FIM Superbike World Championship Portimao, Portugal September 22, 2012 Combined Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Knockout Session Three: 1. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:41.415 2. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:41.780 3. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:41.789 4. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.015 5. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:42.140 6. Leon HASLAM, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.271 7. Jonathan REA, UK (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:42.717 8. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:43.459 From Superpole Knockout Session Two: 9. Leon CAMIER, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:42.767 10. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:42.799 11. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:42.995 12. Loris BAZ, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:43.199 From Superpole Knockout Session One: 13. Brett McCORMICK, Canada (Ducati 1098R), 1:43.410 14. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:43.483 15. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:43.863 16. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.479 The Rest of the Grid: 17. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:44.569 18. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:44.790 19. John HOPKINS, USA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:44.865 20. Alexander LUNDH, Sweden (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:45.158 21. Lorenzo LANZI, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:45.682 22. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:46.344 23. Norino BRIGNOLA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:46.891 More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Portimão Qualifying Practice 2 & Superpole. Saturday, 22nd September 2012. Weather conditions: Sunny with light clouds. Temperature: Air: 25 °C, Track: 30 38 °C Number of riders participating: 23 from 13 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) 1:42.800 min Fastest lap Superpole 3: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1:41.415 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will tackle the penultimate round of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship from the first and second rows. Factory riders Marco Melandri (ITA) and Leon Haslam (GBR) finished today’s Superpole qualifying at Portimão (POR) in fourth and sixth respectively. Therefore they secured important starting positions on the front rows for tomorrow’s races. In Superpole 1, both riders only did one fast lap with race tyres fitted to their BMW S 1000 RRs to safely progress to the second session. Then both of them used qualifying tyres for their first outings, but struggled to make full use of the extra grip they offered. While Marco’s time was nevertheless good enough to bring him directly to Superpole 3, Leon made another attempt on his second qualifying tyre. He finished the session in eighth and, therefore, also progressed to the final and deciding part of the Superpole. In this third session Marco qualified fourth on his second qualifying tyre and Leon sixth on a race tyre. Ayrton Badovini and Michel Fabrizio (both ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team will start tomorrow’s races from 14th and 15th respectively. Marco Melandri: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:42.997 min (P3) / Fastest lap FP: 1:43.562 min (P4) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:42.015 min (P4) “I think our starting position is better than we expected because we were struggling to get a fast single lap, though we did improve a little bit with the qualifying tyre. Tomorrow’s races won’t be easy. We are still not happy with the handling of the bike on race tyres. Every time we have more chattering we struggle a lot. I have to be careful in every corner, and with every braking. In addition to this, it is a very bouncy track and the bike moves sideways a lot. There are many fast turns, and the last corner especially is difficult. The races will be tough, but we will try to improve the bike for tomorrow and make a good start. I will try to overtake right at the start and then we have to see how good our race pace will be.” Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:43.278 min (P4) / Fastest lap FP: 1:43.535 min (P3) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:42.271 min (P6) “Considering the situation we were in I am really happy. Once again we couldn’t get the qualifying tyres to work at all. We were slow on both qualifying tyres. Right at the end I used a race tyre and went another 0.5 to 0.6secs quicker. For me to do that on the race tyre I am pretty happy. The first two rows are always the main objective. It would have been nice to get the qualifying tyres to work, but it’s looking good for the race. I think everybody will be on the same tyres tomorrow. Now we will have to wait and see what the weather conditions will be like, we have to analyse what we have achieved today and then see about