FIM Supersport World Championship
Nurburgring, Germany
September 7, 2012
Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Sam LOWES, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.210 2. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.453 3. Fabien FORET, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:59.637 4. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 2:00.183 5. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:00.222 6. Vladimir LEONOV, Russia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 2:00.236 7. Imre TOTH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), 2:00.455 8. Roberto TAMBURINI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 2:00.510 9. David LINORTNER, Austria (Yamaha YZF-R6), 2:00.787 10. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:00.960
22. Josh DAY, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 2:01.989
More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda:
PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel got up to speed quickly on his first visit to the Nurburgring in Germany for the 11th round of the World Supersport Championship, securing provisional second place on the grid while learning the track.
Ronan Quarmby on his PTR Honda had posted the fourth fastest time in the morning but couldn’t match his pace in the afternoon and slipped to 12th. Martin Jessopp on the Riders PTR Honda improved his lap times and is 27th on the provisional grid. Bogdanka PTR Honda’s Sam Lowes is on provisional pole position for the race that starts on Sunday 9th September at 1330CET.
Jules: “Yeah everything is OK. The first corner is difficult and strange as it is a big downhill and then narrows. The last part of the lap is strange as well with a not normal chicane. Now everything is OK and I can do a fast lap time but it is not automatic. I will sleep on this and tomorrow I think we can go faster.”
Ronan: “I was struggling for grip the whole qualifying session and didn’t match my morning times. We will look at what changes we need to make to fix that for tomorrow. It was a good start this morning and I know I can get there.”
Martin: “We found something towards the end of qualifying that knocked 1.3secs off in our lap time. It was something we did on the bike and I also benefited from getting behind people. This is a big track and following other riders I was able to see how I should be riding it. Overall it is quite promising and we will see if we can find more tomorrow and get up there.”
Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Great first day for Jules, he’s never been here before but is straight on the pace and is in good shape for tomorrow. We are working on the bike for balance and tyre life so there are improvements to come as well. Ronan struggled for rear grip and although only 12th, the times are close and he will move up tomorrow. Martin is improving and getting better. He needs to work hard with his crew to improve his qualifying to give him a chance to run in the points in the race.”
Friday qualifying times 1. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.210 2. Jules Cluzel(PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.453 3. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’59.637 4. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products) Honda CBR600RR 2’00.183 5. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’00.222 6. Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport) Yamaha YZF R6 2’00.236 7. Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth) Honda CBR600RR 2’00.455 8. Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini) Honda CBR600RR 2’00.510 9. David Linortner (Gerin-Skm Racing Team) Yamaha YZF R6 2’00.787 10. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’00.960
12. Ronan Quarmby RSA PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 00.980s
23. Mathew Scholtz RSA Bogdanka PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 02.115s
27. Martin Jessopp GBR Riders PTR Honda CBR600RR 2m 03.039s
More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda:
BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes took provisional pole in Friday’s first qualifying for round 11 of the World Supersport Championship at the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany, as he aims for another strong result on Sunday.
Lowes was also fastest in the morning free practice with his rookie teammate Mathew Scholtz in a solid ninth position. The South African had only done two laps in the qualifying session before crashing out unharmed at the chicane. Unable to go back out, Scholtz ended the day in 23rd on the provisional grid, but he’s confident of a significant improvement tomorrow.
Miguel Praia, who joins the Bogdanka Honda PTR squad this weekend, finished the opening day just behind Scholtz, in 24th position as he too aims for more improvement on Saturday as well as a strong result in Sunday’s race.
Sam Lowes: “It was a good start to the weekend. We had a good pace today and ended the first qualifying with a series of five fast times inside the 1:59 bracket, while everyone else had only done some one off laps in the end, so I’m happy. We have a few bits to change and work on tomorrow but I’m feeling good and looking forward to the race already. I like Nurburgring. It’s fun to ride. I really enjoyed myself today and can’t wait for tomorrow and of course the race on Sunday.”
Mathew Scholtz: “The first practice went really well. I had to learn the track first but we kept the same tyres on to get a rough idea of what sort of race pace we’re on and just went faster and faster. We were confident about going faster in the qualifying but on my third lap, coming into the chicane, I was a little bit too fast and lost the front. I was perfectly fine but the handlebar snapped off and I couldn’t continue. Anyway, I’m feeling confident that we can make a big improvement with our qualifying position, so I can’t wait to get back on the bike.”
Miguel Praia: “It’s like going back to school after the holidays. The first days are always hard but today was actually very good. It’s all about confidence and consistency and to get that, you just need track time. I’ve tried to do as many laps as possible without making any big changes to the bike. We need to keep improving, but I’m confident that with more laps I can go much quicker. The bike and the team are working well so it’s up to me.”
Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “Sam had a great run on his second tyre in qualifying, he is on the pace and can improve more – things are looking good for him. Mathew crashed after his third lap and didn’t get out again – but we will fix his bike and give him every opportunity to qualify well tomorrow.”
Friday’s qualifying: 1. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.210 2. Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.453 3. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’59.637 4. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products) Honda CBR600RR 2’00.183 5. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’00.222 6. Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport) Yamaha YZF R6 2’00.236 7. Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth) Honda CBR600RR 2’00.455 8. Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini) Honda CBR600RR 2’00.510 9. David Linortner (Gerin-Skm Racing Team) Yamaha YZF R6 2’00.787 10. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki Lorenzini) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’00.960
23. Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’02.115
24. Miguel Praia (Bogdanka Honda PTR) Honda CBR600RR 2’02.311