The first day of practice and qualifying at the Nurburgring today was a tough one for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli.

The tyres brought here for this event were the same type as the new ones that Haslam, Guintoli and the team found hard to work with in Misano and Brno and so a lot more work on bike set-up has still to be done before they can push as hard as they want to.

Ducati and Aprilia tested at Mugello recently with the tyres) and dominated the top-six positions with Carlos Checa leading the way.

Leon Haslam - 11th, 1:56.617:

"It's been a bit frustrating today because we've had to do a lot of work trying to get the tyres to work with our bike. The tyres here are the same type we had problems with in Misano and Brno and they are taking a lot of understanding and work before we can get to the stage we'd like to be. They definitely work differently to the standard tyres and, at the moment, our bike works better with the standard rubber. I didn't know in advance that we were going to get these tyres here, but it is up to us to make them work and that's what we will do as best we can.

"I like this track a lot and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, getting somewhere with the tyres and moving up the grid. I'm sure the races will be tough on Sunday, but that is exactly the kind of challenge I like and I am definitely up for it."

Sylvain Guintoli - 17th, 1:56.837:

"Seventeenth doesn't look so good, but I'm pretty close to Leon in lap times and once again the difference between us all is not so big. These tyres require a lot more working on than the standard ones, but I am confident that we can make them work and be in a better position tomorrow.

"I have never been to this track before, so I had to start the day learning which way round it goes and I am happy that I managed to learn it as quickly as I did and that's a good sign for tomorrow. This track is a mixture of Mugello and the Saxon Ring. It's technical and there are many fast corners and I Iove that kind of thing. I'm looking forward to a big improvement tomorrow and a good grid position for race day."


Friday qualifying: 1 Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati) 1:55.232, 2 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW) 1:55.447, 3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:55.753, 4 Shane Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:55.998, 5 Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:56.024, 6 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:56.077. 11 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 1:56.617. 17 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:56.838.