FIM Superbike World Championship Misano, San Marino June 20, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Jakub Smrz (Ducati 1098R), 1:35.435 2. Jonathan Rea (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:35.609 3. Ben Spies (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:35.631 4. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:35.811 5. Shane Byrne (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.224 6. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:36.277 7. Carlos Checa (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.537 8. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.884 From Superpole Two: 9. Max Biaggi (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.439 10. Leon Haslam (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.510 11. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:36.510 12. Shinya Nakano (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.682 13. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:36.916 14. Tom Sykes (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.978 15. Troy Corser (BMW S1000 RR), 1:36.994 16. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.209 From Superpole One: 17. Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.266 18. Ruben Xaus (BMW S1000 RR), 1:37.300 19. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.361 20. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.558 The Rest of the Grid: 21. David Salom (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.522 22. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.671 23. Luca Scassa (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.755 24. Matteo Baiocco (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.827 25. David Checa (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:38.828 26. John Hopkins (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.856 27. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:39.067 28. Alessandro Polita (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:39.308 29. Roland Resch (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:40.489 More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: In changeable weather conditions, Ryuichi Kiyonari set the eighth fastest time in today’s Superpole sessions at Misano in Italy to secure a second row start for tomorrow’s two eighth round World Superbike championship races. The Japanese ace had been running near the top of the leaderboard in all earlier practice sessions but opted to use his two allotted Pirelli qualifiers in the second Superpole session to ensure progression to the final eight-rider shoot out. Going out on a race tyre early in the final session, Kiyonari crashed unhurt at turn one on his first flying lap. As Jakub Smrz took his first WSBK pole position, Kiyonari brought his Honda Genuine Accessories-backed CBR1000RR Fireblade back to the pits for sufficient repairs to complete a further four laps, but was unable to improve his position. Ryuichi Kiyonari P8, 1’36.884s Before the start of the first Superpole session, we changed the setting a little bit but, as soon as I went out I knew it was not right so came straight back in. It cost us a bit of time and put the time under a bit of pressure but I made it through to Superpole 2 only just! In Superpole 2, I used both my qualifiers to make sure I went through and I had a good feeling when I had to go back on the race tyre in the final session. I am a lot more comfortable than last year, and the bike feels a lot better, so I hope for dry weather tomorrow and two good results. Ronald ten Kate team manager Kiyo has shown really good pace all weekend but, unfortunately, the crash in Superpole stopped his charge forward. Second row is good enough for him, though, because we know that he can usually gain a few places in the race. As long as it’s either wet or dry tomorrow, he has pace enough for a good result. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea set the second fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole sessions to earn himself a place on the front row alongside pole setter Jakub Smrz for tomorrow’s two 24-lap eighth round World Superbike championship races at Misano in Italy. Having topped the time sheets in the preceding free practice and the first two Superpole sessions, Rea missed on out his maiden pole position by just one tenth of a second after running new suspension on his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR for the first time this weekend. His team-mate, Carlos Checa, also found himself in the position of having to test new suspension whilst working on bike set-up for the 4.2km Misano circuit. However, the Spaniard also made it through to the final Superpole session to set the seventh fastest time for a second row start. Jonathan Rea P2, 1’35.609s I can’t thank the crew enough for working so hard this week. We got some new hardware to try at Magny-Cours and it’s been a bit of a rush to get everything together. In the last couple of sessions we managed to find some times and that’s given us a good starting position, which is what we needed and were aiming for. I want to thank the Ten Kate team for the belief they’ve had in me over the last few races we’re really moving forward now and it’s a real buzz. We’re not anywhere near the limit with the new suspension yet and there’s still a lot more we can do. So I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and just hope it’s dry to give all the fans some really good races. Carlos Checa P7, 1’36.537s Well, I finished seventh in all the sessions except one, I think, so it was to be expected. But tomorrow we all hope for something a little higher! It’s good that finally I got a good feeling and we were able to improve the bike some more. In Superpole 3 I had to use a race tyre because I used both qualifiers in the second Superpole. I didn’t have the extra grip that might have improved the position but I went as fast on the race tyre anyway. The second row is not too bad the bike is running very well on race tyres, we have the pace and we’re ready for the fight tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager As anyone can understand, we chose a very difficult path for this weekend in Misano. But already, at this early stage, we can definitely say that we’ve made a step forward. A lot of credit has to go to Andreani Group for making our transition to Ohlins so smooth. For sure, we still have a long night ahead of us because we’re still at the very early stages of machine set-up, but it’s good to have both Hannspree riders in the front two rows and to have them in such good shape for tomorrow’s races. