LACONI (DUCATI XEROX TEAM) TAKES PROVISIONAL SECOND IN FRIDAY BRANDS
QUALIFYING – TOSELAND EIGHTH

Brands Hatch (UK), Friday 5 August: Régis Laconi set second quickest time in
today’s opening qualifying session at Brands Hatch, the Ducati Xerox Team rider
clocking a 1m27.652s, half-a-second off the pace of early frontrunner Troy
Corser (Suzuki). James Toseland was in eighth place on the provisional Friday
grid, but just four-tenths of a second off his team-mate’ s time, as four
different manufacturers took the top four slots on the timesheets.

“I am quite happy with the session, we’ve still got a bit more work to do
because the bike is not yet perfect to ride” declared Laconi. “The feeling is
good however and I think that with two or three changes we can go even quicker
tomorrow. I have to say that this track is beautiful to ride, the ups and downs
are fantastic. I think that I can improve mainly in the final part, from the
Westfield right before Dingle Dell. This year they have closed up the entrance
to the curve and it’s ruined it. We’ve still got to get the bike set up well for
this part because in the first split it’s going really well.”

“I’m not overjoyed by the position to be honest and we’ve still got a lot to do
on the bike. It feels so different after the good setting we had at Mugello this
week and we’re quite a way off” commented Toseland. “But despite this I’m
quietly confident and we know which direction to go in. To be only point four
off second place after riding it like that, I’m quite pleasantly surprised to be
honest. I finished the lap and the time was good, although I felt that it was up
in the 35s. I lost the front twice on two of my quick laps and I had a few
problems and before you know it I had lost about 25 minutes of the session. And
to only have had that much lap time I’m quite happy.”

TIMES:

 1. Corser (Suzuki)          1m27.123s
 2. Laconi (Ducati Xerox)    1m27.652s
 3. Walker (Kawasaki)        1m27.656s
 4. Muggeridge (Honda)       1m27.742s
 5. Kagayama (Suzuki)        1m27.767s
 6. Pitt (Yamaha)            1m28.023s
 7. Vermeulen (Honda)        1m28.056s
 8. Toseland (Ducati Xerox)  1m28.072s
 9. Chili (Honda)            1m28.205s
10. Neukirchner (Honda)      1m28.271s