FIM Superbike World Championship Donington Park, England June 27, 2009 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:29.846 2. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:30.080 3. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:30.535 4. Shinya NAKANO (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:30.671 5. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:30.734 6. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:31.023 7. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:31.342 8. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:34.797 From Superpole Two: 9. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:30.159 10. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:30.229 11. John HOPKINS (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:30.272 12. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:30.387 13. Gregorio LAVILLA (Ducati 1098R), 1:30.612 14. James ELLISON (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:30.816 15. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:30.916 16. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:31.120 From Superpole One: 17. Leon CAMIER (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:31.176 18. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:31.215 19. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), 1:31.217 20. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:31.629 The Rest of the Grid: 21. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:31.874 22. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:31.887 23. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:32.183 24. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:32.243 25. Jamie HACKING (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:32.245 26. Simon ANDREWS (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:32.343 27. Alessandro POLITA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:32.584 28. Blake YOUNG (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:32.735 29. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:32.811 30. Roland RESCH (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:33.374 31. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:33.408 More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES BACK ON SUPERPOLE AT DONINGTON PARK CASTLE DONINGTON, England (June 27, 2009) Ben Spies won his eighth Superpole in nine events Saturday aboard his factory WSBK Yamaha R1 at the venerable Donington Park. Spies clocked a one-minute, 29.846-second lap on the challenging 2.5-mile, 15-turn circuit to secure the top starting position for both of Sunday’s World Superbike races. Donington’s Superpole marks a return to the number one qualifying spot for Spies after having his record-setting Superpole streak of seven straight ended last week in Misano, Italy. Coming into Donington second-ranked Spies is making every effort to close in on Ducati’s Nori Haga, who leads the championship by 48 points. Spies was near the front in all three segments of Donington’s Superpole. After the first session he was second to Aprilia’s Max Biaggi, just 5-100ths back. In session two Michel Fabrizio topped the charts on his Ducati over Spies. In the final session, whittled down to the top eight riders, Spies came on strong and was the only rider to dip into the one minute, 29-second bracket. Spies’ 1:29.846 was two-tenths better than second-place qualifier Biaggi. Shane Byrne and Shinya Nakano round out the front-row starters. Spies said he made his fast lap in the nick of time. “It was great to get back to winning Superpole,” Spies said. “I got out on the track that last session a little late and started seeing raindrops on my visor. I got up to speed as fast as I could and tried keeping it off the painted lines and luckily everything worked out and I was able to get the fast time.” Spies said the team is still seeking a little better race set up, but he feels positive on his chances to run up front Sunday. “The crew is doing a great job,” he said. “They have a fire lit under them and are as hungry as I am at getting up there to challenge for the championship. I’m so comfortable on the bike right now. I seem to be able to put it precisely where I want it lap after lap, and that’s a good feeling. I went faster today than I did on the GP bike last year, so that gives me a lot of confidence. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going into Sunday.” Donington is one of the few tracks on the World Superbike calendar where Spies has raced. He rode with Suzuki’s MotoGP squad in last year’s British Grand Prix. In the U.S. both World Superbike races from Donington Park can be watched back to back on SPEED tomorrow (Sunday, June 28) starting at 3:00 pm. More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shane Byrne will start his home round from the front row after grabbing the third place in the Superpole which was interrupted by the rain with only a few minutes before the end of the session. The English rider confirmed yesterday’s great performance and managed to improve the machine in order to fight for the top positions tomorrow. Rain is forecast for tomorrow’s two races but this will probably not stop the numerous WSBK fans from turning up at Donington Park to support Shakey, the 2008 BSB champion and one of the most loved riders in Britain. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 3rd in 1’30.535 : “I’m really excited to start from the front row at Donington which is my home track. I’m happy for my best practice result of the season. I couldn’t have done it though without the crew who have done such a good job. They managed to combine the best features of each of the two bikes I worked on yesterday. I’m ready for any weather condition for tomorrow’s races. I’ll try and use the warm up session to choose the tyres for race 1 and hopefully do well in both”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “We tried to do our best to help Shakey setting up the bike and he pulled off a great performance. He is in good form and we are really confident we can finish in the top positions tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Carlos Checa will start from the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s two ninth-round World Superbike championship races at Donington Park after setting the seventh fastest time in this afternoon’s final Superpole shoot-out. It is the sixth time this season that the Spanish Hannspree Ten Kate Honda has qualified in the same position as the race number that adorns his CBR1000RR machine. Pole position was taken by Ben Spies as Checa’s team-mate, Jonathan Rea, was only able to qualify in 12th place for a third row start, in spite of running in the top six during today’s second qualifying and free practice sessions. Carlos Checa P7, 1’31.342s (Superpole) As soon as the rain started to fall at the end of the final Superpole session, I rolled off a little, but also, when I hooked sixth gear down the back straight, the bike jumped back into fifth, so the lap would not have been better. It’s a difficult track to come to with a new suspension package especially since we have not enjoyed fully dry sessions. We have made some improvements though, and we will try to fine tune things in the morning, but we won’t make such a big change I think. Second row is not such a bad place to start and I did some consistent laps today, so I think quite a good pace is possible. Jonathan Rea P12, 1’30.782s (Qualifying 2) Sector three was my problem this afternoon. Last week, the circuit flowed and we never really got to the bottom of the stroke, but here we are struggling with the rear coming round on corner entry and I’m having to wait longer than I’d like to get on the throttle. As a consequence, I’m having to over-ride the bike and in that last sector I’m really on the limit and sometimes over it. That’s going to be difficult to maintain for 23 laps tomorrow. We found a little something today, so all is not lost although we’re leaving it a little late to find the full solution. The third row is not what I expected here but, with a couple of good starts tomorrow, we can hopefully fight near the front. Ronald ten Kate team manager We started the weekend here quite a long way off a perfect set-up for Donington, but we have made quite a big jump forward today. I don’t think Johnny’s Superpole result really reflects the speed he showed at times on track today and he was a little unlucky. Carlos is in his favourite position again. It’s now becoming a little scary, the times he is qualifying in seventh place! We’ll all work hard through tonight to try and find another step forward; but a dry warm-up tomorrow morning is crucial for us to have some good results from the races. More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Spies gets back to Superpole domination at Donington Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) soon got back to his Superpole winning ways with his eighth pole of the year in nine races at Donington Park in the UK. The 24 year-old Texan was the only rider to dip under 1’30″ in the final run, which was conditioned by a light rain shower that prevented his rivals from responding, and he ended up in the top slot with a time of 1 minute 29.846 seconds. After a difficult weekend at Misano, the Aprilia Racing team had a superb qualifying day, with both of their riders getting onto the front row, Max Biaggi in second and Shinya Nakano in fourth. The final front row slot went to British rider Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), who also had the satisfaction of being the first Ducati 1098 on the grid. Ben Spies: “It was a good session for us, but we almost got caught out. I was one of the last to leave the garage and as soon as I went out of pit-lane I could see the drops starting to come, so I had to really attack the warm-up lap to make sure I got around and get relaxed in case it started raining. The first sector was brilliant, but then the rain started to come and I had to be careful not to touch the paint. It was good to get pole, this circuit has a short start for turn one so it’s good positioning. The bike’s working well on race tyres so we need a good start tomorrow.” Max Biaggi: “In the last session I was really lucky because no one expected any drops and then it really started to rain. I started soon because I had nothing more to learn after what I had done in free practice and I thought I must put my head down and go as fast as I can. Second place is good for us, for tomorrow I’m quite OK, maybe not exactly the way I wanted to be but OK. It’s great to be here, I like this track, my bike could be a little bit better but I think I can go well tomorrow.” Shane Byrne: “I think we got a little bit lucky because the bad weather came in quickly. Fortunately we got through the first Superpole session without using qualifying tyres, but I was kind of hopeful of a good result anyway. We’ve been doing a lot of work on both bikes this weekend and we ended up with them going in different directions, but I’m happy with the direction that we’ve been going since America and Misano. I’m delighted with getting the first front row of the season for myself and the team.” Shinya Nakano: “Like Max said we had some luck today, but so far this is my best qualifying performance in Superbike. On Friday we were struggling but things went much better today and I am looking forward to racing here at the Donington Park track.” The factory Ducati