FIM Superbike World Championship Assen, Netherlands April 24, 2009 First Qualifying Session Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Ben SPIES (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.747 2. Jakub SMRZ (Duc 1098R), 1:39.055 3. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.128 4. Carlos CHECA (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.141 5. Michel FABRIZIO (Duc 1098 F09), 1:39.238 6. Regis LACONI (Duc 1098R), 1:39.246 7. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.265 8. Jonathan REA (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.359 9. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.506 10. Leon HASLAM (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:39.585 11. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:39.597 12. Noriyuki HAGA (Duc 1098 F09), 1:39.621 13. Shane BYRNE (Duc 1098R), 1:39.784 14. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.897 15. Tom SYKES (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.899 16. Max BIAGGI (Apr RSV4 Factory), 1:39.934 17. Shinya NAKANO (Apr RSV4 Factory), 1:40.199 18. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:40.349 19. Tommy HILL (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:40.617 20. David SALOM (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.853 21. Brendan ROBERTS (Duc 1098R), 1:40.944 22. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:41.014 23. Luca SCASSA (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.085 24. Makoto TAMADA (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.165 25. Stuart EASTON (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.355 26. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.363 27. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:41.823 28. Roland RESCH (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:41.978 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Carlos Checa today put his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade on the provisional front row for Sunday’s two fourth round 2009 World Superbike Championship races at Assen in Holland. America’s Ben Spies was fastest in today’s hour-long qualifying session, with Jakub Smrz and Yukio Kagayama joining him and Checa in the top four, while the 13 fastest riders were separated by just one second. Checa’s team-mate, Jonathan Rea, was eighth fastest today, as the Dutch Ten Kate team continues to work hard for good results at its home round. Carlos Checa P4, 1’39.141s We have tried to test many new things today, including a longer exhaust, which I felt quite a good connection with. We have ended up with two possible solutions and I am pretty happy with the race set-up with both. The tyres are working well and, although there is still a bit of chatter, it’s nothing like as bad as it was in Qatar and Valencia. I’m happy with my position at the moment and I am quite confident that we will be able to improve the feeling of the bike even more tomorrow. Jonathan Rea P8, 1’39.359s I have to say that it’s been a really positive day. The guys have worked so hard since Valencia and we arrived here with the main issue fixed, so I really have to thank the team for putting in such an effort. There are a couple of smaller problems that have now been uncovered, but I’m confident that we will be able to iron those out tomorrow. I was able to put some consistently good laps together towards the end of the session, when I did my quickest lap, so I’m happy. The CBR is really fun to ride again! Ronald ten Kate team manager It’s been a good start to the weekend. We had quite some parts and settings to test here at Assen a lot of them have brought positive improvements to the bike and we still have some more to test tomorrow. Even though it’s still early days in the weekend, everyone in the team feels a sense of relief after Valencia and the atmosphere has lifted. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM REMAINS CONFIDENT AFTER FIRST QUALFIYING AT ASSEN Assen (The Netherlands) Friday 24th April The Ducati Xerox Team concluded the first day of the race weekend at the TT Circuit of Assen in warm, dry conditions. The two factory riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio completed the early afternoon free practice session among the fastest ten riders; Noriyuki did not experience any particular set-backs while Michel felt he was suffering from a lack of rear grip. Later on, in the first qualifying session, nearly all of the Superbike riders were faster than they had been in the practice. Fabrizio continued to suffer from the same grip issues at the start but then found a solution on the latter part of the session that he felt more comfortable with, allowing him to register the fifth fastest time of the day. His team-mate Haga closed in twelfth position but remains positive ahead of tomorrow’s second qualifying. The fastest 16 riders today lapped in under 1m40 and all within a second of each other, with the exception of Spies who was the only man to duck under 1m39. Michel Fabrizio 1m39.2s “I am feeling fairly happy with today’s performance. I am losing a few tenths, all in the first split and that has to be resolved tomorrow. I think we’ve already identified a rear tyre solution for the race but we’re still unsure as to the front. I had some grip problems with the front today but towards the end of the qualifying the feeling I had with the bike began to improve so we hope that we can continue to make improvements tomorrow too.” Noriyuki Haga 1m39.6s “It’s been a fairly positive day and I’m feeling comfortable. The only real problem is that we have good rear traction that means we are consuming tyres too quickly. So tomorrow we need to find a way to increase the life of the tyres without losing grip. So although I wasn’t fastest today, the Race is Sunday and as far as I’m concerned, the sessions on Friday are for finding solutions for the race. Tomorrow I aim to qualify at the front of the grid.” More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda: Ten Kate Racing Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari has a provisional third row grid position for Sunday’s two fourth round World Superbike championship races at Assen in Holland. The Japanese ace fired his Honda Genuine Accessories-backed CBR1000RR around the 