eni FIM Superbike World Championship

Jerez Circuit, Spain

September 5, 2014

Free Practice Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Loris BAZ, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:42.677

2. Leon HASLAM, UK (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:42.881

3. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati 1199 Panigale R), 1:42.896

4. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:42.899

5. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati 1199 Panigale R), 1:42.925

6. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:42.953

7. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:42.969

8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:42.995

9. Toni ELIAS, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:43.067

10. Jonathan REA, UK (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:43.079

11. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:43.204

12. Alessandro ANDREOZZI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), EVO, 1:44.031

13. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-10R), EVO, 1:44.468

14. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (Ducati 1199 Panigale R), EVO, 1:44.647

15. Sylvain BARRIER, France (BMW S1000RR), EVO, 1:44.708

16. Claudio CORTI, Italy (MV Agusta F4 RR), 1:44.860

17. Jeremy GUARNONI, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), EVO, 1:44.919

18. Bryan STARING, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), EVO, 1:45.133

19. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), EVO, 1:45.235

20. Imre TOTH, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), 1:46.087

21. Geoff MAY, USA (EBR 1190 RX), 1:46.614

22. Gabor RIZMAYER, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), EVO, 1:46.657

23. Aaron YATES, USA (EBR 1190 RX), 1:47.617

24. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), EVO, 1:48.073

More, from a press release issued by WSBK Dorna Press Office:

Baz storms to first place on opening day

Jerez (Spain), Friday 5 September 2014 – Temperatures soared into the 30s C for Free Practice 2 leaving many to think that few riders would better their times from the morning’s session. This was looking the case until the final 6 minutes when several fast laps completely changed the running order.

After topping FP1 Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) was unable to improve but with only one rider bettering the Italian’s time from this morning he remained in a solid 2nd overall.

Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the biggest improver, jumping from 5th to the top of the timing sheet with a lap time of 1.42.677. The Frenchman is looking confident over a number of laps at the technical Spanish circuit and on today’s performance looks set to feature highly in the races on Sunday.

Behind Baz, Melandri and Sykes there was other significant improvers namely Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who elevated himself into contention in 4th, ahead of Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) and 2013 race winner Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who completed the top 6.

Chaz Davies fell from his Ducati for the second time in as many session and dropped to 7th ahead of Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) who was 10th.

In the EVO fight Team Pedercini’s Alessandro Andreozzi closed to within 1.3s of the fastest time of the day with an impressive 1.44.031, the Italian claiming a 12th place overall.

Currently the final participant in Superpole 1 is the returning from injury Imre Toth (Team Toth BMW) but with FP3 still to come tomorrow morning there is still a chance for others to make it through.

More, from a press release issued by Team Hero EBR:

Team Hero EBR Make Spanish Strides Forward At Jerez

After their most encouraging weekend of the season so far last time out at Laguna Seca, Team Hero EBR returned to WorldSuperbike duty at a sunny Jerez with renewed optimism, narrowly missing out on a provisional Superpole qualifying position in the process after the opening day of on track action.

Both Geoff and Aaron looked comfortable immediately and with no technical glitches across the two sessions were able to make strides forward each time they went out on track.

Geoff currently sits 21st in the combined classification and within half a second of that all- important 20th position which would guarantee a start in Superpole 1 tomorrow afternoon. For Aaron, there a few tweaks to make overnight which should see both of the 1190RX machines achieving strong grid positions ahead of Sunday’s two 20 lap races.

Geoff May: “Jerez is definitely my favourite track and I really enjoyed riding my EBR 1190RX here. Today I had a good feeling with the bike and the track and I feel confident for a good position on the starting grid tomorrow.”

Aaron Yates: “I had two good sessions and I worked hard with my mechanics in order to find the best setup. Tonight we will make some adjustments and I hope that tomorrow we will close the gap to the top 20 even more.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:

APRILIA IS FAST OUT OF THE GATE AT JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA

MELANDRI AND GUINTOLI WORK ON RACE PACE WITH THEIR OFFICIAL RSV4s ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE

Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 5 September 2014 – In the two free practice sessions on Friday, the first day of the tenth World Superbike round, Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli were at the forefront.

Marco proved to be fast straight away, taking the best time in the morning free practice session with 1’42.768. In the afternoon session Melandri focused more on fine tuning his RSV4 with race pace in mind, as well as working on tyre duration over the 34 laps he put in. This was a choice which in any case did not keep him from ending the day with the second spot in the combined standings for the two sessions.

