eni FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 11, 2013 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Knockout Session Three: 1. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:41.223 2. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:41.301 3. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:41.542 4. Jonathan REA, UK (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:41.798 5. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:41.819 6. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:41.926 7. Jules CLUZEL, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:42.680 8. Leon CAMIER, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:42.808 9. Chaz DAVIES, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.955 From Superpole Knockout Session Two: 10. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:42.469 11. Loris BAZ, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:42.726 12. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Ducati 1199 Panigale R), 1:43.801 From Superpole Knockout Session One: 13. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (Ducati 1199 Panigale R), 1:44.246 14. Fabrizio LAI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.883 15. Federico SANDI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.889 The Rest of the Grid: 16. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Ducati 1098R), 1:46.523 17. Kosuke AKIYOSHI, Japan (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:46.631 18. Vittorio IANNUZZO, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:46.827 19. Carlos CHECA (UNFIT), Spain (Ducati 1199 Panigale R), 1:44.763 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Sykes Sets A New Track Best To Win Superpole WSBK, Monza, Italy, 11 May 2013 KRT rider Tom Sykes posted a new track best at the ultra-fast Monza circuit to win his third Superpole contest in succession for the Kawasaki Racing Team. His team-mate Loris Baz was 11th. In dry conditions Sykes and his crew got the very best out the race spec Ninja ZX-10R around the 5.777km Monza circuit, with Sykes taking a narrow but deserved Superpole win after a strong late push. Eugene Laverty had scored a new best lap just before Tom completed his final run to pole but eventually Tom’s 1’41.223 lap time was enough to give him the honour of being fastest ever at this historic circuit. This was his 14th career Superpole win and his third in succession this season. A wet start to the weekend robbed all the competitors of some clear track time but it proved to be dry on the second day allowing good work to be done in preparation for Superpole and for race day. Loris Baz proved to have good race pace on race tyres in practice and had qualified eighth going into the Superpole contest. On qualifying tyres and for a single lap he could not break into a fast enough pace to challenge into the last part of Superpole and dropped to 11th on the grid. Fabrizio Lai (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) went 14th in Superpole and Federico Sandi (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) was 15th, meaning both riders will start from the fifth row at their home round. Tom Sykes: “I did not know the time Eugene had set but I knew that the Aprilias would be fast here. I am looking forward to tomorrow because we all have good race pace. In some areas we have an advantage and we got a new circuit record in Superpole, and the ideal starting position for tomorrow. I am looking forward to two exciting races. I like racing at Monza because the spectators are crazy like me! The fans are very enthusiastic and Monza is a very fast circuit. I hope to be very strong tomorrow.” Loris Baz: “We are not going so fast in a single lap and when you know what the problems is then OK, but right now we do not really know why. We are fighting and working hard. This morning was OK, with race tyres it was OK, but we need to make a step in qualifying to move up to the front. My regular pace is OK but we need to find some speed. We will try to find something in morning warm-up as well. We have good stability in braking and good grip but maybe manoeuvrability is the key because although the bike is working well I cannot go any faster. My top speed is not so far behind Tom, even here.” More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: Team Althea Racing – Monza SBK qualifying and Superpole The clouds and rain gave way to a beautiful day of sun today in Monza, although for the second qualifying session this morning the track was not completely dry. Davide Giugliano and his team continued to work on the set-up of their