making some more fine tuning for tomorrow.” Andrea Dosoli (Head of Race Operations): “All the work done since yesterday has been positive and we were able to improve the performance of both riders, but the races will not be easy. For sure it is helpful to start from the first and second rows, but we are not 100 percent satisfied with the results we have achieved on the set-up. It is very difficult to find the right set-up on this track. It is always a compromise, and we would like to improve the race pace and give both riders a bike a bit less nervous and a bit more comfortable to ride, because the race will be tough and they must feel comfortable on the RR. We know there is still a bit missing so we will work hard this afternoon and during the night in order to find this during the warm-up tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: FIFTH BEST TIME AND SECOND ROW FOR MAX BIAGGI IN THE PORTIMAO SUPERPOLE EUGENE LAVERTY RIDES HIS RSV4 TO THE FRONT ROW BY PUTTING THE THIRD BEST TIME ON THE BOARDS IN THE DECIDING SESSION. Portimao (Portugal), 22 September 2012 Coming into Superpole with the best time in this morning’s qualifiers (1’42,800), Max Biaggi, current leader in the World Superbike standings, improved even more in Superpole (1’42.140). Max advanced easily through the first two Superpole sessions, improving consistently, and he continued to improve in the third and decisive session, but his time fell just 125 thousands short of placing him on the front row. So tomorrow, for the penultimate round of the 2012 WSBK season, set to be raced on the Portimao track in Portugal, he will start from the fifth spot on the starting grid. “I’m a bit disappointed about not making it to the front row admitted Max Biaggi it was a goal which was within our reach. In view of the races we aren’t far off. I have a few things in mind to try and be more incisive that we’ll test tomorrow during warm-ups. I’m still not 100% satisfied with the set-up and, considering the circumstances, we need to get the absolute maximum out of our bike”. It was a positive day for Eugene Laverty, who took the third spot on the grid with a time of 1’41.789. In the last session, when only the top eight are left to battle it out for the best positions, the Northern Irishman from Aprilia Racing improved his times drastically compared both to the qualifying sessions (1’43.283) and his lap times from the first two Superpole sessions. “We’ve been fast all weekend and I can honestly say that I’m happy with both the position on the grid and the feeling with my RSV4. In the second free practice session we had some excellent lap times on a race tyre so I’m quite optimistic for the races tomorrow. In Superpole I struggled with a bit of chattering when lapping on a qualifier so I’m pleased to have the third spot on the grid”. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: SECOND PLACE FOR CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) IN TOMORROW’S RACES AT THE PORTIMAO CIRCUIT Portimao (Portugal), Saturday 22 September 2012: thanks to a very fast lap time recorded with a qualifying tyre, Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) finished today’s Superpole in overall second position, meaning a well deserved spot on the front row for the Spanish rider in tomorrow races at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. His team-mate Davide Giugliano will start from row three, in tenth position. Having finished yesterdays’ qualifying session in eighth (Checa) and fifteenth (Giugliano) position, the two Althea riders returned to the track this morning for the second official session. On a slightly cooler track (30ËšC), Giugliano’s times dropped progressively and he was able to improve on his best time set yesterday by over a second, recording a best of 1m43.558 in the final stages. Checa too went faster than yesterday, shaving another four tenths of his time to register a fastest lap – 1’43.568 – that was almost identical to team-mate Davide’s best. By closing qualifying in overall ninth (Giugliano) and tenth (Checa) position, the pair easily qualified for the penultimate Superpole of the season. Superpole 1: in this first phase the two riders went out on track confident that they could make a fast time on race rubber. Carlos recorded a 1m42.9 which was enough to place him eighth at the end of the phase. Davide made two laps, the second of which was his quickest (1m43.1) and he closed in tenth place as a result of this time. Superpole 2: Davide went straight out on a qualifying tyre but was unable to make the most of its potential; he therefore needed to make a second exit back on the race tyre. With the latter he made his fastest lap of the phase (1m42.7) but it was unfortunately not enough to grant him access to the final stage. Giugliano thus qualifies in tenth position for tomorrow’s races. Superpole 3: Carlos, with one qualifying tyre still available, only needed to make one lap in order to earn himself a front row start for tomorrow’s races. Thanks to a very fast lap 1m41.7 he propelled himself into second position, between polesitter Sykes and Aprilia rider Laverty. Carlos Checa: “Of