FIM Superbike World Championship Nurburgring, Germany September 3 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Knockout Session Three: 1. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:54.144 2. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:54.512 3. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:54.743 4. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:54.818 5. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:55.113 6. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:55.223 7. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:55.237 8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:55.249 From Superpole Knockout Session Two: 9. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:55.321 10. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:55.598 11. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:55.625 12. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:56.177 From Superpole Knockout Session One: 13. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:55.633 14. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:55.811 15. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:56.101 16. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:56.162 The Rest of the Grid: 17. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:56.401 18. James TOSELAND, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:56.637 19. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:56.996 20. Makoto TAMADA, Japan (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:57.950 More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Rea heads row three on Nurburgring grid Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two tenth round World Superbike championship races from the head of the third row after setting the ninth fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole at Nurburgring in Germany. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland is racing his Castrol Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade for the first time in three months this weekend after injuring his wrist at Misano in Italy in June. However, Rea suffered no ill-effects from the injury as series leader Carlos Checa took pole position today. Rea’s Castrol Honda team-mate for the Nurburgring weekend, Makoto Tamada, was unable to set a time to put him into the 16-rider Superpole shootout. The 34-year-old Japanese rider will start tomorrow’s two 20-lap races at the 5.137km circuit from 20th place on the grid. Jonathan Rea P9 To be honest, it’s about where I thought I might be inside the top t en but I had hoped for a little better. It would have been nice to be on the second row tomorrow, but it’s not the case and we just missed out on Superpole 3 by a small margin. We had a little bit of trouble getting the tyre to work well in the higher temperature today so we’ve got a bit of work to do tonight. Tomorrow the conditions are said to be a lot different, cooler with maybe even some rain, but it doesn’t satisfy us that we haven’t got over the temperature issues today. Come what may tomorrow, my aim is to finish strong in both races. I’ve been a long time off the bike now, but I’m slowly getting back into a rhythm. Hopefully we’ll find the right settings to get two solid results, whatever the weather’s doing. Makoto Tamada P20 It has been quite tough riding again in such a competitive championship after some time away. I had a small crash this afternoon but I was trying very hard to improve my lap time. The team has worked very hard these two days to give me a good feeling on the bike, but still it is very tough to improve. Of course, I will work with the team tonight to see if there is anywhere we can improve the setting and I will try my best in both the races tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager As much as we were all hoping to see Jonathan in the top eight, he just missed out on Superpole 3 and finished ninth. However, that doesn’t leave us completely dissatisfied, because it’s only one place and less than a tenth behind the target. Jonathan doesn’t quite have the rhythm after such a long time off the bike, but lap by lap things are improving. If we can give him a slightly better bike tomorrow I think he could have two solid finishes. For Tamada-San it was always going to be difficult getting on the bike for the first time during a race weekend. Also, he&r squo;s coming from riding the Suzuka 8 Hour machine, which is quite different. We’ve been testing a few parts here with him and the feeling is getting better. We have a direction to follow now, but in the hot and intense competition of World Superbikes, it’s not easy to come straight in and mix it up at the front. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Weather conditions: Sunny with light clouds. Temperature: Air: 25 26 °C, Track: 39 42 °C Number of riders participating: 20 from 13 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:55.030 min Fastest lap Superpole 3: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:54.144 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport finishes this Saturday at the Nürburgring (GER) with mixed emotions. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), has a promising starting position for the tenth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship. He finished today’s Superpole qualifying in seventh, and will start the team’s home races from the second row. On the other hand, team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), missed out on the Superpole qualifying by just 0.019 seconds, so will be starting 17th. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team will start with his BMW S 1000 RR from 15th. His team mate James Toseland (GBR) qualified 18th. Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:55.887 min (P10) / Fastest lap FP: 1:56.181 min (P4) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:55.887 min (P7) “I am happy with the way everything has gone today. I managed to post my fastest lap time on race tyres, which is promising for the two races tomorrow. Sadly we don’t seem to be able to extract the full potential from the qualifying tyres like the other guys, but we made it through to SP3 which was the main objective. For the races tomorrow I will be hoping for a good start and to push for the podium. I think Carlos Checa has good pace and will be hard to beat, but we can definitely challenge the others so I am looking forward to tomorrow.” Troy Corser: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:56.401 min (P17) / Fastest lap FP: 1:56.593 min (P9) “To miss out on Superpole is certainly frustrating. Yesterday we had a technical issue which really cost us a lot of track time, and since then we have been simply playing catch up. It is almost like we are a session behind everybody else, and I think that has cost us. But the issues we had were unforeseen and we couldn’t do anything about that. We just need to make sure we work hard in the morning to finalise our set-up and race strategy, then definitely we can do something in the race. At the minute the weather forecast predicts rain, but either way if we get a good start and stay out of trouble we can challenge for the top ten.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “Leon and the team did a good job and deserved to get into Superpole 3. I think that it would have been difficult to qualify on the first row today. Therefore we are very happy with Leon’s result, but at the same time we are sad that Troy missed the Superpole by only two hundreds of a second. That was a shame, but tomorrow we could see surprises because the forecast predicts rain. Then it more or less does not matter from which position you start, and I think that we are very well prepared for tomorrow, especially for wet conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: FOURTH ROW FOR MICHEL AT THE ‘RING Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio had a crash at the start of Superpole 1 and the resulting change in strategy left the young Italian chasing lap times on his spare bike. He managed to recover well and get into Superpole 2, where he was able to use his favourite bike which had been repaired by the mechanics during Superpole 1. Although he was back on his number one bike, he was unable to push as hard as he wanted, because of chattering, and so he failed to get into Superpole 3 and ended up twelfth. Series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) took Superpole – his fifth of the season – with Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) second, Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third and Marco Melandri (Yamaha) fourth Michel – 12th, 1:56.177 Obviously I am disappointed how things worked out, because I expected to do much better. Probably the crash in Superpole ruined all our plans and we had to change our programme. I crashed in more or less exactly the same place as yesterday and I am wondering if there is a bump on the track or something like that because both times I went down without any warning. I was unhurt in the crash and able to get my bike back to the pits and then jump on to my spare bike and continue Superpole 1. I did enough to get into Superpole 2, where I used my number one bike again, because it’s the bike I prefer – even though both bikes are set up more or less the same. But my favourite bike didn’t feel the same as before the crash. I experienced quite a bit of a chatter and so I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to. It’s a shame, because I really felt that I could have been on the front two rows of the grid tomorrow. Now I’ve got to make two super starts and work as hard as I can to have any chance of good results. More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga hit his goal closing this second day of work striking a fifth placement at the end of the Superpole. A sunny day let Nitro Nori keeping up with his work finding the right trade-off and trying different settings that let to this outcome. The japanese rider brilliantly overcome the first and second session, looking for the first row during the third one but missing it for the slightest thing. He’s confident to be a protagonist during the races even if the high chances of rain could mix the cards and waste all the work done by team along these days. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “I slightly modified the suspension during the Superpole trying to improve myself and entering the first row. But the bike got better only on certain stratches, getting worse in some others. So I couldn’t hit a better time. However, I’m still satisfied because I even managed to try a race simulation and got to know the tyre’s performances. I’m ready to fight for the best goal and I really hope that all this work will turn out helpful, even though forecasts say there’s high chance of rain that would make everything different and complicated.