FIM Superbike World Championship Misano, San Marino June 19, 2009 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:37.016 2. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:37.102 3. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:37.209 4. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.238 5. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.281 6. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.396 7. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.441 8. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:37.451 9. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.490 10. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:37.503 11. Shinya NAKANO (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:37.630 12. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.702 13. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.710 14. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:37.773 15. Gregorio LAVILLA (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.786 16. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:37.813 17. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.898 18. Fonsi NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:37.979 19. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:37.992 20. Jamie HACKING (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.441 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 Infront Motor Sports: Fabrizio edges out Spies at end of Misano Q1 Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) slammed in two quick laps in rapid succession at the end of today’s Misano Q1 to end up with the provisional pole at the Misano World Circuit. The Italian’s time of 1 minute 37.016 seconds was good enough to edge out Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) from the top slot, after the Texan rookie had headed the standings almost throughout. Third and fourth on the provisional front row of the grid went to the still injured Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) and British rider Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). The top 19 positions in today’s standings are all contained within one second, confirming the current equilibrium reigning in Superbike. The provisional front row is also made up of four different manufacturers – Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda with a fifth, Kawasaki, opening up the second row following a superb performance by Broc Parkes. The session also confirmed the constant improvement of the Ten Kate Honda team, with Ryuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa in sixth and seventh position respectively, ahead of points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), four-tenths of a second down on his team-mate. After two difficult events, BMW have bounced back into the top 10, with Troy Corser running well throughout and ending up tenth overall. This time round BMW went better than Aprilia, as Shinya Nakano could only manage 11th and Max Biaggi 16th, eight-tenths off the polesitter. For the moment John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) is outside the Superpole top 20, the American down in 26th position on his return to action following his Assen crash. Times: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’37.016; 2. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’37.102; 3. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’37.209; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.238; 5. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’37.281; 6. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.396; 7. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.44; 8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’37.451; 9. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.490; 10. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’37.503; 11. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’37.630; 12. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’37.702; 13. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’37.710; 14. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’37.773; 15. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’37.786; 16. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’37.813 World Supersport Despite it being his first time at Misano Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) soon made his intentions clear with quickest time in the first free practice session. The championship leader stopped the clocks with a time of 1 minute 39.442 seconds, just five-hundredths off the track record. Crutchlow made his decisive move five minutes from the end of the session, grabbing the provisional pole from Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec), who also looked rapid throughout. The British rider’s rivals for the title, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) follow in third and fourth place but are four and nine-tenths off the pace. Fifth and sixth quickest times went to two of the possible candidates for the win, Frenchman Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Australian Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), ahead of Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) and two Italians, Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Honda) and Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini). Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’39.442; 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’39.821; 3. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’39.895; 4. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.355; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’40.560; 6. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.592; 7. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.673; 8. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.676 Superstock 1000 The first day of Superstock 1000 action went the way of Maxime Berger. The Ten Kate Honda man was quick right out of the box, and he set the best time of the day in 1 minute 41.245 seconds. The Frenchman used his testing experience from last week here to break the domination of the Italians at their home track. Second quickest time went to Davide Giugliano (MV Agusta Unionbike), ahead of Michele Magnoni (Yamaha Bevilacqua). Fabio Massei (Yamaha Lorenzini) made an excellent debut in fifth place, while second place man in the championship Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) struggled to sixteenth quickest time. Times: 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’41.245; 2. Giugliano D. (ITA) MV Agusta F4 312 R 1’41.652; 3. Magnoni M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’41.855; 4. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’41.969; 5. Massei F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.081; 6. Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’42.126; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.157; 8. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’42.202 Superstock 600 As expected, Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) immediately went quickest in the first Superstock 600free practice session. The points leader, level at the top with Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) was half-a-second quicker than his rivals, but Rea today was only down down in seventh. Second place went to Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini), while team-mate Marco Bussolotti was third ahead of two more Italians, wild-cards Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha WCR) and Giuliano Gregorini (Yamaha Baru). Times: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.528; 2. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.063; 3. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.288; 4. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.301; 5. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.302; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.647; 7. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.661; 8. Lamborghini F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.821 More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shane Byrne did well in day 1 despite his seventeenth place. The English rider found a good feeling with both track and bike and is only eight tenths of a second off the pole position time in spite of being slowed down in the third part of the session. His objective will therefore be taking a starting position on the first two rows of the grid with of without rain,which is forecast for tomorrow. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 17th in 1’37.898 : “It was a very positive day. We’ve done a good job and prepared the right setup. I do like this track especially because I can go equally fast on every part of the track. Unfortunately, I was slowed down by other riders on my trajectory in both of the two full-speed laps. Nevertheless, my times were pretty good and can definitely be improved. If it should rain, I’m not concerned at all because I’ve always coped well with the rain”. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea set the fourth fastest time in today’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s eighth round World Superbike championship encounter at Misano in Italy, earning himself a provisional front row start. Along with Carlos Checa, his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman spent much of this morning’s free practice session evaluating Ohlins suspension alongside WP product, which has been run by the Ten Kate team in the past. Fastest today was Italian rider Michel Fabrizio with Spaniard Checa setting the seventh fastest time. Despite air temperatures of 35 degrees and the track temperature approaching 50 degrees, the forecast for tomorrow at Misano is for rain. Jonathan Rea P4, 1’37.238s I’m not that happy because the balance of the CBR is not quite right yet, although I think a small change can make it a lot better. This afternoon was a little frustrating because I have two engines with different characteristics. The one I prefer was in the chassis that wasn’t handling as well as the one with the other engine. We’ll overlay the two sets of data tonight though, and get it working for tomorrow. I’m not too worried about position, really I’m just very happy with the way the development of the bike is going. We’ve been testing new suspension this week and I feel this big step could be a new way forward for us. Carlos Checa P7, 1’37.441s For a first day this is not so bad. For a first day with new suspension it’s quite good. Of course, we need to understand how we can work with this alternative to get the best from it, but I think this is just a question of time. So far the feeling is very positive. For this weekend we now are working on tyres and we are getting good signs in this area, too. Tomorrow might be completely different of course if the weather forecast is correct, but the pace is quite good at the moment and times are very close. We can still improve things but I think a small change can make a big improvement. Ronald ten Kate team manager We tested at Magny-Course earlier this week and one of the things we looked at was suspension, which had a positive outcome. Of course, we have continued that evaluation here in Misano today with back-to-back comparisons to get as much data as we could. We will sit down and analyse that in fine detail tonight but, for a first day, it has not been a bad one. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Hopkins fights pain in first Misano qualifying Just six weeks after an unfortunate turn of faith at Assen left John Hopkins seriously injured, the ex MotoGP rider made his return with the Stiggy Racing squad, and set his first laps in hot conditions at the Misano track today. John Hopkinswho has been performing successfully at the Italian track in recent yearsstruggled to find the flexibility in his left leg. Staggering off the bike after each painful session indicated the lack of muscle power build in his short period of recuperation, and proved the big absent in order to push the bike around the track. Hopkins focus in the opening day of qualifying was entirely aimed at getting back the feeling rather than pushing the lap times. Leon Haslam opened the first day at Misano by posting the ninth fastest time on the sheets in the first qualifying. A newcomer to the track in its current direction, Haslam quickly glued with his bike at the Misano track and set his fastest time of the day at 1’37.490s, running only 0.47s off the pace set by provisional pole sitter Michel Fabrizio. Leon Haslam, 1’37.490s: ” It has been a good day for me. We made some good progress here today and managed to find a good direction for tomorrow. We are not too far away from the front. I set my fastest lap on the fifteenth lap on the same tyre. All in all it is looking pretty good. I like the circuit a lot and have been racing here before, but that was before they changed the direction. We still have some areas we need to improve, but to ride within the top 10 at this stage is pretty good. I am happy with the results so far. John Hopkins, 1’38.856s: ” I went to the clinic just before the start of the last session to relieve the pain a little. I only have limited movement on my bike as I still have to break away a lot of the scar tissue on the inside of the hip. Right now I am trying to get back my flexibility and work my way up again. Normally I like to hop all over the machine and be demanding over my bike. Unfortunately, right now it is hard for me to put any pressure on my left foot. In my last lap I lost nearly a second in the last two corners, it was impossible to put any weight onto my foot at all. I am continuing to work with the clinica and try and regain my flexibility. My main focus is to get healthy again and just make progress.” Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager: ” Leon is here for the first time after they altered the direction of the track. He has been putting in a great performance and feels very confident. He set his fastest lap of the day on old tyres, and I am sure there will be more coming tomorrow. John is still in a lot of pain at the moment. It has only been six weeks since he had his injury, and we need to give him some more time to recover and come back. When he feels comfortable again, he can start pushing, but for now we will just take it step by step. There is absolutely no pressure from the team. We will give him the time to come back. ” More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: With track temperatures nudging 50 degrees, Ryuichi Kiyonari set the sixth fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s World Superbike races at Misano in Italy. The Japanese rider was quickly on the pace in this morning’s free practice session and backed that up with a provisional second row performance in today’s 60-minute qualifying session, in which Italian Michel Fabrizio set the provisional pole time. The top ten riders, however, are separated by less than half a second and Kiyonari has already improved on his qualifying time from last year’s race at the 4.2km circuit. Ryuichi Kiyonari P6, 1’37.396s What a difference a year can make. Last time here, I really struggled but already I am comfortable with the track and lapping a second faster than last year’s qualifying time. We have done a lot of racing and testing and development in the last 365 days and I was happy with the test we completed at Magny-Cours this week. We have been playing with the machine balance some more today but there is still a small problem with the weight transfer. But we will keep working to improve things and find a good setting for tomorrow’s Superpole and the races on Sunday. Ronald ten Kate team manager Kiyo-san has made good progress today and has been near the top of the leaderboard in both sessions. It is clear that he is more at home here than he was last year and he and his crew will continue to fine tune his CBR1000RR for tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama defied the doctors and pain at Misano today and finished quickest in qualifying for Sunday’s World Superbike eighth round. His time of 1:37.209 was less than two-tenths-of-a-second slower than provisional pole man Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) as team mate Fonsi Nieto ended the day with the 18th quickest lap time, and is confident of further progress tomorrow as he continues his steep learning curve onboard the 2009 GSX-R1000 K9. Yukio Kagayama – 3rd, 1:37.209: “I am lucky because my right foot is broken in the heel area and I don’t use this area much when I ride my bike. Of course, after some laps, I feel some pain, but it is a matter of understanding the pain and managing it when I am on the bike. If it rains tomorrow, or on race day, it would be kinder to my body, but unfortunately not for the bike as this track is very slippery in the wet. I am really hoping for dry conditions and finishing both races with good results.” Fonsi Nieto – 18th, 1:37.979: “Although I am only 18th fastest, the lap times are pretty close and so I am not unhappy. I am still understanding this bike and every session it becomes a bit more comfortable for me. We will continue to try some things tomorrow – maybe change the gearbox a little – and see how much we can improve. We had no big problems today and hopefully we will not have any tomorrow.” Friday World Superbike qualifying: 1 Fabrizio (I-Ducati) 1:37.016, 2 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:37.102, 3 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:37.209, 4 Rea (GB-Honda) 1:37.238, 5 Parkes (Aus-Kawasaki) 1:37.281, 6 Kiyonari (J-Honda) 1:37.396, 18 Fonsi Nieto (E-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:37.979. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti took things steadily in today’s practice session for round four of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, but still managed to end with the fourth fastest lap. The young Italian didn’t want to push hard, but found a good set-up towards the end of the session and is looking forward to tomorrow. Frenchman Maxime Berger (Honda) set today’s fastest time with Davide Giugliano (MV) second. Claudio Corti – 4th, 1:41.969: “I had no problems today, but I found the track a bit slippery so I didn’t push hard. Five minutes or so from the end of the session we found quite a good set-up, so we will work on that tomorrow and hopefully go quicker. It’s been a month or so since I rode a bike, so I felt a bit rusty at first today, but I will be OK tomorrow for sure. I think the biggest problem this weekend may be the weather, but I really hope that it doesn’t rain, because there would be a lot of crashes.” Friday Superstock 1000 qualifying: 1 Berger (F-Honda) 1:41.245, 2 Giugliano (I-MV) 1:41.652, 3 Magnoni (I-Yamaha) 1:41.855, 4 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:41.969, 5 Massei (I-Yamaha) 1:42.126, 6 Barragan (E-Honda) 1:42.126. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: FLYING START FOR FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) WHO IS FASTEST ON DAY 1 AT MISANO Misano Adriatico (Italy), Friday 19th June: despite extremely high track temperatures that hovered around 50° all day, the Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga made a great start to their “home” race weekend at the Misano World Circuit and it was Michel on board his Ducati 1198 who closed today as the fastest rider out there. In the first free practice session earlier in the day both Michel and Noriyuki got off the starting blocks at a very quick pace and their immediate competitiveness saw them conclude the opening session near the top of the time sheets, with Fabrizio in second and Haga in sixth. In the initial stage of the subsequent first qualifying session, Noriyuki was the first rider to duck under the 1m38 barrier, more than a second faster than his best time in the free practice. Having made that time, he came back into the garage before going back out to complete a long-run, thirteen laps, all at a very consistent pace. Many riders then started to improve their lap times until, right in the final minutes of the session, Michel completed two flying laps, closing today’s proceedings as the fastest rider. Michel Fabrizio 1m37.0s “I am really happy because I must say that I didn’t expert to be the fastest out there today. The only annoying thing was the traffic; every time I was pushing on a fast lap, I would find someone in front of me, the only rider I didn’t find was Nori! They say it may rain tomorrow and I can’t say how we’ll go if the track is wet but I’m feeling confident and am satisfied with today’s work because if and when it’s hot again on Sunday I’ll know that we are well prepared.” Noriyuki Haga 1m37.4s “For now all is under control. I have a good feeling with the bike and I’m pretty happy with the setting we tried today. Despite the heat I didn’t have too many problems with the tyres, and if it hadn’t been for traffic that I came across, I would have finished today in third or fourth we know that we have the race pace. The forecast predicts rain for tomorrow and maybe Sunday too but I am confident that whatever the weather we’ll be ready for battle come race day.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: BACK TO HAPPIER WAYS. The first day of practice and qualifying at Misano today saw Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport return to the kind of form they showed before the flyaways in South Africa and USA. Despite some problems still with his right shoulder, Troy Corser managed a top ten place in today’s qualifying session, less than half a second slower then provisional pole man Michel Fabrizio (Ducati). Ruben Xaus finished the day 14th quickest, but is only two tenths of a second slower than Troy, so both riders are on the pace despite the competitiveness of the qualifying. Troy – 10th, 1:37.503 The bike is feeling a bit more normal here and that’s good because I had expected it to be a bit of a handful on the bumps. Now I can feel the bike actually moving whereas before everything was moving a bit too quickly and it was hard to understand exactly what was going on and what to do to improve. I found it relatively easy to do the times today and it was easier to open the throttle more quickly exiting the turns. My shoulder is about 80%, but it’s getting better and shouldn’t be too much of a problem on the bike. The weather forecast is for rain, but I really hope that doesn’t happen because this track is very, very slippery in the wet. Ruben – 14th, 1:37.773 I have been racing for many years, but sometimes I find it hard to completely understand what’s happening on the bike. That’s me being honest! Here we’ve managed to find some grip by changing the wheelbase when we changed the rear sprocket and I was able to go faster straightaway. This bike has so many possibilities we haven’t found yet and so it’s easy to get a bit lost sometimes. I’m happy because my lap time is close to Troy and the top ten and that’s good considering how competitive the field is. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) Today was an exciting day and a great way to get over our darkest moments in South Africa and USA. Today our systems were working well and our riders were able to feel the changes made to the bikes and I think we made good progress. We have a better understanding of the complexity of this bike, but we will continue to make more and more improvements. The engineers and the riders are working together superbly and it’s great to start this weekend on a good and positive note. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY BACK IN THE TOP TEN. After the disappointment in USA in the last round, Troy and Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport got back to the fine form they showed before the two flyaway races and ended the first day of qualifying happy with a top ten place. Although Troy’s right shoulder is far from perfect yet, he hustled the S 1000 RR round Misano’s 4.226 kilometre circuit in 1:37.503, less than half a second slower then fastest lap of the day, set by Michel Fabrizio (Ducati). Second quickest today is Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) third. Troy – 10th, 1:37.503 I had expected today to be harder then it was. My shoulder is about 80%, but not too bad when I was on the bike and it is getting better. I thought the bike would be a bit more of problem on Misano’s bumps, but really it was better than I expected and that is a real plus. All in all, the bike is working more normally than usual and I can feel what’s going on more easily. So we can work on this and keep improving. The times are really close and I am happy to be less than half a second off pole because I wasn’t really pushing for lap times at all. Of course, there’s lots of work to do and everybody is going to go faster tomorrow (unless it rains), but if we can keep in the ball park that would be pretty good. This place is very slippery in the wet and although that might be a bit easier on my body, it would make life very difficult in the race. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Business as usual as Yamaha perform in the blistering Misano heat Yamaha World Superbike riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes took to the Misano circuit for the first time today in what was without a doubt the hottest riding day so far of the 2009 championship. With temperatures approaching 40 degrees Spies got straight down to business on the unknown circuit, spending a large part of both the free practice and the first qualifying session running at the top of the time chart. He ended Friday’s qualifying session in second position less than one tenth of a second off leader Michel Fabrizio having spent the entire qualifying session working on race pace on a single set of tyres. Team-mate Tom Sykes continued to improve his set-up from previous races and although ending the day in 19th position his times we less than seven tenths off his team-mate’s time as he searched for the optimum setting for the Misano circuit. The British rider lost valuable time in the morning free practice session fixing an issue with the bike but looked to be making it up quickly in the afternoon qualifying and was confident of more improvements for day two. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1’37.102) “It was a good first day for us, the second session we opted to run race set up and we never put any new tyres on. A race is 22 laps around here, on the 22nd lap today we were half a second off the fastest lap done here. I’m pleased with that and we ran our whole race simulation in the 37’s. I’m ecstatic about the bike and tomorrow if it stays dry we know we’ve got a good package. We know if we put sticky tyres on it’s definitely going to go fast. If it rains, I guess we get some good rain time and go play in the rain. It’s still tough for us coming and learning these new tracks so I’m glad we picked it up as quickly as we did. There is still some more settings to find to be more comfortable but the speed is there. If it is wet then I hope we’ll be up there too, I don’t have as much time on this bike in the wet but I like riding in the rain.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (19th, 1’37.992) “I think today we’ve made big improvements, this morning we lost a bit of track time with a couple of things but this afternoon we went from a high 39 to a 37.9 so we’ve found two seconds. I’m only eight or nine tenths of the front guys which is not a lot and considering it’s my first time here it’s not bad. We can still make improvements over the weekend and hopefully we’ll make it work and see what tomorrow brings.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “We started in the right way today, we are already close to the top of the times. Ben led part of both sessions which gives us a lot of confidence for Sunday. We have to solve some issues for Tom around the front end feel of the bike and also we have to wait and see what the weather is going to do as its forecast for some rain. If it’s raining it might be a good opportunity as we’ve not tested in the rain yet and I’m confident we can get good results.”