Alstare Suzuki enjoyed a solid start to round six of the World Superbike Championship at Miller Motorsports Park, even if best placed rider Max Neukirchner was frustrated to be well off the pace of
Fonsi Nieto and
Yukio Kagayama.
Coming to the United States on the back of his maiden WSBK win at Monza, Neukirchner had high hopes of repeating that feat around the Utah-located circuit, but admits he is finding the circuit tricky to get right.
Indeed, having languished in 20th position during free practice, the German could only improve to 15th in provisional qualifying after struggling with set-up problems, particularly in the first sector.
"I'm a little angry because I'm finding this track difficult - especially in the first split where I know I'm losing time. The second and third splits are not too bad, it's just the first one where I'm suffering and I think this is because of some chassis problems.
"We changed the bike from the morning session to the afternoon qualifying and I think maybe we went the wrong way, so tomorrow we'll change it more back to where we started from and work from there. The altitude doesn't seem to affect the top speed so much, but I feel it is affecting the acceleration out of the corners. We have some work to do tomorrow, but I'm sure my team will manage it OK."
Nonetheless, Nieto and Kagayama ensured Suzuki would be represented at the front of the field, the Italian and Japanese riders completing the day in sixth and seventh places. Even so, both riders are complaining that the high altitude is taking its toll on their bikes.
"It's a very big, wide track so it's a bit difficult to find a good line at the moment,” Kagayama said. “In the afternoon, I began to find it a bit easier and it's just a case of putting in many, many laps and learning this circuit as fast as I can. I think the grip level is quite good and although the high altitude is affecting the bike, I have finished the day in a positive mood."
