Broc Parkes under the outright lap record on day one in Brno

The brilliant 2008 qualifying record of Broc Parkes continued at Brno on the first day of track action, as the Australian Supersport Superstar slotted in a 2'03.604 to create a new track best. He beat the previous record by 1.2 seconds, with one more day of qualifying to go.

Parkes, who is looking for his second win of the year on Sunday, was 0.318 seconds ahead of second best qualifier Josh Brookes, with Andrew Pitt third.

The weather conditions at Brno were dry but relatively cool at 25°C, at a track where the usual temperature is well over 30°C at this time of year.

Fabien Foret had a drama-filled day, falling in the morning session and then again in the afternoon, having just completed his fastest lap.

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) was only 17th fastest after experiencing problems matching tyre and suspension choices to the recently resurface circuit in the first timed session.

David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was 18th in the first day rankings, but still less than two seconds from Parkes' provisional pole.

"We had a little issue with top end power this morning but the guys in the team sorted out quite quickly so we were able to set the best lap time in the qualifying session. The track is very smooth after being resurfaced but it's still a bit too new and needs to have a little more rubber on it.

There is a narrow line right now but I think it will improve all weekend. We used some settings based on the test we did at Vallelunga recently and they worked out pretty good as well, even though the temperature is nothing like as much here as it was in Italy."

Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team)

"Broc did his usual great job and set a very fast lap, although there are a couple of other riders not too far away from him. I hope we will find him even more speed for the races but with a wider margin of safety in his setup. We have to be happy that despite Fabien's crash and injury he didn't end up with any more permanent damage. But it's still a very disappointing day for Fabien and the team.

One of his vertebrae is broken through but there is no nerve damage so the medical people think it could be two or three months before he is fit again. It appears he ran into the first corner fast just after his quickest lap and then just couldn't hold the line and crashed."

"I was searching for a good suspension set-up today but although the rear is OK, but the front was still a problem. The front felt light everywhere and the choice of tyres at the moment is not so good. But after checks with the suspension technicians we will fix it for tomorrow."

David Salom: (18th - 2'05.582 seconds - Yamaha Spain) "It has been difficult because we had problems with the front tyres. The front suspension was not working so well, so we changed the spring and it was better. We need to sort out some things because at the point of starting to accelerate I can't do it the way I want to. I've improved my time from last year by two seconds, but I'm not happy because I'm 18th."

1 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 2'3.604

2 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 2'3.922

3 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 2'4.176

4 Craig Jones Honda GBR 2'4.194

5 Mark Aitchinson Triumph AUS 2'4.377

6 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 2'4.552

7 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 2'4.622

8 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 2'4.654

9 Gianluca Nannelli Honda ITA 2'4.663

10 Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 2'4.721

11 Vesa Kallio Honda FIN 2'4.760

12 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 2'4.816

13 Gianluca Vizziello Honda ITA 2'4.910

14 Ivan Clementi Triumph ITA 2'5.089

15 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 2'5.151

17 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 2'5.517

18 David Salom Yamaha ESP 2'5.583

- Yamaha Racing -