Bayliss stuns in Misano qualifying

Troy Bayliss set a blistering pace in Misano, Italy to claim provisional pole with a time of 1:34.420 – half a second quicker than second placed man, Ben Bostrom ahead of Sunday’s WSB round.

With track temperatures climbing towards 50 degrees Bayliss’s scorching time was well inside Neil Hodgson’s qualifying lap record of 1:35.326 set last year.

Hodgson set that time on Dunlops, the tyres he’s on in 2002, but memorably his race tyres disintegrated in the Italian heat. Dunlop has been testing extensively and the factory claims its new, higher profile tyre will last the distance.

Hodgson finished provisional qualifying in fourth, just behind Honda’s Colin Edwards.

Chris Walker’s Fuchs Kawasaki squad will be working late into the night to salvage the Brit’s ZX-7RR after a 100mph get-off on his cooling down lap. Walker flew off at turn one and while he escaped with some bruising, his machine was virtually destroyed

1)T Bayliss 2)B Bostrom 3)C Edwards 4)N Hodgson 5)N Haga 6)S Martin 7)L Pedercini 8)R Xaus 9)P Chili 10)G Lavilla 11)J Toseland 12)M Borciani 13)C Walker 14)S Foti 15)M Sancini 16)B Parkes 17)B Parkes 18)P Goddard 19) H Izutsu 20)A Antonello 21)I Clementi 22)M Heckles 23)A Valia 24)J Mrkyvka 25)B Stey 26)G Sartoni 27)M Malatesta 28)Y Gyger 29)C Caliumi

World Supersport qualifying:

1)F Foret 2)K Fujiwara 3)A Pitt 4)I MacPherson 5)P Casoli 6)S Chambon 7)J Teuchert 8)C Kellner 9)P Bontempi 10)C Vermuelen 11)C Cogan 12)J Whitham 13)A Carlacci 14)R Ulm 15)S Cruciani 16)J Ellison 17)K Curtain 18)K Muggeridge 19)A Corradi 20)C Mariotinni 21)G Nannelli 22)C Zaiser 23)M Lagrive 24)N Arnold 25)J McGuinness 26)S Carpentier 27)C Cipriani 28)R Frost 29)C Magnani 30)N Brignola 31)D Giugovaz