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Checa the headline act in Tissot-Superpole at the Ring Nürburgring (Germany), Saturday 3 September 2011 Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) set a new Nürburgring best lap of 1 minute 54.144 seconds early in the final Tissot-Superpole session to claim his fifth top starting position this year. Behind, Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team), Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) completed the front row, with Biaggi particularly impressive as he was riding with an broken bone in his injured left foot. Carlos Checa: “It is a great day. I think we were able to interpret the bike well and from yesterday we made some changes and the result is the way it is. Even from the first qualifying to the second one we made one step in front. I am quite satisfied and I think we have brought the bike and the tyres to a great limit. Not perfect, because that is always difficult to say that it is perfect, but close.” Eugene Laverty: “I am confident riding here and it is my first time here in Superbike. I am really enjoying the R1 and I was expecting the bike to be more difficult around at this circuit, but it is riding quite well and we can see Marco is there as well. I think we can be strong tomorrow but we must hope for dry weather, as there are rumours of rain which may upset things a little. The most important thing is that we are starting from the front row.” Max Biaggi: “My position on the grid is actually not bad at all. I’m worried however about how many laps I can last in the race, my injured foot is very painful and the situation got worse lap after lap. Now I have difficulty in changing gear and that doesn’t make me very optimistic. Now we will just have to wait until tomorrow morning”. Marco Melandri: “I am very happy to be on the front row because it is my first time on this track and it is pretty difficult. I was worried because I saw many difficult corners and bumps, so I was wondering about the weather too. My Yamaha was working well and the team made a good job so I could find a better line, lap-by-lap. I was hoping to be faster in Superpole three but in the second lap I did not get the chance to improve a lot.” Proven winner at this track Noriyuki Haga (Pata Racing Aprilia) was fifth while Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) once more showed good pre-race pace to claim sixth place on the grid. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) squeezed out Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) for seventh. Comeback rider Jonathan Rea scored ninth in Superpole on his Castrol Honda, just missing the final session but heading up row three of the grid. Mark Aitchison (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) secured a start in Superpole two and posted 11th place, one behind Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati rider Jakub Smrz. The final rider after Superpole two was Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare), in 12th. Leon Camier, Biaggi’s team-mate, fought his way to 13th, one place up on Ducati privateer Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team). Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) rounded out the top 16 riders who made it into Tissot-Superpole. Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’54.144; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.512; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’54.743; 4. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.818; 5. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.113; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.223; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.237; 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.249; 9. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.321; 10. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’55.598; 11. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.625; 12. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’56.177; 3. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.633; 14. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.811; 15. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’56.101; 16. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’56.162; etc. World Supersport Just under a tenth of a second separated points leader Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) from poleman Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who will start from the front slot for the second time this season. The Frenchman set a time of 1 minute 59.298 seconds, which was more than one second slower than Cal Crutchlow’s 2010 best lap. The front row is completed by two fellow Brits Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) and Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda). Row 2 contains two Italians, with Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) ahead of Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO), together with James Ellison (Bodganka PTR Honda) and David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com). Times: 1. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.258; 2. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’59.334; 3. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.738; 4. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.771; 5. Ellison J. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.785; 6. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’59.905; 7. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’59.929; 8. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’00.250; etc. Superstock 1000 Two Ducatis and two BMWs once again make up the front row of the grid for the Superstock 1000 race tomorrow morning, with the quickest time going to Althea Racing man Davide Giugliano. The Italian set a 1 minute 58.763 seconds lap to head off the challenge of Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock), Silverstone winner Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) and Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock). The talented young German Markus Reiterberger (Garnier Alpha Racing Team BMW) continued his learning curve with fifth slot on the grid, followed by three more Italians: Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing Ducati), Andrea Antonelli (Lorini Honda) and Niccolò Canepa (Lazio MotorSport Ducati). Times: 1. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’58.763; 2. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.259; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’59.268; 4. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.812; 5. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.933; 6. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’00.219; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2’00.424; 8.Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’00.448; etc. Superstock 600 Race The win in the seventh round of the European Superstock 600 Championship went to Dutchman Michael Van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) who became the first rider this year to double up at the top. Australian Jed Metcher finished second for the MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha team and team-mate Gauthier Duwelz of Belgium third. Denmark’s Alex Schacht (Schacht Racing Honda) was next up, while the top Italian at the flag was Daniele Beretta (Trasimeno Yamaha), who finished fifth. Metcher now moves into the lead of the championship with 101 points, while Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), who retired, stays on the 94 mark. Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) is third equal on points with Joshua Day (Revolution Racedays Kawasaki), who crashed out. Results: 1. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 20’40.709 (149,054 kph); 2. Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 3.136; 3. Duwelz G. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 3.569; 4. Schacht A. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 5.581; 5. Beretta D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 8.515; 6. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 9.092; 7. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 12.358; 8. Elliott J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 16.065; etc. Points (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Metcher 101; 2. Lanusse 94; 3. Day 77; 4. Lombardi 77; 5. Vd Mark 76; 6. Duwelz 67; 7. Russo 63; 8. Egea 39; etc. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERPOLE AT THE NURBURGRING: DESPITE SEVERE PAIN TO HIS RIGHT FOOT, INJURED YESTERDAY, MAX BIAGGI GRITS HIS TEETH AND EARNS AN EXCELLENT SPOT ON THE FIRST ROW. Nurburgring, September 3rd, 2011 Not even the severe pain to his left foot, particularly while changing gears, keeps world champion Max Biaggi from taking a spot on the front row in the Nurburgring Superpole. The Corsair fought hard right from the start, coming through the first two sessions and ending with the third best time in the final battle of the top eight. 1’54.743 was his time which, in spite of it all, allows him to look forward to the races tomorrow with a half smile. His physical condition remains the unknown factor. Max suffered the after-effects of yesterday’s injury during each and every lap, able to ride but with great difficulty. The check-up at the Mobile Clinic showed a fracture to the metatarsus, but the decision to race or not will be made only tomorrow morning, once Max’s condition and the effects of the treatment he is undergoing have been evaluated right before the race. Max confirms the doubts: “The position on the grid isn’t bad at all. I’m more worried about being able to last that many laps. The foot I injured yesterday hurts constantly and the situation got worse lap after lap. It’s a struggle for me to engage the gears now and I can’t ride, so that doesn’t make me very optimistic. All we can do now is wait for tomorrow morning”. Leon Camier’s performance in Superpole was not positive, in spite of the good lap times he had put up in the previous sessions. The English rider was just barely eliminated (by 31 thousandths of a second) in Superpole 1 and tomorrow he’ll have to start from the thirteenth spot on the grid. His good race pace may let Leon make a comeback during the race, keeping in mind that the weather forecast predicts rain tomorrow on the German Nurburgring circuit. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: A GREAT DAY FOR CHECA AND ALTHEA RACING; THE SQUAD SCORES ITS FIFTH POLE OF THE SEASON THIS AFTERNOON AT THE RING Nürburg (Germany), Saturday 3rd September 2011: team Althea Racing and rider Carlos Checa enjoyed an “almost perfect” day at the Nürburgring today, where the team is taking part in the tenth round of the World Superbike Championship. Checa was the fastest rider in qualifying, the fastest in each of the three Superpoles and even beat the lap record in the process, recording a best time of 1m54.144 in the final phase! Temperate conditions (air temperature 25ËšC, track 39ËšC) for this morning’s SBK qualifying session at the Nürburgring. Carlos did not waste any time and after the first few laps he had already improved on his best time set yesterday afternoon. He continued to work hard throughout the 45-minute session and during his final exit he was able to further improve his lap time, recording the fastest lap seen so far this weekend, an extremely quick 1m55.030. With this very impressive lap time, the Althea rider qualified in first position for this afternoon’s Superpole, with four tenths of a second on second placed Laverty. Superpole 1: heading out with race rubber on what was now a hotter track compared to the morning’s session, Checa made only one lap but this lap (1m54.641) remained the overall fastest of the session and he held his place at the top of the timesheets until the session’s end. Superpole 2: once again Althea Racing’s flagbearer needed to make only one lap of the track. Immediately registering a 1m54.709, Checa was able to return to the garage and wait out the rest of the session. He closed this second phase in first position. Superpole 3: the third phase was a carbon copy of the first two. Carlos went straight out, completed one clean lap, and beat the lap record by over four tenths in the process. His fastest lap time, 1m54.144, saw him qualify comfortably in pole position for tomorrow’s races. This is the fifth time this season that the Spaniard will take first position on the grid. Carlos Checa: “Yesterday we learned a lot and the changes we made between yesterday and today’s sessions brought the right results. We’re really happy with the work completed, we’ve improved the bike and the lap times have come. In the first Superpole phase I was having a little difficulty but the second and third sessions went better and I was able to take pole. The Nürburgring is one of those tracks where it’s difficult to make passes so it’s certainly an advantage to start from the front here. Tomorrow I will be aiming to make the best possible start and do all I can to fight for the win; I think we’ll see two really exciting races.” TIMES (Superpole): 1. Checa (Ducati) 1’54.144; 2. Laverty (Yamaha) 1’54.5; 3. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’54.7; 4. Melandri (Yamaha) 1’54.8; 5. Haga (Aprilia) 1’55.1; 6. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’55.2; 7. Haslam (BMW) 1’55.2; 8. Guintoli (Ducati) 1’55.2 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Sykes Goes Top Six In Superpole WSBK, Nürburgring, Germany, 3 September 2011 Tom Sykes overcame the effects of his recent ankle injury to post a top six finish in Superpole while his fellow official Kawasaki rider Joan Lascorz battled hard to go 16th in the pre-race rankings Despite pain and stiffness in his right ankle Sykes made a strong push from the first sessions in Germany, only outside the top ten in one session, when trying out various tyre options. Tom took his Ninja ZX-10R to a top five place before Superpole and then progressed in confident fashion through each of the three stages of Superpole, which allocates the top 16 grid positions. Tom was finally sixth after he had to use his qualifying tyre allocation earlier than he wanted to, but he still earned a valuable second row starting spot for Sunday’s two 20-lap races. Lascorz had some challenging times as he tried to get on terms with the set-up of his machine in his first Superbike visit to this tricky circuit but he still qualified for Superpole one and he is confident that he can improve on his qualifying performances in real race situations. Pedercini Team rider Mark Aitchison was once more on strong and impressive form in his rookie season, getting into Superpole and then qualifying 11th from 20 riders. Roberto Rolfo went 19th in qualifying. After a warm and dry period of qualifying today, raceday may well turn out to be wet at some point. That will mean a quick reassessment for all the Kawasaki runners who met a damp track surface for a short period on the first day of qualifying. Tom Sykes: “We progressed through Superpole in a good fashion and the only struggle we had was when we tried out different tyres in the second free practice. When we went back to our race setting it worked out well and we did a 1’55.6 on race tyres. We had our hand forced to use a qualifier in the first session but I am happy to come back from that big crash in Silverstone and be in the middle of the second row. I am confident we can stay there or thereabouts in the race but I have heard there is a chance of some English weather rolling in tomorrow.” Joan Lascorz: “We could not