FIM Superbike World Championship Brno, Czech Republic July 25, 2009 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:58.868 2. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:58.950 3. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:59.055 4. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:59.740 5. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:59.787 6. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 2:00.046 7. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 2:00.096 8. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 2:00.240 From Superpole Two: 9. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), 1:59.730 10. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:59.748 11. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:59.873 12. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 2:00.159 13. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2:00.223 14. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), 2:00.235 15. Shinya NAKANO (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 2:00.262 16. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:00.498 From Superpole One: 17. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:00.718 18. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:00.811 19. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:03.819 20. John HOPKINS (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:14.727 The Rest of the Grid: 21. Fonsi NIETO (Ducati 1098R), 2:01.510 22. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:01.643 23. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 2:01.816 24. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:02.346 25. Alessandro POLITA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2:02.718 26. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 2:02.785 27. Roland RESCH (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2:04.041 28. Miloes CIHAK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2:04.905 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Spies the ‘Superpole King’ also at Brno Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) added another Superpole scalp to his crown as he took his ninth trophy of the year, one away from Doug Polen’s 1991 record for Ducati, at the difficult Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The Texan’s time of 1 minute 58. 868 seconds was the quickest seen all weekend so far but was still half a second away from the circuit best lap held by Troy Bayliss. The Yamaha rider didn’t have it all his own way however as he was pushed hard by Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). The two Italians, both from Rome, will start tomorrow’s two 20-lap races from second and third on the grid and look to be Spies’ most serious challengers for the wins. The front row was completed by Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who hauled himself up to fourth slot after a struggle to get to the front over the first two days. Ben Spies: “So far we’ve been good with the race set-up, and we found something in the second session this afternoon that made a big improvement on the race tyres. That Superpole was good as well, I had a small problem in the last session, but my time was good enough to get the job done today. I’m in a strong position and the bike is good on the tyres after a few laps, but I think it’s going to be tough against Michel and Max tomorrow.” Michel Fabrizio: “Let’s hope well for tomorrow, both Ben and I are the guys who are doing well at the moment and we are both up at the front for the races. It’s a pity that Nori is not up with us at the front because he’s still got a few problems with his shoulder, but we’ve been making really good progress all weekend and I am looking forward to the races tomorrow.” Max Biaggi: “We are very pleased with this result, all weekend we have been fighting in the top 3. We’ve been testing here like a month or so ago, and we did a lot of work on the gearbox and the set-up and you can see the result. I’m not exactly where I want to be but I can override in some parts, but I’m pleased with the result, so a big thanks to all my crew.” Jonathan Rea: “We’ve been struggling really all weekend. I put a soft qualifier on in the first session and in the second, and the bike wasn’t quite right, then I used a race tyre in the third and was confident because I knew I could do the time on that one. It’s going to be a hard race for me as well, because I’ve only done one fast lap on the race tyre and not too many consistent ones. The bike’s coming on in leaps and bounds since the start of the year, it’s a good period for me in racing and I’m enjoying life a lot!” Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) had a good run to fifth place, ahead of the star performers of the day, Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus of the BMW Motorrad squad, who placed their S1000 RR machines in sixth and seventh positions, the German manufacturer’s best qualifying performance of the year. Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) was in eighth place ahead of Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Ducati), while Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who had looked incisive earlier on, was unable to keep up the momentum in Superpole and finished in tenth place, while Makoto Tamada was the first Kawasaki runner in eleventh. It was a day of suffering for points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who got no higher than 14th due to his shoulder injury, and he lines up behind the only Suzuki on the grid, the Alstare BRUX machine of Yukio Kagayama. There was disappointment as well for home rider Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati), who crashed out in the second knock-out phase and will have to start from the third row. Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’58.868; 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’58.950; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’59.055; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’59.740; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’59.787; 6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2’00.046; 7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2’00.096; 8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2’00.240; 9. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’59.730; 10. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’59.748; 11. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’59.873; 12. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2’00.159; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2’00.223; 14. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2’00.235; 15. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2’00.262; 16. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2’00.498 World Supersport Supersport qualifying turned into a one-man show as Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) powered to his seventh pole of the season. The British rider stopped the clocks at an incredible time of 2 minutes 02.060 seconds, the height of his weekend domination so far. The only man able to get close to Crutchlow, but nine-tenths of a second behind, was Ireland’s Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), his chief rival in the title battle. The front row is completed by the increasingly competitive Kawasaki Motocard.com pairing of Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara in third and fourth. The third and final championship contender Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was unable to go any higher than 14th and a fourth row grid start will leave the Turk with it all to do tomorrow. Team-mate Andrew Pitt was also in difficulty, the Australian still sore after his crash yesterday and he ended up in 23rd. The two ParkinGo Triumph rider Gianluca Nannelli and Garry McCoy were in terrific form, qualifying fifth and sixth respectively and just a whisker away from the front row, while Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) were the other row 2 qualifiers. Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 2’02.060; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 2’02.908; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’03.217; 4. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’03.220; 5. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 2’03.428; 6. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 2’03.662; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2’03.825; 8. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2’04.042 Superstock 1000 The Superstock 1000 qualifying session confirmed the results of the first half of the season, with the top 4 in the championship starting from the front row. Pole position, his fourth this season, went to points leader Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), with a time of 2 minutes 03.188 seconds, the Belgian rider managing to hold off a last minute attack from Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), a tenth away at the end. Third place, at six-tenths, went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), just ahead of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare). The leading position on row 2 went to Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (MS Racing Honda), with Sylvian Barrier (Garnier Yamaha) of France, Britain’s Alex Lowes (Unionbike MV Agusta) and Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) making up the other top places. Davide Giugliano (Suzuki Celani) failed to repeat his Friday form and ended up on row 3. Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 2’03.188; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2’03.315; 3. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2’03.791; 4. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2’03.831; 5. Jezek O. (CZE) Honda CBR1000RR 2’04.100; 6. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 2’04.141; 7. Lowes A. (GBR) MV Agusta F4 312 R 2’04.596; 8. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’04.703 Superstock 600 Vincent Lonbois (MTM Racing Yamaha) produced a real surprise in the Superstock 600 qualifying session, the Belgian, who was leading at the time, taking advantage of the rain that fell at the end to clinch the pole. The other front row positions went to Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), currently second in the points table, Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) and championship leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno). Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) starts off row 2, ahead of the third title contender, Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno). Times: 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 2’07.470; 2. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2’07.481; 3. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 2’07.529; 4. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2’07.814; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2’07.872; 6. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2’07.897; 7. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 2’08.209; 8. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 2’08.429 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two tenth-round World Superbike championship races at Brno from the front row of the grid after setting the fourth fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole sessions. American Ben Spies took the pole slot at the 5.4km Czech circuit. Despite setting the fastest time at a two-day World Superbike test in Imola, Italy last week, Rea’s performance this afternoon was a surprise to many after the Northern Irishman initially struggled to find a rhythm around the undulating Brno circuit. However, a step forward during the first Superpole session today saw the 22-year-old set his fastest lap of the weekend. Rea then went out on a used qualifier in Superpole 3 to set his front row lap and underlined it with his fastest lap on a race tyre. Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, will start tomorrow’s races from row three, despite running in the top five in the weekend’s free practice and regulation qualifying sessions. The Spaniard who crashed unhurt during free practice this afternoon was unable to convert the additional grip from his allotted two qualifying tyres into fast laps during the Superpole session and could set only the tenth fastest time. Jonathan Rea P4, 1’59.740 (Superpole 3) In free practice, just before Superpole, we found something in between the two set-ups we were trying. It worked during Superpole and then I was able to set a good time on a race tyre. It’s no secret we were struggling during the weekend and, although I’m now happy I can do good laps on a race tyre, I haven’t been able to do a long run. But at least I can sleep a little more happily tonight. It shows how hard the team has been working. I feel like I’m really finding my feet on the Superbike now and I’m enjoying life! I hope we can keep the momentum going through to the end of the season. I now know I can race tomorrow, so I’m really looking forward to it. Carlos Checa P10, 1’59.748 (Superpole 2) Well, the race is tomorrow and of course it would be better to start from the front two rows. However, I struggled when I put in the qualifier and couldn’t improve my lap time. Usually, you would expect to go at least one second quicker here at Brno, but today it didn’t come. The bike suddenly did not turn so well, especially on the gas and there was a lot of movement from the rear. I’m happy with the overall balance of the bike and I believe we have a good pace for tomorrow. But we need to do some more work with qualifiers to try to keep a good feeling like the race set-up. Ronald ten Kate team manager We’re honestly in quite an unexpected position in a negative and a positive way. On the negative side, Carlos has been top five all weekend and our minimum goal was to help him to a start from the front two rows. Of course, his crash during the free practice just before Superpole did not help the position, but I’m still quite sure he will be a front runner tomorrow. On the positive side is Jonathan, who was struggling all weekend to find a rhythm here. We didn’t quite expect him to be able to propel himself up to the front row during Superpole. But an even bigger positive was the fact that he matched his best Superpole time with a race tyre right at the end in his final outing. More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ryuichi Kiyonari will start tomorrow’s two tenth-round World Superbike championship races from the fifth row of the grid after setting the 18th fastest qualifying time at Brno today. After beginning the weekend in good form yesterday with the sixth fastest time, the Japanese Ten Kate Honda Racing rider found it difficult in today’s free practice and qualifying sessions to improve his setup as he becomes accustomed to the new Ohlins suspension he is running in his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. Ryuichi Kiyonari P18, 2’00.811s It’s very frustrating because we have not been able to make an improvement after yesterday’s good start but everybody else has. In reality, the bike is not that much better than yesterday. I’m not sure where the main problem is because there are so many small ones. But we’ll try to eliminate a few of them tomorrow morning and I will of course try my best in both the races. Ronald ten Kate team manager We’re quite puzzled by Kiyo’s problems especially because during the Imola test last week he became quite familiar with his new settings. So far, we have struggled to give him a good feeling in the front end of his bike and we have been going through a wide range of settings looking for it. It means we might have to try something drastic in warm-up tomorrow, but we’ll look at everything again tonight to see what we need. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) SECURES A FRONT ROW SPOT FOR TOMORROW’S RACES AT BRNO; HAGA 14TH Brno (Czech Republic) Saturday 25th July: it was a hard-fought Superpole for the World Superbike riders this afternoon on the Brno racetrack and, having been fast in all of the sessions so far, Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio continued to be a protagonist in today’s spectacle, pushing hard with his Ducati 1198 throughout the three mini-Superpole sessions to secure himself a front row position, second, on tomorrow’s grid. In this morning’s second qualifying session, and on a cooler track (25°C), the Ducati Xerox riders continued to fight, Michel Fabrizio in close competition against the other front-runners and Noriyuki in a personal battle with the pain in his left scapula. Nine of the riders who qualified for Superpole managed to improve on the times they set yesterday, but Michel and Nori were not among them; Michel’s fastest lap yesterday was enough for him to conclude qualifying very near the top of the timesheets, in fourth position, less than a tenth of a second from the three fastest riders Biaggi (Aprilia), Spies (Yamaha) and local man Smrz on the Ducati 1198 of privateers Team Guandalini. Noriyuki continued to experience the same problems as yesterday, suffering pain especially during braking, meaning that he was unable to improve on yesterday’s performance and just qualified for the afternoon’s Superpole in eighteenth position. Both before and during the free practice Noriyuki was seen by Doctor Corbascio of the Clinica Mobile who administered a local anesthetic to the muscles around the scapula. The treatment had some effect and in the first phase of the Superpole Noriyuki went straight out on a qualifying tyre and was able to register a very fast time, passing easily into the second Superpole session. Unfortunately stage two was tougher for the Japanese rider and at the end of the twelve minute session, despite having lapped on the second available qualifier, Haga was unable to climb higher than fourteenth on the leader board, thus concluding his Superpole. Michel meanwhile, very much at ease on the Brno track, passed without difficulty from the first to the second and third mini-Superpoles, exiting in the final phase on the second qualifying tyre and lapping fast enough to conclude in second position overall, just 0.082 of a second behind pole-sitter Ben. Ben and Michel will share the front row tomorrow with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) in third and Jonathan Rea (Honda) in fourth. Michel Fabrizio 1m58.9s “The weekend is going very well and I’ve been one of the fastest in every session; I just hope this is also the case tomorrow! Today’s Superpole was great, a very close fight with me once again very close to Ben, missing out on the pole by so little to him. I’m feeling confident about the races because we completed a good long-run this afternoon and I’m very happy with the set-up of my bike. It’ll be a three-way duel tomorrow I guess and I hope to make a strong start because Ben and Max will surely be up there. I’m just sorry that Nori is missing from this group this weekend.” Noriyuki Haga 2m00.2s “It’s not been easy, the pain is worse than yesterday. We made some changes overnight to the bike but to be honest they didn’t make much difference and the pain is constant, worse when braking. Before the free practice Doctor Corbascio gave me an injection to kill some of the pain in my shoulder but it was still hurting me during the Superpole. I pushed as hard as I could in the first two sessions but it wasn’t hard enough and I finished 14th. I’ll go back to the Clinica tomorrow morning to see what we can do before the races but I know that tomorrow will be tough.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsports: BEST SUPERPOLE RESULT OF THE YEAR FOR TROY AND RUBEN! Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus will start tomorrow’s pair of 20-lap races alongside each other after qualifying in sixth and seventh places – their best qualifying result of the season so far. Today is the first time the team has managed to get into final Superpole and to do it with both riders shows that all the season’s hard work is paying off. Now, instead of staring at the start lights from a distance, both Troy and Ruben will be on the second row, just behind Superpole winner Ben Spies (Yamaha). Second quickest in Superpole today is Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third and Jonathan Rea (Honda) fouth, making it four different manufacturers on the front row for the second day running. Troy – 6th, 2:00.046 Well I think that I can finally say that I’m pretty happy with how these two days have gone. Throughout the practices and qualifying, everything has been pretty positive and we’ve found some good settings on the bike. The bike’s balance seems better and it is more consistent – especially on race tyres. I feel I can actually ride the bike now and, when we make small changes, I can feel the changes – and that’s really good. Everything that has happened so far this weekend shows that we are going the right way and the good news is that the bike can get even better. Having Ruben next to me on the second row proves that our bikes have made a good step forward and now we can both look forward to fighting with the top guys right from the start. Ruben – 7th, 2:00.096 Considering that I had some bike problems today and didn’t put in as many laps as I would’ve liked, it is pretty good to get into final Superpole and start tomorrow’s races from the second row of the grid. The fact that my team mate is on the same row (and next to me) shows us that we are going in the right direction with the bike. I am really happy for myself, but also for the whole team because I know how hard they have worked to get to this stage. Our recent tests were the first time we’ve been able to put everything together and now we are getting closer to a good package. All year, I have said that this is the best team in the paddock. I am so happy to be with them and hope we can get some good results tomorrow before everybody starts their well-deserved summer break. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) Firstly I would like to say how very happy I am for the whole team. Today’s results are thanks to all the incredibly hard work they have put in and to get this kind of result shows that we are making the right steps and going in the right direction. Before Superpole we hoped we would qualify for final Superpole, but getting both riders in it made us all more than happy. Troy has had a hard time with injuries recently, so it’s good to see him smiling again and great to see him and Ruben next to each other on the grid. To achieve this result today makes me feel really proud. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: The Stiggy Racing Honda team’s aim to secure a good place on the grid for the tenth World Superbike event at Brno came to a disappointing halt in the second day of qualifying, as both Leon Haslam and John Hopkins were pushed out of the first superpole shoot-out this afternoon. Leon Haslam concentrated on finding the right set-up for his bike in a difficult string of qualifying sessions at the Czech track. The Englishman was left out of the second superpole shoot-out that determines the first 16 places on the grid by less than 0.1s. John Hopkins displayed a strong performance in the opening day of action at Brno, but chatter issues with his Honda CBR1000RR ended further progress of the American rider. Leon Haslam will start tomorrow’s 20-lap Superbike races from the head of the fifth row in 17th position, joined by John Hopkins at the same row in 20th position. Ben Spies will head the 10th World Superbike Event at Brno, alongside Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) in second, Max Biaggi (Aprillia) in third and Jonathan Rea (Honda) in fourth. Leon Haslam – P17 – 2’00.718s: “I have been struggling this afternoon. I spend most of the free practice in the garage due to an oil leak, but managed to get my number one bike ready for the first superpole. I secured a fifteenth position on a race tyre, but I knew I had to do better and came in for a qualifier. I had a lot of chatter issues and did not get the most out of that tyre. I am pretty disappointed we missed out on the second superpole. We have a few issues that we need to sort out for tomorrow and hopefully get a good start in the race.” John Hopkins – P20 – 2’14.727s: “We tried everything we could to improve our chatter issues. On this track we need a bike that is flowing, but right now we are struggling with the front end of the machine. By the time we got the bike changed we were only able to do one lap before going into superpole. I returned for a qualifying tyre in the first superpole, but made a costly mistake on my flying lap. It will make our work a lot harder tomorrow, but I am confident we can find the right race set-up tomorrow morning and give a hundred percent in the race.” Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “We expected a lot more from our Superbike riders today. Leon has had a hard time since the first practice here and struggled to make much progress. We will have to analyse the data tonight to see how we can improve the set-up of the bike. After our two-day test at this track two weeks ago we expected better results. John started off well here and felt really comfortable yesterday, but has gone backwards today as we failed to make any improvement. It is just one of those days where we can try without gaining much, but the race is tomorrow and we will work hard and make sure we will take some points home.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Successful Qualifying For Comeback Kid Tamada WSBK, Brno, Czech Republic, 25 July 2009 Makoto Tamada was in fine form in his return to competitive action, securing not only qualification into Superpole, but also a fine 11th place on the grid for Sunday’s races. His team-mate Broc Parkes was also running a very good qualifying pace but a crash in the first sector of the three-part Superpole contest finally put him on the fifth row. A hot Friday and a cooler Saturday made for a slightly more complicated period of practice than the team had hoped, but real progress was made in both sides of the garage, with Parkes tenth fastest going into the Superpole sessions. Friday qualifying brought a frisson of excitement to the garage when Tamada finished the first qualifying session fourth fastest, only for his best time to be deleted. He just started his fastest lap under the chequered flag, which unknown to him had already ended the session. Broc Parkes: “We had a good day for the most part, and were top ten in each of the sessions before Superpole. The bike felt very good. I was on a hot lap in the first session of Superpole and just lost the front, so I didn’t get to put the right lap time down. I’m very disappointed to be where I am on the grid because of that. But the good thing is that our race pace is strong and if I can get off the line OK and pass a few people we should be OK. There are places to pass here and I’m positive because our race pace is good.” Makoto Tamada: “My hand is not causing me as much of a problem as I thought it would. At the last test I had arm