course we cannot predict what will happen in the races. Today I didn’t expect this second place for example; I’m really happy but it was a little bit of a surprise. Once we put the qualifying tyre in, I found that the bike was a lot more stable and I was able to make the fast lap. For tomorrow I don’t think our pace is bad but many riders will be fast and fighting hard up front. The race is long though and so I hope to be able to do enough to be up there with them, battling it out to the end.” Davide Giugliano: “Everything’s going well, we’re working very well. In contrast to other weekends I feel truly ready to make two strong races tomorrow. We need to see what race day will bring and I’ll need to really try hard to make a good start but I feel confident. Over the weekend we’ve made a lot of changes and have good pace with the race tyre we’re fast and that bodes well. I still need to learn how to make the most of the qualifying tyre in the Superpole but, all things considered, today has been a positive day.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Sykes scythes through track best to win Tissot-Superpole Portimao (Portugal), Saturday 22 September 2012 Tissot-Superpole has almost become the personal property of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in 2012 and in Portimao he recorded his eighth win in this competition, which allocates final grid positions for the top 16 qualifiers. His most recent Superpole success before today was at Brno, in July. Tom now has ten career pole positions to his credit, the same as SBK legend Pierfrancesco Chili, placing him equal eighth in the all time rankings. Sykes set a 1 minute 41.415 second lap in Superpole 3 to record his new track best and in the process head off the impressive combined push of 2011 World Champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team). Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) were fourth and fifth respectively. Tom Sykes: “I’m pleasantly surprised! Before I came here I was expecting some difficulties going from past experience with the Kawasaki, but all credit to the team, because in the opening three laps I knew that the ZX-10R was a different bike and it has been working well all weekend. When we put the qualifying tyre in it seemed to work even better, honestly I’m happy to be on pole position tomorrow and my race pace is not too bad either”. Carlos Checa: “It’s unpredictable here but we are really satisfied with this front row position, we didn’t expect this lap time or to get second place. For the race we’ll see, many riders have a strong pace and we need to test some things but honestly we are not so far away from the other guys. The races are quite long, hopefully we can be in the front and fight until the end”. Eugene Laverty: “We’ve been strong all weekend and in the second free practice we did a good run on our race tyre. Superpole was also pretty good, I had some chatter on the qualifier so to get the front row, I was pleased with that. The Aprilia is working well here, even pre-season testing was very strong, so I’m desperately going for the 25 points tomorrow!” Marco Melandri: “We struggled a lot on the race tyre. They are not going to be two easy races tomorrow but I’ll try and stay with the leading group. We have a bit of chattering, and I’m losing time when I turn into the corner so 22 laps will be tough. Sykes will go well, Biaggi is quick on race tyres, the three of us will be at the front but maybe Checa and Laverty as well.” Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) took an important second row starting position with sixth place while his fellow Britons Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) and Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia) completed the top eight. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) and Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) headed up the rankings on row three, having made it through to Superpole 2 but no further. Privateer PATA Ducati rider Sylvain Guintoli secured 11th place with a small error on his flying lap from Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) holding the sixth fastest rider in combined qualifying down in 12th place. In all, 23 riders qualified for the two races on Sunday 23rd September. Times: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’41.415 average 163.005 kph; 2. Checa (Ducati) 1’41.780; 3. Laverty (Aprilia) 1’41.789; 4. Melandri (BMW) 1’42.015; 5. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’42.140; 6. Haslam (BMW) 1’42.271; 7. Rea (Honda) 1’42.717; 8. Davies (Aprilia) 1’43.459; 9. Camier (Suzuki) 1’42.767; 10. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’42.799; 11. Guintoli (Ducati) 1’42.995; 12. Baz (Kawasaki) 1’43.199; 13. McCormick (Ducati) 1’43.410; 14. Badovini (BMW) 1’43.483; 15. Fabrizio (BMW) 1’43.863; 16. Salom (Kawasaki) 1’44.479; etc. World Supersport Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) scored his second pole position of the 2012 season in a closely-fought contest at Portimao. He held off the pressure from French riders Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) and Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda), with only 0.051 seconds separating the top three. Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) was fourth and joins the leading trio on the front row for tomorrow’s race. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Lorenzini) was only seventh today, but still starts off the second row, while his team-mate Sheridan Morais was fifth and Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) sixth. Times: 1. Parkes (Honda) 1’45.408 average 156.831 kph; 2. Foret (Kawasaki) 1’45.458; 3. Cluzel (Honda) 1’45.459; 4. Lowes (Honda) 1’45.567; 5. Morais (Kawasaki) 1’45.877; 6. Leonov (Yamaha) 1’45.999; 7. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’46.129; 8. Marino (Kawasaki) 1’46.221; 9. Roccoli (Yamaha) 1’46.383; 10. Baldolini (Triumph) 1’46.580; etc. Superstock 1000 Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) plucked pole from final qualifying at Portimao, setting easily the best lap of the session in 1 minute 45.487 seconds. Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) was second, some way behind, with Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Italia Ducati) third. Christoffer Bergman (BWG Racing Kawasaki) put himself fourth, with Fabio Massei (EAB Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) and Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) fifth and sixth fastest respectively. Times: 1. Barrier (BMW) 1’45.487 average 156.713 kph; 2. Staring (Kawasaki) 1’46.235; 3. La Marra (Ducati) 1’46.427; 4. Bergman (Kawasaki) 1’46.597; 5. Massei (Honda) 1’46.626; 6. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1’46.786; 7. Savadori (Ducati) 1’46.913; 8. Jezek (Ducati) 1’46.972; 9. Mercado (Kawasaki) 1’47.113; 10. Reiterberger (BMW) 1’47.184; etc. Superstock 600 The UEM Superstock 600 European Championship qualifying sessions were headed by Dutch title contender Michael van Der Mark (EAB Junior Team Honda), from this season’s other great force in this class, Riccardo Russo (Team Italia FMI Yamaha). Adrian Nestorovic (Team MTM Racing Yamaha) pushed his way to third in another good showing, with the first Kawasaki machine going to the grid in fourth place, thanks to Christian Gamarino (Team GO ELEVEN). Alexander Schacht (Schacht Racing SBK ONE Honda) was fifth. The race will take place on Sunday at this round, unlike Saturday afternoon as at most other events. Times: 1. Vd Mark (Honda) 1’48.048 average 152.999 kph; 2. Russo (Yamaha) 1’48.357; 3. Nestorovic (Yamaha) 1’48.438; 4. Gamarino (Kawasaki) 1’48.913; 5. Schacht (Honda) 1’48.935; 6. Jones (Yamaha) 1’49.010; 7. Mulhauser (Yamaha) 1’49.024; 8. Duwelz (Yamaha) 1’49.040; 9. Morbidelli (Yamaha) 1’49.315; 10. Chesaux (Honda) 1’49.331; etc. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: FIXI Crescent Suzuki racer Leon Camier will start the penultimate round of the 2012 eni FIM Superbike World Championship from the head of the third row after qualifying in ninth at Portimao today. Camier easily qualified for this afternoon’s Superpole after a solid performance in this morning’s final qualifying session, as he continued with the impressive form that he has shown recently. He then progressed safely through Superpole 1 and looked like continuing his advance into the third and final session, but a broken gear-lever hampered him in Superpole 2 and he missed out by the narrowest of margins. The team did superbly to replace the lever and get him out again, but he was just unable to make it into the top eight. Camier’s best time was only 0.016 seconds away from eighth position and a guaranteed place in the final shoot-out for the front two rows of the grid. He was disappointed not to have made the final session, but is still convinced there is more to come from him and his Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R in tomorrow’s races. John Hopkins continued with his education at the 4,592m Portimao circuit, as he made consistent improvements to his lap-times at a circuit that he has never raced at before. His best time in this afternoon’s second free practice session was over a second quicker than his best in yesterday’s first free session. Hopkins just missed out on Superpole despite improving his time in this morning’s final qualifying session and he will start from the fifth row of the grid in 19th position. A technical problem in the last five minutes of the session halted his progress and meant he was unable to improve on his time. Pole position for tomorrow’s races was taken by one of the three antagonists that can still take the championship title, Tom Sykes. It was the British rider’s eighth Superpole crown of the season and gives him advantage on the grid over his two rivals, Marco Melandri in fourth and current championship leader Max Biaggi in fifth. Sunday’s two races will be over 22-laps, with the riders covering 101.024km of the Portuguese circuit before they see the chequered flag. The first event gets underway at 12.00hrs local time (12.00hrs BST); with the second scheduled for 15.30hrs local time (15.30hrs BST). Leon Camier: “The boys did a great job to replace the lever so quickly and get me out again, but