4.55km circuit in 1’39.506s for the ninth fastest time. America’s Ben Spies once again set the pace to take provisional pole position but Kiyonari is less than 0.4s off a front row slot as the top 13 riders are separated by just one second. His Ten Kate Honda team-mates, Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea, set the fourth and eighth fastest times respectively, as Kiyonari looks forward to tomorrow’s further qualifying and Superpole sessions to determine the final grid positions for Sunday’s two 22-lap races. Ryuichi Kiyonari P9, 1’39.506s I found it difficult to push the front in some areas today but overall the balance of the bike is good. We may try a softer spring tomorrow but we will have to look at all the data tonight. We only tested two tyre options today, so there is some more work to do there as well. I am a little bit faster than last year, but so is everybody else I really need to get the hairpin right to get the right acceleration for the back straight. Ronald ten Kate team manager Yes, it’s been quite a positive day and we have tried some different parts and settings with the bike. The important thing was to improve the performance after Valencia and I think we have started well on the road towards this objective. We will all sit down tonight and study areas of potential improvement with a view to get Kiyo-san higher up the grid for Sunday’s races than he has been so far this season. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group/InFront Motor Sports: Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) powered to the provisional pole at the end of the first day of action at Assen. The Texan, a total newcomer to the Dutch track, set an impressive time of 1 minute 38.747 seconds, four-tenths of a second away from last year’s record time of Bayliss in qualifying, but which was obtained on qualifying tyres. Spies was the only rider to dip under the 1’39 mark, but the session was a hard-fought affair as behind the Yamaha there were 15 riders in the space of 1 second. Second time of the day went to Jakub Smrz (Ducati Guandalini), a fraction ahead of the four-cylinder machines of Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) and Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Fifth place went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), the first Italian in the standings, while a convincing Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX) and the other Suzuki Alstare machine of Max Neukirchner, together with Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) make up the provisional front row. Troy Corser put in another positive performance on his BMW S1000 RR to take the eleventh quickest slot, one position in front of the championship leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who lapped in a good race pace. Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) crashed out towards the end of the session, while Assen proved to be an unfortunate circuit once again for John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda), who crashed heavily in the morning’s free practice session. The American dislocated his left hip in the crash and will miss the race. Tomorrow a decision will be taken on any eventual further measures and how long he needs for recovery. Results: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’38.747; 2. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’39.055; 3. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’39.128; 4. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.141; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’39.238; 6. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’39.246; 7. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’39.265; 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.359; 9. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.506; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.585; 11. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’39.597; 12. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’39.621; 13. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’39.784; 14. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’39.897; 15. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’39.899; 16. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’39.934 World Supersport Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) was quickest off the mark in Supersport today. Following the disappointment of Valencia, the Spanish rider gave further confirmation of his prowess and progress in the Netherlands as he powered to a time of 1 minute 41.650 seconds in free practice. The only other rider close to Lascorz was Valencia winner Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport), two-tenths off the pole pace. The front row was completed by rapidly-improving Italian Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda). Row 2 went to Australian Garry McCoy with the first Be1 Racing Triumph, with Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda), Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Dutch rider Barry Veneman (Hoegee Suzuki) alongside. 2008 champion and Assen race winner Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) could only manage the ninth quickest time. Results: 1. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’41.650; 2. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’41.869; 3. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.081; 4. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.164; 5. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1’42.168; 6. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.427; 7. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.428; 8. Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 1’42.490 Superstock 1000 The opening Superstock 1000 session was dominated by Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda). On his team’s home track, the Frenchman was immediately on the pace, setting a 1 minute 42.775 seconds at the start of the session, a time that never came under threat from his adversaries. Second-placed Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) was exactly one second behind, with Dutchman Raymond Schouten (VD Heyden Motors Yamaha) 1.2″ away. The overnight front row was completed by Italian Davide Giugliano with an MV Agusta. Last year’s European Superstock 600 champion Loris Baz (MRS Racing Yamaha) looks to be getting into his stride with seventh quickest time, while Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) couldn’t go any higher than ninth place. Results: 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’42.765; 2. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’43.753; 3. Schouten R. (NED) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.978; 4. Giugliano D. (ITA) MV Agusta F4 312 R 1’44.051; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’44.089; 6. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.287; 7. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’44.310; 8. Napoleone L. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’44.437 Superstock 600 Belgium’s Vincent Lonbois (MTM Racing Yamaha) set the fastest time of the day in 1 minute 45.039 seconds in the Superstock 600 free practice session. Yamaha totally dominated the day’s proceedings with eight YZF-R6 machines in the top 10 positions. Second place went to Valencia winner Danilo Petrucci, with Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) and Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) right behind. Dutch rider Joey Litjens (VD Heyden Motors Yamaha) gave the home crowd something to shout about with fifth quickest time ahead of Italy’s Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno). Results: 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.039; 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.271; 3. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.324; 4. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.665; 5. Litjens J. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.878; 6. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.319; 7. Van Leuven K. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.933; 8. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’47.276 More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Today was Shane Byrne’s first day of apprenticeship on the new Assen track. The English rider took twelfth time after the first session of free practice as he tried to get a good feeling with the track which suffered important modifications during the year 2006. Shane tested different types of setup during today’s two sessions and managed to find a satisfactory solution. Nonetheless, the bike needs to be improved in the faster parts of the track. The work will continue as the starting grid will be decided tomorrow at the end of Superpole. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | : “The track has changed a lot since I last time raced here in 2004 and 2005. I got used to it pretty quickly and set the second quickest time. Instead, I had some difficulties with the fast changes of direction where the bike seemed a bit rigid. We’ll definitely work on that with the team so that we can improve its behaviour on track and prepare ourselves for Sunday’s two races and tomorrow’s Superpole during which we must get a good starting position”. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “Shane did a good job today despite this being his first time on the track. He set some great times and provided the team the necessary information on the bike’s performance. I’m also happy for Alex Polita who was acquired by team Suzuki Supersport. I wish him all the best, hopefully he’ll have a good season because I know he’s a good rider”. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama ended the first day of practice and qualifying for the fourth round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen in Holland with the third quickest time of the day and is hoping to consolidate that position tomorrow and be ready to challenge for a podium on Sunday. His team mate Max Neukirchner finished seventh fastest today, but is confident of further improvement tomorrow. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) was the fastest rider today, with Jakob Smrz (Ducati) second and Carlos Checa (Honda) fourth. Yukio Kagayama – 3rd, 1:39.128: “I am quite happy to finish today third, but my aim is to still be third or higher after qualifying and Superpole and then challenge for a podium on race day. This is something that I will try very hard to do because I do not want to be low down the grid and have to fight to get through the field at the start of the race. “Today the grip level was not so good in the morning, but it was better in the afternoon; maybe because more rubber was down on the track. We need to do some more work on improving the engine braking and try and reduce the chattering at the rear end, but we have some ideas and we will try them out tomorrow.” Max Neukirchner – 7th, 1:39.265: “Today was not so bad and I am quite happy with what we did. I got into a good, quick rhythm this morning and put in quite a few good laps. The grip was better in the afternoon for sure; probably because more rubber was down and it was a good session for us. Tomorrow we will continue working on the set-up and deciding which tyres to use for the races. It’s important to find a tyre that has good grip and lasts ok and that’s what we try and sort out the best way.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY HAPPY WITH 11TH, DESPITE SORE HAND. Troy finished the first day of practice and qualifying at Assen with the 11th quickest lap time, but is satisfied that the work he and the team did today will reap dividends tomorrow. His lap of 1:39.597 was less than half a second off third place, so Troy knows that he is not far off the pace at all. The only problem for Troy today is that his left hand is playing up and that meant that he found it difficult getting the bike to change direction in the afternoon session. Also, it became a bit painful on hard braking, so Troy will have to see how it is tomorrow before pushing hard in Superpole. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) was the fastest rider today, with Jakob Smrz (Ducati) second, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) third and Carlos Checa (Honda) fourth. Troy – 11th, 1:39.597 It’s another new racetrack for us, so once again there’s lots to do and try out. Considering all the work we did, I am happy enough with 11th at the end of the day, especially when you think that I’m only half a second off third place! We have some ideas about what to do tomorrow and hopefully we can improve the bike. At the moment, it’s not the way I want it, so that’s something that we will have to work on tomorrow, but I’m sure we can make the bike better. My left hand is a bit sore after two sessions on the bike. I hurt it in the Monza tests recently and had it checked out afterwards to make sure nothing was broken. It was OK this morning, but it became quite a bit sore in the afternoon session and I found it hard changing direction. Also, it felt a bit painful when I braked hard for the turns. I’m hoping that it will improve overnight and I will be able to push as hard as I want tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR TROY, RUBEN AND THE TEAM ON DAY ONE. Another new racetrack for Troy, Ruben and the team, so once again it was down to the business of getting as much useful information as possible in a short as time as possible and preparing for tomorrow’s practice, qualifying and Superpole. The 4.555 kilometre Assen circuit started off a little dusty and dirty, but the grip level improved in the afternoon qualifying, even though the wind became a bit of a problem. Troy ended the day with the eleventh fastest time, but is less than half a second away from third place. Ruben finished the day 18th and both he and Troy will work on improving their bikes tomorrow and get ready for Superpole. American Ben Spies (Yamaha) was the fastest rider today, with Jakob Smrz (Ducati) second, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) third and Carlos Checa (Honda) fourth. Troy – 11th, 1:39.597 We have tried out loads of stuff today, so I think 11th is OK really. Also, we have some ideas about which direction to go in tomorrow, so it’s all pretty positive. My lap time is not so far off third place and I wasn’t pushing hard at all, so that’s also pretty good. At the moment, I haven’t got the bike the way I want it, so we’ll work on that tomorrow and see how much we can improve. The only downside at the moment is that my left hand is a bit sore. It’s the hand I hurt in the Monza tests recently and it wasn’t too bad this morning. But, in the afternoon session, I certainly knew about it and found it a bit hard changing direction and also on the brakes. We’ll have to see how it is tomorrow, but hopefully it will be better. Ruben – 18th, 1:4.349 The bike and chassis of this bike are great and I can feel everything that the team do to the bike. The bike has good power and it’s just a matter of controlling that power the way we want and putting it to good use. I feel a little bit frustrated because I think we are pretty close to what we need. We’re not a million miles away, but sometimes it is harder to find that last five or ten percent when it is so close by. Also, I normally go pretty well at Assen, so to be 18th today is not so good for me. But we’ve got lots of ideas and stuff to try tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be much higher up the grid by the end of the afternoon. Berti Hauser (Director BMW Motorrad Motorsport) A new track for us again and a track that feels very different to Valencia, so there is a lot of work to do. We’re still at the early stage of our adventure and we know that there is a lot of work to do, but I am very happy with the way everybody is working and how much we are improving. The tests at Monza recently gave us some ideas, but it wasn’t possible to implement all of them in time for this weekend. We are working hard to manage the power delivery of the bike. It’s an ongoing situation and quite normal at this stage of the bike’s development. There is so much work to do and one of the things we have to do is to try and match the character of rider to the bike or match the character of the bike to the rider. But, I am confident that we will get there. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: The Yamaha World Superbike Team got down to business as usual on the first day of qualifying in Assen today with star rider Ben Spies proving yet again that a lack of track knowledge wasn’t going to stop him being fastest man in the paddock. The American hotshot ended both the free practice and the qualifying session top of the time-sheets, laying down consistently fast laps from the word go. Team-mate Tom Sykes was consistent in both sessions but was still working through some small issues with the team to be able to get up to his American counterpart’s pace. A small crash at the very end of the qualifying on a new set of tyres resulted in no injuries for the British rider. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st 1’38.747) “It was a good session, we did half a race stint at the beginning on race tyres that already had ten laps on from free practice and were only a few tenths off the fastest time from the race last year over race distance so I was really happy. We then put some fresh race tyres on and the times just dropped dramatically and it seemed to come pretty easily. The bike’s working really well, there are a couple of things we still need to dial in but the track’s great and I’m having fun with it.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (15th 1’39.899) “I’ve got a couple of little problems which I feel are restricting me. I really want to pull the trigger and go but until we get to the bottom of these it’s a little bit tricky. I had a couple of problems with the front, and not been able to push that last little bit to make the difference round every corner. At the end I went into turn one, and thought I was doing everything right but just went down. It wasn’t a big one though, so looking forward to tomorrow. We’ve gathered a lot of information today so hopefully we can put it to good use in the morning. Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “It was a great day, neither of the riders knew the circuit but it seems this is not a problem for them. Ben led the first free practice and he’s also led the second qualifying practice which is great and the bike is working well for him. Tom fell at the end of the qualifying practice when he went out on a fresh set of tyres, looking for a good lap for the end of the session. I think his pace is good so let’s wait until tomorrow, we’ll check some data tonight and in the morning we’ll do something to improve.”