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De Puniet can't wait to race
29 June 2007 / Results / PhotosKawasaki's Randy de Puniet will start tomorrow's Dutch TT from the front row of the grid after a gripping finale to today's qualifying session. Team mate, Anthony West, also came well within the top ten on the time sheet and will start from the front of the third row.
After a good start to the session, which saw him easily maintaining the pace of the frontrunners, de Puniet's confidence dropped as an already wet track became precariously slippery, with rain falling ever harder on the Dutch circuit. However, perseverance with his Bridgestone tyre choice paid off as drier conditions prevailed and, on his very last run, he put in his best time of the day. The 26-year-old Frenchman's final lap of 1'49.579 took him from a discouraging 13th in the line up, to a magnificent third, just behind fellow Bridgestone runners Chris Vermeulen, on pole, and Casey Stoner.
The Kawasaki rider also claimed the honour of being the fastest man of the session, with a top speed of 275.791kmh.
De Puniet said about Friday's qualifying session: "I'm very happy and feeling a bit lucky! I found a tyre I really liked but then the weather changed for the worse and it was impossible to improve. However, I hung on, waiting for the conditions to get better and they did, just at the right moment. I thought I would be starting from the fifth row, and from there it's hard to do well in the race, so I'm really pleased. It's very important to get this third position on the grid. Today's conditions were not the best but I managed a good lap time and the bike and engine worked very well, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
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