Xerox team had to settle for the second row, with Michel Fabrizio qualifying ahead of Noriyuki Haga in fifth place. In the second Superpole run the Italian powered to a new Donington Superbike best lap with an amazing time of 1 minute 29.664 seconds. The first Honda on the grid was the Hannspree Ten Kate version of Carlos Checa, who almost didn’t make it into Superpole after taking twentieth place in qualifying. Riders who failed to make the final session cut included Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), by just 0.003 seconds, Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike), the rapidly improving John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda), and Misano winner Jonathan Rea Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Both BMW men, Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus, easily made it into Superpole and will start from row 4, while British Superbike points leader Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) had a disappointing session and could only qualify in 17th place. Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’29.846; 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’30.080; 3. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’30.535; 4. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’30.671; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’30.734; 6. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’31.023; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’31.342; 8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’34.797; 9. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’30.159; 10. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’30.229; 11. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’30.272; 12. Rea J. (GBR)Honda CBR1000RR 1’30.387; 13. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’30.612; 14. Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’30.816; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’30.916; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’31.12 World Supersport Not even two crashes and a bone fracture in his left ankle following Friday practice could stop Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) from notching up his sixth pole position of the year in nine races. The points leader did not get off to the best start in this afternoon’s qualifying, crashing out for the second time this weekend, but he returned to the pits and a few minutes later was out on the track again to make his decisive move. The result was a new Donington Supersport circuit record in 1 minute 31.701 seconds. Such was Crutchlow’s domination that his nearest rival for the title, Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), was half a second behind, with an excellent Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) seven-tenths off the pace and the final front row man Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) over one second behind. Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) was well up the grid in fifth place, ahead of Garry McCoy with the first of the Triumphs and Massimo Roccoli (Honda) once again up at the front on the Intermoto Czech Honda. Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) could only manage the third row, while 2007 champion Andrew Pitt’s below-par weekend continued as the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda man starts from row 4. Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’31.701; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’32.222; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’32.481; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’32.818; 5. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’32.846; 6. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1’32.879; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’33.062; 8. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’33.120 Superstock 1000 The changeable weather conditions turned the Superstock 1000 qualifying session into an exciting affair. A rapidly drying track caught out several teams and riders and there were a number of illustrious victims, including two of the title favourites Claudio Corti (Alstare Suzuki) and Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), who failed to come into the pits to change from wets to slicks. The Italian and the Frenchman will line up side-by-side on row 6 of the grid for a race that promises to be an uphill struggle. Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) did make an early tyre change and was rewarded with pole position, his third in a row. The Belgian is favourite for the win tomorrow and has a chance to pull ahead in the title battle. Alongside Simeon can be found Frenchman Loris Baz (MRS Yamaha), Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha) and Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), while Italian Davide Giugliano was sixth quickest on the MV Agusta. Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1’38.120; 2. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’39.723; 3. Barrier S. (FRA)Yamaha YZF R1 1’39.860; 4. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’40.690; 5. Lussiana M. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’41.248; 6. Giugliano D. (ITA) MV Agusta F4 312 R 1’41.280; 7. Schouten R. (NED) Yamaha YZF R1 1’41.664; 8. Black G. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’41.766 Superstock 600 Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) powered to his third pole position in five races with a time of 1 minute 35.997 seconds at Donington. The points leader, the only rider to get under the 1’36″ mark, held off an attack from Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), his closest rival in the championship. The remaining places on the front row went to Belgian Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) and Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), who edged out Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) by a whisker. Times: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’35.997; 2. