Parkes On World Supersport Pole At Monza

Parkes On World Supersport Pole At Monza

© 2008, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Injured Jones shows Brit grit PARKALGAR HONDA’S Craig Jones rode through the pain barrier with a broken left hand to improve his lap times from yesterday and secure 12th place on the grid for tomorrow’s fifth round of the World Supersport Championship at the incredibly fast Monza circuit in Italy. British ace Jones crashed in the morning practice session when his rear tyre went off track and lost traction. He immediately knew he had broken his hand and was so sure he borrowed a phone from a marshal and called his girlfriend Karen to tell her. The doctor found he had broken the fifth metatarsal near his wrist. The mobile clinic injected and bandaged it so he could ride in the afternoon qualifying. Parkalgar Honda’s Portuguese racer Miguel Praia took nearly three quarters of a second off his lap time from yesterday and qualified 19th. It is his second best qualification position of the year so he is optimistic for the race. Yamaha’s Broc Parkes is on pole position. The fifth round of the World Supersport race at the 5.793km Monza track takes place at 1320 CET on Sunday, May 11th. It can be viewed live on www.worldsbk.com. Craig Jones: “The mobile clinic patched me up pretty well but even then I had to really bite the screen and give it all I could to put in a fast lap it was extremely painful. It is my clutch hand which is a small mercy because if it had been my throttle hand it would have been much worse. “My Parkalgar Honda has been brilliant this weekend and its high top speed certainly helped me make a good lap. Thank you to my team for the bike and also for fixing my number one CBR600 between sessions so I could use my quickest machine in qualifying. With such a quick bike I think I’ll make up places tomorrow in the race; realistically, the top 10 would be good but I’ll be trying for higher and top five if possible.” Miguel Praia: “Compared to my previous best at this circuit I am miles ahead this year and that is good. I am near my target for finishing in the points and I want to get into the top 15 in the race. “My Parkalgar Honda is absolutely fantastic and feels just how I want it to. I must say a big thank you to my team for all their hard work and preparing such a good motorcycle.” Simon Buckmaster, Team Manager: “I am really proud of Craig and how he has ridden today. I would have preferred he didn’t crash and was on pole position, but given his hand injury, to go out in qualifying and improve his lap time on yesterday is simply astounding. It’ll be difficult to win for sure but a top 10 finish is on the cards. After the accident, any points will be a bonus from this round. “Miguel is on great form. He improved on his lap times a lot and that sort of approach is what has helped him to a decent position on the grid. His CBR600 is very fast so we expect him to have a good race. “Well done to the whole Parkalgar Honda team for reacting so positively and professionally to the bit of bad luck we have suffered. The bikes that the technicians have prepared are absolutely top notch there isn’t a better bike or crew in the Championship.” Qualifying Times: 1: B Parkes, AUS, (Yamaha) 1:49.868 2: J Brookes, AUS, (Honda) +0.466 3: F Foret, FRA, (Yamaha) +0.552 4: M Roccoli, ITA, (Yamaha) +0.665 5: J Rea, GBR, (Honda) +0.879 6: G Vizziello, ITA, (Honda) +0.932 12: CRAIG JONES, GBR, (PARKALGAR HONDA) +1.482 19: MIGUEL PRAIA, POR, (PARKALGAR HONDA) +2.190.

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