Kawasaki Motocard.com’s Joan Lascorz piloted his factory ZX-6R around the 3.0-mile Miller Motorsports Park in a time of 1:51.749 Saturday afternoon to claim pole position for tomorrow’s 18-lap Supersport World Championship race. The session was halted briefly for a crash involving defending World Champion Andrew Pitt, who crashed his HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR in the first segment of the track. World Superbike Press Officer Julian Thomas reported that Pitt suffered a “knock on the head” and was transported to a local hospital to be checked out. A representative with Pitt’s team, however, said he was still at the racetrack’s medical facility. Regardless, Pitt crashed before he was able to record a qualifying time. He will therefore have to start from the back of the grid, if he is declared medically fit to race. Markbilt Racing’s Melissa Paris earned the distinction of being the first women to ever compete in a Supersport World Championship race by making the qualifying cut-off of 1:59.571 with a lap of 1:57.079. FIM Supersport World Championship Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah May 30, 2009 Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Joan Lascorz (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:51.749 2. Eugene Laverty (Hon CBR600RR), 1:51.829 3. Cal Crutchlow (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.051 4. Gianluca Nannelli (Tri Daytona 675), 1:52.659 5. Massimo Roccoli (Hon CBR600RR), 1:52.726 6. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hon CBR600RR), 1:52.755 7. Garry McCoy (Tri Daytona 675), 1:52.794 8. Fabien Foret (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.827 9. Mark Aitchison (Hon CBR600RR), 1:52.951 10. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:53.171 11. Robbin Harms (Hon CBR600RR), 1:53.516 12. Michele Pirro (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.630 13. Matthieu Lagrive (Hon CBR600RR), 1:53.799 14. Miguel Praia (Hon CBR600RR), 1:53.919 15. Barry Veneman (Suz GSX-R600), 1:53.303 16. Michael Laverty (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.377 17. Patrick Vostarek (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.621 18. Gianluca Vizziello (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.652 19. Arie Vos (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.784 20. Russell Holland (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.824 21. Doni Tata Pradita (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.901 22. Anthony West (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.179 23. Fabrizio Perotti (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.409 24. Jesco Gunther (Hon CBR600RR), 1:55.658 25. Alessandro Polita (Suz GSX-R600), 1:55.731 26. Yannick Guerra (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.954 27. Melissa Paris (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.079 28. Andrew Nelson (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.587 29. Oleg Pianykh (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.856 30. Andrew Pitt (Hon CBR600RR), crash, no time recorded Qualifying Cut-Off: 107% of Fast Time: 1:59.571 31. Marie-Josee Bouocher (Hon CBR600RR), 2:00.696 32. Ryan Taylor (Hon CBR600RR), 2:06.139 33. Chip Yates (Suz GSX-R600), no time recorded Update: Andrew Pitt and Chip Yates will be allowed to start the World Supersport race thanks to a new rule added for 2009, which reads: “1.15.6 Qualification for the Race “To qualify for the race, a rider must achieve a time at least equal to 107% of the time recorded by the fastest rider of his class in at least one qualifying session. “Any rider who fails to achieve a qualifying time will be permitted to take part in the race provided that in any of the free practice sessions he/she has achieved a time at least equal to 107% of the fastest rider in same session. “Any rider who has not qualified at the end of the last qualifying practice cannot take any further part in the event.” Pitt was well within 107% of the fast time in every session he ran. Yates was within the 107% mark in one session, Saturday morning practice. More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Laverty scorches to second on the grid PARKALGAR HONDA ace Eugene Laverty was one of only two riders to dip under the 1m 52sec barrier in qualifying for the seventh round of the World Supersport Championship at Miller Motorsports Park in the US, taking second on the grid. Laverty has been consistently fast all weekend and was only bettered by Kawasaki’s Juan Lascorz who took pole position. Parkalgar Honda racer Miguel Praia will start from 14th after a crash in yesterday’s free practice. The race is on Sunday, May 31st, at 1925CET and can be viewed on Eurosport. Eugene: “It was really good this morning as it was the first time this season that we topped a practice session despite having won three races. We didn’t make many changes to the chassis, everything is working pretty well. The small changes we did make, along with using a soft tyre, allowed me to cut my lap times. I am learning the circuit and once we have my Parkalgar Honda in the ball-park, it seems the last few clicks and changes are critical to performance we are bang on the set-up here and will be there for the race. We aren’t sure who has the race pace; maybe we will see in warm-up, it all depends on the tyres the others are using. I think it will come down to three of us Juan, Cal and I.” Miguel: “After my crash yesterday I am pleased to be riding. I am not 100 per cent but I am happy that I improved my lap times from yesterday. The fourth row is OK given the circumstance and I will go to bed early tonight and hopefully be feeling better tomorrow, as I want to do my very best in the race.