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’36.262; 3. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’36.540; 4. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’36.568; 5. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’36.571; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’36.575; 7. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’36.951; 8. Hamilton J. (IRL) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’37.028 More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari qualified in 20th position after today’s Superpole sessions at Donington Park in preparation for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races of the ninth round of the 2009 World Superbike championship. The Japanese ace, who won race two at Donington last September, made it through to Superpole after struggling in the two free practice and qualifying sessions. However, the Honda Accessories-backed rider was unable to progress beyond Superpole1 and qualifies on the fifth row of the grid for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races around the 4.023km circuit. Pole position was taken by American Ben Spies, and Kiyonari hopes to find a better setting in tomorrow morning’s warm-up and is aiming for two good starts in the races to give him a chance of a good result. Ryuichi Kiyonari P20, 1’31.260s To be honest, I’m not really sure what the problem is. I’m lacking confidence in the package at the moment and maybe I’m just trying too hard to think about a solution. I know very well what potential the Honda CBR1000RR has so maybe I have to learn to ride around the problems I am having. We have changed many things to find a better feeling and I hope for a dry warm-up tomorrow to find something new. Ronald ten Kate team manager It’s a shame that Kiyo has struggled so much here this weekend because everyone enjoyed the show that he put on last September when he won in great style. Unfortunately, one or two things are not quite right for him but, as ever, we will strive to put them right and see what he can do in the races tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI AND NAKANO REWARDED BY THE RAIN FOR THEIR COURAGE The unpredictable British weather conditions made the SBK Superpole round at Donington even more exciting and uncertain. After the first two sessions took place on a dry track, a few drops of rain began to fall just as the green light from the pit lane gave the go ahead for the final eight. At first it seemed as though the weather would be inconsequential, but about halfway through the lap, it began to rain harder, making the track completely wet. In the end, Ben Spies, on his Yamaha, would take home the victory with a perfect race, despite the rain-soaked circuit, stopping the clock at 1:29:846. Max Biaggi will start off tomorrow from second place after achieving a time of 1:30:080. The Roman driver passed the Superpole 1 with the top time on racing tyres at 1:30:351. During the second session, Max used his first qualifying tyre and finished in sixth place. In Superpole 3, after noticing the sporadic drops of rain, Biaggi decided to immediately start off with the last racing tyre available. This choice would prove to be winning. Max managed to complete the timed round on dry asphalt, making the most of the efficiency provided by the soft mixture. Only Spies, who started off a few seconds later, would manage to snatch away the Superpole after a perfect race on a track that was near impossible to navigate on slicks. Shinya Nakano conquered his first chance to race in a Superbike round starting off from the first lane, thanks to his time of 1:30:671. The Japanese driver came through the first session in sixteenth place using racing tyres, and then qualified for the final eight with the fourth place time, using his qualifying tyres. Shinya adopted the same strategy used by his teammate for Superpole 3, starting off right away with used qualifying tyres from the previous round, given that the new Pirelli racing tyres from his previous race had a longer life with respect to the ones that he used earlier. On the dry track, Shinya achieved a time of 1:30:671 that would allow him to secure fourth place and take his RSV4 into the first lane. “It was a very exciting Superpole,” declared Biaggi. “During the last lap, I noticed that the first drops of rain were beginning to fall and I started off immediately by trying to make the most of the track while it was still dry, and it went well. This time the rain helped us out. We had some rather good qualifying rounds, we’ve improved along the way, even if we aren’t as fast as we need to be yet. We still have too much trouble at the slowest portion of the track. I hope to have a great race tomorrow on this track, which I like a lot.” “I’m very pleased,” said Nakano. “This is my first first lane in this category. When I saw the rain start to fall from the sky, I came out right away and tried my best to finish the lap. Fortunately, it went well. We’ve improved, but we’ve had quite a few problems on the wet track. I know this track well, and I hope to have a good race.” More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Stiggy Racing Honda pairing take third row start at Donington The Stiggy Racing Honda pairing of Leon Haslam and John Hopkins will start tomorrow’s two 23-lap Superbike races for the ninth round of the World Superbike championship from a third row on