eni FIM Superbike World Championship
Donington Park, England
May 23, 2015
Superpole One Results (top two advance to Superpole Two, all using Pirelli tires):
1. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:28.552
2. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:28.643
3. Jordi TORRES, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:28.689
4. Nico TEROL, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:28.827
5. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), 1:28.991
6. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:29.436
7. Christophe PONSSON, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:29.668
8. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:29.686
9. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:29.783
10. Santiago BARRAGÁN, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:30.839
Superpole Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:27.071
2. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:27.308
3. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:27.344
4. Leon HASLAM, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:27.535
5. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:27.554
6. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:27.710
7. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4), 1:28.011
8. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:28.188
9. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:28.370
10. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:28.620
11. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:28.701
12. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:28.715
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Sykes secures Donington Tissot-Superpole for third time
Grid undecided until final moments as Rea and Giugliano get front row starts.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) will start tomorrow’s two UK Round, 23-lap races from Pole Position after taking today’s Tissot-Superpole in an enthralling 15 minute shoot-out that eventually saw the top 7 riders covered by 0.940s. For Sykes it was his 26th WorldSBK Pole Position – the third at Donington Park and the second of the season – clinched courtesy of a 1.27.071s lap time, which bettered his own previous outright circuit best lap dating back to 2013. The Briton also matched Troy Bayliss as the second all-time pole position winner in the series, both behind Troy Corser’s 43.
Sykes’ team mate and current championship leader Jonathan Rea will start from the middle of row 1, with Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) lining up alongside him to complete the top-3 riders on the grid.
Row two comprises Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team), while Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finished seventh ahead of Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing Ducati) and Pata Honda’s Sylvain Guintoli.
David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) qualified 10th, 11th, and 12th respectively.
Guintoli and Salom were the two riders who made it through Superpole 1 to join the already-seeded ten riders into the second session. Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) narrowly missed out on Superpole 2 as he was only half a tenth shy of fellow Spaniard David Salom’s time. The former Moto2 rider will start tomorrow’s races from the thirteenth spot on the grid.
Race 1 is scheduled to start at 12pm local time (GMT+1) tomorrow with Race 2 getting under way at 3pm.
Tom Sykes #66 – Kawasaki Racing Team
Tissot-Superpole – 1st
Twitter: @TheRealTomSykes
Facebook page: Tom-Sykes-66
“We have made some good steps here, so I am happy. I am very impressed with the lap time, although I came over the line and saw 1’27.0 – and then kicked myself because it should have been a 1’26! Our race set-up seems acceptable as well. I have now gone joint second with Bayliss in Superpole wins now and that is nice. We definitely used the potential of our rear qualifier and for that I am happy. We did enough to make it count but tomorrow is another day and we have changing weather forecasts all the time. But we are in a good position.”
Jonathan Rea #65 – Kawasaki Racing Team
Tissot-Superpole – 2nd
Twitter: @jonathanrea
Instagram: @jonathan_rea
Facebook: JonathanReaOfficial
“I was really happy with the Superpole lap. I made a few small mistakes but I honestly do not think I could have done any better. I was a little bit surprised to be second because we made a change for Superpole.The guys quickly changed the rear shock in the last minutes of Superpole.It worked well, so I think it sets us in a different way for tomorrow’s races. We are still lacking a little bit but the beauty is we get another crack in warm-up tomorrow. My team-mate is so strong here, to think about winning the race we still have to catch him.”
Davide Giugliano #34 – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK
Tissot-Superpole – 3rd
Twitter: @davidegiugliano
Instagram: @davidegiugliano34
Facebook Page: Davide-Giugliano
“We put together a great Superpole and the front row is very important here because if you’re further back you risk getting caught up in traffic through turn one. My bike is performing very well with the race tyre and small changes that we made this morning proved positive, allowing me to be consistently fast over more laps but with a little less physical effort. It’s also good that after yesterday’s crash we have immediately resumed the pace and the work completed today has provided us with a better set-up for tomorrow’s races, so I’m very pleased.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Solid Superpole for Giugliano and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team today at Donington Park; third for the Italian, sixth for Davies
Donington Park (UK), Saturday 23 May 2015 – Having qualified yesterday in second and fifth position respectively, Giugliano and Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) returned to the Donington Park track today ready for Superpole 2.
After a short free practice this morning, which the riders concluded in fourth (Davide) and sixth (Chaz) place, the Superpole got underway at midday local time, in cool conditions (air temp. 12°C, track temp. 17°C) but on a dry track.
Superpole 2: Davies and Giugliano were straight out in this second phase of the Superpole, completing a lap each on the race tyre before returning to the pit garage to put in the qualifier. On the qualifying tyre, the Italian recorded an impressive 1’27.344 which positioned him among the leaders, in third place, and therefore ensures him of a front row start for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races. Welshman Chaz was able to put together two laps, the quickest of which, a 1’27.710, put him sixth at the session’s end, meaning that he’ll line up on row two of tomorrow’s race grid.
Quotes after the day’s sessions:
Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #34) – 3rd (1’27.344)
“We put together a great Superpole and the front row is very important here because if you’re further back you risk getting caught up in traffic through turn one. My bike is performing very well with the race tyre and small changes that we made this morning proved positive, allowing me to be consistently fast over more laps but with a little less physical effort. It’s also good that after yesterday’s crash we have immediately resumed the pace and the work completed today has provided us with a better set-up for tomorrow’s races, so I’m very pleased.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 6th (1’27.710)
“I’m not really making the best of the qualifier and expected more of a drop in time, while it was only four tenths of a second of an improvement which wasn’t enough. It’s good that I’ve done a fast time on the race tyre but I’d have liked to have done more. Before tomorrow we’ll probably make a couple of changes to try and calm the bike down a bit and stop it moving so much. It’s not easy to achieve that at Donington with the tight corners and ups and downs, but we’d like to get the bike as stable as we can for the races.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sykes And Rea Go 1-2 On The Donington Grid
In winning his 26th career Superpole today KRT rider Tom Sykes is now tied with legend Troy Bayliss as the second most successful rider in the history of WSB qualifying. Jonathan Rea’s second place in Superpole made it a strong 1-2 on home ground for each KRT competitor.