Aprilia RSV4 on the basis of the afternoon Superpole and the two races tomorrow. Giugliano therefore did not force his pace and with a time of 1’44 “639 finished the qualifying race and he ended up in sixth place overall, qualifying for his fourth Superpole of the season. In the free afternoon races the Althea team rider finished in seventh place with a time of 1’43 “322. In the first phase of the Superpole, Giugliano immediately improved his best time of the tests, and with a time of 1’42 “399 he finished in fourth place classifying for phase two. In the second race David lowered his best lap time with a time of 1’42″106 ending up in fifth place and accessing to the third and final phase of the Superpole. The young Althea rider provided yet another great performance, managing to break down the wall of 1’42 and clocking an excellent 1’41 “926 that allowed him to finish in sixth position and the second row in the two races that will take place tomorrow on the distance of 18 laps. Davide Giugliano: “We are constantly improving and I am extremely satisfied. We have made important progress over the weekend and in the end we also made a good Superpole. Certainly the sixth place finish does not satisfy me, because I am really only happy when start in the front row, but in Monza a second row start is not a drama, actually it might even be positive as the rider who has to battle for the lead must also bear great pressure and increased tire wear. Nonetheless, tomorrow’s races will be two difficult races but my bike is in perfect working condition and I’ll give it everything to gain good results. Thank you to my team who did a fantastic job as always. ” Genesio Bevilacqua: “We’ve done a good job, consistent and dedicated. The second row start is acceptable for us, as in front of us there are skilled and experienced riders that could be a good reference for Davide. During the races our rider always shows more determination than during the practices and he always give only the best of himself. Our goal is as always to be amongst the top riders and obtain the best possible results especially here in Monza in front of our fans and enthusiasts.” Monza – Second qualifying Superbike : 1) Melandri (BMW) – 2) Rea (Honda) – 3) Guintoli (Aprilia) – 4) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 5) Laverty (Aprilia) – 6) Giugliano (Aprilia) Second free practice Superbike : 1) Laverty (Aprilia) – 2) Melandri (BMW) – 3) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 4) Guintoli (Aprilia) – 5) Camier (Suzuki) – 6) Baz (Kawasaki) – 7) Giugliano (Aprilia) Superpole : 1) Sykes (Kawasaki) – 2) Laverty (Aprilia) – 3) Guintoli (Aprilia) – 4) Rea (Honda) – 5) Melandri (BMW) – 6) Giugliano (Aprilia) – 7) Cluzel (Suzuki) – 8) Camier (Suzuki) More, from a press release issued by Effenbert Liberty Racing Team: TEAM EFFENBERT LIBERTY RACING The work of Effenbert Liberty Racing Team continues developing its Ducati 1098R in order to let Australian rider, Mark Aitchison, obtain the best possible result during the tomorrow races. Monza circuit is historically one of the most difficult tracks for the twin-cylinder Ducati as the one of the Team Effenbert Liberty Racing, however this is not enough to worry the team, ready to give its best. The lap times of Aitchison grow up, showing that the feeling between the rider and his 1098R is ever better. Aitchison has been tried different settings finding out the right balance just in the final free practice. Tomorrow the Ducati number 8 of the Effenbert Liberty Racing Team will start from 16th place of the starting grid, and the first of the opponents to deal with will be exactly the Monza circuit but Mark Aitchison is ready and determined to grab the best possible result, always supported by all Effenbert Liberty Racing Team. More, from a press release issued by FIXI Crescent Suzuki: Third row for FIXI Crescent Suzuki in Monza qualifying FIXI Crescent Suzuki racers Jules Cluzel and Leon Camier will start side-by-side on the third row of the grid after the pair qualified for tomorrow’s eni FIM Superbike World Championship races in seventh and eighth places respectively at Monza in Italy today. The duo made their way through to Superpole on the back of yesterday’s times from the first qualifying session after very heavy overnight rain left the track still damp in parts for this morning’s final qualifying. In Superpole 1 the FIXI Crescent Suzuki riders comfortably progressed through to the next session as Camier logged the eighth fastest time with team-mate Cluzel in ninth. Superpole 2 saw the excitement ramp up as Cluzel blasted to the second quickest