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) TO LINE UP ON THE FRONT ROW FOR TOMORROW’S RACES AT HIS HOME TRACK OF MISANO Misano Adriatico (Italy), Saturday 20th June: the crowds were witness to an exciting and super-fast Superpole today at the Misano World Circuit. The Ducati Xerox Team is satisfied with the results of its riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga who, on board their factory Ducati 1198 machines, will line up in fourth and sixth position respectively on tomorrow’s grid. The Ducati 1198s of Smrz (Team Guandalini) and Byrne (Team Sterilgarda) will join those of the Ducati Xerox Team on the front two rows. A short sharp rain shower coming on just fifteen minutes before the morning’s second qualifying left the track very wet and meant that no-one could improve on the times set yesterday afternoon in first qualifying. Neither of the Ducati Xerox riders completed many laps but Michel Fabrizio was nevertheless the fastest rider on track once again and both him and Noriyuki are at least now comfortable with the track whether wet or dry tomorrow. Fabrizio thus qualified for Superpole in first place; Haga in eighth. The track then dried out in time for the early afternoon free practice session and this, combined with cooler temperatures compared to yesterday, meant everyone on track reduced their times significantly. Although rain threatened throughout the subsequent Superpole, it remained dry and spectators were treated to three hotly-contested mini-Superpoles. Both Noriyuki and Michel passed from the first to the second phase of Superpole without difficulty. The level of competition stepped up a gear in the second phase and various riders registered very fast laps, with the two Ducati Xerox men finishing the twelve minute session in seventh (Fabrizio) and eighth (Haga). In the third and final stage, four of the eight riders, Fabrizio included, beat the “best lap” record that Corser set last year, highlighting the level of competitiveness on show at Misano today. Michel and Noriyuki fought to the bitter end for the positions that count with Michel ultimately snatching a place on the front row, fourth, for tomorrow’s races and Noriyuki concluding in sixth, thereby securing a second row position. A further two Ducati 1198s will line up on the front rows tomorrow, with Jakub Smrz (Team Guandalini) taking the first pole of his Superbike career in front of Shane “Shakey” Byrne of the Sterilgarda squad who will start in fifth with the same bike. Michel Fabrizio 1m35.8s “It’s a shame that I made an error in the first split, losing a few tenths, because otherwise it would have been a much better time, putting me in second or third I think. Anyway I must say well done to Smrz who put together an extremely fast lap and I am very happy to have made it on to the front row. We can’t predict what the weather will be like tomorrow but we’ve tried both the race tyres that we have available and I’m happy with both of them so we’re feeling confident that we’ll be competitive regardless of the conditions. I have a feeling that tomorrow I’ll be fighting against Ben because today I’ve seen that we have more or less the same pace.” Noriyuki Haga 1m36.2s “I’m still fairly happy with the way things are going. Tomorrow it’s not supposed to rain, at least we hope not! In the morning we want to make some small changes that will hopefully improve the feeling I have with the front of the bike and then we’ll be ready to race. For me it is not so important that I’m not on the front row, but having said that tomorrow I plan to start strong and try to stay there out front.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Smrz ends Spies’ Superpole record at Misano Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) brought Ben Spies’ seven-race Superpole record to an end with a new circuit best lap in the decisive qualifying session at Misano. The 26 year-old from the Czech Republic was in terrific form, powering his private Guandalini Ducati 1098 around the 4.226 km Misano World Circuit in a time of 1 minute 35.435 seconds. Second place in an exciting session, which was held under the constant threat of rain, went to Britain’s Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who has been fast all weekend. Spies was also on the pace on his team Yamaha World Superbike machine, but the Texan this time had to settle for the third slot, just ahead of one of his championship rivals, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) in fourth. Jakub Smrz: “I am really pleased with my first-ever Superpole, it’s a great feeling to be there. But not just my Superpole time was good, I also have a good race pace as well, and I hope to be able to fight against the other guys up at the front and get a podium in the races. Last year I went well at Misano, but I hope for a better result this time around.” Jonathan Rea: “It’s been pretty good for us, we found a good time for the second place. A big thanks to my crew, they’ve been doing so much all week. We got through a fair amount of hardware at Magny-Cours testing and got a good base setting for this weekend. And finally in the