Saturday, May 7 2011
Troy will start tomorrow’s pair of 18-lap races on the front row of the grid after a superb performance in Superpole in Monza today. He was eighth in Superpole 1, seventh in Superpole 2 and then set the fourth fastest lap in Superpole 3, to end alongside Superpole winner Max Biaggi (Aprilia), Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) and Jonathan Rea (Honda).
Troy – 4th, 1:42.688
Well, that’s more like it! I felt pretty comfortable out there today – the bike feels easier to ride and not so physical so it’s easier to push hard. I managed a podium here last year from way down the grid, so it’s great to be on the front row this time and give myself a chance of good results.
I had a bit of a moment in Superpole 1 in the second chicane and nearly crashed and that’s why I was probably a bit tentative going through it again at the beginning of Superpole 2. If I had gone harder I might have shaved about a tenth or two tenths of a second off my time but, at the end of the day, I’m on the front row and that’s all that counts.
It’s very important to be at the front at the start here, because if you don’t you can get tangled up in the first chicane and lose ground. Then it’s hard to make up the time and when you push too hard the tyres go off quicker. I reckon my starts are normally pretty good, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be at the front or with the front runners going into turn one.
My race pace is good and my bike is pretty fast. Although I can draft other riders I don’t think anybody passed me on the slipstream today. There’s going to be a lot of slipstreaming tomorrow and it’s going to be crucial because I don’t think anybody is going to pull away and get a big gap on the rest.
At the moment, we are not exactly sure if we will use soft or hard tyres tomorrow. The hard tyres last longer, but the lap times are a bit slower then the soft ones. We’ll see how the temperature is and have a consultation with Pirelli before making up our minds.
See ya,
Troy
