Max Neukirchner was slightly mystified with his ninth place on the grid at Brno after believing he had produced a fast lap that was devoid of any mistakes.
The German rider, who has generally been very strong over a single lap this year, looked in good shape heading to Superpole after provisionally qualifying fourth, but would end up plummeting to the third row.
Indeed, Neukirchner was not entirely sure why he was so low down after producing a lap that he thought was competent enough.
“My Superpole lap was bit funny because I didn't make any mistakes, felt good on the bike but the time was not good,” he said.
“It was strange because I had a feeling like that in the free practice this afternoon when I was on race tyres. For me the grip was better in the morning than the afternoon when I had a bit of a front end chatter.”
Nonetheless, after winning a race at Misano from tenth on the grid, Neukirchner is not too concerned about being out of position.
“The third row of the grid is not so good, but the first corner is quite far from start so as long as I can get off the line quickly, I have a chance to be in the lead group straightaway. If I can make two good starts, there is no reason why I cannot get on the podium.”
With title contender Neukirchner heading the third row, the Alstare Suzuki team will instead be led by
Fonsi Nieto, who continued his good form this weekend to qualify seventh. Targeting a podium in both races, the Spaniard is desperate for a good result after a few lean rounds.
“I am happy because today I found a good rhythm over a lot of laps on race tyres and was still going consistently fast at the end of eighteen laps. I made a little mistake in Superpole in the last sector, but the second row of the grid is OK here.
“So far the weekend has been going well. I am happy with the bike and I don't think we'll make any changes in the warm-up tomorrow morning. Every time we go out, the grip improves and I think there will be even more grip tomorrow. Whatever happens, I am going for the podium in both races.”