the grid. Leon Haslam opened the first day of provisional qualifying second fastest in his chase to secure a front row start for his home race at the 4.023km Donington Park. Both Hopkins and Haslam graduated through the first 12-minute superpole shootout and finished in eighth and tenth position respectively. Leon Haslam only fell 0.003s short of reaching the third superpole, following a flying lap posted by Carlos Checa in the ultimates minutes of the second shootout and will now start tomorrow’s race – led by pole sitter Ben Spies – from a ninth place on the grid. John Hopkins is still recovering from his injuries sustained in his horrific crash at Assen, but the American has shown true grit and determination in the qualifying sessions at Donington today. He squeezed out a fastest lap of 1’30.272 while out on a qualifier in the second shootout and put himself on the 11th place on the third row of the grid. Leon Haslam, P9 – 1’30.159s: “I have been struggling a little bit this afternoon. We tried a few things with the electronics, but we went the wrong way with it and ended up back to where it was initially. I am pretty happy with my lap times, it is just a little bit unfortunate I didn’t make it through to the last superpole. The times were all pretty close and just 0.1s faster would have put me in third place. I am ninth on the third row on the grid with some of the other British riders, and am looking forward to the start of the race and hopefully we can have a good one tomorrow.” John Hopkins, P11 – 1’30.272s: “I have a little bit of pain in my left hip, but it is a lot better than last week in Misano. I would like to say that we have changed a lot to the bike, but we haven’t changed anything from the second we went out on Friday. It says a lot about the crew that we have found a good set-up for the machine. There are a couple of things we need to work on now I am starting to push a little harder. This is the best I could do today. I gave it my all and I am pretty happy to be in tenth position. It will be a long race, but I am normally a good starter and am looking forward to having a bit of a fight tomorrow.” Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager: “It is good to see both riders qualify for Superpole. We are ninth and 11th, which is fine. I think Leon expected a little more to be honest, and was maybe hoping to get into the top three, but it didn’t work out today and the margins are just so small. It looks like we have found a good race set up for both riders and they can both be pretty strong in the race. John has put in a fantastic job. It is unbelievable, he is still far away from being fit and has a lot of pain, but he just pushed hard and has shown he is a class act rider. We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow, but I am confident we can have a good race with both riders.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Parkes And Hacking Still Working Hard WSBK, Donington Park, Great Britain, 27 June 2009 A tough weekend of work and effort for the Kawasaki World Superbike Team could not put Broc Parkes and stand-in rider Jamie Hacking into Superpole after final qualifying today. Parkes came closest, missing by two places after two days of track time which were occasionally disturbed by changeable weather, and not for the first time in 2009. He is 22nd on the grid at Donington, looking to make up a significant number of early places in tomorrow’s two WSB races, at track he knows well. Hacking, having only his second WSB race outside of the USA, was 25th in qualifying, at what is a very particular and sometimes peculiar race circuit. Donington is actually the second home race of the year for Hacking, as he was born in the UK, and still has family in his native Lancashire. The 4.023km long Donington track features a first part which is flowing and undulating, and one final section which has three heavy braking areas, including a chicane and two hairpins. Set-up is always a compromise at such a track, but so far the ideal compromise is proving elusive. Broc Parkes: “It’s been a really challenging weekend so far; the bike has been difficult to turn into corners here, and that has slowed us up. We have tried a few things on the bike but we still have that issue, for some reason. It’s the first time this year we have been out of Superpole, and of course all the other teams are also stepping their game up.” Jamie Hacking: “At the moment the bike does not turn in that well and doesn’t give you that much confidence in the front. This track is brilliant, the way it is all put together is very neat, but when you are fighting something it doesn’t make for a good lap. The cambers here make things a little more difficult as well. I am sure we can try something new tomorrow in warm-up.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: WET CONCLUSION TO SUPERPOLE; FABRIZIO AND HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) TO START ON THE SECOND ROW AT DONINGTON PARK TOMORROW Donington Park (UK), Saturday 28th June: today was once again conditioned by the British weather and unfortunately the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio had to complete the final phase of today’s Superpole under a light rain. For tomorrow races the two Ducati men, on board their Ducati 1198s, will line up on the grid next to each other in fifth (Fabrizio) and sixth (Haga) position. Although the Superbike riders woke up to another grey and cloudy day, the weather fortunately did not impede them in the morning’s first qualifying session and all of the strongest players were able to improve on yesterday’s lap times. Michel Fabrizio, the only rider to duck under 1m31 yesterday, continued to progress today and closed the session at the top