Marco Melandri: “I’m very pleased because after almost two months off the bike getting started again is always a little daunting. Instead I noticed that both the guys on the team and I still remember well how to work together and I felt good in the saddle with my RSV4 working great. This afternoon in the high temperatures I focused on pace without trying to improve my time. We are off to a good start, so we’ll keep going in this direction”.

Sylvain Guintoli applied the same work method. The Frenchman, currently lying second in the championship standings, improved in the second session to finish in eighth place in the combined standings but only three tenths off the best time, a result that speaks volumes about how even the playing field was on this first day of practice.

Sylvain Guintoli: “We are all really very close. After the long break it was important to find our pace, especially on a twisting and demanding track like this one. In the afternoon I managed to improve my pace, trying to finish the race distance on my tyres. As first days go, it was good. We’re working with the race in mind and our claws will come out in Superpole tomorrow and then again in the races on Sunday”.

More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:

Haslam finds pace in Jerez heat

Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam set the fourth fastest combined time in today’s two free practice sessions for round 10 of the 2014 World Superbike championship at Jerez in Spain this afternoon.

Fresh from his recent Suzuka 8-hours victory in Japan, the 30-year-old British rider fired his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP around the 4.423km Jerez circuit in a time of 1m42.881s, just two tenths behind provisional pole sitter Loris Baz.

Haslam’s Pata Honda team-mate Jonathan Rea, 27, was tenth fastest on combined times from today’s two sessions, which were run with temperatures in the mid-30s and a track temperature this afternoon of 55 degrees centigrade, but the Northern Irishman is confident of improvement tomorrow.

Following a third free practice session tomorrow morning, Saturday’s two afternoon Superpole sessions will determine final grid positions for Sunday’s two 20-lap Jerez Superbike races.

Leon Haslam – P4

We actually had a few issues in the first session this morning and most of the afternoon one, too, but the boys worked really well and we managed to get a good setting for the end. Hopefully we can keep plugging away but these hot conditions have definitely thrown a few different settings at us. I’ve felt pretty good the last few rounds and a few little issues have kind of determined the results, but at the minute, fingers crossed, everything’s going OK and we’re only a couple of tenths off.

Jonathan Rea – P10

Honestly, if you can look past the actual result, today’s been very productive for us. We started the day with a little problem but session two was good and we were able to try a new weight distribution on the CBR. There were some positives and negatives and we still need to maximise the set-up for that. Nissin have brought some new brake components for me to test and I’m finding a really positive feeling with that. Also my team worked hard on a new engine specification during the break and I’m still getting used to that as it has a quite different power character. Today we worked solely to get a good feeling and we took a little weight off the front in the middle of this afternoon’s session. I didn’t have the best feeling with that but we’ll look at the data tonight. We got a lot of w ork done today and I’m quite satisfied.

Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator

Jonathan finished tenth today but we didn’t use any new tyres and concentrated on a few little things with the bike. Tenth might not look so good but we’re quite happy with the progress we made, especially in these hot conditions where we sometimes struggle. With Leon, the afternoon session was a little bit strange. We had a few issues and weren’t really moving forward until we changed the tyre. This transformed the bike and he was able to move up to fourth. Hopefully he can do some more of those fast laps tomorrow.

More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:

Laverty at the sharp end in Spain as Voltcom Crescent Suzuki returns to action

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki‘s Eugene Laverty rapidly got down to business at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain today claiming sixth in the combined times at the end of the two free practice sessions, a mere 0.2 from provisional pole.

Laverty, refreshed from the eight weeks away, reacquainted himself quickly with his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R at the Andalucian track. Initially working on improvements made throughout the summer break, the Irishman consistently improved on his lap times as the day progressed. The culmination of his efforts was almost enough to see him on the provisional front row, his fastest time of the two sessions – a 1’42.899 set on his final revolution –being interrupted by traffic in the final sector to leave him just 0.2 off the day’s best.

Alex Lowes, building on his testing knowledge of the Jerez circuit, confidently continued his development aboard the Suzuki GSX-R1000 setting a 1’43.204 as the eni FIM Superbike World Championship announced its return in dramatic style with the top 11 riders separated by less than 0.6 seconds at the close of play.

