FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 8, 2009 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:45.447 2. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:45.758 3. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098 F09), 1:45.790 4. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:45.919 5. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:45.962 6. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:45.985 7. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:46.013 8. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:46.054 9. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:46.140 10. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:46.164 11. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:46.171 12. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:46.208 13. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:46.363 14. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:46.545 15. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:46.565 16. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:46.566 17. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:46.690 18. Regis LACONI (Ducati 1098R), 1:47.078 19. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:47.220 20. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:47.317 21. Tommy HILL (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:47.362 22. Jake ZEMKE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:47.751 23. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:47.955 24. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:47.963 25. Shinya NAKANO (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:48.284, crash 26. Brendan ROBERTS (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.667 27. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:48.920 28. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:48.981 29. Roland RESCH (Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9), 1:49.119 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea grabbed a provisional front row slot for this weekend’s fifth round World Superbike championship races at Monza in Italy by setting the fourth fastest time in today’s opening qualifying session. While Italy’s Michel Fabrizio took provisional pole position at the historic 5.8km circuit near Milan, Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, recorded the fastest ever top speed at Monza The Spaniard recorded an impressive speed of 323.6kph (201.3mph) on his way to setting the ninth quickest lap time today. Ironically, his speed record eclipsed provisional pole setter Fabrizio’s earlier record of 322.7kph, also set on a Honda in 2007. Jonathan Rea P4, 1’45.919s We really tried to concentrate on race set-up this afternoon, using old tyres. We got pretty close to where we want to be and then just popped in a new tyre near the end of the session. I’ve got to say thanks to Ben Spies who saw that I was on a quick lap and made a big effort to keep out of the way! The next lap was going to be quicker, I think, but I came across a slower rider going into Ascari. I had to scrub some speed off pretty quickly and ended up running over the gravel. We’ve still got a bit of work to do but I rode in a good group in the middle of the session there and the pace was OK. I think we’ll want to change a couple of things with the chassis but we’re in a good place. Carlos Checa P9, 1’46.140s Yes, the feeling is OK at the moment but I am losing some time in turn two and coming out of the Parabolica. It’s quite difficult to get enough grip while still on the side of the tyre and opening the throttle. We are also losing a little in the first sector compared to our rivals but, overall, it’s not so bad. It’s not a difficult circuit to understand but, unlike a lot of teams, we arrived here without testing. We need to find a few tenths and then we’ll be there. Ronald ten Kate team manager That’s quite a positive start to the weekend, especially since we are one of the few teams that have not tested here at Monza already this year. Hopefully we can reap some benefit from the development route we took with the bike before Assen. It’s also a good thing to see that our engines go quite well here, with Carlos setting the highest ever top speed. It’s an inspiration going into the high-speed slipstream battles that we expect to see on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: DUCATI XEROX RIDER FABRIZIO FLIES TO TAKE PROVISIONAL POLE AT MONZA; HAGA THIRD Monza (Italy) Friday 8th May: the Ducati Xerox Team is pumped up and ready for action, completing today the first qualifying session of the fifth World Superbike round of the season under the Monza sunshine. Factory rider Michel Fabrizio was on the pace from the first practice session of the day, finishing said session in first place before heading out onto a track that reached temperatures of 47°C for the afternoon qualifying session, in which he again pushed his 1198 machine to the limit, to conclude first qualifying three tenths of a second faster than any other rider on track. Noriyuki also made an extremely positive start to the weekend and took the third fastest time of the day in the afternoon qualifying. Today’s results bode well for the weekend and both Noriyuki and Michel hope that the dry sunny weather is set to continue until the all important race day. Michel Fabrizio 1m45.4s “Fastest in both the free practice and first qualifying, yes I’d say it’s all going well so far. This weekend will be hard and Nori and Spies are on the pace but I’d really love to score my first win here at Monza and think that I can do a good job this weekend. In these last two weeks I have really thought hard about what’s needed and what’s needed is a win, to relieve some pressure, to boost by confidence and help take me to that next level. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s sessions.” Noriyuki Haga 1m45.7s “It’s gone very well today yes. Unfortunately the track conditions are not as good as they were during testing here a couple of weeks ago but finally we got under the 1m45 barrier and feeling has improved throughout the day even if I hope to find more improvements tomorrow by changing a few things. We’re still not sure about the tyres but it will be interesting to see how we go tomorrow morning. So far, so good I think.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes gave a tantalizing glimpse of his race pace today in the first qualifying session at the historic Monza circuit. The British rider put in strong consistent fats laps for the duration of the session, ending it in second place, just over 0.3 seconds behind leader Michele Fabrizio. Sykes had been fast all day and had spent the morning and the qualifying session fine tuning the set up for the weekend’s racing. He finished the morning ‘s free practice session in third place, just behind his team-mate. Ben Spies was in equally reliable form in the Italian sunshine, focusing on tyre wear and race pace he ran consistent laps all day, finishing the afternoon’s qualifying session in seventh position, less than 0.3 of a second off Sykes. The American rider spent the entire qualifying session on a single set of tyres to test the wear rate on the warm circuit. The morning’s free practice session saw Spies predictably fast on a circuit he’s coming to know well through testing, he finished the session second, less than 0.3 seconds behind the leader. Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1’45.758) “A fairly decent day to day to be honest, we came here with a big change from the test we had here which has taken a fair bit of balancing but I think we’ve done it. Overall I’m very happy with my race tyres, we’re doing consistent fast laps over race distance so I’m confident in the team’s ability and tomorrow I think we’ll come out even stronger. I’m going to have a good sleep tonight and come back tomorrow with a fresh head and be even better!” Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (7th, 1’46.013) “It was a really good session for us. We pretty much found our race tyres , we only ran one set for the whole session and put in some really good lap times. We weren’t really worried about fast lap times today, we just wanted to get consistent laps so we should be good for Sunday. It’s an 18 lap race and our fastest lap today was the 22nd one so it’s looking good. The bike’s working really well so we’ll step it up tomorrow and see what happens.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “A good session for us, we were working to find the best set up for the race I think we’re pretty ready. We’ve made no major changes from the previous test here, just some small changes to improve and fine tune. The race pace was good so we’re satisfied, I think we are 90% there for Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Team Sterilgarda had a positive day 1 at Monza as Shane Byrne continued the work he started last week when he won round two of the Italian Superbike Championship. The British rider has a better feeling with the track now and, as a result, he set better times compared to a week ago. However, Byrne is confident he can be even faster tomorrow when the starting grid will be decided after the Superpole. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R: “We’ve done a great job today. I pushed a little bit more and fortunately didn’t have any problems throughout the entire day. However, I do have a slight issue when I enter the fastest corner and there is a gap between my time and the fastest time of the day. Nonetheless, I’m confident for tomorrow and I’ll do my best to get a good starting position, possibly in the first rows”. More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Kiyonari satisfied with Monza day one Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari, set the 11th fastest time in today’s opening qualifying session for round five of the 2009 World Superbike championship event at Monza in Italy. Provisional pole position was secured by Italian Michel Fabrizio, but the Japanese ace was little more than half a second off Fabrizio’s time and Kiyonari is confident of further improvement with his Honda Genuine Accessories-backed CBR1000RR Fireblade tomorrow. Ryuichi Kiyonari P11, 1’46.171s I’m losing a bit of time in the middle section of the lap from the second chicane round to Ascari. But the problem is me; when I’m riding on my own, I’m braking too late into the corners and maybe a little too confident in the front! When I’m with other riders, it’s not a problem, so I just need to work on that tomorrow. Everywhere else I’m OK and I’m very happy with the bike. I haven’t tried a long run yet, either, so we’ll do that tomorrow as well. Ronald ten Kate team manager Kiyo-san seems quite confident in most areas and we know how well he can go here from his podium result last year. We also know that the bike is easily fast enough, so I think that we know which areas to work on. We made some progress with the bike before Assen and, although Kiyo wasn’t able to exploit it then, we’re confident he can do so here. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Competitive first day of Monza qualifying The first of the three Italian rounds in the World Superbike Championship took off at the Monza Park circuit today. The famously fast track – dubbed the Temple of Speed because of its long straights, wide curves and fast chicanes that provide the perfect scene for slip-streaming battles and full throttle action – enjoyed a competitive first day of qualifying. After dominating the first Free Practice session, Italian rider Michel Fabrizio shot to the top of the sheets once again in the Qualifying Practice, closely followed by Yamaha rider Tom Sykes in second, and Ducati team mate Noriyuki Haga in third. Stiggy Racing Honda’s Leon Haslam opened his first session on the fast track in a best time of 1’47.268s, and managed to take another second off in the Qualifying session. He remained 0.7s off the pace ran by Fabrizio, and finished the first day of qualifying in 12th position in a best time of 1’46.208s. American Formula Extreme Champion Jake Zemke made his first appearance aboard the Stiggy Racing Honda in the Superbike series today, and focused on getting used to the behaviour of his new bike and the Pirelli tyres before setting out for a fast lap. Zemke opened things up in his second outing and managed to lower his time by almost 2 seconds in the qualifying session to a best of 1’47.751s, which currently puts him in 22nd position. Leon Haslam, WSBK: ” We made some progress today. We have been persevering with a different front end this weekend and did some back-to-back testing, which has put us in a good direction. We should be able to improve in the next session, although we are not a million miles away. I am running good lap times, and managed to set my fastest time in the tenth lap I did on my race tyre. I am pretty happy with the progression we have been able to make so far. There’s a few areas we want to improve on, we want to work on the suspension a bit more, but other then that I am comfortably looking forward to tomorrow’s qualifying. Jake Zemke, WSBK: ” I am satisfied with today’s progress. We could have been better, but I am starting to feel comfortable on the bike and understand it, which is the main thing at the moment. We are working in that direction, and definitely got better in the last laps. I was actually a little upset with myself as I thought we had to qualify for Superpole today, but fortunately, we have another chance tomorrow. There’s definitely more in store, so the lap times will have to come down tomorrow, and I will hopefully be able to qualify for a competitive position on the grid”. Johan Stigefelt, Teammanager: ” It’s been a satisfying day for us. Jake is making his first appearance here with the team, and so far everything is been going well. It is not an easy track to start your first race, but it looks promising and I’m convinced he will improve tomorrow. Leon has been running a competitive pace here. The crew will make some further changes to his bike and test some different parts, but we are heading in the right direction and hopefully will bring both riders in a good position for the Superpole qualifying tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: It wasn’t the easiest day for Troy on the first day of qualifying at Monza, but he and the team have looked at all the data and telemetry and have a good idea of what to change for tomorrow. Troy started with the set-up he and the team found when they tested at Monza a month ago, but the bike did not work the same way. Because of that, the team struggled a little to find the right direction and will now have to hope that their solutions for tomorrow will be the correct ones. Italian Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) posted the fastest time today, with a lap of 1:45.447, three tenths of a second ahead of Tom Sykes (Yamaha). Third is Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), with Jonathan Rea (Honda) fourth. Troy – 15th, 1:46.565 I think we may have got into a bit of a confusion today and for a while it seemed that whatever we did made no effect whatsoever. We found a pretty good base set-up when we were here a month ago and that’s what we started with today. I don’t know if it’s because the grip level was so different then to now, but my bike just didn’t work the way we expected. My crew and I looked at all the info and had a long talk about what to do, so now it’s a case of trying out our ideas tomorrow and making progress. But, I’m pretty confident that we know what to do and that we will improve. More, from a press release issued by BMW: RUBEN AND TROY 14TH AND 15TH ON DAY ONE. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser ended the first day of qualifying with the 14th and 15th fastest times, but are only a second or so away from the provisional pole setter. Ruben and Troy tested at Monza a month ago and began today by using the set-ups they found then, but their bikes did not work as well or in same way. So once again today was all about working with different set-ups, trying different ideas and finding the right direction for tomorrow. Italian Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) led the charge today, with a lap of 1:45.447, three tenths of a second ahead of Tom Sykes (Yamaha). Third is Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), with Jonathan Rea (Honda) fourth. Ruben – 14th, 1:46.545 I have raced here many times and on many different bikes and I can tell you that this track has secrets. It is a track where you have to be good on the brakes and the bike has to be stable on braking as well. If you have that, then you can get a good drive exiting the turns and that can means you can make good lap times. At the moment, we haven’t got the bike working the best way and so to finish just a second slower then the fastest rider is pretty good I think. Troy – 15th, 1:46.565 Maybe we got a little confused today because we started with the same set-up we found when we here a month or so ago, and the bike felt completely different. We made some fairly big changes to the bike from the first to the second sessions today, but the bike felt the same. For me, the track feels as if it has more grip then when we tested here. After qualifying, I sat with the team and we analysed all the data and I feel sure we know what we have to do for tomorrow and that we will definitely improve. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) This was a tough day for Ruben and Troy and it seems that we couldn’t work with the set-up we found in the tests. Both riders experienced some problems, but both have given the team a lot of feedback and information to improve the bike tomorrow. I am hopeful that the ideas will work out to be in the right direction and Ruben and Troy can end the day ready for the race on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Following a very public display of solidarity by the World Superbike Championship riders on the start grid at Assen in support for the Abruzzo community a charity auction is planned to give further help. Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes have joined others in donating personal items to help raise money for the cause. As an Italian based team, it was only natural that Yamaha wanted to give something special. Following the first free session on Friday at the Monza circuit, Yamaha rider Ben Spies decided he wanted to make it personal so signed the HJC helmet he’d used for the session and handed it over for the auction. Team-mate Tom Sykes took time out after the session to sign some items of Yamaha Racing clothing to join the donations. Both HJC and the Yamaha team were delighted to be able to offer something to help those affected by the tragic earthquake that hit the community of Abruzzo so tragically on April 6th. The items collected from the riders will be up for auction in the World Superbike paddock show at Monza following Superpole on the Saturday afternoon. Racing legend and 2008 World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss will be present to help auction the unique racing items and raise money for the worthy cause. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Max Neukirchner and Yukio Kagayama ended the first day of World Superbike qualifying at Monza in Italy with the fifth and sixth quickest laps and are well placed for the charge in qualifying and Superpole tomorrow. Neither Neukirchner nor Kagayama were completely happy after the first qualifying, but both are confident of big improvements tomorrow. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) set the day’s fastest time with a lap of 1:45.44, over a second inside the lap record. Second today was Tom Sykes (Yamaha) with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) third and Jonathan Rea (Honda) fourth. Max Neukirchner – 5th, 1:45.962: “I think many people forget that our bike is a completely new bike this year, but every time we go out, we improve it a little. The track grip level seemed better when we tested than today, but that also might be because there was a lot of rain here on Wednesday. At the moment we’re not so far away from a good set-up, though of course we are always looking for the best. Today I could not get on the gas exiting the turns as fast as I wanted to, so we will try and improve that tomorrow. Here, it’s important to be on the first two rows of the grid and that is what I will be chasing in qualifying and Superpole. Yukio Kagayama – 6th, 1:45.985: My race weekend Fridays are usually not so bad, but what is important is what happens on Saturdays and Sundays! I began today with the set-up we found when we tested here a month ago and it was not so bad, except that today I had more problems with rear grip. Also, we need to improve the braking to make sure that I can brake hard and then get on the gas quickly. Monza is a fast track and I like this kind of a circuit, so I will be going very hard for good results on Sunday. Friday WSB qualifying: 1 Fabrizio (I-Ducati) 1:45.447, 2 Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1:45.758, 3 Haga (J-Ducati) 1:45.790, 4 Rea (GB-Honda) 1:45.919, 5 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:45.962, 6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:45.985. SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti ended the first day’s practice at Monza with the fourth quickest time despite not pushing hard. Xavi Simeon (Ducati) finished the session with the quickest lap, with Dominico Colucci (Ducati) second and Loris Baz (Yamaha) third. Claudio Corti – 4th, 1:50.136: “I think today was quite a good day and fourth fastest is perfectly OK considering that I felt that the track was a bit dirty so I didn’t push very hard. We tried some new suspension today but I didn’t feel the bike was any better, so I think that we’ll go back to the older stuff tomorrow. Monza is a track where it is important to have a fast bike and where slipstreaming can play a vital part. But my intention on Sunday is to be out in front and not have to worry about slipstreaming at all. Hopefully my plans will work out. Friday Superstock 1000 results: 1 Simeon (B-Ducati) 1:49.522, 2 Colucci (I-Ducati) 1:50.127, 3 Baz (F-Yamaha) 1:50.128, 4 Claudio Corti (I-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:50.136, 5 Berger (F-Honda) 1:50.311, 6 Fores (E-Kawasaki) 1:50.400. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group/InFront Motorsports: MONZA 5th ROUND 8th, 9th and 10th MAY 2009 Monza, Friday 8th May 2009 Fabrizio dominates opening day of qualifying at Monza Ducati Xerox’s Michel Fabrizio dominated the opening day of World Superbike qualifying at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. After setting the quickest time in the morning’s free practice, the Italian then did the same in the afternoon qualifying session to record a time of 1 minute 45.447 seconds. Fabrizio strung together a series of quick laps at the end of the session, clearly staking an early claim for the wins on Sunday. Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) put in a quick lap at the end of the session to prevent a Ducati 1-2, the British rider heading the points leader Noriyuki Haga by just three-hundredths of a second. The provisional front row was completed by another British rider, Jonathan Rea, who took his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda to fourth place. Fifth and sixth slots on the second row of the grid went to the competitive Suzuki pairing of Max Neukirchner and Yukio Kagayama, the only other riders under the 1’46″ mark. Once again Superbike qualifying proved to be a hard-fought affair, with 13 riders separated by less than a second. Seventh quickest time went to Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike),who finished ahead of Max Biaggi on the Aprilia. BMW once again placed its two riders in the top 15, with Ruben Xaus two-hundredths of a second ahead of his team-mate Troy Corser. Shinya Nakano’s difficult moment continued for Aprilia with the Japanese rider crashing out in the afternoon. Times: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’45.447; 2. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’45.758; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’45.790; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’45.919; 5. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’45.962; 6. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’45.985; 7. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’46.013; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’46.054; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.140; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’46.164; 11. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.171; 12. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.208; 13. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’46.363; 14. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.545; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.565; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’46.566 World Supersport Points leader Cal Crutchlow was quickest in today’s free practice session with a time of 1 minute 50.594 seconds. The Yamaha World Supersport man was pushed hard all the way by a trio of riders made up of Spanish talent Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec), Australian Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) of France, all four split by three-tenths. Matthieu Lagrive (Honda Althea) was in fifth place, but half-a-second off the pace, with the rest over one second off the pole time. A surprising sixth place went to top Italian Danilo Dell’Omo (Kuja Racing Honda), with Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki Provec) next up and Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s champion pairing Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu in eighth and ninth. Winner of two races this year Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) fared even worse, the Irishman finishing just outside the top 10. Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.594; 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’50.605; 3. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’50.749; 4. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.934; 5. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.474; 6. Dell’Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.783; 7. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’51.860; 8. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.920 Superstock 1000 Two Ducati 1098 machines took the top two places in Superstock 1000 free practice. Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) was the only rider to dip under the 1’50″ mark with 1 minute 49.522 seconds, the Belgian firing in his quickest time a few minutes before the end of the session. Second place today went to Domenico Colucci (Barni Racing), the wild-card rider and winner of the Italian championship round here at Monza last Sunday. The provisional front row was made up of emerging French youngster Loris Baz (MRS Yamaha) and Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare). Fifth place went to another Frenchman Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), who won the last round at Assen. Javi Fores (Pedercini Kawasaki), Rene Mahr (TKR Suzuki) and Ismael Ortega (Pedercini Kawasaki) completed the second row. Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1’49.522; 2. Colucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’50.127; 3. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’50.128; 4. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’50.136; 5. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.311; 6. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’50.400; 7. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’50.536; 8. Ortega I. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’50.982 Superstock 600 Italians totally dominated the first session of Superstock 600 free practice, with race favourites and Yamaha Trasimeno team-mates Danilo Petrucci and Marco Bussolotti powering to the top two slots. Last weekend’s CIV winner Ferruccio Lamborghini (Media Action Yamaha) was third, ahead of Eddi La Marra (Lorini Honda) and Fabio Massei (M2 Yamaha), another wild-card. The first non-Italian on the provisional grid was Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) in sixth while Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) could only manage ninth, more than two seconds off the pace of Petrucci. Times: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’54.500; 2. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’54.659; 3. Lamborghini F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’55.179; 4. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’55.330; 5. Massei F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’55.888; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’55.926; 7. Chmielewski A. (POL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.113; 8. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.295