FIM Superbike World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain June 17 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:59.726 2. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 2:00.073 3. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 2:00.214, crash 4. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 2:00.253 5. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:00.267 6. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 2:00.309 7. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2:00.324 8. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 2:00.377 9. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 2:00.503 10. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 2:00.509 11. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:00.727 12. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 2:00.798 13. Ruben XAUS, Spain (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:00.853 14. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 2:01.047 15. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:01.428 16. Lorenzo LANZI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 2:01.475 17. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 2:01.484 18. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:01.527 19. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:01.567 20. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 2:01.829 More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga shows himself as one of the leaders for this weekend closing this first day with a 3rd place. The japanese rider was really fast since the beginning and was limited by a slip luckily without any physical consequences. Haga worked all day long searching for the best feeling with the bike running up against another slip. But that didn’t stopped him from hitting the 3rd position. The aim is to reaffirm this performance tomorrow even if the competitors are really close to each other and won’t be easy. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “The track condition wasn’t that great and probably it caused my two slips. But we will run in the same situation so it’s important to find the right feeling to give our best. We are on a good point and I’m sure we can still develop and figure out the tyre’s wearing in the long run and get useful infos about the race strategy.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Motorland Marco out in front after first day Motorland Aragon (Spain), Friday 17 June 2011 Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) was the clear front-runner from the first day of action at the Motorland Aragon circuit, the Italian taking the provisional pole from home favourite Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati). Having been the fastest man in free qualifying this morning once again Melandri was the only rider to set a sub-2 minute, stopping the clocks at a new circuit record of 1 minute 59.726 seconds. Melandri has tested here in the recent past but many other riders have also taken advantage of the chance to lap this exquisite new WSBK racing facility because it has already proven to be a popular designated test track for several teams. Checa was three-tenths off Melandri’s pace, just a fraction ahead of Noriyuki Haga (PATA Aprilia), who crashed halfway through the session but then came good at the end to take the third slot. The Misano podium finisher has clearly had a new lease of racing life in his satellite Aprilia team, improving in the hot conditions of the afternoon qualifying session. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) were each on terrific form, the two Brits just within a tenth of Haga. The other top championship contender Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) registered sixth quickest on the timesheets, with all three Aprilia vee-four riders clearly liking the heat of early competition at Motorland. Max, the reigning champion, was followed by fellow Italian Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) and an increasingly incisive Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK). Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) impressed in tenth place on his privateer Ducati, ending day one tenth and only 0.783 seconds from the provisional pole time. The two factory BMW Motorrad Motorsport machines of Troy Corser and Leon Haslam still appear to be in difficulty, setting 12th and 14th quickest times respectively. The lone Castrol Honda of local star Ruben Xaus was 13th, just over a second from the best pace of the day while recent returnee rider Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) was 19th. Final qualifying and Tissot-Superpole take place on Saturday 18th June. Times: 1. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’59.726; 2. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 2’00.073; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2’00.214; 4. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2’00.253; 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’00.267; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2’00.309; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2’00.324; 8. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 2’00.377; 9. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 2’00.503; 10. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 2’00.509; 11. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’00.727; 12. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2’00.798; 13. Xaus R. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 2’00.853; 14. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 2’01.047; 15. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’01.428; 16. Lanzi L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 2’01.475; etc. More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Xaus makes progress at hot Aragon Ruben Xaus was thirteenth fastest in today’s opening qualifying session in preparation for the two seventh round World Superbike championship races which take place on Sunday at Motorland Aragon in Spain. Provisional pole position was secured by Marco Melandri, with series leader Carlos Checa second fastest in this afternoon’s one-hour qualifying which was run with temperatures in the mid-thirties. Xaus is riding this weekend without team-mate Jonathan Rea who is recuperating at home following surgery on his wrist on Wednesday. However, the 32-year-old Spaniard made progress during the day and will work with his crew on improving his speed through Aragon’s final sector for tomorrow’s practice and Superpole qualifying sessions. Ruben Xaus P13, 2m00.853s It’s a new track and it’s been hot today and, although we came here to test, we learned nothing. But we have made some steps today, even though the tyres were struggling a little bit after five or six laps, so that’s something critical we must look at. There is one corner in the last sector where I am losing maybe half a second, but I’m not sure why. At the other end of the track I’m really happy because in the first and second splits I’m in the top group of riders which is a big motivation for tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be much easier to improve on that last sector in one corner than in the other places. Finally, it’s not so bad for us it could be better, of course, but we know what we need to do for tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager Our test here was run in completely different conditions even some snow so we had to start from scratch today, learning the right set-up for the track. The direction that Ruben has taken the bike today is quite out of the ballpark, but he’s getting happier with it and he’s getting faster. His biggest problem is the last sector where he is slowest at the moment. On paper, it’s not the most difficult, and in the more demanding sector, he’s third fastest. Tomorrow we’ll spend some time next to the track to see if there are any areas where we can help him improve, but at the moment we’re quite positive. More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: THE HEAT SHUFFLES THE DECK ON THE ARAGON CIRCUIT, SEVENTH ROUND OF WORLD SUPERBIKE 2011. FOR TEAM APRILIA ALITALIA IT IS A DAY AT WORK TRYING TO FIND THE GOOD FEELING FROM THE TESTS IN NOVEMBER Aragon Motorland (Spain), June 17th 2011 – If Friday is traditionally a day of hard work searching for the best set-up, it was even more so today for the practice sessions at the Aragon Motorland circuit. In fact, the Spanish track which hosts the seventh World SBK round this year is a very different track than the one the riders remember from the tests in November. The extremely different weather conditions (about +30 degrees on the asphalt) drove all of the riders’ times up and forced World Champion Max Biaggi and his team to return to the search for solutions which had seemed sorted after the good tests last autumn. Max closed out the sessions with the sixth best time after working hard in the heat, so much so that at the end of the first qualifying practice session, he was the rider with most laps completed. And in the end, he made no secret of the difficulties: “Today was aÅ  complicated day – explained Max Biaggi – The set-up we had found during the tests had to reckon with a track which is very different in these asphalt temperatures. In these conditions we lost whatever progress we had made during those tests. So I had to start all over again looking for the best solution. In these conditions we have very little time available to us, so we moved forward trying various things. Now things are starting to fall into place and tomorrow we’ll continue this method. The goal is to have a bike ready for Superpole”. After the unfortunate weekend at Misano, Leon Camier also worked on his RSV4, trying out different solutions. In the end the Englishman, who ended the day with an encouraging fourth place, admitted that his feeling with the bike has improved: “After Misano we decided to change a few things, above all at the front, in order to find more stability and confidence. And it seems to be working. I had a good feeling of greater stability. Naturally it’s a bit early to jump to conclusions, but it seems like we’re doing better now. In addition to that, I really like this track, nice ups and downs, beautiful turns… Great!”