FIM Superbike World Championship Imola, Italy September 25, 2009 Free Practice One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098F09), 1:49.895 2. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:50.125 3. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:50.213 4. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:50.308 5. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:50.515 6. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:50.516 7. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:50.716 8. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:50.801 9. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:50.806 10. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:50.876 11. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:51.003 12. Marco SIMONCELLI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:51.090 13. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098F09), 1:51.112 14. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), 1:51.333 15. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:51.527 16. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:51.769 17. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:51.898 18. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:51.922 19. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:51.954 20. Fonsi NIETO (Ducati 1098R), 1:52.086 21. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:52.183 22. Matteo BAIOCCO (Ducati 1098R), 1:52.446 23. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.792 24. Luca CONFORTI (Ducati 1098R), 1:53.389 25. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:54.108 26. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:54.258 27. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:54.428 More, from a press release issued by InFront Motorsports: Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) goes quickest in delayed Friday practice at Imola Track action on the opening day of practice for the twelfth round of the Hannspree FIM Superbike World Championship at Imola was delayed for four hours due to the request by a number of riders to clean the surface, which they considered to be slippery. The session had been red-flagged after just five minutes when Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes crashed on his first lap, without any major injury. After consulting the riders Claude Danis, the FIM safety officer, together with the circuit organizers and the Race Direction, decided to clean and dry the track, despite several riders and team managers maintaining that it was only necessary for the riders to stay out on the track to continue to lay down rubber. When Supersport and Superbike action resumed at 4.30, it did not substantially modify the surface condition, which was confirmed by the times subsequently obtained, in line with July testing, and by the fact that no crashes were recorded in the two sessions. Due to the delay Superstock 1000 and 600 free practice did not take place, but tomorrow’s schedule will remain unchanged. Fastest time in SBK went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), who was the only rider to dip under the 1m50s mark with a time of 1 minute 49.895 seconds. Hannspree Ten Kate Honda man Carlos Checa was next up, just a couple of tenths behind, with points leader Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) third and fourth. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) made a major step forward from the July tests to slot in fifth place, while stand-in 250 cc world champion Marco Simoncelli eased into Superbike with twelfth quickest time. Japans’s Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) was one place behind in thirteenth. Times: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’49.895; 2. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.125; 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’50.213; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.308; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’50.515; 6. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’50.516; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.716; 8. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’50.801; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’50.806; 10. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’50.876; 11. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’51.003; 12. Simoncelli M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’51.090; 13. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’51.112; 14. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’51.333; 15. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’51.527; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’51.769. Supersport Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) waited until the track had improved grip in final 20 minutes of the free practice session before going out to make his mark. The points leader set a time of 1 minute 52.751 seconds to put almost half-a-second between himself and the next man, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). The other two top championship contenders, Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) were next up in third and fourth. Britain’s Chaz Davies made an encouraging start to his World Supersport career, the ParkinGo Triumph man ending up tenth quickest on his 675 machine, six places ahead of team-mate Garry McCoy. Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.751; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.234; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’54.897; 4. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’55.270; 5. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’55.354; 6. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’55.499; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’55.564; 8. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’56.198 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea both finished inside the top four in today’s solitary free practice session at Imola in Italy in preparation for Sunday’s two 12th round World Superbike championship races. A curtailed schedule meant that today’s provisional qualifying session was lost after track surface problems resulted in the 4.93km circuit having to be cleaned. The World Superbike riders went out for the first practice session at 12.45 as planned, but extremely low levels of grip meant coming straight back into the pit boxes to sit out the rest of the session. With the hour’s free practice session finally getting underway at 17.45, Checa set the second fastest time, with his team-mate Rea fourth fastest behind today’s pace setter, Michel Fabrizio. Carlos Checa 2nd fastest, 1’50.125s The track is OK now, although still a little bit slippery at turn two. I think there was probably a little bit of panic this morning with the low levels of grip, but all it needed was a few bikes to go round for a few laps and things would have improved quite quickly. Still the delayed schedule means a late dinner, which is how we like things in Spain! The feeling with the bike is quite similar to the test but managing the power here is never easy, with the front wanting to come up all the time. We have some new engine maps to try tomorrow, but we’re on the pace with some consistent 1’50s laps, so everything is quite positive. If we had to race tomorrow, we’d be OK. Jonathan Rea 4th fastest, 1’50.308s It’s all under control! It’s been a difficult day with the earlier condition of the track but at least we confirmed the base setting that we found during the test here in July. We also worked on a base tyre this afternoon because there’s not really going to be much of a choice for the races, I think. Today really felt like a shakedown test to blow out some cobwebs. The first and last corners are still quite slippery but we’re right in the ball park already. There are still some issues to sort but the bike’s good and the cobwebs are blown away. I’m now in full Imola mode, ready to attack tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager To call this a strange kind of day would be a bit of an understatement, but at least it ended quite well for us. Carlos and Jonathan were in the top four throughout most of the single session we had today. There are still some small issues to resolve, but no huge complications, so it’s looking OK to make further progress tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: The first practice session was of little value to the WSBK riders who decided to return to the pits after only five minutes on the track due to a slippery surface. The riders unanimously requested that the surface be cleaned which took a number of hours and the first qualifying session had to be cancelled. As a result, the riders had only one practice session during which Shane Byrne confirmed the performance displayed in July finishing eighth. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 8th in 1’50.801: “I find myself at ease on this track and thanks to the July tests I already had a good base setup and so I was effective. However, we’ll have to take what we’ve done good with my two bikes and try to improve. I hope to do well tomorrow too so I can get a good starting position in Superpole and after that hopefully ride a great race”. More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ryuichi Kiyonari finished in 21st place in today’s only track session at Imola in Italy in preparation for Sunday’s two 12th round World Superbike championship races. Today’s provisional qualifying session was lost after track surface problems resulted in the 4.93km circuit having to be cleaned. Kiyonari and his fellow World Superbike riders began the first practice session at 12.45 on schedule, but an extremely slippery track surface meant returning directly to the garage to sit out the rest of the session. The Japanese rider, whilst feeling positive after the second race at Nurburgring in Germany three weeks ago, was unable to find enough confidence in the track surface to set a faster time. Ryuichi Kiyonari 21st, 1’52.183s It was still a little bit slippery in the first part of the track and I had a different feeling with the bike from when we tested here in July. Also, the light seemed very strange because the session was delayed to such a late part of the day. We tried some different settings some worked and others did not but I am still feeling confident after we made some progress at Nurburgring so I believe things will improve tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager It’s been a strange day, to say the least, and I think the disruption to the schedule has not helped Kiyonari-san get into a good early rhythm. However, he reported a positive feeling from the bike after Nurburgring and we will try to find that feeling for him again tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: The opening day at Imola today didn´t exactly start as expected. As the Superbike riders were heading out for their first free practice session this morning riders were only able to complete a lap or two before returning to the pits due to the extremely poor track conditions. After the track had been cleaned up, to improve it´s grip level, riders were able to go out on