FIM Superbike World Championship Imola, Italy September 26, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098F09), 1:47.735 2. Ben SPIES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:47.778 3. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:47.834 4. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098F09), 1:47.885 5. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.156 6. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:48.665 7. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.092 8. Marco SIMONCELLI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:49.338 From Superpole Two: 9. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:48.971 10. Leon HASLAM (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:48.992 11. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.080 12. Fonsi NIETO (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.105 13. Carlos CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:49.168 14. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:49.340 15. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:49.641 16. Tom SYKES (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:49.681 From Superpole One: 17. Yukio KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:49.906 18. Broc PARKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:50.012 19. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:50.152 20. Karl MUGGERIDGE (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:50.414 The Rest of the Grid: 21. Makoto TAMADA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:50.908 22. Matteo BAIOCCO (Ducati 1098R), 1:50.929 23. Luca SCASSA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:51.256 24. Luca CONFORTI (Ducati 1098R), 1:51.551 25. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:52.477 26. David SALOM (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.567 27. Vittorio IANNUZZO (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:52.821 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea will start from the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s two 12th round World Superbike championship races at Imola in Italy after setting the third fastest time in today’s Superpole sessions. Fastest after free practice this afternoon, the Northern Irishman set the pace in the first Superpole session but was edged off his maiden pole position by local rider, Michel Fabrizio, who was just a tenth of a second faster. Rea and Fabrizio were split by championship leader, Ben Spies, with his closest challenger, Noryuki Haga, five hundredths of a second behind Rea, leaving 0.150s covering the front row. Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate Carlos Checa had looked threatening in the opening qualifying session and went sixth fastest in free practice just before Superpole. However, the Spaniard was unable to improve and slipped to thirteenth place on the grid for tomorrow’s two 21-lap races at the historic 4.93km Imola circuit. Jonathan Rea P3, 1’47.834s I didn’t really use the qualifier to its best effect in the first couple of laps and I wanted to go out and try again but fell short a little bit. The pace out there was fast today and, when I wanted to have another go, there just wasn’t enough tyre left. But we’ve got a good race setup for tomorrow and the guys have done a marvellous job. We’ve had so many new things to try and every week the package gets better and better. So, a big thanks to them, well done to Michel and Ben and I’m sure the racing will be pretty good tomorrow. Carlos Checa P13, 1’49.168s I was in top ten, top five in all the practices but on my first pit exit on the qualifying tyre I made a few mistakes. When we put the second qualifier on we had some problems with the electronics cutting the power and I couldn’t find that last 0.5s that would have carried us forward. We’ll try something more in warm-up tomorrow but I need two good starts in the race because that’s another story to qualifying. It’s not an easy place to pass here, but if we can improve the pace a little, I think we can do something. Ronald ten Kate team manager I will admit we were hoping for a bit more than the qualifying results that we got. We’ve seen all our riders in the top ten on race tyres, with Jonathan quickest in free practice just before Superpole. However, he’s still on the front row so that’s not a worry. It’ll be tough for Carlos, even though his speed on race tyres is a lot better than his Superpole result. He’ll have to be quite committed in the opening couple of laps to try and reach the top five or six riders. By the looks of things, it’s going to be another exciting race day tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda Racing: Ryuichi Kiyonari made significant improvements to the setting on his Ten Kate Honda Racing CBR1000RR today but was unable to achieve a result that reflected this in this afternoon’s Superpole qualifying sessions for tomorrow’s two 12th round World Superbike championship races at Imola in Italy. The Japanese rider struggled in yesterday’s only practice session but, in regulation qualifying this morning and, again, during free practice this afternoon at Imola, he ran comfortably in the top ten. Kiyonari qualified for Superpole but was eliminated after the opening round with the 14th fastest time. He will therefore line up on the fourth row of the grid for the two 21-lap races around the 4.93km Imola circuit. Ryuichi Kiyonari P14, 1’49.340s It’s a shame that we could