Izutsu crashes out at Sugo.

Fuchs Kawasaki rider, Hitoyasu Izutsu, is to miss this weekend's World Superbike round at Sugo, after highsiding out of the opening qualifying session and fracturing his left radius.

The former Japanese Superbike Champion had just set the third quickest time of the day, with just sixteen minutes of the first qualifying session remaining, when disaster struck. Determined to close even further on pole sitter, Makoto Tamada, Izutsu got on the gas too hard exiting Sugo's notorious chicane and highsided himself into the middle of the track. Unable to move, the session was red flagged to allow the Japanese rider to receive immediate attention from trackside medical staff.

Izutsu, who won the double in Sugo in 2000, will undergo a thorough examination this evening, but early indications are that it will be a number of weeks before he's fit to return to the fray.

Chris Walker qualified in thirteenth place, after the session was red flagged for a second time with just three minutes left to run. He may not have been overly impressed with his position on the provisional grid, but the 30-year-old British rider was happy to be within a second of pole position.

'I'm still struggling a bit to feel comfortable on the bike,' said Walker. 'I was happy enough with my time in the qualifying session, but it felt like I was having to ride right at the ragged edge to set it. I need to sit down tonight with the team and try and work out how we can calm the bike down a bit, without losing any of the speed that we had today.'

Akira Yanagawa, obviously happy to be back in World Superbikes if the perpetual smile on his face was anything to go by, proved he hadn't lost his touch by qualifying in ninth place, to secure a third row start on the provisional grid.

'We waited until the end of the session before going with a qualifier but then I couldn't find a clear space on the track in which to try and put in a fast lap,' said Yanagawa. 'So, it could have been better, but I'm happy enough with my qualifying position. We've managed to find a good set-up, as well as identifying a couple of tyre options for the race. We won't make a final decision on tyres until tomorrow, as the team want me to try one more combination in the morning. I really enjoyed this afternoon; riding in World Superbikes again was great fun.'

Things didn't go quite so well for Eric Bostrom, the second Kawasaki wild card at Sugo. The reigning AMA Supersport 600 Champion struggled to find a workable set-up during the qualifying session, which resulted in him ending the day down in sixteenth place.

'It's been a pretty miserable day,' said a disappointed Bostrom. 'We went the wrong way with set-up for qualifying and took a major step backwards. We know what direction we need to go in with the bike to improve matters, and I'm hoping the team will be able to sort things out before qualifying gets underway again tomorrow.'