FIM Supersport World Championship Imola, Italy September 24 Final Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Broc PARKES, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:51.594 2. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.669 3. Florian MARINO, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.737 4. Chaz DAVIES, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.852 5. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:52.120 6. Roberto TAMBURINI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.140 7. Massimo ROCCOLI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:52.353 8. Sam LOWES, Great Britain (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.543 9. Gino REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.766 10. Ronan QUARMBY, South Africa (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:52.844 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: PARKALGAR HONDA’S Sam Lowes will start from eighth on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 10th round of the World Supersport Championship at Imola in Italy, after taking 1.2seconds off his lap times from yesterday. Miguel Praia on his Parkalgar Honda was nearly half a second faster than yesterday but slipped down to an unaccustomed 19th – but remains optimistic for the race, which starts at 1330 CET tomorrow, Sunday 25th September. Sam: “The second row is OK, although not where I really want to be. After missing most of qualifying yesterday we are a little behind everyone else. We have some areas we can improve and I think it will be a close race and I will be on it doing my best, I feel good.” Miguel: “That is my fastest ever lap of Imola and I am 19th, which shows how tough the competition is. Still it is a close 19th, I am just one-second from 10th and many of those riders in front of me will not have the same consistent pace over race distance. I am focused and ready to give it my all tomorrow, this is one of three last chances I have in 2011 and I want to score good results.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Sam is playing catch up after missing most of first qualifying but he is on the second row and we are working hard to make sure he will be in the fight and we are positive for the race. “Miguel has posted his fastest ever lap time but we need to improve some more for him not just to score points but to be competing inside the top 10. That’s the challenge for warm up and the race.” More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s James Ellison will start tomorrow’s tenth race of the World Supersport Championship from 15th on the grid and will be looking for more improvements in the warm-up before lights go off at the fabulous Imola circuit in Italy at 13:30 CET. After sitting comfortably in 15th for most of the second qualifying session, his team-mate Pawel Szkopek on the other Bogdanka PTR Honda will eventually start the race from 20th and targets a solid finish following his strong form in practice. James Ellison: “We’ve made big steps forward from yesterday and were hoping to make more progress in the qualifying but the changes didn’t really work. I’m missing the apexes so we need to come up with a solution for the warm-up. If we sort that out I’m confident we can have a very good race as I really enjoy the track.” Pawel Szkopek: “I was quick and consistent today so I’m happy and confident for the race. In the end I got slowed down by some slower riders and didn’t get to set a clean fast lap, but my ideal time is half a second faster so it’s looking good. I’m comfortable on the bike too. A small setup change made a big difference today, allowing me to improve my yesterday’s time by two seconds. More importantly, I’m consistent so I’m looking forward to the race.” Simon Buckmaster: “It’s a good job by Pawel today as he continues to improve. He is 20th but his lap times are quick enough that he can fight for points in the race. James in 15th is struggling with front end feel and is half a second slower than he was in practice this morning. We will overlay his data with Sam Lowe’s settings and help him to improve in warm up so he can have a strong race.” Final Qualifying: 1. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com)Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’51.594 2. Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.669 3. Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.737 4. Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.852 5. David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.120 6. Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service R.T.) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.140 7. Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.353 8. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda)Honda CBR600RR 1’52.543 9. Gino Rea (Step Racing Team) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.766 10. Ronan Quarmby (Suriano Racing Team) Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.844 15. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.680 20. Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.992 More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Marino secures Imola front row Florian Marino will start tomorrow’s tenth round World Supersport championship race from the front row of the grid after setting the third fastest time in final qualifying at Imola this afternoon. The 18-year-old Hannspree Ten Kate Honda will line up his CBR600RR alongside pole sitter Broc Parkes, second placed Luca Scassa and series leader Chaz Davies, who is on the outside of the first row. Marino’s team-mate and compatriot, Fabien Foret, who was fourth fastest yesterday, was unable to improve his time today and will start the 19-lap race around the 4.936km Imola circuit from 12th on the grid. Florian Marino P3 1m51.737s It was OK today, but the qualifying session was difficult because every time I got going it seemed there was a red flag. There were actually two but they disrupted our plans a little bit. It was a little frustrating, but finally I found some space and time to go f aster. The bike is good now and I changed the lines in the last sector where I was having some problems yesterday. I am using more of the track now and it’s better for sure. Tomorrow, I will try to get away with the other guys at the front and try make a good race. Fabien Foret P12 1m53.056s I don’t really know what went wrong today, apart from a small crash I had in qualifying. But we just had a bad day at work. Nothing went right and we couldn’t make any progress. It’s just one of those days that happen sometimes. We’ll try to look at things tonight and see what we can find for tomorrow, but it will be tough, for sure. I’ll just do the best that I can in the race and see what happens. Ronald ten Kate team manager Florian has been doing well, not just on a single fast lap but on consistent race pace, so we’re happy about t hat. We’re struggling to understand why, after a good day yesterday, Fabien’s progress came to a complete stop today. He could not even improve his time today, so it’ll be a battle for him to come up to the front tomorrow. However, nothing is impossible, so we’ll keep trying to improve things until the lights go off for the race. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha ParkinGO Racing Team: Front row tomorrow for Luca Scassa and Chaz Davies. Both riders of Yamaha ParkinGO Team have finished the session confirming their great level but regreting the pole position that Parkes took from Scassa on the last minute, after the Italian rider was on first place during the most of the session. To get the pole position has tried as well Chaz Davies, that on the last lap riding in provisional first place lost it on the last split placing himself fourth fastest. A performance that confirms the brilliant concentration of the British rider facing the most important race of his life.” Luca Scassa Yamaha YZF R6 #9 – “I am a little bit angry. I really wanted to be the fastest and I was convinced the pole position was mine “¦well”¦I’ll have another incentive for tomorrow where I will fight for the top step of the rostrum. I am quite sure to have everything I need to win the race. My team has done a great set up on the bike that will allow me to have a regular and fast pace. I would like to celebrate a great team result together with Chaz on the podium.” Chaz Davies Yamaha YZF R6 #7 – “I am ready for tomorrow’s race and I will ride with the same concentration as I did until now. The team has done a great work setting up the bike. During qualifying I haven’t been able to do a hot lap but I will start from a good position. On the first laps of the race tomorrow I will try not to take any unnecessary risks.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Impressive Performance Secures Front Row Starts for Scassa and Davies at Imola Yamaha ParkinGO riders were on top form today at the iconic Italian circuit in Imola, where they completed the second qualifying session second and fourth fastest, securing two front row starts ahead of tomorrow’s important race day. Luca Scassa continued yesterday’s impressive performance in today’s second qualifying session which was red flagged on two occasions as Menghi and Harms crashed out, leaving traces of oil on the track. Despite the interrupted track session, Scassa managed to top the time sheets on several occasions as he worked through a few minor adjustments to his R6 machine. The Italian will start tomorrow’s home race from second place on the grid having missed on pole position by just 0.075 of a second in the last 2 minutes of the session. Team-mate and title fighter Chaz Davies was on equally striking form in the Italian sunshine today. The Welshman worked hard throughout the day, making constant progress in search of a winning set-up ahead of tomorrow’s crucial race. Davies will start from fourth place and is confident to have what it takes to fight for the well-earned championship title. Currently leading the championship on 171 points, 59 points separates Davies from Salom in second place and 60 points from Foret in third. If Salom or Foret were to win tomorrow’s race, Davies would need to secure third place at the chequered flag to maintain the 50 point advantage he requires to bag the Championship title. Theoretically, pole starter Broc Parkes still contends for the title but he now remains 67 points behind Davies. Luca Scassa Yamaha ParkinGO Team – 2nd, 1’51.669 “I’m disappointed that I lost out on pole position. It’s my home race and I intend doing my very best for my numerous fans. I make some small changes to the set-up and we seem to be going in the right direction, but still have some fine tuning to do in the morning. I’m confident that I can fight for a race win, which would really mean a lot to me on this track.” Chaz Davies Yamaha ParkinGO Team – 4th, 1’51.852 “I’m happy enough with today. The Machine was working well. I thought I could get pole but I made too many mistakes and didn’t make it. I saw a 1’51.5 on the clock and thought it was good enough but it wasn’t. We made a few small changes to the set-up throughout the session and make constant progress. I’m confident on the bike and feel good ahead of tomorrow’s important race.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Parkes Pole Again As Salom Improves WSS, Imola, Italy, 24 September 2011 Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com Ninja ZX-6R rider Broc Parkes beat all comers at Imola to take his second pole of 2011 and set a new track best lap time of 1’51.594 in the process. Aussie Parkes had to do it the hard way, having been taken out on day one when a rider fell and his machine spilt oil in front of Broc, and today the second and final qualifying session was stopped and restarted twice. Parkes also took pole for Kawasaki at Motorland Aragon in June and has now had 13 career pole positions to his credit. David Salom had a tough first few sessions at Imola also, but analysis of his first practice day and this morning’s untimed session allowed his technical crew to make changes that improved his performance and feel around the undulation Imola circuit. David went fifth in the qualifying rankings and now starts the race from row two. Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki man Massimo Roccoli was seventh, Vittorio Iannuzzo, his team-mate, was 11th in a good day all round for the locally-based team. Broc Parkes: “Our second pole of the year so well done to the guys. I got baulked a couple of times in the session, when I had just put on a new tyre. I had two people crash right on front of me. It was on my last new tyre in the second one then I had a yellow flag and only one more chance left. I put the lap together and got the pole. The best thing is that I feel good and consistent in my lap times, so it is good for my confidence to get up the front end. We have done quite a few laps on one set of tyres so we are looking all right. The track is faster than last year, feels better, so to set a quicker lap is good.” David Salom: “We are better now than when we started yesterday, and again this morning. I had a problem with the suspension settings, as the bike was not entering corners well. I changed the rear shock spring and now we are in better shape. I think the race pace means it will be possible to aim for the podium and for today the mechanics will make even more changes to make us ready for the race.”