time with a lap of 1’41.936 – narrowly missing out on the previous best lap of Monza which was 1’41.745 – and recorded a top-speed of 331.4km/h down the finishing straight to secure his place in the final shoot-out, where he was joined by Camier who posted the ninth best time. For the first time this season Cluzel and Camier lined up together in Superpole 3 on their Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-Rs, with the Frenchman taking the inter-team honours by securing sixth on the grid, with his English colleague taking his place alongside him on the third-row by finishing seventh. The pair will now be looking for a good start in tomorrow’s races to make sure they get away with the front group for what promises to be a fast and gruelling double-header. Today’s Superpole was held in bright sunshine with track temperatures reaching 48°C around the 5,777m Italian circuit. Tom Sykes on a Kawasaki took pole-position to record a hat-trick of Superpole victories for the season so far. Cluzel and Camier will prepare for battle in the first of tomorrow’s 18-lap races at 12.00 local time (11.00hrs BST) and then be on the grid again at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrs BST) for race two. Jules Cluzel: “I am really happy because this has been the first time I have smiled on the bike this weekend! This morning was really difficult with the conditions, as yesterday was the first time on a Superbike on this really fast circuit, so I had to learn braking points and how to ride round the really fast corners that are here, which is not so easy for a rookie, and this morning we couldn’t go any quicker because of the conditions. The crew have given me something good this weekend and have worked really hard to get the FIXI Crescent Suzuki set-up for this track, so I want to say a big thanks to them. This was a good thing because it made me smile and I want to do that every time I go out on the bike – this is why we race! Tomorrow will be really tough as I’m still not 100% comfortable, but I think we are finding a good direction and maybe we can improve a bit more in both races.” Leon Camier: “It’s been a frustrating day more than anything, as I never really got the best out of the qualifiers. It felt like a bit of a surprise with how much grip they had and I never quite got the benefit from it. This annoyed me more than anything, because in Superpole 3 I used a race tyre and did some fast and consistent laps, but felt like I wanted another go on a qualifier to try and get the best out of it, but it-is-what-it-is and I can’t change it now! I’ll try and get a good start in the races tomorrow, sit in the slip-stream to try and make sure I don’t lose the tow from the guys in front and then see what happens as the races progress.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “I think we have to be happy with seventh and eighth in qualifying here at Monza, a circuit that the team really struggled at last year. This season’s FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 was doing as much as 15km/h more down the straight than it was last year and that – combined with a better overall package – is allowing Jules and Leon to be a lot closer to the top Factory bikes. There is no doubt it will be a long and very tough race tomorrow, the top three or four look like they have a bit more pace than everybody else, but as ever, being there on the first lap or two, being involved and trying to get dragged along will hopefully see us in the fight!” More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda Superbike Team: Second row for Rea in Italy Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two fourth-round World Superbike championship races at Monza in Italy from the second row of the grid after setting the fourth fastest time in today’s Superpole session. With seconds remaining in the final Superpole eliminator, it looked like a front row start for the 26-year-old Pata Honda rider from Northern Ireland. However, Rea was relegated to a starting position directly behind pole sitter Tom Sykes. After a damp start to this morning’s second qualifying session, Rea’s Monza team-mate, Kosuke Akiyoshi, narrowly missed out on Superpole. The Japanese ace then crashed unhurt early in Free Practice 2, reducing his track time further. It is Akiyoshi’s first visit to the 5.777km Autodromo Nationale di Monza, and his first time on the team’s Pirelli-shod CBR package, but he improved his lap time this morning by almost a second and is looking forward to tomorrow’s two 18-lap races. Jonathan Rea – P4, 1m41.798s A part of me is a little bit disappointed because