not make the best of the improved feeling we had today. The bike has been improving ever since the warm-up at Nurburgring and the improvement continued today in every area. However, I had the same feeling on new race tyres as I did on old ones, and no change on the qualifying tyres, so I was unable to improve my lap time. We need to try and find something extra tomorrow morning in warm-up but, at the moment, the race pace feels OK. I will try my best for two good results, but it will be very difficult tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager The Superpole result does not really reflect the work that Kiyo-san’s team has put in to improving the feel of his bike. He showed in the earlier sessions today that the package had made a good step forward but we could not turn that into a good grid position. It means he will have to be quite committed in the early laps to stay in touch with the leading riders but, if he can do this, I am sure he can get close to their race pace. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: ITALIAN RIDER MICHEL FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES HIS FIRST SUPERPOLE, ON THE 1198 AT DUCATI’S HOME TRACK OF IMOLA! Imola (Italy), Saturday 26th September 2009: The Ducati Xerox Team were this afternoon celebrating with rider Michel Fabrizio as he took his first Superpole, by four hundredths of a second, in front of the countless Ducati fans at Imola. Team-mate Noriyuki Haga will join him on the front row of the grid tomorrow, having succeeding in securing fourth place during the afternoon’s exciting Superpole sessions. This morning, with only one qualifying session, the Ducati Xerox pair, Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, knew they had to make it count, and that they did. Michel, fastest yesterday in free practice, lapped consistently fast again and by the end of the session his best time had dropped by a further eight tenths of a second with respect to yesterday, meaning he qualified for the Superpole in first position, with a time of 1m49.026s. Noriyuki made a slower start to the session but gradually found feeling on the restyled track and in the last five minutes of the session, after a change of tyre, moved up to fifth position, just three tenths of a second behind team-mate Michel. Honda’s Johnny Rea, Yamaha’s Ben Spies and Shane “Shakey” Byrne on the privateer Ducati of Team Sterilgarda completed the top five. The early afternoon free practice session passed without incident, with Michel and Noriyuki closing in very respectable third and fourth positions respectively. The afternoon Superpole saw both Ducati Xerox men pass safely into the second phase, by concluding the first mini-session in fourth (Haga) and sixth (Fabrizio) place. In the second outing the going got tougher with ten of sixteen riders making laps in under 1m49; Michel and Nori again made it through with the sixth and seventh fastest times of the session. The final eight included four Ducati 1198 machines: those of factory riders Noriyuki and Michel, as well as the privateers Smrz (Team Guandalini) and Byrne (Team Sterilgarda). A battle for pole ensued and as the twelve minute session was coming to an end, only Michel Fabrizio and Honda’s Jonathan Ray remained on track, both going all out to beat the man at the top of the timesheets, Ben Spies. While Rea finished the lap a tenth of second slower than Spies, Michel powered to the line to record the fastest lap of the day, just 0.043 of a second faster than the American. Noriyuki took the fourth time to secure a place on the front row tomorrow while the Ducatis of Smrz and Byrne will line up behind in fifth and seventh place. The Superpole prize was awarded to Michel by his former Ducati Xerox team-mate, reigning World Champion Troy Bayliss. Michel Fabrizio 1m47.7s “I am extremely happy to take my first Superpole, and happier still to do it here at Imola on the Ducati. I really wanted it and, after Ben took it from me by a thousandth of a second back at Kyalami, this time I just took it from him. I was quite surprised because I thought they’d cut my time but then I saw the screen and saw my name in first place! Tomorrow will nevertheless be very tough because Ben and Johnny obviously have a good race pace and so I’m expecting some close racing between the guys on the front row.” Noriyuki Haga 1m47.8s “We’ve gone well today and there are just a couple of small problems, suspension-wise, but we know the direction to take so it should all be fixed before the races. I just feel that I missed out by not participating in the tests but, anyway, a place on the front row is very positive and I feel I did a good job today. I’m going to get my shoulder looked at this evening so that I’m in a position to give 200% tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by InFront Motorsports: Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) grabs first-ever Superbike Superpole One of the most exciting Superpoles of the season saw Ducati Xerox’s Michel Fabrizio power to his first ever career success at the Imola circuit in Italy. The man from Rome clinched the pole with a time of 1 minute 47.735 seconds right on the final lap of the session, taking it out of the hands of Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike), quickest until then, by just 0.043 of a second. The first row was completed by two of the other championship front-runners, Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), with the gap between the four (0.150 secs) one of the smallest in WSB history. Michel Fabrizio: “I’m really happy, I wanted this Superpole at all costs, and it’s even more satisfying to get it at home. Maybe I should only do the Italian championship as I got my first win at Monza and my first pole here! In any case tomorrow it’ll be a great battle between us young guys, because our race pace is pretty similar, so I feel sure we’ll have some fun tomorrow.” Ben Spies: “It was a good session for us but I kind of blew it in the last section, making a big mistake and that cost us, but I’m on the front row which is where we need to be. All the top guys are on the front row, which is how it should be, none of us will be hanging around so let’s hope we have some fun tomorrow.” Jonathan Rea: “The pace there in the afternoon was fast and we just missed out a little. In the last session and the last qualifier made a big mistake and didn’t quite resurrect that so there wasn’t enough time left. Anyway we’ve got a good race set-up tomorrow, I’m really happy, the guys have done a marvelous job, we’ve got so many new things to try and every week the package is getting better and better.” The second row sees Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) in fifth, followed by Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), while Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) was in seventh ahead of Marco Simoncelli (Aprilia Racing), the Italian taking his RSV4 machine to a brilliant eighth place on his WSB debut. Troy Corser (BMW) will start from row 3 in ninth after being eliminated from Superpole 2 by a fraction. Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Ducati) looked promising on the third row, while Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) could only manage 13th. It was a negative day for Suzuki Alstare Brux with both riders Yukio Kagayama and Karl Muggeridge starting from row 5. Times: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’47.735; 2. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’47.778; 3. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR100RR 1’47.834; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’47.885; 5. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’48.156; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’48.665; 7. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’49.092; 8. Simoncelli M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’49.338; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.971; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’48.992; 11. Lanzi L. (ITA)Ducati 1098R 1’49.060; 12. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’49.105; 13. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’49.168; 14. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’49.340; 15. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’49.641; 16. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’49.681 Supersport Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) continues to dominate Supersport qualifying, the Coventry man taking his ninth pole of the season. The championship leader was one of the only riders to lap under 1 minute 51 seconds, and he put in his quickest lap three minutes from the end of qualifying. Crutchlow, who was also the only rider to crash in the session, was more than half a second quicker than second placed Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), while the other two front row men, Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda) were third and fourth but over 1 second off the pace. For the Italian it was his first front row start of the year. Garry McCoy (Triumph 675) again went well for the ParkinGo BE1 team, the Australian qualifying fifth quickest ahead of two of the other championship front-runners Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport). Britain’s Chaz Davies put the second Triumph BE1 machine on row 3, in eleventh place, on his debut. Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.680; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.260; 3. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’51.955; 4. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.280; 5. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.400; 6. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.443; 7. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.599; 8. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.789 Superstock 1000 Pole position in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup went to wild-card entry Ayrton Badovini (Aprilia), the erstwhile Superbike rider obtaining the satisfaction of finishing ahead of two championship contenders, leader Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) and Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare), who were separated by half a second. The front row was completed by Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Yamaha), who is also a wild-card in the Imola race. The third title contender Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) qualified on row 2, with two more Italian riders alongside Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox) and Andrea Antonelli (Yamaha Trasimeno). Times: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’52.417; 2. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1’52.609; 3. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’53.191; 4. Magnoni M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’53.666; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’53.726; 6. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’53.931; 7. Beretta D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’53.932; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’53.945 Superstock 600 Five Italians line up in the first five positions in qualifying for the European Superstock 600 race, with points leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) starting from pole. Two-tenths behind can be found his team-mate Marco Bussolotti, while the wild-cards Roberto Tamburini (WCR Yamaha) and Giuliano Gregorini (Baru Yamaha) are third and fourth, albeit some way off the pace. On the second row can be found Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) and title contender Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), while the winner of the last two rounds Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) will only start from row 3. Times: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.190; 2. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.308; 3. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.944; 4. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’57.133; 5. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’57.196; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’57.222; 7. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’57.705; 8. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’58.167 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Parkes Makes Superpole As Tamada Just Misses WSBK, Imola, Italy, 26 September 2009 Having just one session of Friday practice before official qualifying did not help either Broc Parkes or Makoto Tamada in their preparations for Superpole, with only Broc making the first cut today. An unacceptably slippery track surface was in evidence in the very first practice session on Friday, meaning that the opening day action had to be postponed after only five minutes and did not resume until the circuit was cleaned. A much-delayed untimed session was the only Superbike action to be completed on Friday, so the single pre-Superpole qualifying session came around after only one hour of track action had been carried out. Parkes used the final untimed session before Superpole qualifying to try and find a set-up he could use to best effect, but when running soft Superpole qualifying tyres he experienced chatter from the machine. He just missed advancing to the second stage of Superpole and finally ran off track near the end of his first session, ending up 18th overall. Makoto Tamada missed out on qualifying for Superpole, losing his best laptime after it was adjudged he had crossed the line just after the chequered flag to end the session. He is now 21st on the grid for Sunday’s two WSB races. Broc Parkes: “We had a bit of chatter when we used the Superpole tyre. I went into a few of the corners and couldn’t keep the corner speed, because the chatter started in the rear but moved to the front. It hasn’t come easy here but we have a few more things to try, and we need to make another step forward tomorrow. But we are certainly better on race tyres than on qualifiers and we did an entire practice session on one tyre today, so we should be better in the races.” Makoto Tamada: “I was unlucky to miss my fastest lap, which would have got me into Superpole. I used the same tyre in qualifying as I had before but the traction seemed less. So yesterday and today was not so easy, and we have yet to find a good setting. The bike works well in the chicanes, really not so bad, but under braking and exit we could be better. Tomorrow in warm-up we expect to find a good direction with the set-up for the races.” More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shane Byrne will start from row 2 at Imola tomorrow as he confirmed himself one of the top riders of the WSBK after a good run in qualifying practice. The team worked hard to prepare the bike which performed at its best and only Shakey’s enormous desire to do well prevented him from qualifying in the front row. Byrne’s goal will be to get in the leading pack from lap one and score two good results tomorrow. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 7th in 1’49.092: “I’m happy with what we did today but at the same time a bit disappointed I didn’t qualify in the front row. I really wanted to do well for the team but I probably tried too much and so I wasn’t as effective in Superpole 3. However, the most important thing is what we’ll do tomorrow but I’m confident because we really did a good job on the bike and our pace is very good”. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: With more rubber down on the circuit as a result of yesterday’s two 60-minutes sessions, track conditions had slightly improved this morning and Stiggy Racing Honda´s sole Superbike rider Leon Haslam was well on the pace in the weekends first and final qualifying session setting the 11th fastest lap-time. Confident for the Superpole sessions he could keep the pace, Leon opted to use one of his two qualifying tyres in the very last lap of the first shoot-out to firmly take third slot. Second time out Haslam continued to make progress on his Honda CBR1000RR cutting further on his previous best laptime. Comfortable in eight place with just seconds remaining, Leon got beaten just missing out of the third and final Superpole session, finishing in 10th place and will start tomorrow´s races from the third row on the grid. Today´s pole sitter is Italian Michel Fabrizio