Having previously professed to being 'angry' with himself for the inability to understand the Miller Motorsports Park, Max Neukirchner proved he can be a quicker learner by storming to second in the Superpole.
A remarkable improvement of fortunes for the Suzuki Alstare rider, Neukirchner had ended first qualifying on day one down in 15th position but, having jumped up to sixth heading into Superpole, produced a fine lap that very nearly grabbed him pole position.
While
Carlos Checa would eventually steal his limelight, Neukirhcner was nonetheless delighted with his turnaround, going on to admit that he watched tapes of successful AMA rider Ben Spies in order to find time in the crucial first sector.
“Throughout qualifying we've been having some problems with the race tyres but my team worked very hard and we found a good race set-up, and that makes me happy.
“I had problems with the first sector, so this morning I watched Ben Spies on the track and saw the lines he was using. I tried some of them later and found them much better.
“My Superpole lap was great - the bike was working really well and now I'm happily looking forward to the races tomorrow.