Frankie Chili looks forward to Qatar WSBK


World Superbikes

By blue2bikes
February 23 2005

Having had a disappointing qualifying position of 14th place in Qatar, Pier-Francesco ‘Frankie’ Chili - probably the most experienced rider on the scene today, will not be running the same engine as he did in the official qualifying.

Finishing one and a half seconds behind the dominant Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki), Frankie on his new Honda FireBlade - the machine he wanted to run in this year’s championships - stated that this was only a first stage engine.

Frankie Chili - photo by Raceline Photography
Frankie Chili in 2004 - photo © Raceline Photography

He went on to say, “We did not have the power to push hard, and we spent the time getting used to the bike and track. We have a higher spec engine for the race, and I will be looking forward to that.”

His team-mate this year, Max Neukirchner, said, “The engine is completely standard, but the team is good and they worked very hard to help me. With a better engine for the race, maybe I will win my first points at the first attempt.”

First day of qualifying for the race kicks of tomorrow, Thursday the 24th of February, with the race taking place on Saturday.

A race to watch? You bet it is! Can Noriyuki Haga really win the championship for Yamaha, or will the FireBlades be a cut above the Suzukis?

To buy the photograph shown above, visit Raceline Photography


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