Corser | BMW | Assen | Xaus | World SBK
- From: TRS Media | Published: April 27th, 2009 - 11:28 am
Troy Corser, BMW Motorrad – “Of course, I am not happy with 10th place but considering my grid position and my left hand, I think today’s results have been pretty good. I didn’t know that I had broken a bone in my left hand until recently, because it didn’t show up on the X-rays in Monza during the tests. But as the days went on, I sort of felt that something wasn’t quite right and that was proved to be so when I had some more X-rays recently. I decided not to have pain-killing injections today because when you have them, you can also lose feeling and sensation in the hand and that was the last thing I wanted when I was diving into a corner at high speed. So, I just had a couple of normal pills instead. Obviously they weren’t very strong and I certainly knew that I was in pain in the second race, but you just have to ignore it and keep going. ”
“Our bike is still being developed and there are some new parts to come very soon, so I am confident that there are improvements to come. We have only just started working on the traction and wheelie control, so you can see that’s there’s lots more we can do with the bike. The new schedule means that we have lost at least thirty minutes. If you are an experienced or established team it’s not so bad, but we are a new team and need as much track time as we can get. So, at the moment we are at a bit of a disadvantage, but everybody in the team is working hard and it’s not going to be too long before better results come.”
“Superpole was the usual lottery for me and I cannot explain why two qualifying tires that are the same should work so differently. I did a 1:38.339 in Superpole 1 and was second fastest overall. I used the same bike and the same type of qualifying tire in Superpole. The bike (or tire) felt completely different and I just couldn’t go so fast at all. I finished six tenths of a second slower on that lap! it’s a big shame because it means, once again, we are way down the grid and will have to try and get up to the sharp end as soon as we can if we are to have any sort of decent result. The good news is that I am feeling quite comfortable on a race pace and the other good news is that my hand feels a lot better today – probably because of some treatment from the Clinica Mobile and some painkillers.”
“That was one of our most consistent racedays this season and although I’m never happy with 10th place, I think that is about the best we could’ve done today. Maybe if we hadn’t started the races from the fourth row, I could’ve challenged for sixth or seventh place, but until we qualify better, it’s always going to be a case of playing ‘catch-up’. My hand wasn’t too bad in race one, but it was definitely more sore in race two. The crack is right where you put pressure on the handlebars, so it’s not something that I could avoid. So, all in all, I think it is pretty good to get two tenths today.”
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport continued to make progress in practice and regular qualifying today, but once again saw their hopes of good grid positions dashed in Superpole qualifying. All the good work done by Troy, Ruben and the team was undone in Superpole thanks to problems with their qualifying tires in Superpole 1 and Superpole 2 and, as a result, Troy and Ruben will have to start tomorrow’s pair of 22-lap races from the fourth and fifth rows of the grid. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) continued his run of good form by taking pole position this afternoon, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second, Leon Haslam (Honda) third and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) fourth.
Troy enjoyed one of the most consistent racedays of the season so far, taking a superb pair of top ten finishes at Assen today. Despite problems in Superpole qualifying, a lowly grid position and a painful left hand, Troy battled his way throughout the two 22-lappers. He was in obvious discomfort changing direction and on heavy braking, due to a cracked bone in his left hand, but somehow he ignored the pain barrier and brought his S 1000 RR home twice, much to the delight of the whole team. He was well supported by his team mate Ruben Xaus, who had also been forced to start from way down the grid. Ruben began both races from the fifth row, but charged his way to 14th in race one and then followed that up with a 11th in race two.
American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won a thrilling race one, with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) second and Leon Haslam (Honda) third. Spies looked as he was all set for a double, but crashed out of race two after just one lap. Haga took over the lead and was then never headed on the way to an emphatic victory. Second was Haslam, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) third.
Ruben Xaus:
“Like Troy, I am finding it a bit hard to understand what is going on with the qualifying tires. I qualified OK for Superpole and started Superpole 1 with a qualifying tire. But I felt no grip and struggled to do a fast lap. When I pulled in, after two laps, the tire looked as if it was brand new and that is not normal for a qualifying tire. OK, the bike is quite sensitive to any changes we make, but we didn’t change the bike for Superpole, so I don’t understand what happened. I had two crashes today and do not know what happened in either of them, except that both happened with the same bike, so I didn’t use that one again afterwards. But, I am happy with my race pace on this bike and will be fighting for everything I can get in the races. Obviously, being so far down the grid is a problem, but hopefully I will be able to see the lights from way back there and get a good start.”
“I think we need some more help from the tire guys, because it is quite difficult getting a tire to work with our bike sometimes and that is affecting our progress. But I am happy to finish both races today and I am also happy because I know I did some good lap times, particularly in the second race. The bike was on the limit in race one, but I felt it was better in race two and that is reflected in the better lap times. Also, I know that there are further improvements to come and once we can put everything together I’m sure we will finish higher up.”
Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
“It’s a bit difficult to know what to say, except that our riders and the whole team worked so hard for two days, made good progress and then had it all destroyed in Superpole qualifying. Troy went three tenths of a second faster in Superpole 1 than in normal qualifying, but then was six tenths of a second slower in Superpole 2 than Superpole 1 and I don’t think it is normal for such a rider as Troy. I am frustrated and I am sure that the whole team feel the same way, because none of us can understand how the same tires can work so differently. I don’t think this is down to our lack of experience, but it is a strange state of affairs and I hope that we can find some solutions to this kind of problem sooner, rather than later.”
“Sunday’s results have reduced the pain of yesterday’s Superpole qualifying and shows that we are capable of improving and getting good results. The ideas from our recent Monza tests are bearing fruit and I am happy because it means we are going in the right direction. I think both riders have done a brilliant job today. Troy was in some pain in both races but still fought hard and gave us top ten results. And Ruben took 11th after finishing 20th in Superpole and that shows that he is also a fighter. After four races we are more or less where we expected to be, but 10th position is from where we must now improve on. We are all happy because to be at this kind of level, in such a competitive championship, shows our strength and ability to run with the top guys, all of whom have much more experience then us.”