Sykes made a remarkable showing with his rear qualifying tyre in Superpole 2 to take a new track best with his 1’27.071 lap, which also earned him the best possible starting slot for Sunday’s two WSB races.
Rea was only 0.237 seconds behind his team-mate in Superpole and each rider has now taken two pole positions this year: Sykes at Assen and Donington, Rea at Phillip Island and Buriram. Tom has now won three of the last four Donington Superpole competitions.
Overcast and generally cool weather conditions on the second day welcomed just one free practice session before Superpole 1 took place, starting at 12 noon. Both Sykes and Rea had already qualified into Superpole 2 and each made the most of the dry track conditions to post their fast laps.
Race distance is scheduled to be 23 laps of the 4.023km circuit in each of Sunday’s two WSB races.
Tom Sykes: “We have made some good steps here. We made small steps in Aragon and Assen, some bigger ones at Imola, and bigger ones again here in Donington, so I am happy. The Superpole win is nice and we have a good grid slot for tomorrow. I am very impressed with the lap time, although I came over the line and saw 1’27.0 – and then kicked myself because it should have been a 1’26! It’s just that the qualifying tyre caught me out in some areas and pushed me off line. But you cannot be greedy and I am very happy. Our race set-up seems acceptable as well. I have now gone joint second with Bayliss in Superpole wins now and that is nice. I am getting amongst some legends, all time greats, people I admired when I grew up racing. Credit to Kawasaki and myself, because we have certainly got the speed. We could see in Superpole 1 that few riders were getting two laps out of their tyres. Into my second lap, exiting turn one, she was sliding nicely. We definitely used the potential of our rear qualifier and for that I am happy. We did enough to make it count but tomorrow is another day and we have changing weather forecasts all the time. But we are in a good position.”
Jonathan Rea: “I was really happy with the Superpole lap. I made a few small mistakes but I honestly do not think I could have done any better. I was a little bit surprised to be second because we made a change for Superpole. We tried a different rear shock and after using the race tyre we could see it really didn’t work. I had a lot of rear chatter under acceleration. So the guys quickly changed the rear shock in the last minutes of Superpole. I tried the different setting and it worked well, so I think it sets us in a different way for tomorrow’s races. We are still lacking a little bit but the beauty is we get another crack in warm-up tomorrow. It is being held at a bit more of a sensible time than the Europe schedule, so we might be a little more relevant. We will see what the weather does. But I am happy to be on the front row because it gives us the best possible chance of a good start. My team-mate is so strong here, over one lap and also over the distance. To think about winning the race we still have to catch him.”
David Salom made it to Superpole 2 via Superpole 1, and finally qualified tenth, putting three Ninja ZX-10Rs inside the top ten places. Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) is 16th on the grid; Christophe Ponsson (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) is 17th.
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
WSBK – DONINGTON SUPERPOLE
LEON HASLAM WILL START FROM THE SECOND ROW IN THE TWO RACES TOMORROW
JORDI TORRES FORCED TO THE FIFTH ROW
Donington, 23 May 2015 – The World Superbike Saturday at Donington started off well for Leon Haslam who rode his RSV4 RF to the top of the list in the last practice session before Superpole. The English Aprilia Racing – Red Devils riders confirmed his improvement despite the fact that the extremely tight gaps preclude any predictions.
In Superpole the English rider managed the available 15 minutes well, taking two flying laps on a race tyre and then throwing himself into an attempt on the softer tyre. The final, exciting minutes of Superople had many of the riders improving on their times, with the final standings under the chequered flag placing Haslam fourth, which translates into the first spot on the second row of the grid. Leon is pleased with the work done today, whereas the races promise to be close, especially in the final laps.
Leon Haslam: “After being fastest in FP4 I’m pleased with the fourth best time in Superpole, especially considering a few mistakes I made in the first sector. Looking at the last few sessions it’s clear that the races will be close tomorrow as there are a lot of riders with very similar pace. A good start and staying in the lead pack will be important. Here at Donington the last two tight turns have always shuffled the deck in the last few laps of the race. My ribs are still hurting a bit, maybe more than I expected, but it shouldn’t be a problem tomorrow.”
Hard luck for Jordi Torres who, after putting the eighth best time on the sheets this morning with a good feeling astride his RSV4 RF, took on Superpole 1 in the best possible way. Putting in the best time with a race tyre, Jordi was slowed down on his flying lap by a few uncertainties in the braking sections, having to settle for the thirteenth best time in the end. Starting from the fifth row won’t be easy, although the progress he demonstrated in the final session makes the Spanish rookie cautiously optimistic.
Jordi Torres: “This morning we took a big step forward, even bigger than the times show because the different tyre we tried was lacking a bit of grip at the rear. This is the positive aspect of the day, because for me it is always important to improve from one day to the next on a new track. I went through to Superpole 1 confidently. I felt like I was doing well but after a good lap on the race tyre the bike was a bit twitchy in the braking sections so I wasn’t able to exploit the qualifier tyre well. These things happen, and unfortunately starting from the thirteenth spot is less than ideal, but we’ll need to be focused to take on the races, trying to get off the line well and overtaking as many riders as possible in the early phases of the race.”