find the best set-up in practice but we got into Superpole, which was important. We could not make the best use of our tyres in Superpole one and could not improve to get into the next session. It will not be easy starting from the fourth row but I am sure we can improve our position in each race. We all hope it does not rain because some people seem to think it will tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha WSB Team Shine at The Ring to Secure Front Row Starts on Tomorrow’s Grid Yamaha World Superbike riders, Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri delivered impressive performances today to secure two front row starts ahead of tomorrow’s races on the demanding German circuit at the Nurburgring. The Yamaha riders were on top form, being the strongest team performers throughout the qualifying day, confirming the current leading status for Yamaha on the WSB Team standing. Laverty and Melandri completed the afternoon’s knockout Superpole sessions in second and fourth place respectively. Both Yamaha riders sailed through the first Superpole, comfortably qualifying for the second heat of the day with Laverty in second place and his team-mate in fifth having recorded an impressive high speed of 282.7 km/h. The Yamaha riders were on equally impressive form in the second heat with Laverty shooting straight into the lead while his Italian team-mate was just behind in second place before Checa stole the top position by just 0.016. Using the last set of qualifiers Laverty and Melandri proceeded to complete the third and final session in second and fourth place, guaranteeing a front row start for tomorrow’s races. As the typically wet German weather is forecast to make a come-back tomorrow, the Yamaha WSB riders are confident they can make the most of the front row advantage to get ahead of their competitors in what could prove to be a challenging race. Splendid sunshine over the Eifel mountains this morning provided a picturesque setting for the Yamaha riders to work through various potential race set-ups on their R1 machines. Eugene Laverty was quick off the mark in this morning’s second qualifying session, storming straight to the top of the time sheets, a position he maintained until the very end of the session before being bumped to second by Carlos Checa on the last lap. Team-mate Melandri concentrated on further improving from yesterday’s progress in search of a suitable race set up and qualified for the Superpole heats in 6th place. Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team, 2nd – 1’54.512 “I’m very satisfied with today’s result. I usually spend the few sessions working on chassis set ups but this weekend I had a good feeling from the beginning and was up there in the time sheets since yesterday, so that’s a great start for me and hopefully I can keep it up tomorrow. Carlos was that bit stronger today and he’ll be the guy to catch in tomorrow’s races. It won’t be easy but I’ll give it my best shot. It’s important to be starting on the front row especially considering we don’t know what to expect with the weather. As we can see, also with Marco’s front row position, the Yamaha is working well once again on this track so I’m confident we can do two good races tomorrow. I’m aiming for two podiums finishes!” Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team, 4th – 1’54.818 “It wasn’t an easy qualifying day but I’m really pleased as I reached my highest objective which was to be on the front row for tomorrow’s races. I really hope the weather will be good and it won’t rain. That will make a huge difference as we spent today working on a suitable race set up. We haven’t decided what tyres to use so we need to work on that in the morning. Rain will make things very difficult, the few laps we did on wets yesterday was not easy. It’s an enjoyable track but quite difficult, especially the first corner which is particularly demanding.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “Today was a very positive second qualifying day. To have both riders starting from the front row tomorrow is very important. Marco, Eugene and their teams worked hard throughout the day. In Eugene’s case, they worked on improving the bike handling in order to be able to make up time he was losing in certain areas of the track. Marco gained more confidence in the afternoon’s free practice. He has made progress since yesterday and we are confident ahead of tomorrow’s races.If the weather forecast is true and it rains tomorrow it will definitely change everything so it’s important that the riders can take advantage of being on the front row.