In the swealtering heat of Misano
James Toseland completed first qualifying as the seventh fastest rider while team-mate
Roberto Rolfo finished in thirteenth position.
Neither of the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders had any previous experience of the new reversed Misano so their focus for the day was on finding the correct set-up. By the time the Superbike qualifying took place, the air temperature had risen to 34°C, with the track surface registering at an extremely high 49°C. This made conditions uncomfortable for the riders as they battled the heat and slippery track surface to secure the best possible times.
Toseland worked on finding set-up on race tyres and set his best lap time on his last lap. "I'm pretty happy with today,” said Toseland, “For the first time at the new circuit, the team has worked really well and we've found a setting on the bike in just one day so that's not so bad. The average time was pretty good on race tyres - we didn't use the soft tyre at the end because I wanted to concentrate on race tyres."
He admitted there is still work to do, "We haven't really found a completely comfortable set-up yet and there's still a long way to go. However, on times we haven't got so far to go, it's only a second. We'll get our heads together and discuss everything about the new track and the problems we've got and I think then Saturday will be good."
Rolfo set the fastest lap just three minutes into the session, “I am not so happy this afternoon. We changed the set-up slightly after the morning practice and the feeling was better at the beginning of the session, but towards the end it was very warm and it was difficult to do a good lap time. Towards the end I had some slower riders with me and I tried to push to do a fast lap alone but it was not possible."
