The first round of the 2007 World Superbike Championship got off to a promising start for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda as both
James Toseland and
Roberto Rolfo secured personal best times in the first qualifying practice for the opening round of the championship at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
Despite experiencing technical difficulties with his number one bike, James Toseland secured the best lap time in the morning free practice. He followed this up by recording the second best time in the official qualifying session this afternoon - beating his personal record at the Qatar track with a time of 1min 59.056secs.
The former World Superbike Champion was just 0.037 seconds behind fastest rider
Noriyuki Haga, with the top six separated by less than half a second.
"It's been a good day,” grinned Toseland, “I was quickest in this morning's practice, but this afternoon we had a problem with the number one bike. So, I had to use my second bike for the whole of the qualifying session. It would have been a lot better to be on the number one bike, but to come out with a time of 1.59 flat - which is my personal best at Qatar - is not bad at all. I'm really pleased."
Toseland's team-mate Roberto Rolfo proved that he means business this year by further improving his time at the 5.4km circuit. The Italian rider finished the session with a best lap of 2mins 00.258secs to secure ninth place. Rolfo's performance was over a second faster than his lap time during the testing at Qatar at the end of 2006. He is hoping to improve further still before Saturday's race.
