FIM Supersport World Championship Silverstone Circuit, England August 3, 2012 Qualifying Session One Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), 2:23.241 2. Sam LOWES, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 2:23.980 3. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:25.235 4. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (Triumph Daytona 675), 2:26.656 5. Matthew SCHOLTZ, South Africa (Honda CBR600RR), 2:27.072 6. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 2:27.177 7. Vladimir LEONOV, Russia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 2:27.302 8. Josh DAY, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:27.455 9. Imre TOTH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), 2:27.470 10. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:27.756
19. Kenny NOYES, USA (Suzuki GSX-R600), 2:30.129
More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda:
Jules on provisional pole as PTR takes 1-2 at home round
PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel took pole position with his Bogdanka PTR Honda team mate Sam Lowes just behind him in a dream start to the British based tuning firm’s home ninth round of the World Supersport Championship at Silverstone.
In damp but drying qualifying, Ronan Quarmby on his PTR Honda was 18th after posting the second fastest time in the morning’s dry conditions. Martin Jessopp took 23rd in the tricky afternoon session. Rounding off an excellent performance by the PTR riders, Mathew Scholtz on his Bogdanka PTR Honda is provisionally fifth. There are further practice and qualifying sessions tomorrow before the race starts at 1330 GMT on Sunday August 5th.
Jules: “I enjoyed this afternoon in a wet but drying qualifying session. It was difficult but very enjoyable. When I was pushing on the wet parts I was getting my knee down; the grip in the wet is really nice at Silverstone. I was pushing and every lap was going faster. Maybe tomorrow it will be a full wet day and today’s result may set the final gird position. I am happy.”
Ronan: “This morning was one of my best first practice sessions and I felt really good and comfortable in second place. Then this afternoon there was misunderstanding about a medical check and I missed the first 15-minutes of qualifying. That threw me and I struggled to get into my rhythm on the damp track. I’ll be back on it tomorrow.”
Martin: “Today could have been a lot better but I had an asthma attack last night and got very little sleep. I struggled this morning but after the session my crew chief for this weekend James Buckingham found something on the data and we made good progress on set up for the afternoon. I had a good push in the wet and was quite far off the limit; which is encouraging. We will look through the data and set up but my priority is a good night’s sleep for tomorrow.”
Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “It’s been a good first day for Jules in both the wet and dry and things are going in the right direction – he is in good shape whatever the weather. Ronan was very quick this morning but missed the start of qualifying over confusion about a medical check and lost momentum. He will be fine wet or dry tomorrow. Martin is hoping for better tomorrow after a tough start to the weekend.”
First Qualifying 1. Jules Cluzel FRA PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 23.241s 2. Sam Lowes GBR Bogdanka PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 23.980s 3. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Kawasaki Lorenzini ZX-6R 2m 25.235s 4. Alex Baldolini ITA Power Team Suriano Triumph 675 2m 26.656s 5. Mathew Scholtz RSA Bogdanka PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 27.072s 6. Broc Parkes AUS Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 2m 27.177s 7. Vladimir Leonov RUS Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 2m 27.302s 8. Joshua Day USA GoEleven Kawasaki ZX-6R 2m 27.455s 9. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth Honda CBR600RR 2m 27.470s 10. Sheridan Morais RSA Kawasaki Lorenzini ZX-6R 2m 27.756s
18. Ronan Quarmby RSA PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 29.575s
23. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 31.753s
More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda:
Lowes provisional second at Silverstone
BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes grabbed a provisional second position start for Sunday’s round nine of the World Supersport Championship on his home ground at Silverstone in a wet first qualifying after topping the dry, first practice in the morning.
Silverstone rookie, Mathew Scholtz, on the other Bogdanka PTR Honda had an equally impressive start to the weekend by going fifth fastest in both sessions, to provisionally qualify on the second row with the second qualifying session for Sunday’s race scheduled for tomorrow.
Swedish rider, Alexander Lundh, started his debut in the Bogdanka Honda PTR colours with a 25th position in the opening practice session, before a small problem with the electronics allowed him to only do a single lap in the afternoon to provisionally qualify in 31st position.
Sam Lowes: “I went out this morning and really enjoyed myself in the dry. The bike was working mega. We’re not perfect in the dry but we have a direction to go and it’s looking good. In the full wet conditions this afternoon I felt really good too and was quite a bit quicker than anybody else. Towards the end the track started to dry. I still pushed on but didn’t want to push too much. We’re second in the end with a good gap to third. We can still improve a bit in the dry but being fastest this morning, we’re obviously not in a bad position. We’re good in the wet too so I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend regardless of the weather. I love Silverstone so I want to enjoy my home weekend and will try to get as many points as possible on Sunday.”
Mathew Scholtz: “I’m really happy with how things went today. It was my first time on this track and this morning I just focused on learning it and finding the best lines. It seemed that the laptimes came easier than they have all year and I went faster and faster, ending the session in fifth. I managed to get the same result in the qualifying and I’m really happy about it. I feel we have a top five potential regardless of the weather so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and want to start the race from the first two rows.”
Alexander Lundh: “It was a good start to the weekend this morning and I was learning my way around in the first practice, understanding the bike and the tyres. I felt good and confident about improving my pace in the qualifying but unfortunately we had a problem with the electronics which meant I could only do one lap at the end of qualifying when the track was starting to dry out. We can make good progress tomorrow so I hope the second qualifying will be dry and we can improve today’s times to get a better grid position for the race.”
Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda, Team Manager: “Sam has good pace wet or dry, especially in the dry. We will continue to improve with him before the race. Mathew is quick and very good in the dry and wet. It’s a good boost for him ahead of second qualifying tomorrow.”
First Qualifying: 1. Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’23.241 2. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’23.980 3. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’25.235 4. Alex Baldolini (Power Team by Suriano) Triumph Daytona 675 2’26.656 5. Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’27.072 6. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products) Honda CBR600RR 2’27.177 7. Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport) Yamaha YZF R6 2’27.302 8. Joshua Day (Team GOELEVEN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’27.455 9. Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth) Honda CBR600RR 2’27.470 10. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’27.756
31. Alexander Lundh (Bogdanka Honda PTR) Honda CBR600RR 2’49.812