it did interfere with my momentum and if it hadn’t have happened I’m sure I would have been in the final session. I was in eighth place with hardly any time left on the clock, but then Haslam managed to go fractionally faster and so I missed getting into Superpole 3. “At the moment, we’re still trying to improve the FIXI Crescent Suzuki set-up and get more grip and better consistency in the tyre wear. We’ll look at the data tonight and maybe try a few things in the warm-up tomorrow morning. If I can get two good starts, I think I can be in the first group. That’s my plan anyway!” John Hopkins: “It wasn’t the greatest day for me, not helped by a problem towards the end of this morning’s final qualifying session. If it had not have been for that, maybe I would’ve managed to get into Superpole. We spent this morning trying different tyres to get a feel for which ones work best. We did find a good solution and then, when we put on a soft tyre to set a lap time, we had a technical problem and the chance was gone. I’m confident about my race pace though and think I can get a couple of good results as long as I make good starts.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “It’s been a good day really – Leon has been on the pace today, as he has been all weekend. The FIXI Crescent Suzuki team have been continuously working on the bike and have improved the set-up and done a lot of work to get the character of the engine to suit the track. We could’ve done without any drama in Superpole, but it didn’t work out that way and the boys did a superb job to get Leon back on track quickly. His race pace is good and, if he can get good starts, I’m sure he’ll be in the mix with the leaders. He cannot afford to lose any places at the start, so it’s crucial he gets off the line quickly. “John had a little slow speed tumble today, but there was no damage done. His technical problem at the end of the timed qualifying today was unfortunate because it was looking likely that he would get into Superpole. I know he is a good starter, so there’s no reason why he cannot pick up some places in the opening laps and get some good results. It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow, but we’re looking forward to fighting as hard as usual and seeing what results we can pick up.” More, from a press release issued by Honda World Superbike Team: Second row for Rea in Portugal Jonathan Rea set the seventh fastest time in today’s Superpole at Portimao in Portugal and will line up on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s two 13th round World Superbike races at Portimao in Portugal. The Honda World Superbike Team rider was unable to make the best of his two qualifying tyres to repeat his pole position from the corresponding round last year. It went instead to Tom Sykes. Rea’s Honda team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama just missed out on Superpole today and will start from the head of the fifth row for tomorrow’s two 22-lap races around the 4.592km Portimao circuit. Jonathan Rea I’m quite happy with what we’ve been doing on race tyres and how we’re set for tomorrow but I’m very disappointed that when we put qualifiers in we weren’t able to find a time with everybody else. It highlights how we’re not taking advantage of the grip from fresh tyres. So I’m very frustrated with our Superpole effort but tomorrow’s the race and we’ll see what happens. Hiroshi Aoyama I have spent some more time learning this difficult circuit and I am ready to have some fun. Unfortunately I missed Superpole by a couple of tenths which would have given me some more laps this afternoon. Tomorrow will be difficult in the races but I think I can make some places and I hope to have fun. Pieter Breddels technical manager Hiroshi just missed Superpole again he was on a fast lap at the end of second qualifying but he out-braked himself into turn five, which is quite difficult, and he couldn’t make it. We’ll try a couple of small things to improve his pace in the morning and then he’ll just have to find a couple of good starts and make the best of things. Jonathan is on the second row which is a little disappointing. We hoped for the front row but it wasn’t possible. His race pace is really good which gives us confidence that he can ride for the podium tomorrow. He’s strong here and has had success in previous years, so we’ll go for some more of that. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Eighth Pole Of 2012 For Super Sykes WSBK, Portimao, Portugal, 22 September 2012 KRT rider Tom Sykes put in his eighth Superpole winning performance of the season today and broke the existing track best with a 1’41.415 lap in Superpole three. Loris Baz will start from 12th place. Sykes found real improvements in the feel of his machine when the qualifying tyres were broken out in Superpole and he was untouchable in the final session. Despite making a small mistake on his flying lap his new track best was 0.365 seconds better than his main rival today, Carlos Checa, could manage. Sykes has now taken ten career Superpole wins, eight this season, which makes him the undisputed master of the art in 2012. Tom had been the second fastest qualifier pre-Superpole, when only race tyres are used. Loris Baz was easily into Superpole in Portimao after finishing combined qualifying in sixth place. At one of his favourite circuits he made progress in Superpole despite a small technical problem and he now lines up on the grid on the third row for Sunday’s two Superbike races. Pedercini Team Kawasaki rider David Salom was 14th fastest pre-Superpole and then finally 16th on the grid. His team-mate Alex Lundh was 20th and now starts from the fifth row. In the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup class, Pedercini Team Kawasaki rider Bryan Staring was second on the grid on his Ninja ZX-10R, while Christoffer Bergman (BWG Racing Kawasaki) was fourth and Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) was sixth. Leandro Mercado (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) was ninth. Tom Sykes: “Obviously I am really happy to get an eighth Superpole this year and when we used a qualifying tyre it improved our bike again. I am happy starting from where I am on the grid and if we can get a good clean start, and do our thing, we could have a good day. We had some small issues in Nürburgring, totally unexpected, so if we do not have them come back then we should be OK. I am very fortunate and very happy that I have got these guys working for me because they believe in me 100%. Like I have always said to them, when the settings on the bike are at a good level I can ride the bike, and do what I need to do. When I crossed the line I was actually frustrated a little because I made a small mistake in one section and lost at least a tenth, something like that. So when I crossed the line maybe 80% of me was angry with myself, but the rest of me was relaxed because I had set a good lap time and front row was going to be good enough. I enjoy qualifying, and it is enjoyable just to be yourself on the bike, out on track doing your own thing. There is a lot of pressure and you have to concentrate but ultimately I enjoy it.” Loris Baz: “We had a good pace in general this weekend but also some small problems with the set-up but we found something good this morning and went sixth. We went back to our settings from this morning for Superpole, after the second free practice session. I did not find and improvement with the qualifying tyres. I think the grip was good but maybe too much for the suspension settings we had. It was possible to do better but we are still on the third row. The bike moves a lot here because it is really bumpy now but I am confident in our race pace, so I am confident for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Effenbert Liberty Racing Team: Portimao: Superpole The World Sbk 2012 edition is forthcoming to the epilogue, the Portuguese race at Portimao in fact is the next to last, exciting round of that season. Games are open for the world title, and the Liberty Racing team once again comes on the track with the passion and competitive mood of whom doesn’t attend only for making number on the grid. The two riders of the the Czech team, the Canadian Brett McCormick and the Italian Lorenzo Lanzi, new entry of the team from the round of the Nurburgring, have demonstrated their determination since the first laps of friday, recorded positive times at the end of Q1. On Saturday the Q2 rewarded the hard work and dedication of the young Canadian talent that, with the time of 1’44 “480 entered in the top 16 of the afternoon’s Superpole. Great satisfaction for the team and the technical staff that supports McCormick, especially thinking that, after the injury at Assen, McCormick is back for full racing weekend just two weeks ago for the German Gp. The Canadian Superbike Champion 2011 capitalized perfectly the knowledge of the Portuguese track, where Brett ran in 2011 in the SST 1000 category as wild card, finishing in the top ten, and here for the first time had the chance to ride the Ducati Sbk of team Liberty during the test at the end of the season, obtaining good cronos. After almost a year since that time and the long months of convalescence after the bad accident on track in April, McCormick has centered his entry into Superpole, within 14 minutes of the first session, finding the right feeling with the qualifying tyres, that he had never used until now in SBK. Under the checkered flag just two thousandths of seconds stopped the Canadian to access to the Superpole 2 despite he has never hesitated to give all, closing with the time of 1’43 “410. The whole team is very pleased for the work done by McCormick, who proved, once again, to be able to capitalize on the teachings and suggestions of his crew. So tomorrow Lorenzo Lanzi will start from the 21th place while Brett McCormick with the thirteenth time will start from the fourth row. BRETT MCCORMICK # 68 “Today I have a lot of fun, it was nice both to be in Superpole and use qualifying tyres that were something new for me. The result was a crono of one second faster than last session. I have a little bit of learning but I’m happy and I think it is my team too. Tomorrow I’ll do all my best to close in the top ten”.