FIM Supersport World Championship Moscow Raceway Moscow, Russia August 24, 2012 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:37.875 2. Sam LOWES, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.179 3. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.398 4. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.434 5. Vladimir LEONOV, Russia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:38.615 6. Gabor TALMACSI, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), 1:38.888 7. Fabien FORET, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:38.892 8. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:39.050 9. V. DEBISE, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:39.122 10. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:39.242 15. Josh DAY, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:39.775 More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: BOGDANKA PTR HONDA’s Sam Lowes finished the opening qualifying session for round ten of the World Supersport Championship in Russia in a close second position after topping the morning practice session and will be looking for more progress tomorrow. Lowes had only done four laps in the qualifying session as an early crash meant the he was unable to return to the track after damaging his only bike, but it was still enough to get second on the provisional grid. Mathew Scholtz had a small crash in the morning session but recovered his confidence to post 14th fastest time in the qualifying session as he too is targeting more improvements on the new Moscow Raceway track tomorrow. Bogdanka Honda PTR’s Andrzej Chmielewski was 32nd today and is confident of more progress on Saturday having enjoyed his first official day with the squad. Sam Lowes: “We crashed and only managed to do four laps in the qualifying so it’s not perfect but we’ve made big progress with the bike today. I did four laps on the hardest of the tyres and managed to do1:38.1, which kept me in second position, so it’s not a problem. I’m looking forward to tomorrow now as I know that with this bike we can do a very good lap time as well as a very good race on Sunday, so I’m looking forward to it.” Mathew Scholtz: “I was pretty confident after the Wednesday test but struggled a bit this morning and ended the session with a crash. However, we changed a few things for the qualifying and I slowly picked up my pace. It seemed to work as I’m 14th and very confident that I can go faster tomorrow because we’ve made some changes to the bike. It feels easier to ride now and I think I can definitely improve.” Andrzej Chmielewski: “We keep making progress and I’m happy. We’re quite far off as far as the position but I’m really enjoying the Supersport bike and I’m happy with the way we’re working with the team. I know I can improve tomorrow and we’re going in the right direction so I’m looking forward to making more progress. The kerbs that were slippery during the test, were painted and weren’t a problem today and I really enjoy the track itself too.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “We made some change to the front setting with Sam and he is quite happy. He had a small crash after just four laps and still took second place. We are confident he will challenge at the front again. Mathew is up to 14th and improving. He is moving in the right direction.” More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel took fourth and a provisional front row start for Sunday’s 10th round of the World Supersport Championship at Moscow in Russia, despite trying a number of set-up changes that didn’t help improve his speed. Ronan Quarmby on his PTR Honda crashed early on and wasn’t able to get back on track, ending 19th. Martin Jessopp on the Riders PTR Honda made good progress with his lap time and feeling and finished 25th. There are more practice and qualifying sessions tomorrow before the race takes place at 1330 local time on Sunday, August 26th. Jules: “I am a little bit disappointed with fourth as I was looking for a better result. We tried some things and I think we did not go in the right direction. Also there was some rain. Anyway, tomorrow is looking OK and we will try again then.” Ronan: “I’m really upset at qualifying 19th and not happy at all. At the start of the session I crashed. I don’t know what it is, I think it is just this track and it is really hard on the front end with the tyres. But tomorrow’s another qualifying session and I am determined to get on to front two rows.” Martin: “My position is not what I want it to be but we are making good progress with settings and my feel with the bike. Thanks to the test we have a day extra here so I am hoping to make big improvements tomorrow and aim for the points in the race.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Jules went out on used tyres to start with, tried a few different settings that didn’t work and then there were a couple of spots of rain, so he didn’t have the ideal session. In the end he is fourth on the grid and we are confident he can improve tomorrow. Ronan crashed early in qualifying and bent the forks on his bike and we didn’t have time to repair it in the session; that is why he is 19th. The bike will be fixed overnight and he will be alright tomorrow – we expect him to challenge for the front two rows. Martin is still improving his lap times and has the potential to challenge for points. He is working well with his new crew chief and we want a good race finish from him this round.”