for so long, I think until the last second, I was on the front row! But we’ve got to be happy, looking at our strengths and weaknesses, because it was never going to be a really strong circuit for us. I’m happy to be fighting, anyway. I had a small crash in free practice and knocked a little bit of my confidence in sector three where I was already strong. I regained that in Superpole so hopefully, with some rhythm tomorrow, I can get away with the front guys and be in the group. We’ll see what happens and we’ve still got some areas we can work on, namely engine brake and how to stabilise the bike a little more into the corner. It’s going to be two long races, but we’re happy to race. Kosuke Akiyoshi – P17, 1m46.631s After the crash earlier my body is OK. It was quite a slow crash but I went quite high and I thought to myself: “Hey, I’m a rider, not a pilot!” Unfortunately, the damage was too bad to continue. The rear of the bike was quite low this morning but the front was too high and made it difficult to steer. But I had a better feel for the tyre and for the circuit and we made some steps better. Tomorrow I hope we can make another step and enjoy the two races. Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator After missing out on Superpole by a tenth, unfortunately Akiyoshi-san had a crash this morning and missed a lot of track time. Luckily he was not hurt and we’ll make the best of things tomorrow for him. We struggled a little this morning to find the right settings for Jonathan but, to be honest, in Superspole he made a fantastic recovery. He managed a terrific fourth place on the grid and, even though the speed of the bike is good, we know it’s not the fastest out there. Speed is very important here and fourth place feels like a front row to us, so well done to Jonathan and his team. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: EXCELLENT RESULT FOR THE APRILIA RACING TEAM. THE TWO OFFICIAL BIKES RIDDEN BY LAVERTY AND GUINTOLI ARE ON THE FRONT ROW AT MONZA. AFTER AN EXCITING SUPERPOLE WITH SPEEDS UP TO ALMOST 340 KPH, THERE ARE THREE APRILIA RSV4S ON THE FRONT TWO ROWS. Monza, 11 May 2013 – An exciting Superpole, battled at speeds just short of 340 kph, takes the Aprilia Racing Team to the races tomorrow on the Monza circuit as a top contender. This is the umpteenth confirmation of the domination of the Italian brand and its riders in all the WSBK standings. In fact, the reigning World Champion team placed its two standard bearers in the front row during a spectacular and extremely heated afternoon, with minimal gaps and the top six finishers all within seven tenths of one another. Eugene Laverty, winner of the last championship race on the Dutch circuit at Assen, finished Superpole in second place, immediately ahead of team mate Sylvain Guintoli, who is currently lying in the lead of the World SBK standings. The two battled it out at record breaking lap times with specialist Tom Sykes, who took home the pole in the end. The speeds reached on Saturday to decide the order on the starting grid were spectacular: in the decisive lap Laverty hit 337.1 kph, the same speed Guintoli reached during the free practice session on Saturday morning. Superpole held few surprises for the two Aprilia Racing riders astride their powerful RSV4 machines. The first session ended with Guintoli in first place and Laverty second. The second session, which narrows down which nine riders will move through to battle for the first three rows also went quite smoothly. Guintoli came through the session in fourth place and Laverty in fifth. These were excellent results obtained without the use of their qualifier tyres, which were then used in the decisive session. With this result Laverty is on the front row for the eighth consecutive time. In fact, he has not missed out on a start from the best row of the grid since the Moscow 2012 race. On the other hand this will be Guintoli’s first start from the front row on his RSV4. This great result for the Italian brand, currently leading the Manufacturer championship, is completed by the second row (sixth best time) put in by the Althea Racing team RSV4 ridden by Davide Giugliano, in confirmation of just how competitive the Aprilia bike is. Eugene Laverty: “At one point I thought I had done it, but Tom beat me by 78 thousandths of a second. Actually second place on the front row is still an excellent result when you consider our race pace. Tomorrow I hope to be able to take advantage of the full potential of my RSV4. The Aprilias are consistently the fastest and that is an important advantage for us. Monza is a special