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Sunny conditions today at the Nurburgring for the second day of Superbike and Superstock 1000 qualifying. In the morning’s second qualifying session, Mark Aitchison (1’56″273) was able to improve on his best lap time of yesterday to reach fourteenth position and gain entry to the Superpole. Aitchison was satisfied because he was able to improve his confidence and pace to take another step forward into the top ten. Roberto Rolfo (1’56″996) was unable to challenge for optimum grid positions in qualifying at the Nurburgring today. The Italian rider reached the nineteenth position in the second qualifying session. Rolfo improved on his best lap time but not enough to enter the Superpole. In afternoon free practice both riders worked hard with their technicians in order to find the best possible setting for their Kawasaki bikes. Aitchison (1’56″858) obtained the twelfth position while Rolfo (1’58″340) consolidated nineteenth place. In the Superpole an excellent performance for Aitchison today. In the first phase Mark closed in tenth (1’55″541), gaining safe passage to the second phase. In phase two Aitchison reached eleventh place, unfortunately missing out on the third and final phase. Tomorrow he’ll start from the third row of the grid, Rolfo from the fifth. Superbike qualifying 2 : 1) Checa (Ducati) – 2) Laverty (Yamaha) 3) Haga (Aprilia) 4) Biaggi (Aprilia) 5) Sykes (Kawasaki)”¦..14) Aitchison (Kawasaki)”¦”¦..19) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike free practice 2 : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Laverty (Yamaha) – 3) Biaggi (Aprilia) – 4) Haslam (BMW) 5) Fabrizio (Suzuki)”¦”¦12) Aitchison (Kawasaki)…19) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike Superpole : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Laverty (Yamaha) 3) Biaggi (Aprilia) 4) Melandri (Yamaha) 5) Haga (Aprilia) “¦.. 11) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo: “I’m really disappointed with today’s qualifying practice. We still have some set up problems to solve that are evident on this track. I was able to improve my performance but I wasn’t able to push hard enough to improve my lap time in order to enter the Superpole. This afternoon we worked a lot on suspension to find a solution for our setting problems ahead of tomorrow’s races. We will try to find a better race setting tomorrow in warm-up, to give me better feedback. Anyway I will be trying my absolute best for the races although I expect it to be very tough tomorrow.” Mark Aitchison: “I’m pretty happy how things went in the free practice session and in Superpole phases 1 and 2. We had a good practice session meaning I believe that we can confirm which tyres we will use tomorrow in the race, depending on the weather of course. Superpole phase one was good enough because I immediately managed to get through to the second stage. In phase two I wanted to push very hard and I managed to do a very good first lap. Unfortunately I made a mistake in the middle section of the track and had to slow down as it was a bit of a scary moment. I tried to do a second good lap but the tyres were no longer in top condition. Anyway I’m happy enough, we’re starting eleventh and I’m looking forward to the two long races in Nurburgring because I think we can be competitive. I want to improve our bike in some points of the track so we will analyse where we can improve tonight and go from there”. A dry track and sunny conditions today at the Nurburgring for the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup free practice and qualifying sessions. During morning free practice, Bryan Staring (2’01″516) consistently improved on his best lap time of yesterday, reaching ninth position. Marco Bussolotti (2’01″579) backed up yesterday’s good performance while Tati Mercado (2’02″092) continued to work on various settings to find the best one for his Kawasaki on the German circuit, obtaining the sixteenth position. In the afternoon’s qualifying session both Bussolotti and Staring suffered from some front chattering and a lot of sliding on the rear tyre. Staring (2’01’123) obtained the twelfth position while Bussolotti (2’01″335) followed him in thirteenth place. Tomorrow Staring will start from the third row and Bussolotti from the fourth. An unlucky session for Mercado. Tati crashed near the end of the qualifying, ending the session in the gravel and obtaining the fifteenth position. The Argentinian rider will start from the fourth row of the grid in tomorrow 11-lap race. Superstock 1000 free practice : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Petrucci (Ducati) 3) Barrier (BMW) 4) Canepa (BMW) “¦”¦. 9) Staring (Kawasaki) 10) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦”¦ 16) Mercado (Kawasaki) Superstock 1000 qualifying 2 : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Barrier (BMW) 3) Petrucci (Ducati) 4) Zanetti (BM) “¦… 12) Staring (Kawasaki) 13) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦…. 15) Mercado (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti :”This afternoon it was really very difficult to ride my bike. My race pace was not so bad but as soon as I tried to force my rhythm the rear tyres start to slide a ,lot and for this reason I was not able to reach a better position on tomorrow starting grid. Tomorrow I will try to ride aggressively from the fourth row and go for the best result possible”. Brian Staring: “I basically didn’t get the advantage that I needed from the tyre. I did my best and the lap time was a little better but I’m disappointed considering that I was able to lap only about three of four tenths slower on a well worn tyre. I don’t understand why but I felt that the new tyre didn’t help me at all really. Anyway I made the best lap that I could and I’m thankfully that I’m at least on the third row. I hoped for the second row but I still think we can do ok in the race. I would say that, so far, this weekend has been better than the previous ones so that’s