With the southern Spanish sun bathing the Circuito de Jerez, the asphalt registered 58°C for the afternoon session, a balmy 29°C high greeting the enthusiastic fans. Kawasaki’s Loris Baz topped the times with a 1’42.677 with the manufacturer’s satellite Pedercini rider Alessandro Andreozzi claiming the fastest EVO.

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki is on track at 09:45hrs local time (08:45BST) tomorrow for the final timed-for-qualifying free practice session ahead of Superpole scheduled for 15:00hrs (14:00BST).

Eugene Laverty:

“It’s nice to be back at a race weekend again after so long away! Like we thought it’s hot and slippery and it’s suiting my riding style and the bike – we’re right at the sharp end! There’s nothing in it between the front guys. It’s also good to see that we are able to use our new tyre, this year we haven’t been able to so I’m hoping in Superpole that we can qualify on those front two rows and be there at the beginning of the race on Sunday!”

Alex Lowes:

“The times are really close! I tried really hard in the second session and completed two or three more laps compared to everyone else. It’s disappointing when you don’t make big improvements throughout the day but looking through the data we are going to make some good changes for tomorrow. It’s really good to be back on the bike after the long break, we’re only half a second off and I feel like I’m riding well so hopefully with the changes tomorrow should be good.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“Jerez is a very different circuit in the summer than in the winter test months and the 50°C track temperatures make it very difficult to replicate the same amount of grip and lap time that we can generate in the winter. Therefore it is always a balance to understand how much information from the winter test is relevant because really the race track has a completely different character. None of the riders seemed to have suffered from the long summer break as within two 45 minute sessions the top 11 are all within 0.5 of a second and as ever those very small differences will make a big difference in the result come qualifying tomorrow afternoon and the races on Sunday. Both Eugene and Alex are performing well. Eugene really should have been P1 today if he hadn’t been held up in the last sector of his last lap and Alex, whilst the position isn’t what he wants, is only half a second away with some fairly big adjustments to come, to make his job a lot easier for the rest of the weekend.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Extreme weather conditions for the Ducati Superbike Team today at Jerez

Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), Friday 5 September 2014 – Day one of the World Superbike weekend at the Jerez circuit was conditioned by extremely hot conditions. The Ducati Superbike Team, with riders Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies, worked hard today to finish the opening timed practice sessions in fifth and seventh place.

The Ducati Superbike Team made a strong start to proceedings in the first timed practice session of the weekend, which took place in hot and sunny conditions (air temperature 29°C, track 46°C). Davies was immediately able to get into a good rhythm and was one of the fastest on track until two thirds of the way through the session when he unfortunately suffered a small crash. Chaz was not injured in the fall, and despite missing out on the final phase of track action, the Ducati rider nevertheless closed the opening session in third position, with a best of 1’42.916, two tenths of a second behind Melandri. Taking a methodical approach towards the set-up of his 1199 Panigale along with his technicians, Giugliano’s fastest lap, a 1’43.192, positioned him seventh at the session’s end.

All of the Superbike riders had more trouble in the afternoon, due to much higher track temperatures (60°C). Davide, making a step forward in the final stages, pushed hard to improve both his time and position, closing this first day of action in fifth place, thanks to a best lap completed in 1’42.896. Chaz unfortunately suffered another small crash in the early stages, probably caused by the hotter and therefore more slippery track conditions. Luckily the Ducati rider was able to return to the garage with his bike and then get back out on track soon after. Despite being unable to improve on his best time set in the morning, he was nevertheless satisfied with the bike’s performance in the tough conditions.

Quotes after the day’s sessions:

Davide Giugliano – (Ducati Superbike Team #34) – 5th (1’42.896)

“Today was a fairly difficult day as these extreme conditions have been putting us to the test. We worked very hard and have been trying various things. It’s not too much for a surprise that there is very little grip in these very hot conditions. But step by step we’re getting closer to those in front. We started out a little cautiously but already this afternoon we’ve improved. We need to continue to work in the same direction and focus on Sunday’s races that will undoubtedly be difficult.”

Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 7th (1’42.916)

“To be honest the bike has behaved well and my feeling is generally good. We just seem to have had some issues with traction that caused me to lose the front unexpectedly on two occasions. On this track, and in these hot conditions, this is not a positive because I don’t really know where the limit is. Apart from that, the bike is working well and so I don’t want to change too much. Overall I generally feel like I can complete fast laps quite easily. We just need to work on the front end to give me more of a margin.”