track. Its characteristics adapt perfectly to my bike and the strong points of my riding style”. Sylvain Guintoli: “We did a lot of good work, preparing as best as possible in terms of race pace and tyre management. This is my best Superpole so far with Aprilia but we still haven’t taken the top spot. In any case it will be important to start from the front row tomorrow. Especially since it looks like there are several riders who can definitely make a play for the win, so I expect two heated races. Tomorrow we are looking forward to having some fun, giving the fans a good show and leaving Monza with some rich spoils”. More, from a press release issued by Team SBK Ducati Alstare: Badovini qualifies in twelfth position for tomorrow’s races at Monza Monza (Italy), Saturday 11 May 2013: Ayrton Badovini and Team SBK Ducati Alstare reached the second phase of today’s Superpole session to qualify in final twelfth position for tomorrow’s races. Rainfall overnight meant that the track was once again damp for this morning’s second qualifying session. As a result very few riders were able to lower the times that they had set yesterday afternoon. Badovini completed a series of laps but was unable to improve on his best (1’44.8) of yesterday, thus qualifying in twelfth overall position for this afternoon’s Superpole. Superpole 1: heading straight out on the first of two qualifying tyres available to him, Ayrton made two laps, the first of which was his fastest. Thanks to a best time of 1’43.8, the Italian rider closed in twelfth place and progressed to the second phase of the Superpole. Superpole 2: together with his technicians Badovini took the decision to use the second qualifying tyre at the start of session 2; the tyre allowed him to record an identical time to that set during the first phase. This lap once again placed him twelfth and so it is from this position that he will start tomorrow’s races. Ayrton Badovini: “The fact that we were able to progress to the second Superpole phase is already positive considering that we suffer here in Monza. The qualifying tyre gave me a little more grip compared to the race tyre but unfortunately did not make enough of a difference to improve my position. Anyway I’ll start from a pretty central position tomorrow with a fast group immediately in front of me. The critical point of the track for us is exiting the Parabolica so we’ll continue to work to see if we can reduce the gap through that section and do our best to complete two good races tomorrow.” Carlos Checa had to follow today’s sessions from the garage but his determination to get back on his 1199 Panigale as soon as possible is strong. “Unfortunately I can only follow the races on the screens tomorrow and I’m very sorry for the Team, the sponsors and the fans that have come to Monza but I’ve already started to work to get back in shape and I’ll continue to work even harder in the coming days to be 100% once more. I’m looking forward to getting back on track at Donington.” Today also provided Team SBK Ducati Alstare with the chance to collaborate with the ‘Fondazione Il Bene’ and give visibility to the Foundation’s research in the field of rare neurological and neuroimmune diseases. Checa and Badovini formally attached the ‘Il Bene’ logo to the fairing of their bikes and took part in a series of promotional initiatives to support the Foundation and help raise funds. A t-shirt bearing Ducati Alstare’s motto ‘Never Give Up’ is also on sale over the race weekend. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Monza – Qualifying Practice 2 & Superpole. Saturday, 11th May 2013. Weather conditions: Sunny. Temperature: Air: 18 – 25 °C, Track: 22 – 48 °C Number of riders participating: 18 from 12 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team) 1:42.883 min Fastest lap Superpole 3: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1:41.223 min The BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team experienced a thrilling Superpole qualifying in Monza (ITA). In a nail-biting session, both factory BMW S 1000 RR riders went through to the deciding Superpole 3 session. Local hero Marco Melandri will start the fourth round of the 2013 FIM Superbike World Championship from fifth place on the second row of the grid. His team-mate Chaz Davies (GBR) qualified ninth and will start on the third row. While Chaz had an easy progression through the first session directly to Superpole 2, it was harder on Marco’s side of the garage. An electronic issue prevented the Italian from going out on track straight away. His crew did a great job to resolve the issue within shortest amount