with a best time of 1’47.735s. The second day at Imola in Italy today proved to be a hard nut to crack for Stiggy Racing Honda Supersport rider Anthony West. Yesterday´s opening session looked promising for the Australian setting ninth fastest time in free practice and 13th place in the morning´s free session, but for the afternoons final qualifying the Australian rider struggled to find enough confidence in his machine and qualified 15th on the grid. Anthony will start tomorrow’s 19 lap supersport race from a fourth row on the grid. The Italian action will start tomorrow at 13:25 CET Supersport (19 lap race) and Superbike race 1 at 12:00 CET (21 lap race) race 2 at 14:30 CET. Leon Haslam -Superbikes – P10 – 1’48.992s: 1C;I messed up on the first split on my first flying lap in that second Superpole. I got the next lap in and felt pretty good but messed up just a little bit in the last split. I missed out on a top eight by less than a tenth so it was a little disappointing we didn 19;t get to the last Superpole. We still have things to improve on so we can get a little more consistent. I know we can do the same pace as everyone else does on race tyres, so I am pretty happy with that. 1D; Anthony West – Supersport – P15 – 1’53.553s: “It was a hard day today and I’m obviously a bit disappointed as we didn’t find the settings to make me feel comfortable on the bike. Thats what we’ve been up against all year now and its pretty frustrating. Yesterday was not too bad, and today we succeeded to improve the bike compare to when we were here last testing but laptimes were pretty much the same. A 15th place is far from good but I´ll try to make it up in the race to bring home some good results for myself the crew and Stiggy as I think we all need it at the moment.” Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “I’m quite satisfied with today, Leon made good qualifying and Superpole sessions but we still need to work on his chassis settings as he is still losing a bit too much in some sectors of the track. If we managed to cure that for tomorrow I´m confident, if he makes a good start, he can reach top five results in both races. Anthony on the other hand had trust issues today, lacking in confidence didn’t allow him to find the optimum settings and laptimes as hoping for. It’s hard starting form a 15th on the grid but he has done it before, he is a strong racer and once he puts his head down anything is possible.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: TROY MISSES SUPERPOLE 3 BY A WHISKER! Troy missed out on getting into Superpole 3 by the narrowest of margins at Imola today. Less than three hundredths of a second separated Troy and a place in Superpole 3, and so he will now start from the third row of the grid tomorrow. Ruben achieved his first goal of qualifying for Superpole 1, but his lack of track time with the new spec engine in his S 1000 RR prevented him from pushing harder and getting into Superpole 2. Nevertheless he was enjoying his riding again and, like Troy, is looking forward to tomorrow’s two 21-lap races. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) stole the Superpole 3 victory right at the death. Ben Spies (Yamaha) had laid down what looked like an unbeatable time of 1:47.778, but in the closing minutes Fabrizio put in a stormer of a lap and just managed to beat Spies. Third went to Jonathan Rea (Honda), with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) fourth. Troy – 9th, 1:48.971 Of course, it is disappointing to miss out on Superpole 3 by such a small margin, but that shows just how competitive the championship is and the difference between the second row of the grid and the third. But generally, things have gone pretty well this weekend, despite losing an hour yesterday, and we know which front tyre we’ll use in the race tomorrow. The rear is a choice of two, so hopefully we’ll sort that one out in the warm-up tomorrow morning. This circuit has three chicanes and these first gear corners do not suit our bike at present. It’s an area that the team know about, are working on and this problem will be fixed in the next engine spec. I feel that maybe our bike is the fastest out of the turns, but I can’t use the full power on the exit because it wants to wheelie. This is another area that will be sorted out soon, but at least the bike is easier to ride than it was earlier in the year and that means that I am enjoying myself again. Ruben – 19th , 1:50.152 My first goal was to qualify for Superpole 1 and I did that, so that made me happy. But having done that, I wanted more and that was not possible today because I am not quite up to speed yet after nearly eight weeks off the bike. But the good news is that I feel good physically and I have no pain from my injuries. Even my arms were better today and now I just need time on the bike and work on understanding the improvements the team have made since I last rode it. For sure, the throttle connection is much better and the bike is easier to ride, but I am having some small problems braking and I have to work on that. I had a little tip-off this morning, but picked the bike up straightaway and rode back. No problem for me or the bike. Starting from so far back down the grid is going to be hard, but at least I should be able to avoid any trouble at the front if there is some. I want to have two good races, enjoy myself and be ready for the rest of the season. Berti Hauser (Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) Firstly, I am happy that Ruben qualified for Superpole. This series is so hard and competitive and to qualify for Superpole is difficult enough, so he has done very well, considering his condition and circumstances. He has returned strong mentally and that’s what we were hoping for. It’s a big pity that Troy just couldn’t get into Superpole 3, but the times were very close and it shows how small the margins are. The track doesn’t suit our bike, because there are so many chicanes, but the next step of the bike should solve this problem. We’ve seen Troy make good starts before, so we will just have to wait and see what happens in the races. For Ruben, I would like him to survive the weekend in a good condition and continue his superb physical improvement before Magny-Cours next weekend. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Day two at Imola saw a much improved track surface allowing Yamaha World superbike rider Ben Spies to get down to business and back to his blistering pace. The qualifying session saw him displaying fast consistent laps, moving quickly to the top of the board with a 1.49.8 by midway through the session. As it drew to a close he improved again, laying down a 1.49.09 to take third at the end. Superpole started with Spies on a race tyre, still laying down a 148.8 to take the second spot going into heat two. The qualifiers came out for the second round, where Spies shaved 0.6 seconds off his time, dropping to 1.48.2 and a pass through to the final round. As the heat drew to a close Spies put in an incredible last lap, and despite coming off the racing line for the last two corners still managing a 1.49.096, which was just beaten by Fabrizio in the last seconds by a mere 0.007 seconds. Spies will start tomorrow’s races from the front row in second position, ahead of championship rival Haga. Spies’ team mate Tom Sykes had a more difficult day. The British rider worked hard in qualifying despite being still very sore from his big high side the day before. By mid-session he had managed to secure 13th on the board, then dropping to 16th at the end of the session. Sykes continued to struggle with the set up of the bike through the Superpole heats, making it through the first session with a 1’49.5 in 15th place. The second session saw him again working hard but he was unable to improve on his time and takes a 16th place grid position for Sunday’s races. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1’47.778) “Qualifying was ok for us today, we tried some different tyres to yesterday and brought the times down a bit. The track definitely has more grip on it now so it’s getting better and better for Sunday. It was a good Superpole session although I kind of blew it on the last section of my last flying lap and it cost us. We’re on the front row and that’s where we need to be so I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. It’s going to be a tough couple of races with a lot of guys up there so we’re going to be banging around and having some fun which is what it’s all about.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (16th, 1’49.681) “Qualifying really didn’t go to plan for me today. I have a big problem with the rear tyre. I’m struggling to keep the back steady to get the power on. I need to have a talk with the boys in the garage tonight and see if we can find a solution for warm up tomorrow morning. I’m still very sore from yesterday so it wasn’t that fun on the bike but we tried as hard as possible.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “It’s definitely a good result at the end of the session. We made some improvements on the bike and tomorrow we are ready to be the main protagonist. Tom is quite sore from his big crash yesterday, but he showed us that he wasn’t going to give up and he gave us 100%, he had a great attitude. Tomorrow it will be a very tough race, there will be four or five riders up there fighting for the front.” More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI AND SIMONCELLI IN THE SECOND ROW Thousands of fans flocked to the stands at the Santerno circuit to watch the Superpole of the SBK round at Imola. The excellent weather and track conditions allowed the drivers to battle it out to the bitter end. Michel Fabrizio, on his Ducati Factory, won his first Superpole of the season with a time of 1:47:735, ahead of Spies’ Yamaha by just 43 thousandths of a second and Rea’s CBR1000RR by 99 thousandths of a second. It was a sixth-place finish for Max Biaggi with a time of 1:48:556, 0:930 behind the pole position. The Roman driver passed the first stage in fifth position using racing tyres, while he came in fourth place in Superpole 2, passing under the chequered flag after having used both of his available qualifying tyres. Marco Simoncelli finished his first Superpole in eighth position with a time of 1:49:568, 1:603 behind Fabrizio. Marco passed the first session in ninth place, using his first qualifying tyre. His Superpole2 was heart-stopping: eliminated from the top eight, he mounted the second qualifying tyre and finished the qualifying race just in time, after an almost perfect run, achieving a time of 1:48:605 which landed him in sixth place and gave him access to the final round, where he used the racing tyres, but was also hindered by a small technical problem during the last two laps. “They were some decent trials,” declared Biaggi, “where I gave it my all and we achieved the maximum possible. During yesterday’s warm-ups and the qualifying