something. I’ll try my best in tomorrow’s race and see where I finish up.” Leandro “Tati” Mercado: “Compare with this morning free practice the afternoon qualifying was going much better. I was riding hard and improving my time lap after lap. I was searching for the limit when I crashed losing the front wheel. I am disappointed but I will have chance to make up for it tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Team Effenbert Liberty Racing: WORLD CHAMPHIONSHIP SBK 2011 TEAM EFFENBERT LIBERTY RACING 3.09.2011 Nurburgring – Free practice, qualifying and Superpole – Two sunny days have characterized the free practice sessions and the qualifications on Friday and Saturday morning and were positive for The Effenbert Liberty Racing Team, with Sylvain Guintoli who constantly placed himself in the positions immediately behind the leaders, finishing 6 th on friday and in 7 th place on Saturday morning and Jakub Smrz who concentrated especially on the setting of the bike and that,when the tried to push for performance on the fastest lap, have always been blocked by some little problems that have prevented him to obtain it, however, he has been proving to be able to be competitive, finishing in 12 th place on Friday practice and in the Saturday morning´s ones, with timings, however, not far from the riders who preceded him. The Superpole has been dominated by Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea Racing) who never puts in danger his psition and sets the fastest time and the new record with a stunning 1.54,144. Behind the Spanish rider Eugene Laverty, that loooked very much at ease with the German circuit , ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike). For the Effenbert Liberty Racing Team, the best result came from Sylvain Guintoli who ensures himself the second row on the starting grid and the eighth best time. Jakub Smrz will start behind him,from the third row and with the tenth fastest time, just behind Jonathan Rea. The weather could change domani as rain is announced, and that could change the situation a lot, and possibly be a positive change for the Ducati 1098R and for our riders. These are our riders comments: Sylvain Guintoli gets a second row and a good confidence boost ahead of tomorrow’s races “I am convinced that we still have room for improvement – tells the French rider – In qualifying we found the right grip , however, we know that tomorrow it will be very different.But I also think that the weather could help us, in case of lower temperatures or even rain ” Even his teammate, Jakub Smrz, is positive about the race: “I have had positive responses from the bike already from the morning practice, improved compared with the ones of the free practice.The track certainly does not penalize us and I think that, if I manage to have a good start, tomorrow we could snap an important result for our team. ” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: After yesterday’s problems, Troy was hoping for an improvement in his fortunes today, but things didn’t go as he wanted. Although there were no mechanical issues today, Troy and the team struggled to improve the grip in the morning timed qualifying session sufficiently for Troy to lap fast enough to get into Superpole. Although the bike did improve in the afternoon (untimed) session, Troy was forced to sit out Superpole and watch the action from his pitbox instead. Series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) won Superpole – his fifth of the season – with Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) second, Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third and Marco Melandri (Yamaha) fourth. Troy – 17th, 1:56.401 My time in the final qualifying session would’ve put me in the top ten but, at the end of the day, that’s irrelevant because I didn’t get into Superpole – and that was pretty frustrating. We had quite a few issues yesterday, so I was looking for a big improvement today, but I didn’t get what I was expecting in time to get into Superpole. In the morning timed qualifying session, I just didn’t have sufficient grip to lap quickly enough. The rear felt a bit too soft, so the mechanics stiffened up and it felt better, but by then it was too little too late. Basically, I don’t think we made the steps needed in the time required and that’s why I didn’t make Superpole. The good news is that I have a pretty reasonable race set-up and my lap times in the afternoon session were competitive. It’s going to be a very hard day tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to starting from the fifth row of the grid. Normally I make pretty good starts and can usually make up a row or two, but even if I make the best starts of my life, I’m still probably not going to be in the top six or so going into turn one. It’s difficult to pass in the first four or so corners and it’s very easy to get held up. Charging though the field after that is going to be very hard and doing that makes the tyres wear out more quickly, so it’s certainly going to be an interesting day for me. At the moment, I am thinking of a good top ten finish, but obviously I’d like the chance to do better. We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow, but if it rains then everything changes. That would be a whole new ball game, but it might be better for me.