of time and sent Marco out with five minutes to go. The Italian’s time was good enough to proceed to Superpole 2. There, both riders again opted for race tyres. Marco did one outing and finished eighth, Chaz went out twice and finished seventh. With the fastest nine riders qualifying for Superpole 3, both riders reached the final session and opted for qualifying tyres. Marco did two outings and rode the fifth fastest time. Chaz went wide in the chicane, meaning his first lap time was deleted. He stayed out on track and rode more laps on the now used qualifying tyres and as a result finished ninth. In the 2013 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, championship leader Sylvain Barrier (FRA) will start the third round of the season from pole-position. After being fastest in yesterday’s first qualifying practice on his BMW HP4, the BMW Motorrad GoldBet STK Team rider set a clear best time again in today’s final qualifying session., setting a new track record for the Superstock class. His team-mate Greg Gildenhuys (RSA) improved several positions from yesterday and finished in seventh. Marco Melandri: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:42.883 min (P1) / Fastest lap FP: 1:42.531 min (P2) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:41.819 min (P5) “I am quite happy with today’s Superpole. We know that we are a little bit slower in qualifying sessions, so to start from the second row is a good result. I am really satisfied with my RR; especially with the front. We just need to work a little bit on the rear. Today we were able to work on race preparation and I am satisfied because I have a good race pace. In addition to that, the bike is more stable in race setup and also during braking. I hope that we will have good weather tomorrow. In dry conditions, I like the track, especially the ‘Parabolica’ which is an awesome corner. I am very confident.” Chaz Davies: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:44.793 min (P11) / Fastest lap FP: 1:43.322 min (P8) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:42.955 min (P9) “This morning, I was not really satisfied with the bike. For the afternoon we made some changes and I was much happier. On a race tyre I went 1.3 seconds faster than in the morning which was a big improvement. But I was still struggling with the balance of the bike at the corner entry, this combined with the increased grip of the qualifying tyres meant that the bike became too nervous. That was why I went wide in Superpole 3; with the qualifying tyre, the bike did not react at the corner entry as I had expected. The guys are working on solving this now and I am confident that they will find something. Tomorrow it is important to get a good start. Regarding the race pace, we are pretty competitive.” Serafino Foti (Sport Director BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team): “It was quite a positive day, despite the fact that we had some troubles. Marco had a very good session this morning, even if the lap times and positions did not change because the track was slower. In this afternoon’s Superpole, Marco kept calm despite the issue and qualified for the second session after he went out with just a few minutes to go. At the end of Superpole he had finished fifth. His feeling with the bike is very good and I am confident that he will have a good race. For Chaz, his weekend started today because of his crash yesterday, so it was like he missed a day. After the accident he was a little bit nervous and in Superpole he made a few mistakes but he is riding well. He is improving his feeling with the bike and tomorrow, he will do well. We expect five or six riders to be competing for the victory, so it will be two challenging races. In the Superstock class, Sylvain claimed his second pole-position of the season, setting the new track record for Superstock bikes. We need to improve a little bit in the first sector of the circuit, but tomorrow we will have the time to do so. Congratulations also to Greg. He is racing in Monza for the first time. He got a very good seventh position and can improve even more for the race. We are very confident for tomorrow.” Andrea Dosoli (Technical Director BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team): “With Marco, we have been working during the second qualifying session this morning and the free practice session on improving the bike step by step. We were confident that if we did this then it would be possible to qualify within the first two rows. We achieved our target, even if the first Superpole session was a little thrilling due to a small technical