Max Neukirchner insists he knows what he needs to do in second qualifying for the latest round of the World Superbike Championship at
Donington Park after a trying day in provisional practice.
With Tom Sykes up in fourth place on the BSB-specification Rizla Suzuki, the factory-backed Alstare team struggled in comparison, with
Fonsi Nieto their only rider to sneak into the top 16.
More significantly, Neukirchner, currently second in the overall standings, was only 23rd fastest as struggled to find grip on the slippery Donington surface.
On the plus side, the German rider insists he has acquired plenty of data to forge ahead over the course of the weekend and is anticipating a big improvement in final qualifying.
“For me, it was not possible to go any faster then I did. The set up of my bike wasn't right in the morning, but we managed to make some changes and improve it for qualifying in the afternoon.
“Then we made some changes for the last five laps and I think we went in the wrong direction. I feel we have a lot of information about what to do know. I crashed in the slippery conditions this afternoon and hurt my bum a bit. But, it's not going to cause me any problems tomorrow and I am positive we can make some big improvements to the bike and my lap times.”