last few sessions and qualifying we’ve been doing some good times, so hopefully it’ll all come good in the race tomorrow.” Ben Spies: “A front row start is good anyway and congratulations to Jakub. We missed out today because we just didn’t have it when it counted. I’m happy with the bike and the race set-up is good, but to be honest we’re a little bit quicker than the guys we’re racing against for the championship and that’s a good thing. However I’m sure they’ll all be up there in the race tomorrow.” Michel Fabrizio: “It’s important to be on the front row here at Misano and I start from the same position as last year, but this time in the race I hope to do better! I saw both this morning and this afternoon that my race pace was very similar to that of Ben’s so it’s clear that I’ll be running my race around him tomorrow.” The Misano Superpole was also the first time Pirelli did not use their one-lap qualifying tyre, which has now been abandoned in favour of a new soft compound that can last up to five or more laps. The results were extraordinary because all four riders on the front row of the grid went quicker than last year’s mark set by Troy Corser in 1’35″993. The second row of the grid sees Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) holding down fifth place, with points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and the Ten Kate Honda duo of Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari seventh and eighth. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was heading for a front row slot but failed to make the final run due to a technical problem and the Italian had to settle for ninth, ahead of Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) and Fonsi Nieto, the leading Suzuki Alstare runner. The first BMW, that of Troy Corser, qualified on row 4, while after their encouraging form shown on Friday, the two Kawasakis of Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking slipped down to the fifth row. Times: 1. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’35.435; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’35.609; 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’35.631; 4. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’35.811; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’36.224; 6. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’36.277; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’36.537; 8. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’36.884; 9. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’36.439; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’36.510; 11. Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’36.510; 12. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’36.682; 13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’36.916 ; 14. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.978; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’36.994; 16. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’37.20 World Supersport Italian Michele Pirro upset the applecart in Supersport qualifying at Misano with a blistering lap in the last few minutes to take pole. For the Yamaha Lorenzini man it was the first time he starts from the top slot, and it comes in his first season in the category. The last time an Italian started from Supersport pole was Michel Fabrizio (Honda) at Magny-Cours in 2005. The session was conditioned by a rain shower at the start, which kept the riders in their pit garages until ten minutes from the end. The final stages were hectic as all the riders went out on the drying track to set their time, and Pirro was the best at interpreting the changing track conditions. Leader Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) lines up alongside in an Italian sandwich, with 2006 Misano Supersport winner Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Honda) third. Katsuaki Fujiwara took the first Kawasaki Provec machine to fourth, while Gianluca Nannelli (Triumph ParkinGo) showed good progress to grab the fifth slot. One of the protagonists of the season Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) had some difficulty but lines up in eighth, one row ahead of three other possible candidates for the win, Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Times: 1. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’40.498; 2. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’40.508; 3. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.509; 4. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’40.994; 5. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’41.109; 6. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.425 ; 7. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.458; 8. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.459 Superstock 1000 Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) powered to the pole position in the Superstock 1000 category with a new circuit best lap, knocking seven tenths off the previous mark. The Belgian rider made his attack two minutes from the end of the session, grabbing the lead from Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda). The front row was completed by Domenico Colucci (Barni Racing Ducati) of Italy and Santiago Barragan (Honda Holiday Gym) from Spain. Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) made less of an impression today and only ended up with seventh quickest time, but the points leader was just a couple of tenths away from the front row. Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1’39.329; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.498; 3. Colucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’39.814; 4. Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.958; 5. Magnoni M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’40.111; 6. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’40.184; 7. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’40.195; 8. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’40.272 Superstock 600 Pole position for the European 600 Superstock race went to a wild-card rider from a family with a famous name, Ferruccio Lamborghini (Yamaha), who took advantage of the rain showers in the last few minutes of the session to hold off points leader Danilo Petrucci. In an all-Italian and all-Yamaha front row, third place went to Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno) ahead of another wild-card Giuliano Gregorini (Baru Racing Yamaha). Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), level on points with Petrucci at the top of the table, could only manage tenth place and starts from row 3. Times: 1. Lamborghini F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’41.803; 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.117; 3. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.235; 4. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.498; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.632; 6. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.728; 7. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.784; 8. Boscoscuro A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.003 More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsports: After yesterday’s scorchingly hot temperatures, today dawned overcast and dull and when final qualifying began rain showers had soaked the track. Despite little or no information about a wet set-up, Troy and Ruben got into the damp groove superbly and, at the end of the final qualifying session, Troy topped the standings, with Ruben seventh quickest. But by the time Superpole qualifying started, conditions were once again dry, though the clouds were still casting deep shadows over the 4.226 kilometre circuit. Superpole 1 went well for Troy and he easily qualified for Superpole 2, but a clutch problem prevented him from lapping quickly enough to get into Superpole 3 and any chance of getting on the first two rows of the grid were gone. Ruben ended Superpole with the 18th fastest lap and will start from fifth row of the grid behind Troy on row four. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole, with a time of 1:35.435, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth. Troy – 15th, 1:36.994 If it hadn’t been for the clutch problem, I think I could have got into Superpole 3 and that would have meant a start on the first two rows of the grid. It’s just unfortunate that the problem happened because we were so close to getting our best Superpole result so far, but that’s racing. But the good news is that I’m pretty happy with how the bike is working and how it’s handling the bumps here. I think we’ve got reasonably good set-ups for both dry and wet races, though I guess most of us would prefer it to be dry tomorrow. Ruben – 18th, 1:37.300 Normal practice and qualifying has been good and the bike is working better here than it was in USA and it shows we are making progress. The only thing that let us down today was Superpole and we are just not experienced enough with the qualifying tyres to find really good set-ups for this particular situation. On race tyres, I am happy and I think we are pretty close to the pace. It is a shame that we were not able to test qualifying tyres in the winter tests because that would have given us some experience about what to do during a race weekend, but that’s the way it is. My grid place is a bit of a nightmare and I need to get a couple of good starts and not get held up in the early part of the race if I am to get good results. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) Considering the difficult conditions in regular qualifying this morning, Troy did fantastically well to top of the standings, with Ruben in the top seven. It shows that, despite a lack of wet weather information, we were able to be on the pace in these conditions. Troy was unlucky with his clutch problem in Superpole. We suffered once again from a lack of experience with qualifying tyres, as it seems that our bike needs a very different set-up to when it is on regular race rubber. We were so close to the first two rows of the grid today, but I am sure that it will not be long before we manage it. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Haslam claims third row start at Misano The blistering heat that dominated the opening day of qualifying at Misano, took a turn for the unexpected as wet conditions hovered over the track in the second series of qualifying today. Having qualified safely for Superpole by posting the ninth fastest time in yesterday’s qualifying, Leon Haslam choose to remain in the garage for most of the session, and only ventured out on the wet track in the ultimate minutes to post the 11th fastest time on the board at the damp 4.226km long track. Haslam pushed himself through the first Superpole session, but lost his seventh fastest time in the second shootout after he had to give in three places and finished a final tenth place. On the other side of the garage teammate John Hopkins had to skip the second qualifying as he struggled to fight the pain of his serious injuries. The American was left out of the Superpole following his 26th place in yesterday’s qualifying, and choose to remain in the garage to nurse his injuries in order to be fit for tomorrow’s race. Leon Haslam, P10, 1’36.510s: ” I am a little disappointed. I only had one clear lap behind another rider in the second Superpole, but then was held up by other riders as I tried for another lap. I thought I was sitting safe in seventh position, but obviously, it was not enough and I lost out on the last Superpole by less than a tenth of a second. We have a few issues we need to resolve just for the race set up, but all in all we have a good direction for tomorrow. If I have a good start in the race I can be there at the front.” John