FIM Supersport World Championship Autodromo Algarve Portimao, Portugal November 1, 2008 Final Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.156 2. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:45.226 3. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:45.587 4. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.629 5. Gianluca NANNELLI (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.712 6. Joan LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.872 7. Josh BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.904 8. Josh HAYES (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.996 9. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.091 10. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.092 11. Mark AITCHISON (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:46.149 12. Russel HOLLAND (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.163 13. Robbin HARMS (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.194 14. David SALOM (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:46.381 15. Simone SANNA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.381 16. Fabien FORET (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:46.417 17. Didier VAN KEYMEULEN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:46.531 18. Miguel PRAIA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.554 19. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:46.630 20. Garry MCCOY (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:46.756 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Second row for hard-riding Hayes PARKALGAR HONDA’S Josh Hayes will start tomorrow’s 13th and final round of the World Supersport Championship from eighth on the second row of the grid at the fantastic new Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park in Portugal the home to the team’s main sponsor. In dry and warm conditions, the double Formula Extreme Champion pushed as hard as he dared at the picturesque circuit, running consistent and fast lap times, finishing less than a second behind pole-sitter Kenan Sofuoglu. At his home track Parkalgar Honda’s Miguel Praia showed flashes of real brilliance but struggled to bring it all together on a single lap, eventually finishing a frustrated 18th. Wild-card Parkalgar Honda racer for the round Simone Sanna from Italy left his best to last and on his final lap secured 15th on the grid and is positive that with some changes to his bike he can improve his lap times for the race. The 13th and final round of the World Supersport Championship takes place at the 4-592km Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park near Portimao in Portugal on Sunday, November 2nd at 1320CET. It is the first major event to be held at the all-new five-star track facility and a huge 50,000+ crowd is expected to visit. Tickets are available on line from www.autodromodoalgarve.com. Hayes: “I was trying out there and maybe I was trying a little too hard at times and that might not have helped. It is my best qualifying position to date and I am happy with that, the second row is OK. I can repeat the lap times very consistently and that will count in the race, I am still confident we can achieve a podium finish here and that’s my target to thank the team for its faith in me.” Praia: “I have good speed through many of the different sectors but couldn’t do them all during one lap – if I had then I would have been higher up the starting order. My Parkalgar Honda is good and 18th gives me a good chance to fight in the points or even the top 10. This is my home round and the circuit that sponsors my team so I will do all I can to get well inside the top 10 in the race.” Sanna: “I tried really hard and have gone much faster than any other sessions or tests. I would like some changes to my bike for tomorrow to help with some chatter through the forks and to speed up my direction changes. I think if we can do this then a good result is possible.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Josh really put the effort in and a second row start is fine for the race, he has the consistency to be fighting for the podium and that’s what we are looking for. Miguel is happy with his Parkalgar Honda and a bit unlucky to finish in 18th as the times are very close and half a second quicker would have challenged for the second row. A good start will be needed and with his determination in front of a home crowd, I think a career best result is possible. Simone continues to impress and 15th is excellent given his time away from riding and racing. There is a lot more to come and if we can get his bike working to his liking tomorrow he could easily be racing at the sharp end. “The lap times continue to tumble as the riders learn the circuit and more rubber is laid on the track. It is an absolutely spectacular venue, certainly one of the best circuits in the world and I urge everyone who can to visit tomorrow, it’s going to be a spectacular end to the 2009 season and inauguration of the circuit to Superbike racing.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Parkes second in qualifying at a dry Portimao Day two at the all-new Portimao circuit went to plan for Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and on a dry track surface he came close to pole with his second best time of the weekend. He starts the 20-lap Supersport race from a coveted front row grid placing. Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) was making great strides towards the top grid slots at one stage but could not improve his front-end feel enough to allow him to join Parkes, and he finished 16th fastest. He will therefore start the final race of 2008 from the fourth row. After the first wet qualifying session on Friday the team attempted to evaluate dry weather race tyres today and will continue to make final checks on raceday morning, before committing to their final tyre and set-up choices. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a difficult final qualifying session, finding his front suspension difficult to tune to the circuit as the new asphalt offered up more and more grip. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was an impressive 14th in a race close to his home base in Spain. Broc Parkes (2nd – 1’45.226 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “That was pretty good today but we didn’t use as many tyres in the qualifying session as we expected. We tried to see which tyres would last the distance rather than going for a single fast lap until nearer the end. I put in a good lap close to the finish but I met some traffic and lost a tenth or so on my potential best time. I’m on the front row, and that is always good. I think we have a good set-up and starting off the front row is very important there, because there are not a lot of places that you can overtake. I need to get off the line smoothly and I think tyre wear may be a big factor in the race this weekend.” Fabien Foret (16th – 1’46.417 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I had some problems with the suspension because I did not have a good feeling, and then I hit some traffic at the end. I could not find a clear lap. I am disappointed to be only 16th so I want to get a good race done tomorrow and then think about next year.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “It all came together a bit better in the dry on Broc’s side of the garage and Fabien tried hard to make a good grid spot, but maybe a little too hard. He had some difficulties with the feel from the front so he is not in an ideal position. Let us wait and see tomorrow. Everybody has lost one day in terms of tyre choice, and the track surface is changing constantly, so we still have something to do to in warm-up tomorrow.” Massimo Roccoli (19th – 1’46.381 seconds – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “I was happy to be riding in the dry today but I found the front end really bouncing around and that made finding the correct lines and a good lap time very difficult. I am still not 100% happy with my knowledge of the circuit but I expect to make improvements before we start racing tomorrow and I hope for a good result to finish the year on a high.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Kenan Sofuoglu underlined his impressive return to the HANNspree Ten Kate World Supersport team today by taking pole position for tomorrow’s final 2008 race at Portimao in Portugal. The Turkish rider will be joined on the front row for the 20-lap race at the all-new 4.5km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve by his team-mate and 2008 World Supersport champion, Andrew Pitt, who set the fourth fastest time in today’s second qualifying session. Kenan Sofuoglu P1, 1m46.430s Yesterday was wet and, although everything felt great, I still wasn’t sure how things would be in the dry today. But I got a great feeling from the CBR600RR and everything went fantastically well today too. I didn’t have to try so hard on my fastest lap but after that I tried to improve and started to lean the bike a lot. But I was always in control because this is just my bike it feels like a part of me. Andrew Pitt P4 1m47.202s I’m happy enough to be starting from the front row. I pushed really hard at the end but the combination of a bit of traffic and a couple of mistakes from me didn’t let me go any faster. My only real concern is the rear tyre for tomorrow because it’s been tearing up a bit on this new surface. Other than that, the bike is great and everything feels really good. Big congratulations to Kenan, too the whole team is really happy for him. Ronald ten Kate team manager I’m very happy to have both guys on the front row for the race it just shows the good work of the team and riders together, because going fast on this new track is a big challenge. Kenan’s return to this side of the garage has been stunning so far, and hopefully he can turn it into a podium tomorrow. With Andrew, we know that on race day he always finds an extra gear and, with the pressure of the championship no longer on his shoulders, I’m sure we’ll see an exciting race tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Triumph Italia Be1 Racing: Team BE1 Racing has everything ready to face the last round of the season. Tomorrow morning, on Portimao brand new track, the three riders of the team leaded by Giuliano Rovelli will challenge the race which will say goodbye to all the followers of the SuperSport championship. The race is expected to be an hard-fought battle, in which Mark Aitchison will start from the third line, Garry McCoy from the fifth one, and Ivan Clementi from the seventh row. The starting positions were settled in just one timed session due to the rain which fell yesterday. Gaps are really thin and the goal of the team is to place two riders at least in the top ten. IVAN CLEMENTI | Triumph 675 | 25th qualified in 1’47.994: “I’ve got several problems especially on the rear. I have been not able to find a setting which suits my riding style on this track. In tomorrow morning warm-up I will test some solution in order to find the balancing which can help me to close the season with a great result”. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | 11th qualified in 1’46.149: “I grabbed a good starting position and I will try to capitalize it. On this track I’ve found immediately a good feeling and I hope to make a good performance although it will be an hard-fought battle”. GARRY McCOY | Triumph 675 | 20th qualified in 1’46.756: “I’m not worried by the starting position. I will sprint from the fifth line but it’s easy to pass on this track and my race pace is pretty good. If I had carried on using soft tyres during the timed session I would have recorded a better time. On the contrary I tested harder tyres which enhanced my traction on one hand, but on the other hand it changed the reaction of the bike which gave me problem just out of the corners. This data will be useful tomorrow during the race in which I would like to be among the bests”.