of the timesheets, three tenths of a second faster than the best time he recorded in first qualifying. Today’s forty-five minute session also proved to be more positive for Haga who, after the problems experienced yesterday, got back on the right road this morning and, mid-session, put in a few very fast laps to record in the process the second fastest time, just two tenths off team-mate Fabrizio’s pace. In the afternoon the first two mini-Superpole sessions took place in the dry and both Noriyuki and Michel passed from the first to the second and then to the final phase without difficulty. Michel recorded a new lap record in the second phase, lapping in 1m29.6s. Of the eight riders remaining in the third and final session, those who exited the pits immediately gained a small advantage as the rain then began, preventing the Ducati Xerox riders from pushing without taking risks. The technicians declared themselves satisfied with the performance of Haga and Fabrizio today; the riders will line up in fifth (Michel) and sixth (Noriyuki) place on the grid tomorrow, alongside Byrne on Team Sterilgarda’s 1198 in third place, and Czech rider Smrz on the Ducati of Team Guandalini eighth. Michel Fabrizio 1m30.7s “It was a pity it started to rain right at that moment, in the last part of the Superpole, but I did my best and starting from the second row shouldn’t be too much of a problem. For tomorrow I’d say that we’re sorted with regard to the race tyre and as far as the qualifiers we used today are concerned it didn’t go badly. I wanted to get under 1m30 and in the second Superpole I managed that, breaking the lap record in the process. Tomorrow we have to see what the weather will do, and then based on the track temperature, we’ll decide which rear tyre we’ll use to try and get back on the podium again.” Noriyuki Haga 1m31.0s “We found a good solution today for the setting of my 1198 and I considerably improved my lap times. We just need to decide on the race tyre. The choice comes down to which rear, because there are two quite similar solutions, but we need to wait and see and decide tomorrow based on the track temperature. I just hope that track conditions tomorrow are not damp but either totally dry or totally wet. In the final Superpole this afternoon I could have pushed harder but to tell the truth I didn’t want to risk a crash; some of the guys made some fast laps but I preferred not to take risks and so will start tomorrow in sixth.” More, from a press release issued by Airwaves Yamaha: AIRWAVES YAMAHA DOWN BUT NOT OUT AT DONINGTON PARK Wild Card’s James Ellison and Leon Camier will line up on the fourth and fifth rows of the grid for tomorrow’s two World Superbike races at Donington Park. After provisionally qualifying 6th and 12th yesterday, both riders were in confident mood this morning. 20 minutes into second Qualifying Practice, Leon tipped off going into Craner Curves. Although uninjured, he sat-out the remainder of the session. Leon’s fastest time of 1:31.454 set yesterday was good enough to see him progress to Superpole. James gradually reduced his lap times throughout the morning. He secured 15th fastest and a place in Superpole with a time of 1:31.476 on his final lap. As the Airwaves Yamaha team was unable to repair his race bike, Leon made use of final Free Practice to familiarise himself with the spare YZF-R1. He battled hard throughout the first Superpole session, but was to drop out of the top 16 in the dying moments. Leon’s fastest time of 1:31.176 places him 17th on the grid for tomorrow’s two races. James meanwhile managed to better his previous fastest time by over half a second to progress to Superpole 2. During the second Superpole session, whilst still adapting to the Pirelli qualifying tyres, James produced a best lap of 1:30.816 to go 14th fastest. After qualifying James commented, “I’m really frustrated to be honest. The Airwaves Yamaha felt good. It was going exactly where I wanted it. The package was absolutely right. The Pirelli qualifying tyres helped to settle the bike but I needed more time on them. I needed to build up to speed and get a better feel for them. But the times are really close so we have to be pleased and feel confident of some good results tomorrow.” Although not qualifying as high as he’d hoped, Leon is still looking forward to the races saying, “Going into this weekend we hoped to qualify higher than 17th. Our times had been looking really promising so I am disappointed. My race bike was destroyed in the crash this morning and I put myself at a disadvantage having to use the spare bike. The times across the whole field were really close. In Superpole 1, the top 20 were separated by less than a second and considering I was on the spare bike, I was happy with the times we produced. All is definitely not lost. The plan for the races will be to try and buck my trend of appalling starts and then push until the chequered flag. I’ve had a few races in the British Superbike Championship recently where I’ve had to fight my way through the field. I’ll be doing all I can to put on a similar show for the British fans tomorrow.” Team Manager Colin Wright said of qualifying, “The Airwaves Yamaha team are disappointed to finish where we are on the grid. But we are optimistic that both James and Leon will improve throughout the races tomorrow. Following Leon’s crash in Qualifying Practice, he had to use the spare bike for Superpole. This bike is the one which he used for the opening two rounds of the British Superbike Championship, and although good enough to help score points in the domestic series, isn’t up to the level to compete at the top of the World Superbike Championship. We will attempt to rebuild Leon’s race bike in time for warm-up tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsports: TROY AND RUBEN TOGETHER ON ROW FOUR. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus finished Superpole with the 15th and 16th fastest laps and will start alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid at Donington tomorrow. The team had some new parts from Munich to evaluate, so most of the day was used working with these instead of chasing lap times. At the end of the day, both Troy and Ruben were happy with the new material and are looking forward to more time on the bike and further improvement. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his eighth Superpole of the season in a rain-affected Q3, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia) second, Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) fourth. Troy – 15th, 1:30.916 We had some new stuff to try today and the first signs are encouraging. It was a bit more easy to use the throttle and a bit of an improvement in set-up. Everything feels a bit more fluid and, although there’s still a lot of work to do, I am looking forward to further progress. This series is the hardest and most competitive it has ever been and there are so many strong teams out there all fighting for positions. Considering the level of competition this year, I think we’re doing pretty well at this stage of our development. Ruben – 16th, 1:31.120 I am going two seconds or so a lap faster than last year and that makes me happy. The new parts have had an impact on me straightaway and I think we can improve the bike quite a bit as we carry on the good work. This series is tough for sure, and it’s interesting to realise that today’s lap times are so much faster than last year. I had a bit of a problem with the brakes on one of my bikes today, otherwise I think I could’ve pushed harder in Superpole. But the important thing is that we are all working hard. Today has given us all something to work towards because we can see the possibilities better. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Director) The new parts seem to give the bike better rideability and now we need to do more work and analyse the results. Our bike works normally on race rubber, but it seems quite sensitive when it is on very soft tyres and then it requires different settings. We decided to use this weekend more as a test, then look at the data and go for further improvements at the next two tests. Our positions today are not wonderful, but consider that both our riders are quicker than last year’s lap record. That shows how competitive and hard this series is this year. I don’t think this championship has ever been so tough, but we’re ready for the fight and feel positive about the future. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Final qualifying and Superpole at the ninth-round British World Superbike round at Donington Park ended in disappointment for Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama. The Japanese rider suffered with grip problems in qualifying and Superpole and although he managed to get into Superpole 1, he was unable to progress any further. Meanwhile, team mate Blake Young continued his steep learning curve with the Suzuki Alstare Brux GSX-R1000 K9 and finished the day with the 28th fastest lap. But every time the young American goes out, he understands the bike better; even though it is very different to the Suzuki he campaigns in the AMA Superbike series. Ben Spies (Yamaha) was again unstoppable in Superpole: He recorded the first-ever sub-1:30 lap on his way to his eighth win of the season. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) was second with Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) fourth. Yukio Kagayama – 18th, 1:31.215: “Although we had improved the bike a little from the morning to the afternoon, it was only a small step forward and not enough for me. Today, my biggest problem was no grip. Even when I tried a different tyre, with a different construction, the feeling was not good and it felt unsafe. So we went back to a softer tyre but there was no improvement. In the end, we ran out of time and when I did try a qualifying tyre I had the same problem, even though normally the grip level is better. There was also a bit of a problem with the traction control so we will have to sit down with the data, work out what was happening today; and then see what we can do to improve tomorrow. I am so far down the grid that it will be hard to see the lights, but I never give up and will fight for every place I can.” Blake Young – 28th, 1:32.735: “Well that was another tough day, but I am enjoying the whole experience and getting the most out of it, thanks to the team. They are helping me a lot and there is so much to understand about this bike, the tyres and the track. I want to go faster and I would like to go faster. Every time I go out, I see the lines other riders are taking and I want to be able to lap like them. The team changed the bike for me today and the alterations they made suited me more. I just wish I could have more time and more laps, but the good news is that there is no pressure on me from the team, so I can go out and enjoy the races tomorrow.” Final WSB qualifying: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:29.846, 2 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:30.080, 3 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:30.535, 4 Nakano (JPN-Aprilia) 1:30.671, 5 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:30.734, 6 Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:31.023. 18 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Brux Suzuki) 1:31.215. 