Spaniard Ismael Ortega took provisional pole in first qualifying for the third round of the Suzuki GSX-R Cup at the Nürburgring today. His time of 2:05.123 was nearly two tenths of a second faster then his nearest rival, Austrian Roland Resch. Third quickest today is German Tobias Gieseler, with Briton Jeremy McWilliams fourth. Ismael Ortega – 1st, 2:05.123 This is my first time at this circuit so I am very happy to be the fastest today. I like the layout and it is a very technical circuit because there are so many changes of direction and many ups and downs. It’s also quite bumpy in places, so it’s important to get a good bike set-up here. We started with the set-up we used in the last round in Monza and made some changes for this circuit. We found a good direction today and tomorrow I feel we can improve the bike some more. For me the grip has been OK, but I don’t think that the tyres can get up to temperature because it is so cold. I had many slides because of this. As the race is only eight laps, it is important to be on the front row of the grid and get a good start. The first turn is very tight and I’m sure that there will be a lot of action there. Hopefully, I can miss that and make my own race. Provisional Suzuki GSX-R Cup Qualifying Practice Results (all on Suzuki GSX-R750s and Pirelli tires): 1. Ismael ORTEGA (ESP), 2:05.123 2. Roland RESCH (AUT), 2:05.296 3. Tobias GIESELER (GER), 2:05.655 4. Jeremy McWILLIAMS (GBR), 2:05.721 5. E. JONCHIERE (FRA), 2:06.034 6. S. SALTARELLI (ITA), 2:06.105 7. K. WAHR (GER), 2:06.276 8. Dani RIBALTA (ESP), 2:06.525 9. F. KRESSE (GER), 2:06.624 10. D. JUHASZ (HUN), 2:06.791 18. Robertino PIETRI (VEN), 2:10.083