it again. Although It was not the Superbike riders but the Supersport riders who were the first to start their practice session. In a 60 minute free-practice session riders were able to complete laps but lap times where far from good. The sole Stiggy Racing Honda Supersport rider Anthony West managed to squeeze in a ninth best time of 1’56.443 as his best lap for the day. The Superbike riders also had an hour long free practice session today, but the earlier track issues and long delays has forced organizers to cut one practice out meaning that the Superbike will only get one try out reaching Superpole tomorrow. In the very late afternoon session Leon Haslam took advantage of the improved track conditions and mastered his Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR by taking 7th place in the time sheets on the opening day at the Italian track. Leon Haslam 13; Superbikes – 1’50.716s: 1C;It went pretty good in the end. Turn two was still a bit slippery, same as this morning. I was up there in seventh and then went back to our standard settings today, which allowed us to be quick straight off the mark. We need a few minor tweaks but the boys will work hard to improve the set-up. The track was basically unrideable this morning, and even in the session we got in the afternoon turn two and three were still unrideable. I just got though that part and concentrated on the rest of the track. 1D; Anthony West 13; Supersport – 1’56.443s: 1C;In the beginning we had been prevented from riding so long I expected it to be super-slippery, so I went out too cautiously just trying to feel the way around. In the end only turn two stayed slippery. Our rear set-up is really good, but we need to improve the turning on the front. We tried two different set-ups on the front with the same result but at least the rear grip feels good. 1D; Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager: “It has been a pretty strange day today and to start the weekend like this is never good. It was pretty surprising to see all the SBK riders coming back in just after a lap or two saying that there was absolutely no grip out there. After a long wait and a cleaned track riders could finally go out there again and conditions seemed to have improved some. Both Anthony and Leon did well today considering the tricky conditions. We hope for more improvements tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: FABRIZIO FLIES THE DUCATI XEROX FLAG; FASTEST ON DAY ONE AT IMOLA Imola (Italy), Friday 25th September 2009: a disorganised start to the World Superbike event at Imola today, as riders faced difficult track conditions in the first free practice session. The Superbike riders, Ducati Xerox men Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio included, were the first to exit onto the track this weekend but, after only a couple of laps and a crash for Yamaha’s Tom Sykes, it became clear that it was necessary to reclean certain parts of the track, left slippery after last weekend’s touring car event. Free practice was therefore postponed while the track was washed during the afternoon and rescheduled for 17.45. Both Noriyuki and Michel exited immediately and times dropped consistently throughout the sixty-minute session. Having come into the box a few times to make minor modifications to his bike, Michel was then able to make a flying lap only a few minutes before the end of the hour, and thus recorded the fastest time of the day. Fabrizio, the most consistently fast rider during the official tests at Imola two months ago, was the only rider to duck under 1m50 today. Noriyuki, having not taken part in earlier testing and not having ridden here since 2006, didn’t immediately find feeling with the track, and found he needed more time to learn the trickier sections, particularly the new chicane. Haga closed the day in thirteenth position. Due to the lengthy delays earlier in the day, today’s qualifying session was cancelled and qualifying will therefore consist of one session only, to take place tomorrow morning. Michel Fabrizio 1m49.8s “I’m very happy to have made the fastest lap but it was not easy. The track is still very slippery and although I’m fairly comfortable with the front of the bike I was having trouble with lack of grip at the rear. Hopefully track conditions will improve over the weekend. My left arm was also giving me pain during the session so I’ll get that looked at this evening in order to be 100% ready for tomorrow.” Noriyuki Haga 1m51.1s “I didn’t test here in July of course and so I’m a bit behind with respect to the other guys. I think I just a little more time to learn the track, specifically the last chicane, and we need to find a better solution for the suspension settings.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: FIRST PRACTICE ABANDONED, BUT TROY AND RUBEN HAPPY. Today’s first practice at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola was abandoned after less than two laps due to the lack of grip at the 4.936 kilometre track. The slippery track caused a crash straightaway and all the riders rode straight back to the pits after numerous slides. The officials set about cleaning the track, but it was only at 17.45 that the riders were able to go out for a free practice session. Although the track was in much better condition, there were still areas of concern and the lap times were down on when the teams tested here in July. After nearly eight weeks out of action, Ruben was back in the saddle. Despite having broken the top of his femur and surgery that required three screws inserted into it and his hip, he rode superbly today and was happy to end with the 16th fastest time. Troy Corser and his mechanics spent the sole session of the day trying out a variety of settings on the traction control and throttle feel, but still managed to finish in the top ten. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) ended the day fastest, with Carlos Checa (Honda) second and Ben Spies (Yamaha) third. Troy – 10th, 1:50.876 I’m pretty happy to be in the top ten, considering the circumstances, and we were able to try out quite a few things and end with some positive ideas about what we want to do tomorrow. The first time we all went out was incredible because the track was unbelievably slippery. It felt like the front tyre had suddenly gone flat and it was impossible to ride. I lost count of the number of slides I had – in just two laps! There was a Touring Car race here last weekend and if felt as if a lot of diesel was on the track, but I don’t think I’ve ever had this kind of feeling on a track that was not wet! They cleaned the track and cancelled all the sessions except us and Supersport and we went out late – at 5.45 pm! The grip was definitely better, but there are still three areas where the grip is poor. I hope that the conditions improve tomorrow, but already we are at a disadvantage to most teams because we really need as much track time as possible. Ruben – 16th, 1:51.527 I am very happy with my performance this afternoon, but I would have liked to have had the other session to get back into the groove properly. I haven’t ridden for almost eight weeks and it takes time to get back into the swing of things and this is what I tried to do today. The track was incredibly slippery when we tried to start the first session and it was obvious that it needed cleaning before we could ride. After the hour long session, my hip and leg don’t feel so bad. My arms are a bit sore because of all the concentration required in the areas of the track that are still slippery, but I feel very positive about the rest of the weekend. Berti Hauser – Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Firstly, I am very happy to welcome Ruben back and see that he is getting back into it so easily. I am happy that he took things steadily and rode using his mind and we are all waiting to hear his comments on the bike when he has pushed it a bit harder. The decision to abandon the first practice was correct. So many riders complained about the track and there could’ve been many injuries if the session had gone ahead. It’s strange to start your first real practice at 17.45, but that’s the way it had to be. We lost a session today and that puts us at a disadvantage, but we will battle away tomorrow and see what we can achieve. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Today’s first practice session at the Imola World Superbike 12th round was abandoned after less than two laps due to the very slippery nature of the track and so Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama and Karl Muggeridge one hour of valuable track time. A WTCC race had taken place at the circuit the week before and the spillage of a lot of diesel fuel was blamed as the possible cause for the slippery track surface. It took the circuit staff many hours to clean the track and so the team had to go out at 17.45 for their only practice session of the day. In addition to the track problems, Team Suzuki Alstare Brux were trying out Ohlins suspension for the first time and so the lost one-hour was even more deeply felt. Nonetheless both riders got to grips with the new system and reported back very favourably. Kagayama rode superbly, despite some slippery areas in the track, and finished sixth fastest. Team mate Muggeridge (standing in for Max Neukirchner) continued his steep learning curve and ended 15th. Yukio Kagayama – 6th, 1:50.516: “Conditions in the first practice were very scary and it was good that the session was stopped and the track was cleaned. I have never ridden on a track like that and the feeling was very strange and not good at all! So, we lost one hour and that is a shame because we need as much time as possible to understand our new suspension. In the short time we used it, in the one session at the end of the day; I was happy with it and left the track smiling. And it has been a while since I have done that. Of course, there is a lot of work to be done, but at least I can see a good and positive future right now.” Karl Muggeridge – 15th, 1:51.527: “It’s not so good for me to lose one hour when I am still learning the bike and now also learning a new suspension system. That’s a lot to learn in one day and so I feel at a disadvantage compared to the other riders. Also, I didn’t test here when the teams came in July and so I had to relearn the track because it has changed since I raced here in 2006. But things went pretty good today and I am satisfied with the progress we made in such a short time and I am looking forward to two sessions tomorrow and understanding the bike better.” Friday WSB qualifying: 1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:49.895, 2 C Checa (ESP-Honda) 1:50.125, 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:50.213, 4 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:50.308, 5 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:50.515, 6 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:50.516. 