FIM Supersport World Championship Assen, Netherlands April 20, 2012 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Sam LOWES, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.900 2. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.939 3. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.589 4. Fabien FORET, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:39.730 5. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:39.735 6. Imre TOTH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.040 7. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:40.266 8. Massimo ROCCOLI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:40.326 9. Matthew SCHOLTZ, South Africa (Honda CBR600RR), 1:40.390 10. Jed METCHER, Australia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:40.620 20. Patrick “PJ” JACOBSEN, USA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:41.675 24. Josh DAY, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:42.039 More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes took provisional pole at Assen in the Netherlands after topping both of Friday’s sessions ahead of the third World Supersport Championship race of the season. Mathew Scholtz on the other Bogdanka PTR Honda was ninth quickest on the opening day and expects more progress tomorrow. PJ Jacobsen, standing in for the injured Pawel Szkopek, ended his first day with the Bogdanka Honda PTR squad in 20th and he too is confident of going faster if the track stays dry on Saturday. Sam Lowes: “It looks like it might be wet tomorrow so we wanted to get a banker in today. Both the tyres and the bike were working good and I was consistently in the low one minute 39 seconds bracket, so we’re looking good. It’s important if it will be wet tomorrow, as that means we’re on pole, which is good. With a bit of rain today, I didn’t want to make any silly mistake. We did a long run in the end too which was good. We have still got a bit of work to do as far as race pace and I can definitely improve my times but at the minute we’re just looking forward to tomorrow and we’ve got both conditions covered.” Mathew Scholtz: “I definitely went faster that I thought I would today. We made a lot of changes and I’m feeling good on the bike. It was quite cold and there were a few drops of rain which slowed everyone down towards the end of the session. Tomorrow we just want to carry on improving and go faster. I used to race at Assen but I definitely prefer to ride it on my Bogdanka PTR Honda 600. It’s a lot of fun!” PJ Jacobsen: “The first day was pretty good. Assen is a new circuit for me so I had to learn it first but everything is going good. I’m pretty happy. I hope it will be dry tomorrow but if it’s wet it’s fine too. I think that if we can knock off another second or a second and a half then we’ll be good. However I think today was the only qualifying as it looks it might be wet tomorrow, so wherever we’ve qualified, hopefully we can keep improving.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “It was a great day for Sam; he and his Bogdanka PTR Honda bike are working well. Parkes is right there with us but we are in good shape for tomorrow. The front row is what matters and our race pace is good. Mathew did well taking ninth in first qualifying – that is a really good result. This is the first track he’s been at before and he is in confident mood.” More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel secured an excellent third on the provisional grid for Sunday’s third round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen in Holland but wants further improvement. Ronan Quarmby on the second PTR Honda is coming off his best ever result but struggled to 23rd on the opening day. Martin Jessopp on his Riders PTR Honda is 18th and positive he can improve further. Sam Lowes on the sister Bogdanka PTR Honda is on provisional pole position for the race on Sunday, April 22nd at 1330 CET. Jules: “Today is not bad but I am not very satisfied, I want more. My feeling with the bike is not perfect; maybe I am a little too nervous and did not do my best. I am consistent but I would like to improve my lap times so we have to check on the data where I am losing time and where we can go faster. The rain could play a big part in qualifying tomorrow and the race – the conditions are changing and it rained for the last four minutes of the session today. But third on the front row is OK.” Martin: “I am closer to the front of the pack than normally on the first day so I am happy enough. I am looking at the sectors and there are two fast corners where I need to improve and can reduce my lap times by a big jump. We made a step forward from the first session and now I am concentrating on those two fast corners.” Ronan: “It has been a tough day at the office and my position on the provisional grid is not what we expected. I will be working hard with the team to turn that around tomorrow; I do hope the track stays dry so we can improve position ahead of the race.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “It’s been a good first day for Jules and there is improvement to come from him and the bike. Ronan has been struggling a bit. The talent is there as he proved in the last round and we will be working on that for tomorrow. Martin has had a decent day and is improving. He is losing time in the last sector but looking good for challenging further up the grid.”