28 Blake Young (Alstare Brux Suzuki) 1:32.735. SUPERSTOCK 1000 EUROPEAN CUP: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti suffered a tyre choice mistake and will start from the sixth row of the grid in tomorrow’s fifth round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup race at Donington Park. Conditions had been fine in the untimed session, but rain came down in the afternoon timed session and he was one of 16 riders caught out in the wet. Claudio Corti – 22nd, 1:48.839: “I think it was my fault because I should have changed a tyre at the right time and I did not. Now it means I will have a lot of work to do from the sixth row of the grid. We made some changes to the bike this afternoon but the rain came down so we are not sure if the changes made the bike better. It will be tough race for sure, but my aim is to make a very good start and see what happens. I am hoping for dry conditions because I think that will give me a better chance of getting some kind of good result.” Final Superstock qualifying: 1 Simeon (B-Ducati) 1:38.120, 2 Baz (F-Yamaha) 1:39.723, 3 Barrier (F-Yamaha) 1:39.860, 4 Fores (E-Kawasaki) 1:40.690, 5 Lussiana (F-Yamaha) 1:401.248, 6 Giugliano (I-MV) 1:41.280. 22 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:48.839. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: FAMILIAR TERRITORY FOR TROY IN DONINGTON TODAY Once again this season, Troy will start a Superbike World Championship race from the fourth row of the grid. He managed to qualify for Superpole 1 and 2, but was unable to get into that last elusive Superpole 3. Despite his grid position Troy is happy because some new parts arrived and the early signs are that they have improved the rideability of the bike. Troy went faster than the existing lap record today in Superpole 1, but American Ben Spies (Yamaha) was again unstoppable. He recorded the first ever sub 1:30 lap on his way to his eighth Superpole of the season. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) was second, with Shane Byrne (Ducati) third and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) fourth. Troy – 15th, 1:30.916 It’s funny to think that I broke the lap record, lapped faster here than ever before, but still ended up in 15th place! So once again it’s row four of the grid and two good starts required tomorrow. We had some new stuff to try today and I think the early signs are quite positive. Certainly it feels more easy to use the throttle and some of the hesitation has gone. The bike is a bit easier to control and I think we will be able to get a better set-up more quickly. Of course, there’s a lot of work to do, but it’s encouraging and good that we are moving in a positive direction. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha World Superbike superstar Ben Spies showed more of his unbeatable talent today, flying through the three Superpole sessions with ease. Despite rain drops starting to fall as the third and final session got under way, the American rider hit the track with an incredible display of speed and put down a pole grabbing lap less than two tenths off the Best Lap record put down in the dry by Fabrizio in the previous session. He was the only rider to drop under the 1.30 mark in the final session. Spies enjoyed a good qualifying session earlier in the day, perfecting his race set up and tyre choice, and finishing in third, just two tenths from session leader Fabrizio. Spies time was just 1.1 seconds off Valentino Rossi’s 2007 qualifying time in the 2007 Donington MotoGP. Team-mate Tom Sykes continued to show his potential today as he spent the majority of the second qualifying session in the top three, only dropping to sixth as the session drew to a close. Sykes started the Superpole sessions well, and went through to the second with ease. The second session saw him take what was thought to be a safe fifth place, only to be dropped to tenth at the last minute. With not enough time to get back out he missed out on the third and final session. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 1’29.846) “It was a good Superpole session for us, we almost got caught out as I think I was the last one to leave the garage. As soon as I came out of the pit lane I could see the drops start to come so I had to really attack the warm up lap. I told myself to nail the first sector so I could relax a little bit in the back half in case it rained a bit more. The first sector was brilliant, in the second and third rain drops were coming so I wanted to be careful not to touch any paint down. It was good to get up there to the front as it’s a short start to turn one so it’s a good position for us. The bike is working great on race tyres as well so I’m looking forward to what will be an exciting race.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (10th, 1’30.229) “A bit of a shame, obviously I’m not impressed, on the qualifier I ran wide on lap one a little bit and didn’t make it happen. It’s especially frustrating as looking at the times in Superpole three a front row start was definitely on the cards for me. We messed up a bit in session two, really disappointing as race pace is up there and I wanted a good clean start for tomorrow. We’re on row three so let’s see what happens. I’m going to have to dig deep and make some passes. The qualifying session was ok, we definitely have a fast race pace, if we can get away clean we are in with a good chance tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “Another Superpole is great, it just gives us more confidence for tomorrow with Ben. Tom has also been making great improvements compared to the last races. I think tomorrow the results will depend a lot on the weather, it could be wet or dry. I really hope it’s dry as its always better to have a dry race, but whatever happens we are ready for both conditions.”