round this morning, I tried the bike with the new material that was available and we still weren’t able to achieve what we had hoped to, so for the warm-ups prior to the Superpole, we decided to go back and use a configuration that was more similar to the one used during the recent races and we achieved good results on a layout that wasn’t ideal for the features of our RSV4. Tomorrow will be another very difficult race, but I’ll give it my all because I want to put on a good show for my many fans.” “I can’t help but be satisfied with the results I achieved,” said Simoncelli, “even if I complicated things a great deal with the slip at the end of the warm-ups, forcing me to use the second bike, which I had less of a feeling with, for the Superpole. This Superpole system is crazy! Unlike the 250cc where you try to get the time during the final laps, here you have to start from the beginning each time. In any case, I had a lot of fun and I managed to qualify for the final stage of the Superpole, which leaves me optimistic about tomorrow. The two races are still another new experience, it will be quite difficult, given the level of my adversaries and I’ll have to keep on improvising like I’ve done these past few days.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama suffered a problem with his number-one bike just before Superpole for today’s WSB Qualifying at Imola in Italy, and was forced to use his back-up bike which had a different set-up. Because of this, he couldn’t push as hard as he wanted in Superpole 1 and so was unable to get into Superpole 2. The morning qualifying session had gone very positively for the Japanese rider and he was looking forward to making further improvements on his GSX-R1000 K9 in the free practice before Superpole. But right towards the end of the session, his rear end lost grip and he was forced into the gravel trap. He hit the tyre wall and the engine cut out. Kagayama tried to restart the bike, but it wouldn’t fire up, so he had to run back to the pits and get his number two bike ready for Superpole. His team mate Karl Muggeridge was also unable to proceed into Superpole 2 and was very disappointed as things had been going well up to that point: Muggeridge is one of the few riders who didn’t test here back in July and yesterday’s loss of track time meant that he was still getting to know the bike, the new suspension system, and whilst learning the new layout of the circuit at the same time. Yukio Kagayama – 17th, 1:49.906: “Seventeenth place on the grid is terrible and I am very disappointed because things had been going so positively and I was enjoying myself again. It is early days with our new suspension, but the signs are very positive and I was hoping that we would have a good Superpole. But running off the track ruined that and when I hit the tyre wall and the engine wouldn’t start, I knew it could be a problem. Now, once again, I have to make two good starts and ride my socks off, but I want to forget today’s problem and think positively about tomorrow and the races.” Karl Muggeridge – 20th, 1:50.414: “I am very disappointed because today things had definitely started to turn around and we were progressing very well. We have improved the bike a bit since yesterday, but have still got the same family of problems, so more work is required. For me, turns one and two are still very greasy and I crashed there when the bike suddenly shook its head and I was off. No damage to me at all, but I am sorry for the extra work I have given the mechanics. I’ll see what I can do to repay them in the races tomorrow.” Final WSB qualifying: 1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:47.735, 2 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:47.778, 3 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:47.834, 4 Haga (JPN-Ducati) 1:47.885, 5 Smrz (CZE-Ducati) 1:48.156, 6 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:48.665. 17 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:49.906. 20 Karl Muggeridge (AUS-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:50.414. WORLD SUPERSTOCK 1000: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Claudio Corti posted the third fastest time in qualifying at Imola today and will start tomorrow’s race on the front row of the grid. Despite the loss of yesterday’s practice session, Corti and the team worked hard at getting a good set-up at the 4.936 kilometre circuit and feel positive about tomorrow’s 12-lap race. Claudio Corti – 3rd, 1:53.191: “It was a shame to lose time yesterday, but it’s the same for everybody and I think we did well today to get the bike ready for tomorrow. We started with the same set-up we used when we tested here in July, plus some modifications. But, in fact, we returned to the original set-up because the new modifications didn’t work out so well. We are working a lot on the suspension and also trying to get better grip and I think we ended up in the right direction. We’ll try a few things in the warm-up tomorrow and see if we can make further progress but, whatever happens, I think we’re in good shape for the race. Racing at home is always a bit special and I would like to give my team and my fans a treat by taking victory tomorrow.” Final Superstock 1000 qualifying: 1 Badovini (ITA-Aprilia) 1:52.417, 2 Simeon (BEL-Ducati) 1:52.609, 3 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare Brux) 1:53.191, 4 Magnoni (ITA-Yamaha) 1:53.666, 5 Barrier (FRA-Yamaha) 1:53.726, 6 Berger (FRA-Honda) 1:53.931.