Hopkins, P26: ” After yesterday’s session I am feeling really sore. I got some painkillers before the session, but I think I just pushed it a bit too much. I am breaking away the scar tissue at the moment. It is just better for me to take it easy today and concentrate on tomorrow. I will be doing the warm up and then see what we can do for the race. This weekend for me is important to get the strength in my leg back up and to get ready for the next race at Donington. ” Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager: ” It is hard to say I am satisfied. I think we can do a lot better and need to improve our Superpole strategy. This is where we lose all the time. It is hard to keep up coming from tenth position and we can’t keep doing that while we could easily be riding top five. We have to change the strategy and work from there. It is very important to qualify well on the grid, sometimes it can make a whole race. Unfortunately, John had to miss out on today’s sessions as he is still in too much pain after his first sessions yesterday. I hope that he feels better tomorrow and ride the race. We will have to see how he feels in the warm up session.” More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI NINTH, NAKANO TWELFTH The weather was the real star at the second day of the SBK round being held in San Marino. The rain that started on the first morning continues to fall at the Misano World Circuit, forcing the drivers to make their qualifying runs on a wet track. It rained intermittently during the afternoon, but fortunately, the track was dry in time for the warm-ups and the Superpole race. Jakub Smrz, on the Guandalini team’s Ducati, managed to interrupt Spies’ monopoly, and took home the Superpole victory with a time of 1:35:435, setting a new record at the circuit in Romagna. Max Biaggi will start of from ninth place in tomorrow’s race, after finishing with a time of 1:36:439. The Roman driver finished Superpole 1 in third place, but was unable to pass the second stage by just three hundredths of a second. During the final lap, Max, using qualifying tyres, was completing the lap in third place in the intermediate times, but just three curves from the finish line, there was a technical problem with the gear quick shift which caused the bike to die out and forced him to re-enter the box. Shinya Nakano will start off from twelfth place with a time of 1:36:682. After finishing Superpole 1 in fourteenth place, the Japanese driver was unable to pass Superpole 2, despite the fact that he used competition tyres. “I’m very disappointed,” stated Biaggi. “This electronic problem ruined everything. If I had finished that lap I would have certainly qualified for the final phase of the Superpole. I had hoped for a better weekend, but when a motorcycle is being debuted, these glitches can happen, it’s not the first time this season that Superpole has been compromised by a technical breakdown. There’s still a lot of work to do for tomorrow’s race, where I will give it my all, like always, trying everything possible to bring happiness to my many fans who have come here to Misano”. “Fortunately, we finally managed to race on a dry track this afternoon,” said Nakano. “Even though the Superpole results weren’t the best. We had a lot of problems with stability when braking, so I wasn’t able to pull away quickly going into the curves. We overhauled the alignment to try and improve the situation, but nothing changed. We’ll keep working in the warm-ups to improve the feeling and if we manage to do that, I’m sure we’ll have a good race.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Spies takes front row start in Misano Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies spent the second day of qualifying at the Misano circuit laying down consistent fast laps in all sessions to perfect set up and race pace for Sunday’s races. The American rider looked fast and on the pace as he stayed in the top three places for the duration of the day. Superpole saw him work hard to make it through all three sessions and he will start tomorrow’s race in third position from the front row of the grid. Tom Sykes made further improvements from yesterday’s qualifying session and is beginning to show the results from the changes in set up. Bad weather affected the second qualifying session and gave little opportunity for him to capitalize on the changes. Sykes made it through the first Superpole session in ninth and was holding on for the third session until the last minute when he was bumped out. He will start tomorrow’s race from the fourth row of the grid in 14th position for tomorrow’s races. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (3rd, 1’35.631) “it was a good session for us today we just weren’t fast enough at the end. I never managed to put a perfect lap in but even if I had I think it would have been right there with Smrz so it’s not like we were going to blow anything out of the water. Our race pace is good and I’m really happy with that. You can’t win them all, I’m really happy to be on the front row, we’re in a good position for turn one so I’m going to try and get a good start and have a great race.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (14th, 1’36.978) “we’ve definitely cured a couple of our set up problems this weekend and we’re heading in the right direction. We’ve still got some work to do on the front so I can take some of the corners like I want to. We’re only .9 of a second off the quickest but that means quite a few places down the grid. We’ve made up two seconds over the last two days so if we can make some more in warm up we should be up there.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “Third place is a good result, to start from the first row of the grid is the target so we’re happy. We’ve had so many Superpoles this year it’s become almost normal but first row is what’s important. I’m confident we can expect a really good result tomorrow. Tom made some improvements from the last couple of races and he showed us he had a good pace. The bike is working well and he’s found the right tyre combination for the race. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, we’re quite optimistic.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare Brux: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto endured a day of changing conditions and have qualified on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s pair of 24-lap World Superbike races at Misano. Final qualifying was blighted by rain showers, but the afternoon untimed session and Superpole took place in the dry. Nieto continued his understanding of the GSX-R1000 K9 by finishing 11th fastest in Superpole, with Kagayama 13th despite his injured foot. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole with a time of 1:35.435 with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth. Fonsi Nieto – 11th, 1:36.510: “After a long time off the bike, I am getting more and more comfortable every time I go out and feel that I am also improving my understanding of it. I am happy to be 11th, but not happy because I lost two or three-tenths-of-a-second in the last split and maybe I could’ve qualified on the second row. I am also happy to be 11th at this stage because the championship is much more competitive than last year. All in all, I don’t think I’m doing so badly. The bike has good balance and I am hoping for dry conditions tomorrow as this place is very slippery in the wet.” Yukio Kagayama- 13th, 1:36.916: “Today the conditions were very mixed and we had to adjust the bike a lot to overcome over-steering on the wet track this morning. I was losing the rear a lot and it was not easy to ride the bike. My first qualifying tyre worked OK for two laps, but my second one was finished after one lap and I don’t know why. I am not happy with my grid place, but I want to thank my team for giving me a good, new chassis setting and I am sure that my feeling with the bike will improve next time out.” WSB Qualifying Results: 1 Smrz (CZE-Ducati) 1:35.435, 2 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:35.609, 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:35.631, 4 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:35.811, 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:36.224, 6 Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:36.277. 11 Fonsi Nieto (Alstare Brux Suzuki) 1:36.510. 13 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Brux Suzuki) 1:36.916. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti suffered problems with front-end chatter today and finished with the seventh fastest time in qualifying. But he and the team will make some adjustments to the bike in the morning warm-up and hopefully Corti will be able to challenge for the podium in the 14-lap race. Xavi Simeon (Ducati) took pole position with Maxime Berger (Honda) second, Domenico Colucci (Ducati) third and Santiago Barragan (Honda) fourth. Claudio Corti – 7th, 1:40.195: “I had some problems today with front end chattering in the first split and if we can improve that I am sure I can have a good race. We will make some changes to the bike’s suspension, front fork height and rear spring in the morning warm-up and hopefully I can go faster. Like most riders, I am hoping that it will be dry tomorrow because this track can be treacherous in the wet. It is not my favourite circuit, but if we can get the bike working well, there is no reason why I cannot get a good result.” Superstock 1000 Results: 1 Simeon (B-Ducati) 1:39.329, 2 Berger (F-Honda) 1:39.498, 3 Colucci (I-Ducati) 1:39.814, 4 Barragan (E-Honda) 1:39.958, 5 Magnoni (I-Yamaha) 1:40.111, 6 Barrier (F-Yamaha) 1:40.184, 7 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:40.195. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Superpole Spots For Broc And Jamie WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 20 June 2009 Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking each made it onto Superpole qualifying at Misano, but could not progress beyond Superpole One, after a weather-affected second day of practice. After a first day of extreme heat and dry track surfaces, today’s action was conducted with occasional rain showers, and a fully wet second qualifying session welcomed the riders to the track this morning. That meant that Parkes and Hacking, and the entire top 20, qualified for Superpole due to their Friday practice times, even if they gained some valuable wet practice time today. Going into Superpole Parkes was fifth fastest and looking strong for a close to pole. Hacking was 20th on day one, as the stand-in rider for team regular Makoto Tamada learned his way around the tricky Misano circuit. After using race tyres early in the first 12-minute Superpole session Parkes and Hacking were out of time to improve their best laps on qualifying tyres, and thus were unable to continue their charge to challenge eventual Superpole winner Jakub Smrz. Broc Parkes: “We had a good opening day and finished fifth in first qualifying but we have been struggling a bit with some things today. We didn’t really find a cure, and in Superpole I made a bit of a mistake on my qualifying tyre, ran wide on one corner, so I didn’t really get to put in my best lap. We started out on a race tyre and then went to a qualifying tyre. A lot of guys went better on their qualifying tyre in their second flying lap because on the first lap it maybe wasn’t giving full grip yet. This isn’t what we wanted after such a good start yesterday but tomorrow we will see what we can do for the race.” Jamie Hacking: “We are still struggling a little bit in putting the racetrack together, and it didn’t help that everything has had to be rushed because of the changes in the weather. I have not had a chance to really