. More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: 2011 Superbike World Championship Round 7, Motorland Aragon, Spain, Friday qualifying, June 17th Circuit: 5.344 kms Conditions: Dry, mostly sunny 24-32C (air), 43-56C (track). MICHEL FINISHES SEVENTH ON DAY ONE Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio spent the first day of practice and qualifying in Aragon looking for a good set-up for his bike, whilst trying to ignore the pain in his right arm and wrist. Although, no fractures were revealed after his crash last Sunday, Michel is struggling opening the throttle and that is affecting his lap times. He will have massages and ice treatments today and tomorrow and hopefully he will be able to use his wrist better and control the throttle as normal. In scorching temperatures this afternoon, it was Marco Melandri (Yamaha) who topped the leaderboard, with a time of 1:59.726. Melandri was the only rider to dip under the two minute mark, but close by were series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati), Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) and Leon Camier (Aprilia). The top eleven riders were separated by just one second, so once again tomorrow’s qualifying and Superpole will be of utmost importance in securing a good grid position. Michel – 7th, 2:00.324 For the first day, I suppose seventh quickest is not too bad – especially when you consider that I cannot get on the gas as I want to. At the moment there is not enough strength in my right arm and wrist and I just cannot get the throttle wide open when I want to. I don’t mind the pain, but it’s a bit frustrating because I know I can be faster. Also, the track conditions are very different to when we tested here in the winter. The grip level was much better then, because the track temperature was not as high, and I was lapping a second or so quicker than today. Because the grip level is not as good as then, getting a good bike set-up is taking some time. We spent most of today trying to get a good set-up and one that will help manage the tyres. Until I find a good set-up, there is no point pushing too hard. The last thing I want is to have a crash on day one, so I have ridden a bit cautiously, but I will be pushing much harder tomorrow and then on raceday of course. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) MAKES A SOLID START TO THE SPANISH CAMPAIGN, SECOND IN QUALIFYING AT HOME TRACK ARAGON. Alcaniz (Spain), Friday 17th June 2011: the seventh round of the World Superbike Championship got underway today at the new Spanish track of Motorland Aragon. Championship leader, team Althea rider Carlos Checa, quickly settled in and demonstrated his will to win on his home track, closing first qualifying in second position. In morning practice Carlos was straight up at the top of the timesheets in the early stages, needing little time to get to grips with the tricky Spanish track which caused several riders to crash. He continued to improve on his times throughout the session and in the final minutes was able to shave a further four tenths off his best, to close this first practice in second place overall. Only Checa and Melandri lapped in under 2m00 this morning. Though Aragon is a new track as far as the 2011 SBK race calendar is concerned, most riders (Carlos included) have completed test sessions here late last year or in recent months. The track was a lot hotter for first qualifying (55ËšC) which took place this afternoon. Carlos made progress during the session but did not improve on the time he had set during the morning’s practice. He nevertheless found a good pace in these extremely hot conditions, recording a best lap of 2m00.0 flat. With this lap time he concluded first qualifying in second place, just behind Melandri on the Yamaha. Carlos Checa: “There are some riders who are surely going to be fast this weekend so I’m not expecting an easy time of it but, after today’s sessions, I can say that I’m feeling confident. In terms of rhythm we have improved even if the times appear to be slower than those set during winter testing, which is due to the heat. We definitely have more work to do tomorrow; I want to do a long run for example to assess the tyres in these high temperatures. You can see that we are losing a couple of tenths to the four cylinders on the straight but we will work around this problem just as we had to at Miller. For now I am very happy.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: The first race weekend of the FIM Superbike World Championship at the new Motorland Aragón venue has started. The Spanish race track hosts the seventh round of the 2011 season. For Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport today was the first time it had been here in hot and sunny weather. When it tested here with works riders, Leon Haslam (GBR) and Troy Corser (AUS), in the winter it was pretty cool. Therefore the team used this Friday to test numerous things and to adapt the set-up of the BMW S 1000 RR to the circuit and the hot conditions. Troy finished the first Qualifying practice in 12th, while Leon qualified provisionally 14th. Troy Corser: Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:01.419 min (P16)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice: 2:00.798 min (P12) “My back is still a little bit sore for sitting on the bike, but once I start riding I am not having any problems moving on the bike. We struggled a little bit to get some grip on the rear and had lots of spin. We tried a lot of different solutions to cure the problem. The track itself feels like it has grip, but at first we were not able to use it. Then we tried something at the very end of the session and that was definitely better. All in all I am not too worried, we will now compare the good setup from the test and the one from today, and will work out a setting for tomorrow.” Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:01.264 min (P14)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 2:01.047 min (P14) “At the minute we are trying to work through a few issues, ones which have been affecting us over the last few races. Today we focused on trying to fine tune the setting we have, as the track temperature is extremely high in relation to the last time we tested here. Tomorrow is a new day, the team is working hard, as always, to incorporate my feedback and give me what I need from the bike. We will have to see what tomorrow brings. It is just a case of working hard to try and find the solution we are looking for.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “After both of our riders left the last race weekend in Misano injured, today our priority was to sort out and test some new strategies instead of pushing for quick lap times. The grip level was completely different to when we tested here, so we tried a lot of different ideas. We were able to collect a good amount of information that we will now analyse as we continue with our preparation for Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Supersonic Racing Team: Maxime Berger and the Supersonic Team confirmed in the top ten at Friday in Aragon First day of practice and qualifications for the Supersonic Team at the Spanish Motorland Aragon track, located only a few kilometres from Alcaniz. The team from Danilo Soncini and Maxime Berger went during winter for a test at Aragon, but due to the cold temperatures, it was only possible to ride a few laps. But sure this weekend a different atmosphere at Aragon: asphalt at 56 degrees and a high humidity. The day started very well, Maxime lapped a time of 2’00 “973 good for a ninth position. An outstanding performance for Maxime’s debut in World Superbike. During the afternoon session, despite the difficult weather conditions, Maxime Berger was able to lower his best lap time and lapped a good 2’00 “509’s worth a tenth place overall. Tomorrow morning will be the last qualifying session, valid for entry into Superpole. Maxime Berger: “Today we found quite easily a good setting for my Ducati, and as it happened at Misano, I immediately got a good rhythm and a good feeling with my bike. This morning, I enjoyed riding on this track. I knew it from riding only a few laps during our winter test. The bike is working well, so I can go faster and risk a little more. Unfortunately, during the afternoon session, the temperature was very high and I struggled to improve. I’m happy, not only for the results, but also for how I’m working with my team, they help me a lot and they prepare a very competitive bike. I hope it will be a little less hot tomorrow for the qualifying so I can do everything to make it into Superpole” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Melandri Dominates Day One in Aragon Marco Melandri prevailed in the Spanish heat today in Aragon, dominating the time sheets throughout the first day of round seven of the World Superbike Championship. The extreme heat and elevated track temperature of 56 degrees proved no obstacle as the Italian produced impressive lap times, being the only rider to register less than two minutes on the clock, in this afternoon’s first qualifying session, where he finished in first place. Melandri also set the new circuit’s best lap time this afternoon, clocking in at an impressive 1’59.726, over three tenths of a second faster than Checa, the current championship leader. Eugene Laverty was also on form today in the Spanish sunshine. The World Superbike Rookie spent the morning getting re-acquainted with a decisively hotter track than that tested just a month ago, following his double victory in Monza. Laverty proceeded to make improvements throughout the afternoon’s qualifying session, modifying the geometry and the electronics of his machine in search of the optimal chassis settings ahead of Sunday’s races, before completing the session in ninth place. Yamaha World Superbike riders also recorded the fastest speeds of the day. Marco Melandri rode his powerful YZF- R1 to a maximum of 316.5 km/ph while Eugene Laverty was the second fastest on the track, reaching a high of 314.6 km/ph. Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team – 1st, 1’59.726 “It was most definitely a very good day for me. We actually didn’t change the settings at all from Misano and in a certain sense that worries me but today was really good so that’s a step in the right direction. Aragon won’t be easy, going by the high track temperatures and on Sunday from mid race we’ll have to be careful and play our cards right to ensure the tyres last to the end. Let’s hope it’s not quite as hot in the next few days. I’m delighted with today’s results but I’m also sure the top riders will soon catch up.” Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team- 9th, 2’00.377 “Overall, I’m quite happy with today. In qualifying I felt we had made an improvement from this morning’s free practice. We definitely made a step in the right direction but it wasn’t quite enough. I think we can be stronger tomorrow in the second qualifying session and hopefully it will also be a little bit cooler. With a little work tomorrow, I’m confident that I’ll be where I want to be by Sunday.