pump but here it is OK, partly because there is not so much hard braking in some sections. We started with the settings we left the Imola test with and they were very good. The main difference and improvement has been the new swingarm; it is good and our suspension also. Now it is just difficult to make a race tyre choice. Yesterday in the heat the ‘C’ was batter bit today the ‘A’, so it depends on how things are tomorrow. If I can get away well off the line and stay with the leading riders, we can make two good races.” More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shane Byrne qualified fifth at the end of Superpole at Brno today. The English rider will try to keep up with the front runners and hopefully fight for the top positions. He is determined to perform at his best and well aware of his potential especially after some great results in the previous four WSBK rounds. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 5th in 1’59.787: “The team worked hard and did a great job. The changes they made were very effective and I found a good feeling with the bike unlike the first practice session. The bike improved a lot and so I fought for the front row until the end of Superpole. I had a good pace with racing tyres too and I’m confident I can do well tomorrow. I was very fast with worn out tyres as well. I could definitely fight for the top spots until the end”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “We did very well in the last four rounds as we hoped to. After the team and the rider finally got to grips with each other, we started scoring great results. Tomorrow we hope to stun everybody, although the first two rows of the grid are made up only by official bikes except us”. More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES NABS NINTH SUPERPOLE AT BRNO BRNO, Czech Republic (July 25, 2009) Ben Spies powered his Yamaha R1 Superbike to the top of the charts in World Superbike qualifying Saturday from the Brno Circuit to earn his ninth pole of the season. Spies was the leader after each of the three Superpole sessions. He ended the day with the best time of one minute, 58.868 seconds on the 3.4-mile circuit. Spies credited the Yamaha crew for finding some last-minute adjustments that allowed him to turn those kinds of times. “We struggled early before making some adjustments to the front end,” Spies said. “This track has long, fast corners and you have to have a good feel for the front tire. Once we made the change I knew we were going to be strong.” Brno is yet another track that Spies had not been to before this weekend. He learned Brno quickly and describes the track as “fun”. “For American fans I would compare it to Barber [Motorsport Park], but on a much larger scale,” he said. “This track seems to be tailor-made for Superbike racing. It’s probably the most fun track I’ve ever raced. It has a lot of good parts to it. The good thing about it is the track seems to be an equalizer. It doesn’t favor one bike over another. All the different brands are going good here. I think it could make for some of the best racing of the season.” Spies was closely challenged by Italian riders Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati and Max Biaggi on the Aprilia in qualifying. He feels those two are likely to be his main challengers on Sunday. “Both Michel and Max are going really good here,” Spies said. “I know I’m going to have to step up and ride well tomorrow. Hopefully everything comes together and we can put it on top.” Spies comes into Brno in second place in the series standings, just 14 points down to Ducati’s Nori Haga, who is riding with injuries this weekend and as a result had a sub-par qualifying outing. Spies is not thinking too much about the possibility of taking the series lead this weekend. “I’m focused on nothing but tomorrow’s races,” he said. “If we have a good weekend and things go our way maybe I’ll have some time to savor it Sunday night. Right now I can’t get ahead of myself.” In the U.S. both World Superbike races from Brno can be watched back to back on SPEED tomorrow (Sunday, July 26) starting at 3:00 pm Eastern. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Having learnt the long complicated Brno track Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies got down to business today in the second qualifying session. Spies speed was never on doubt and as the track knowledge increased so the lap times came down. He ended the session on the top spot a tenth of a second faster than nearest rival Max Biaggi although overall times put him in second behind the Italian. Biaggi’s claim to the top spot was short-lived as Spies went straight out in the first Superpole session to score the fastest time, without using a Q tyre. This was to be repeated in the following two heats as he switched to his two allotted Q tyres and again set himself apart from the Superbike pack, the only rider to dip twice below 1.59 seconds. Tom Sykes performance echoed his team mate, having grasped the track layout he improved dramatically on yesterday’s times and finished the second qualifying session in sixth position under six hundreds of a second from Spies in first, giving him an overall provisional qualifying position of eighth. The afternoon brought what was possibly the best Superpole session yet of the season for Sykes. Using a Q for the first session he ended comfortably in tenth. Changing tactics for the second session, he waited in the garage until four minutes from the end before heading out on a second Q and again finishing comfortably in fifth behind Michel Fabrizio. The final session saw him re-use the Q to take eighth position and a well earned second row start on the grid for tomorrow’s races. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st,1’58.868) “It was a good Superpole session for us and it’s been a good weekend so far as well with the qualifying. We’ve been good with the race set up and we found something in the afternoon practice session that made the bike feel a lot better on race tyres. Superpole was good for us, we really got it together. I had a small problem in the last session but it was still good enough to get it done today but it was a tough one. We’ve got a good start position tomorrow and I think our bike is really good on the tyres here after a few laps so I think it’s going to be a good race-day. Michel will definitely be up there tomorrow and I think Max will be too. I love the circuit, it’s really wide, big and fast, it’s a beautiful track.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (8th, 2’00.240) “The qualifying wasn’t too bad, we finished eighth overall and to be honest we were just working on the settings on the bike. In the free practice we wanted to try something else but for some reason I felt a bit uncomfortable on the bike and wasn’t sure why so we switched to the second bike for Superpole. I felt straight at home again so tonight we’ll change everything to make sure both bikes are the same for tomorrow. I’m reasonably happy with row two, it’s better than where we have been starting from and it’s a good track to pass on. We should have a good race pace so we’ll try a couple more things in warm-up to see if we can improve some more and hope for dry weather. I’m looking forward to tomorrow now, I certainly feel with a good start it could be a good race round here. I’m looking forward to mixing it with everyone and getting on the podium!” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team “Nine Superpoles from ten races is really special, not something that everyone can do. The way both riders have worked this weekend has been really great. The pace on the race tyres is really good, and to be on the first two rows with another Superpole is fantastic. Up to now everything is good!” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama qualified in 13th position for the 10th round of the World Superbike Championship in Brno this afternoon and will start tomorrow’s pair of 20-lap races from the fourth row of the grid. During practice, regular qualifying and Superpole, Kagayama pushed as hard as he could, but was unable to make any significant impact on the charge for the top of the leaderboard, so he faces a tough challenge, but is determined to make a mockery of his lowly grid-position and fight all the way to the end. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) won Superpole today – his ninth Superpole victory of the season. Second quickest was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third and Jonathan Rea (Honda) fourth, making it four different manufacturers on the front row for the second day running. Yukio Kagayama – 13th, 2:00.223: “My engineers tried some different settings for the mapping and we also tried some different things on the chassis and, in the end, the feeling was better. I had some problems with the traction control today, so it’s possible I may not use it tomorrow. I did my best in Superpole this afternoon and although I had no big problems, I was just not able to push the bike any harder because if I had, I would’ve missed my apexes and maybe had a crash. We will try something different in the warm-up tomorrow morning and see if we can improve the bike. Starting from the fourth row is never easy, but my job is to race and get the best result I can, and that’s what I will try my best to do.” Final WSB Qualifying: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:58.868, 2 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:58.950, 3 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:589.055, 4 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:59.740, 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:59.787, 6 Corser (AUS-BMW) 2:00.046. 13 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 2:00.223. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM Cup: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti made a big improvement today to end with the fourth fastest time in qualifying. After yesterday’s disappointing 10th place, the team made changes to his GSX-R1000 K9 Suzuki and he was able to push much harder and move up the leaderboard. Xavi Simeon (Ducati) will start tomorrow’s 12-lap race from pole position, with Maxime Berger (Honda) second and Javi Fores (Kawasaki) third. Claudio Corti – 4th, 2:03.831 “Well today was much better, thanks to the changes we made to the bike’s geometry and suspension. I found the bike easier to ride and the handling was much better. I would’ve liked to have gone a bit quicker, but I am happy about my prospects in the race tomorrow and my front row position means that it will be easier to go all-out for a win.” Final Superstock 1000 Qualifying: 1 Simeon (BEL-Ducati) 2:03.188, 2 Berger (FRA-Honda) 2:03.315, 3 Fores (ESP-Kawasaki) 2:03.791, 4 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 2:03.831, 5 Jezek (CZE-Honda) 2:04.100, 6 Barrier (FRA-Yamaha) 2:04.141.