concentrate on what I am doing with the bike. I have been behind a bit. The bike settings were coming together in the free practice before Superpole, and I was feeling more comfortable with the bike and my lines, but then I lost the front in turn three, so that didn’t do too much for my confidence. If I can calm down a little bit, and maybe we can hit the set-up just a little bit better, then things will be OK for us. It will be tough in the races to start from that far back, but as long as we put in some solid laps I think we will be OK.” More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SUPERPOLE STREAK STOPPED, SPIES QUALIFIES THIRD IN MISANO MISANO, Italy (June 20, 2009) One of the historic streaks in World Superbike came to an end Saturday in Misano when Yamaha’s Ben Spies qualified off the pole for the first time this season – this after having earned a record seven consecutive Superpoles. Spies qualified third on the 2.6-mile Misano World Circuit. Czech rider Jakub Smrz and Britain’s Jonathan Rea qualified ahead of Spies, taking the first and second grid positions respectively. Spies’ qualifying time of 1:35.631 is less than two-tenths of a second behind Smrz’ Superpole run of 1:35.435. In spite of missing the pole, Spies made it comfortably into the final Superpole session, qualifying fourth in the session one and second in session two before ending up third in the concluding Superpole session. Spies was surprisingly upbeat in spite of not starting from the pole for the first time in his young World Superbike career. “We have a great race set up and that’s the most important thing,” said Spies, who comes into the race ranked second in the world standings. “We were right there in Superpole, but I just never put together a great lap. I think even had I hit everything perfectly I probably wouldn’t have bettered Jakub’s time. He was really flying today and I give my congratulations to him.” Spies said it was great to see new riders up front in qualifying. “It would be good to have some of these guys running up front,” Spies said. “I’m trying to chase down Nori [Haga] in the points and it never hurts if we can have a few more riders up battling for the lead. Ideally in the races I can finish ahead of Nori and a few of these guys get in there between us.” This marks the first ride for Spies at Misano. He admits more time on the track might have helped. “It’s a great circuit,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s any harder to learn that any other track, but I would have liked to been able to run a few more laps.” Spies turned few laps at speed in the second qualifying session because of wet weather. “A front row start is fine,” Spies added. “The big thing is how we do in the races tomorrow and the team has done a really good job of finding comfortable settings for the race. I’m sure it’s going to be a tough race. A lot of new people are hoping to run up front and of course there will be the usual suspects up there I’m sure.” Misano marks the kickoff of the second half of the season. Spies is trying to narrow the 53-point lead Haga has in the series standings. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY FRUSTRATINGLY CLOSE TO FRONT TWO ROWS. Troy easily qualified for Superpole 2 today, but a small clutch problem prevented him from lapping as quickly as he had done in Superpole 1 and he lost the chance of getting on the first two rows of the grid. He was forced to nurse the clutch lever more than usual and could not lap fast enough to qualify for Superpole 3. It was frustrating and came after a superb final qualifying session this morning that saw him top the standings in difficult conditions. Just before final qualifying began, rain showers hit the 4.226 kilometre circuit, but Troy mastered the tricky conditions and set the fastest lap of the session at the same time. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole, which took place it dry conditions, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth. Troy – 15th, 1.36.994 That was a close one! So near to our best qualifying this season and then an unfortunate problem, but I guess most problems are unfortunate. After Superpole 1, I felt confident that I would do well in Superpole 2 and then get in to Superpole 3, but it wasn’t to be and it was a real shame. However, we have a pretty good set-up for either dry or wet conditions, though I think most people would prefer dry races tomorrow. I have been having massages on my right shoulder and strapping on my left hand and I feel in better condition than in the last race in USA. Starting from the fourth row is never easy, but we’re a bit used to it now and I have shown that I can get good results from that far back before and that’s what I’ll be aiming for tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shakey Byrne took fifth place on the grid after two days of practice at Misano and will start tomorrow’s races from row two. The English rider confirmed his good form as he quickly learned the Misano circuit, on which he made his debut. The continuous weather changes did not allow the team to work as usual but they managed nonetheless to find a good race setup. Tomorrow’s objective will be to fight for the top 5, a result that will certainly please the Italian fans. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 5th in 1’36.224 : “I’m very happy with the work we’ve done in the last two days. We managed to be fast both with race setup and in the Superpole. I also scored my best practice result and this gives me confidence for tomorrow’s races. I just hope the weather will not change so quickly as it did today. In fact, when I got on the track, the surface was still moist but later it did dry out. Tomorrow’s warm up session is very important also as it should help us choose the right tyres and this could be decisive because the weather has changed a lot since yesterday”.