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “Today was a very good start to the weekend. The tests we had last month after Monza were useful and provided us with a good base setting to start off with. This morning Marco worked on weight distribution and in the afternoon he progressed to work on the tyres which will be critical in such hot conditions. Eugene hasn’t found the optimal chassis set-up yet. He needs to still work on turning in and taking the curves where he is having difficulty. He didn’t use the soft tyres and therefore must be satisfied with his lap times.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Sunny and hot weather today in Alcaniz, Spain for the first day of official Superbike practice at the new SBK venue Motorland Aragon. It was a completely new experience for Aitchison while Rolfo had already ridden at Motorland Aragon last year in the Moto2 world championship. During the morning free practice Aitchison got familiar with the new circuit, reaching an excellent fifteenth position (2’01″335). Rolfo (2’02″597), due to a crash near to the end of the session, obtained only the twentieth place. Both riders worked with their teams to adapt their bikes’ set up on the tortuous Spanish circuit. Despite a very hot track temperature (56° on the asphalt), in the afternoon qualifying session Rolfo (2’01″527) improved on his previous best laps time reaching the eighteenth position while Aitchison (2’01″428) confirm his fifteenth position. Superbike free practice : 1) Melandri (Yamaha) 2) Checa (Ducati) 3) Badovini (BMW) 4) Camier (Aprilia) “¦”¦15) Aitchison (Kawasaki)”¦”¦..20) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike qualifying 1 : 1) Melandri (Yamaha) 2) Checa (Ducati) 3) Haga (Aprilia) 4) Camier (Aprilia) “¦”¦ 15) Aitchison (Kawasaki)”¦”¦..18) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo: “I’m pretty satisfied with today’s qualifying. After this morning’s crash, I was feeling some pain in the afternoon sessions but this didn’t stop me from improving and I must say that I found good feeling with my bike. This allowed me to complete many laps with interesting lap times. We are still far from the results we would like to achieve and I am having trouble once the tyres are worn. But today we took a step forward and tomorrow I hope it’s less hot and I’ll try to make the Superpole.” Mark Aitchison :”Today was our first time on the Aragon circuit and I have enjoyed my time learning this amazing track on my bike. From the first practice I have felt very comfortable on my bike and the lap times were consistent so this gave me confidence during the qualifying. Even with very high temperatures my bike seemed to perform well and I improved my best lap time. Just at the end of the session we had a small problem with the chain so I hope to fix this tomorrow and push hard for the complete session”. The Pedercini Superstock Team rode the Motorland Aragon for the first time today, completing a positive first day of practice and qualifying, in hot, dry conditions. It’s a brand new track for all the Pedercini riders who are enjoying the circuit and looking forward to a good race weekend. In morning free practice fifteenth place for Bussolotti (2’06″237) and eighteenth position for Staring (2’06″800) while Mercado (2’08″065) was twenty second. With a track temperature of 55°C this afternoon all three Pedercini riders improved on their best lap times and positions set during the morning. Twelfth place for Bussolotti (2’05″019), fifteenth for Staring (2’05″506) and twentieth for Mercado. Superstock 1000 free practice : 1) Petrucci (Ducati) 2) Zanetti (Ducati) 3) Giugliano (Ducati) 4) Barrier (BMW) “¦”¦. 15) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦”¦ 18) Staring (Kawasaki) “¦”¦.. 22) Mercado (Kawasaki) Superstock 1000 qualifying 1 : 1) Petrucci (Ducati) 2) Giugliano (Ducati) 3) Barrier (BMW) 4) Morais (Honda) “¦”¦. 12) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦.. 15) Staring (Kawasaki) “¦”¦.. 20) Mercado (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti : “Motorland Aragon is a completely new circuit for me and of course we are still having some problems to solve regarding the setting of the bike; I must adapt my riding style to this new track. I’m not satisfied with twelfth place and tomorrow we will need to concentrate to the max in order to improve race pace. I hope to make a good qualifying session to be able to obtain a good position on the grid.” Brian Staring: “I’m doing my best but I don’t know why I cannot find a good lap time. The track is very nice and I got to grips with it quickly. I’m far from the first group of riders and today it was difficult for me to find a good pace also because my bike was sliding a lot. We have to work on the front of the bike to improve the feeling I have with my Ninja because tomorrow I want to find a good rhythm to be able to improve both my pace and my position.” Leandro “Tati” Mercado : “It’s a new track for me and unfortunately this morning I was forced to end my session after only a few laps because my bike was damaged after making contact with another rider. In afternoon qualifying I started to understand the track but my bike was sliding a lot and I found it difficult to enter the corners fast. We have to work on the bike’s set up and I’m sure tomorrow I’ll improve my position.”