems here, because the speeds aren't so high, but I was prevented from running a race distance today with a small clutch problem.
Whatever happens, I want to forget last year's fall and make up for it with a couple of good results tomorrow."

Carl Fogarty Quote:
"I must have lost time in the final curve and therefore ruined my fast lap" commented Carl Fogarty. "My speed on this track is very good and I'm pleased with the way we set the bike up. I think I'll try another tire tomorrow morning and then make my choice. I'm very motivated and will be going for a win in this race".

thanks, castrol honda, ducati corse