issue. I must say thank you and well done to the crew, because they were able to fix it in time. With Chaz, after the big crash he had yesterday, we caught up most of the lost time and set the RR up for the Superpole. He also improved over the course of the day and we could see that he was pretty fast on a race tyre in Superpole 1. In the end he was not lucky but we are confident that tomorrow he will be within the top group. With both riders, we have been working more on the race set-up than on a flying lap. For sure the race will be tough because our competitors are quite strong as we can see in the first two rows. But we believe that our RR has the potential to fight with them.” More, from a press release issued by SBK Press Office: Tissot-Superpole win and new best lap for Sykes Monza (Italy), Saturday 11 May 2013 – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored his 14th career Tissot-Superpole today at Monza’s Autodromo Nazionale, the 3rd in a row so far in 2013. The works Kawasaki rider snatched the first grid slot from Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) thanks to a blistering fast 1’41.223 time – new best lap for the Northern Italy track. The 27 year old from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, already lapped below Max Biaggi’s previous record from 2011 in Superpole 2. Up to today, Monza’s Autodromo Nazionale Tissot watch was one of the 4 missing from Sykes’ collection from past races. Tom Sykes: “I did not know the time Eugene had set but I knew that the Aprilias would be fast here. I am looking forward to tomorrow because we all have good race pace. In some areas we have an advantage and we got a new circuit record in Superpole, and the ideal starting position for tomorrow. I am looking forward to two exciting races. I like racing at Monza because the spectators are crazy like me! The fans are very enthusiastic and Monza is a very fast circuit. I hope to be very strong tomorrow.” Works Aprilia rider and current Championship leader Sylvain Guintoli managed to edge out from 3rd place – after his last attempt before the flag – Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike). A difficult Superpole start for Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet), who was forced at the garage due to a technical problem occurred to his BMW machine in SP1, was able to defeat the odds to secure a 5th grid slot start for tomorrow’s two races. Davide Giugliano completes the second row ahead of FIXI Crescent Suzuki duo of Jules Cluzel and Leon Camier, with Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) in 9th place. Carlos Checa’s racing weekend is unfortunately over due to an overnight worsening of his left shoulder conditions. The Spaniard of Team Ducati Alstare was diagnosed with an osseus edema to the humerus after the Assen round and yesterday’s on-track effort intensified the inflammation in the joint, leading to the decision of withdrawing from the round. Tissot-Superpole times: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’41.223 average 205.459 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 1’41.301; 3. Guintoli (Aprilia) 1’41.542; 4. Rea (Honda) 1’41.798; 5. Melandri (BMW) 1’41.819; 6. Giugliano (Aprilia) 1’41.926; 7. Cluzel (Suzuki) 1’42.680; 8. Camier (Suzuki) 1’42.808; 9. Davies (BMW) 1’42.955; 10. Fabrizio (Aprilia); 11. Baz (Kawasaki); 12. Badovini (Ducati); 13. Neukirchner (Ducati); 14. Lai (Kawasaki); 15. Sandi (Kawasaki). World Supersport – Incredible last-lap effort for pole by Lowes Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) defeated changing weather to score his career pole position number 8 – 3rd of the current season. The 22 year old from Lincolnshire rode an outstanding last-lap under drizzling conditions to edge out from 1st position an apparently unbeatable Florian Marino (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki), who was leading in the closing stages. Front row start in 3rd place for reigning Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki), who displayed an ultra-competitive pace during Qualifying 2. Home rider Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda Supersport Team) got an important 4th on the track that saw him winning the STK1000 race two years ago. Wild-card Stefano Cruciani (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) finished ahead of team mate and full-time Supersport rider Riccardo Russo, while Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) had the better of yesterday’s provisional pole-sitter Kev Coghlan (DMC-Lorenzini Kawasaki) and Championship leader Fabien Foret (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki) for 7th place. Times: 1. Lowes (Yamaha) 1’47.899 average 192.747 kph; 2. Marino (Kawasaki) 1’48.154; 3. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’48.417; 4. Zanetti (Honda) 1’48.504; 5. Cruciani (Kawasaki) 1’48.658; 6. Russo (Kawasaki) 1’49.058; 7. Vd Mark (Honda) 1’49.129; 8. Coghlan (Kawasaki) 1’49.132; 9. Foret (Kawasaki) 1’49.204; 10. Marconi (Honda) 1’49.386; etc. Superstock 1000 Defending Champion Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) scored the pole position for tomorrow’s 10:30am 11-lap race. The Frenchman from Oyonnax rode his BMW HP4 to an incredible 1’45.870, new best lap for the series – and first time for a STK1000 rider to lap break into the 1’45s. Last year’s Misano podium finisher and wild-card Michele Magnoni (BMW G.M. Racing) got an important 2nd place onboard the current winning model of the German manufacturer, ahead of Barni Racing Ducati duo of Assen race winner Eddi La Marra and 2007 series Champion Niccolò Canepa. MRS Kawasaki riders Romain Lanusse and Jeremy Guarnoni ended up 5th and 6th respectively, followed by Barrier’s team mate Greg Gildenhuys (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) from South Africa, who crashed at Turn 5 with three minutes to go. The nightmare weekend of Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) continued today as the former World Superbike rider – who finished 11th – lost again control of his ZX-10R, this time at Turn 8. Times: 1. Barrier (BMW) 1’45.870 average 196.441 kph; 2. Magnoni (BMW) 1’46.551; 3. La Marra (Ducati) 1’46.676; 4. Canepa (Ducati) 1’46.856; 5. Lanusse (Kawasaki) 1’46.922; 6. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1’46.928; 7. Gildenhuys (BMW) 1’47.040; 8. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 1’47.174; 9. Savadori (Kawasaki) 1’47.285; 10. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’47.309; etc. Superstock 600 – Race The widely announced rainstorm hit Monza’s Autodromo Nazionale not long before the scheduled start of the Superstock 600 European Championship race. Despite a soaking wet tarmac and numerous crashes (with no injuries), racing was very close throughout the 9-lap race distance. A tiny mistake by Luca Salvadori (Pata by Martini Yamaha) on the last lap allowed Nicola Morrentino to close in on the lead: the Team Trasimeno rider went for a last-turn perfect manoeuvre over the Milan-born youngster, who led for almost the entire race, to get his maiden win in the series. Manuel Tatasciore (Bike e Motor Racing Yamaha) was never too far from the duo fighting ahead of him, but couldn’t get close enough to put himself into contention for the victory. 4th place Niki Tuuli (Niki Tuuli Racing Yamaha) from Finland lost the chance for a rostrum finish following an aggressive overtake by Alessandro Nocco (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki), who forced to a run-off at “Variante Ascari” in the closing stages. Provisional Race results (bike #93 of Roberto Mercandelli currently under investigation for technical problems): 1. Morrentino (Yamaha) 9 Laps/51.993 km in 19’31.662 average 159.752 kph; 2. Salvadori (Yamaha) 0.391; 3. Tatasciore (Yamaha) 1.035; 4. Tuuli (Yamaha) 2.993; 5. Nocco (Kawasaki) 4.198; 6. Morbidelli (Kawasaki) 6.040; 7. Coveña (Kawasaki) 8.815; 8. Chesaux (Honda) 8.988; 9. Mercandelli (Yamaha) 22.220; 10. Duwelz (Yamaha) 23.129; 11. Schmitter (Yamaha) 27.056; 12. Vitali (Suzuki) 28.496; 13. Mulhauser (Yamaha) 28.734; 14. D’Annunzio (Yamaha) 28.751; 15. Vavrous (Kawasaki) 32.591; etc. Standings: 1. Duwelz 56; 2. Chesaux 40; 3. Coveña 39; 4. Morrentino 33; 5. Nestorovic 31; 6. Morbidelli 29; 7. Mulhauser 23; 8. Salvadori 22; 9. Gamarino 20; 10. Tessels 19; 11. Tuuli 17; 12. Tatasciore 16; 13. Nocco 15; 14. Casalotti 14; 15. Schmitter 12; etc. European Junior Cup Guillaume Raymond (Activebike) is the pole-sitter for Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda race scheduled for tomorrow at 2:35pm. The young Frenchman made the difference on the dry Monza track in today’s Qualifying thanks to a competitive 2’16.097 to precede Augusto and Illan Fernandez, riding for teams DS Junior Racing and Evo Kids Racing respectively. Kiwi Jake Lewis (Jake Lewis Racing) was 4th ahead of Italian Kevin Manfredi (Newton Trasformatori), Javier Orellana (Europfoods) and Adrien Pittet (Swisscare). Times: 1. Raymond 2’16.097 average 152.812 kph; 2. Fernandez 2’16.873; 3. Fernandez 2’17.033; 4. Lewis 2’17.323; 5. Manfredi 2’17.454; 6. Orellana 2’17.715; 7. Pittet 2’17.722; 8. Garofoli 2’17.879; 9. Anne (Honda) 2’17.983; 10. Flitcroft (Honda) 2’17.991; etc.