15 Karl Muggeridge (AUS-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:51.527. SUPERSTOCK 1000: The Superstock 1000 practice session was cancelled today at Imola due to the amount of time it took to clean the 4.936 kilometre circuit after the World Superbike riders complained about the slippery nature of the track. Only World Superbike and World Supersport action took place today, but tomorrow’s schedule remains unchanged. Claudio Corti: “It was a shame to lose the session and the practice time. But it is the same for everybody and we will just have to get a good set-up as quickly as we can and do the best.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: The first day of free practice did not go according to plan at Imola today. The first scheduled Superbike free practice session lasted for just two laps, with less than perfect conditions resulting in a huge high side crash for rider Tom Sykes. Luckily he walked away uninjured. Touring Car racing the weekend previously had resulted in a dirty track with minimal grip and spilt oil in places. The track was re-cleaned and practice got underway after several hours delay. Spies was quick from the word go, dropping into second position two tenths behind leader Byrne as soon as he started. He went on to take the lead until the closing moments, dropping to third as the free practice session ended. Team mate Tom Sykes was working hard lower down the board, starting in 21st, the British rider improved his times to take 18th spot at the end. Sykes was still suffering from his huge high side crash which brought the first session to a premature end. As a result of the closures and delays there will be just one qualifying session for the Superbike riders this weekend on the Saturday. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (3rd, 1’50.213) “we got straight down to it this afternoon when we could finally get on track. Since we lost a lot of time today we’ve been focusing on the race set-up. There’s a tyre that I think most people where on today which we haven’t tried yet so we’ll throw that in there tomorrow. We’ve got some time still to find, but we’re on it. The cleaning made a big difference to the track, and felt a lot better, although still slower than the test. I think it will get better tomorrow.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (18th, 1’51.922) “It was a very strange day today, the first time I can remember most of the day being cancelled that’s for sure. It was a big crash for me this morning, I thought I was feeling ok from it but in the afternoon session I felt a bit sick so the knock was a bit more than I first thought. I’m going to have a nice sleep tonight and I’ll come out tomorrow swinging. I’m a bit disappointed in my times as I was doing good 1.50s and 1.49s in the test and am a bit off that so far today. We’ve got different settings on the bike to try so we’ll go back to basics and see what we can do tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team “Today was definitely a strange day, we lost a complete session. Fortunately they found a way to clean the circuit so we had at least one practice today. In the end we are lucky to have already tested here so although we’ll miss the practice, we still have a good set up to work from. Tom had a big crash today but we’re happy that he’s fine and ok. We will have some work to do tomorrow, the bike needs some improvement as the temperature is very different from the test, so we are looking forward to getting started in the morning.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: FIRST PRACTICE LOST, BUT TROY ENDS WITH A TOP TEN Today’s first practice at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola was a bit of a farce to say the least. Less than two laps of the scheduled one-hour long session had been completed when a crash by Briton Tom Sykes and many near falls caused all the riders to return to their pits wondering why the 4.936 kilometre track was so slippery. Most riders reported that it had felt like riding on ice, but as the temperature was over 25 C, this could not have been the cause. A WTCC race had taken place at the track the week before and the common theory was that there was a lot of diesel on the track and that’s why the surface was so slippery. The officials started a clean-up operation, but the time taken to make the surface ready meant that the first free practice had to be cancelled, leaving time only for one practice at the end of the day at 17.45. Although the track was in better condition for that practice, Troy and most of the riders felt some areas of the track were still very slippery. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) ended the day fastest, with Carlos Checa (Honda) second and Ben Spies (Yamaha) third. Troy – 10th, 1:50.876 I don’t think I’ve ever ridden on a track that felt like that. The track wasn’t wet, but it felt like it was, or it felt like we all had flat tyres! It was very strange, but the decision to abandon the first free practice session was the right one. I had many, many slides in just the two laps I did and that is not right. It’s also what the other riders all felt, so we all knew that there was a serious problem. When we eventually went out, at 5.45 pm, the track was definitely better, but there were still at least three areas where you had to be ever so careful. I’m hoping that, as the weekend goes on and more rubber is put down, conditions will improve. Today we were able to try out quite a few things and end with some positive ideas about which direction to take. Because we have lost a session, we are at a disadvantage compared to most teams because they have previous experience over the years with their bikes, whereas we are starting new. We really needed as much track time as possible, but the recent improvements to the rideability of the bike are making our lives a bit easier.