The eighth round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship got off to a good start today for the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team. Corser took second and Haga took fifth provisional qualifying slots in hot and sunny temperatures at the Italian holiday resort of Misano.

The Misano circuit has undergone modifications this season including a switch in the track direction, re-surfacing and layout changes. This means a new circuit effectively for the riders and teams to adapt to. The Yamaha Motor Italia Team started today already having tested here last month, providing some valuable set-up data as well as giving the riders the chance to learn the new track layout.

Corser made his intentions known in this morning's practice session setting the fastest lap five times and topping the leader board at the end of the session. He maintained that top position throughout the qualifying session until Bayliss set the fastest time five minutes before the end of the session. Haga had a minor crash in this morning's session caused by the loss of front end grip but that didn't stop him from going fourth fastest by the end of the session.

Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi made good progress during the day, taking over a second off his best time to finish the day in 17th place.

The front row going into tomorrow's second qualifying and Superpole sessions is headed up by Bayliss with Kagayama and Xaus following behind Corser in third and fourth respectively.
 
Troy Corser (2nd - 1'36.524 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Today's been good and we've pretty much got the bike set up as it was at the test here last month. The conditions today are similar to those at the test so we already have some good data to go on. We made some small changes from the morning session to this afternoon because the track temperature was fifteen degrees higher. My biggest concern is with the tyre wear and the number of laps we're due to do in this heat; right now the tyres are wearing out after too few laps because of the track temperature but I'm sure we're not the only team suffering. I'm reasonably happy though with today's progress."

Noriyuki Haga (5th - 1'37.453 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Today I've tried some different settings; I haven't yet found the right one but I have found which direction we need to go in. We will continue to work on that tomorrow. We only used one tyre today which is good because it means we have more saved for tomorrow. We will spend some time tomorrow doing race distances on our tyre choices to find out what will be best for us. I had a small crash this morning when the front washed out on me but it was nothing serious. The track feels okay but it is so different to the old track; I'm glad we tested here last month as it has given me a bit of a head start."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"The most important set-up is already done for Troy. He needs to do some more work to find the right race tyre but the situation is good so far. Noriyuki had a small crash but his focus has been to find the right tyre for the race. He has a good feeling and the situation is looking good with him also."

Shinichi Nakatomi (17th - 1'39.128 - Team Yamaha YZF)
"I am happy with the progress I have made today. I have found a good direction to go in for my set-up and I am getting to know the new circuit well."