FIM Supersport World Championship Phillip Island, Australia February 22, 2012 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Sam LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:32.545 2. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:33.664 3. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.081 4. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.106 5. Jack KENNEDY, Ireland (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.143 6. Andrea ANTONELLI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.359 7. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.465 8. Massimo ROCCOLI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:34.466 9. Kev COGHLAN, UK (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.484 10. Christian IDDON, UK (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.551 11. Vladimir IVANOV, Russia (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.580 12. Fabien FORET, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.676 13. Balazs NEMETH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.677, crash 14. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.778 15. Kevin CURTAIN, Australia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:34.789 16. Fabio MENGHI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:34.852 17. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.874 18. Josh HOOK, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.944 19. David LINORTNER, Austria (Honda CBR600RR), 1:35.091, crash 20. Mathew SCHOLTZ, South Africa (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:35.102 More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda: Pata Honda rider Michael van der Mark took a provisional front row grid position in today’s opening qualifying session for the first World Supersport championship round of 2013 at Phillip Island in Australia. The 20-year-old World Supersport rookie from Rotterdam in the Netherlands set a time of 1m34.106s, to take fourth behind provisional pole-sitter, Sam Lowes. Van der Mark’s time was despite crashing spectacularly at the end of this morning’s first free practice session at the 4.445km Phillip Island circuit. Van der Mark’s Pata Honda team-mate, Lorenzo Zanetti, 25, fired in a quick lap at the end of this afternoon’s 45-minute qualifying session to take a provisional second row spot for Sunday’s 21-lap opener. After competing on bigger bikes in recent seasons, Italian Zanetti, 25, from Italy, has continued the step forward he found with his Honda CBR600RR during an official two-day test at Phillip Island. Michael van der Mark – P4, 1m34.106s I’m happy because my crash this morning was big and I hurt my ankle quite badly. The guys did a great job to fix the bike so fast because it was quite damaged. I was able to do some fast lap times immediately this afternoon, which was good after this morning’s crash. I felt quite OK with the bike – we need to find some changes on the set-up but I think for tomorrow we will be able to go faster and be more consistent. Lorenzo Zanetti – P7, 1m34.465s I’ve been able to improve every session on the bike and the team is working better and better. Each time I go out I learn a new step and feel a little bit more comfortable with the bike. Now the lap time is OK but tomorrow I will make a race simulation to see how is the tyre life, but for now everything is OK. Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator Once again Michael proved that he can stay there with the front runner, finishing a solid fourth today. It was particularly impressive after his big crash this morning in which luckily he was not injured. Lorenzo improved his lap time quite dramatically in the last minutes of qualifying and he finished seventh so, all in all, it’s looking good. More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: PTR looking forward after tough opening day PTR HONDA is looking ahead to second qualifying for the opening round of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia after a difficult first day. Despite a crash, David Linortner was the top PTR Honda qualifier in 19th place, just 1-second away from a front row position. Luca Marconi in 22nd and Matt Davies in 25th were just fractions behind, with Nacho Calero 28th. Sheridan Morais was unable to go out in first qualification as the team sought the source of a persistent technical problem eventually traced to a blockage in the oil feed. Second practice and qualification take place on Saturday 23rd February before the race on Sunday 24th at 1330 local time (0230GMT). Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “It’s been a difficult start to the season for our team. Once again the boys have worked hard and analysed everything to find the blockage in the oil feed that has been causing problems. We are confident for tomorrow that Sheridan can compete in qualifying, although he has some catching up to do after losing track time. “David crashed towards the end of the session and lost time. There is a lot more potential to come from him. “Luca is improving all the time and enjoying riding his PTR Honda. We have sat down and discussed that he needs to focus every lap, every corner, every session and he will then move up the time sheets. “Matt Davies is just 17 and in first WSS race. He is learning all the time and his lap times are improving. There is no pressure on him and we know he will do his best for a good result. “Nacho is struggling to find his potential in testing and on day one but we are working hard with him and looking to improve tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by World Superbike Press Office: World Supersport – Lowes makes the difference today at Phillip Island An astonishing 1’32.545 lap-time was set today by Sam Lowes in World Supersport Qualifying 1, that put the Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha rider on top of the timesheets and set a new standard for the recently resurfaced Phillip Island Circuit. As a difference from today’s first session, Kenan Sofuoglu (MAHI Racing Team India Kawasaki) could not nearly match the superb performance of Lowes and finished once again with a solid 2nd place, with a 1.119 gap from his rival. ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse Roberto Rolfo makes a big step forward by finishing QP1 on third place, ahead of rookies Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) and Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda). Andrea Antonelli (Team Goeleven Kawasaki) and van der Mark’s team mate Lorenzo Zanetti enter the top-10 as sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Massimo Roccoli (Team Pata by Martini Yamaha) and the two British riders Kev Coghlan (Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini) and Christian Iddon (ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse). The session started with some drops of rain falling on parts of the track, temperatures were overall ideal with 28° C in the air and 43° C on the track. Times: 1. Lowes (Yamaha) 1’32.545 average 172.910 kph; 2. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’33.664; 3. Rolfo (MV Agusta) 1’34.081; 4. Vd Mark (Honda) 1’34.106; 5. Kennedy (Honda) 1’34.143; 6. Antonelli (Kawasaki) 1’34.359; 7. Zanetti (Honda) 1’34.465; 8. Roccoli (Yamaha) 1’34.466; 9. Coghlan (Kawasaki) 1’34.484; 10. Iddon (MV Agusta) 1’34.551; etc.