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “A mega day and although Eugene didn’t get pole, he has a cracking set-up for the race. On the face of it there are not many riders capable of the same lap times as Eugene and he is looking good. Miguel is riding after his crash yesterday and did a good job getting 14th on the grid. He will rest tonight and should score points in the race. Anyone that knows me knows I am a big Chelsea football fan and after winning the FA Cup final today I can’t stop smiling, it’s been a good day!” More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Doni Tata Pradita 21st During the free practice session on Saturday morning, there were good news and bad news. The good news is that Doni did his best ever lap time in 1’54.431, faster than 1’55.305 the previous day. The bad news is that he did three starting tests, and broke the clutch on the third one, breaking the engine crankcase as a consequence. This made everything more complicated of course for the following session, especially as there is now only one timed practice session. Doni went faster and faster and he finished in 21st position. This is not wonderful, but the good thing is that he is very much at ease on this track as he proved it on Friday. If the position on the starting grid is not gorgeous, there is still a reasonable possibility to hope for a good race. Joan Lascorz from Spain was the fastest of all on his Kawasaki. Second position went to Eugene Laverty on his Honda, in front of the World Championship leader Cal Crutchlow on his Yamaha. As Nannelli finished fourth on a Triumph, there are four different manufacturers on the front row. Doni Tata Pradita: “I am not so happy because there were some mistakes. I had some front brake problem. After fixing that, I restarted for one lap, and then went back to the pits to put a new rear tyre. I need more laps to do a good lap time. I didn’t do so many laps during this session. Normally I can do better. The last time I entered the track, I did only two laps and this is not enough.” Martial Garcia (team-manager): “The first day was very promising, but we couldn’t do as well as we hoped on Saturday afternoon. The technical problem that we encountered in the morning stopped our progression. But this has nothing to do with the good potential of the rider and the bike on this track, therefore we can hope for a good result tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing: Gianluca Nannelli put on a great performance to take the first WSS front row ever for Triumph. The Italian finished today’s qualifying practice in fourth place as he scored a great result for both team ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing and the Triumph brand. Nannelli confirmed his great form as he was constantly fast throughout the entire day. Garry McCoy did well too as he qualified seventh on the starting grid. The Australian rider set a similar time to his teammate and is confident for tomorrow’s race. GIANLUCA NANNELLI | Triumph Daytona 675 | 4th in 1’52.659: “I really enjoyed myself today as everything went smoothly like last weekend. I will start from an excellent position and I hope to perform at my best as I did today. In the race simulation runs we’ve conducted, we were very fast especially with worn out tyres which could prove to be decisive in the second part of the race tomorrow.”. GARRY McCOY | Triumph Daytona 675 | 7th in 1’52.794: “We’ve made some changes since yesterday as far as bike setup is concerned and we nailed them. In fact, in the afternoon session I replicated this morning’s time, when I was fifth. Unfortunately, I made some small mistakes but the starting position is still very good and I hope to get in the leading pack from the beginning. However, the gap between the riders is very small and tomorrow we’ll have a very hard-fought race until the end”. GIULIANO ROVELLI – TEAM MANAGER: “In the last couple of races we found equlibrium as we needed a few running-in rounds because we changed a lot since last season. I really have to congratulate Gianluca Nannelli who put on a great performance and captured a great front row position. I also would like to thank the entire team and our engineer Dani Corradini who always prepares high performant engines within the WSS regulations”. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Kenan Sofuoglu will start from the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s seventh round World Supersport championship race at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, USA after setting the sixth fastest time in today’s sole qualifying session. The Turkish rider was among the fastest riders in this morning’s free practice but was unable to convert his speed into the front row start that he felt his CBR600RR merited. Sofuoglu’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Andrew Pitt, crashed early in this afternoon’s qualifying session and was unable to take any further part in proceedings. Although he did not set a qualifying time, the Australian will start from the back of the grid because his earlier time from free practice was within 107% of pole sitter Joan Lascorz’s fastest time. Kenan Sofuoglu P6, 1’52.755 I have to say that I am very disappointed by this qualifying result. I really felt that our CBR600RR package was enough to give us a front row start. For one reason or another, it didn’t work out. We made some changes to the bike which were in the right direction but it wasn’t enough. I’m finding it difficult to change direction in the chicane and the front is sliding in a lot of places. It didn’t show up in this morning’s free practice only when I had to push a little harder this afternoon. We’ll look at all the data tonight and see what we can find to improve things tomorrow morning and then hope for a good result in the race. Andrew Pitt P30, 1’53.844s I’m not really sure what happened in the crash. I went out for qualifying feeling pretty good after free practice and looking forward to trying a few improvements we made to the set-up. Through the first four corners they felt fine but then I just lost control going into turn five and had to jump off the bike. I whacked my head pretty hard and have a big bruise on my thigh, so I think I’ll probably feel pretty sore in the morning. We’ll give it a go in warm-up and see how I feel. Starting from the back of the grid is not good, but at least I’m on the grid. Ronald ten Kate team manager I’m happy that Andrew came away without more serious injury after his big crash. We’re checking everything to see what the problem was but, at this stage, it doesn’t appear to be rider error. He’ll have to start from the back of the grid but hopefully he’ll feel fit enough to make up some lost ground. Despite Kenan’s starting position, we have definitely found a good way forward with his bike setting. We couldn’t quite get it perfect during qualifying but, hopefully, some overnight changes will give him a machine that’s competitive enough for a top result. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Miller proves hard nut to crack for Supersport squad The second day of qualifying at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, was marked by red flags—no less then three times it waved in the free practice and qualifying sessions—delaying valuable time on-track. Staying Racing Honda’s Anthony West is still struggling to regain the feeling with the bike, and found himself languishing at the back of the field in the qualifying session. He put in a last attempt to gain a position on the first rows of the grid in the ultimate minutes of the session. As he set out on his flying lap, he managed to improve on the first parts of the track and looked set to qualify within the top 15, but lost valuable seconds in the last sector. He ended the session in a best time of 1’55.179s, a result that must come as a disappointment for the Australian rider who will now start the race from a low sixth row on the grid. Gianluca Vizziello looked set to head for improvement this weekend as he improved to improve his performance throughout the sessions yesterday, but struggled to equal his results in the qualifying session. Lascorz topped the sheets and set his pole-position time at 1’53.350s, Vizziello set his best time of the day in 1’54.652s, a time that places him at an 18th place on the grid. The Miller Motorsports Park Supersport race looks set to be staging another dog fight at the front of the field. If West manages to have a good start and quickly pull away from his low position on the grid — and he has shown before that he is capable of making ground on the first lap — he might be able to join the battle up front and take a good result home for his team. Gianluca Vizziello, 1’54.652s : ” We haven’t made any radical changes from this morning, but tried a couple of different things this session. I had a new clutch fitted, but came in to change it again after it didn’t give us the improvement we were looking for. I tried a harder front tyre, which gave me a better feeling, but it didn’t improve the lap times. I don’t really understand why I have not been able to at least equal the position I had in the morning’s session. Starting from the fifth row is definitely not what we were hoping for, but I hope I can make some improvement in tomorrow’s race though.” Anthony West, 1’55.179s: ” It looked like we had found a good way of how to work, but the results have not been shown here today. I am still feel that my bike is lacking the competitiveness to be up riding at the front of the field, and it influences my confidence in the bike. I am not satisfied with my starting position from the sixth row, but I hope I can gain some positions in the race tomorrow. ” Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager: ” We find it hard to understand what is going on with our Supersport riders and why they cannot near the times they should be setting. We have brought a new suspension specialist in the team, who was working for us last year, and the feedback we got from the riders about the feeling and handling of the bike was good, but the results this afternoon were just a disaster. We did not change many things to the set up of the bikes today. We will have to sit down tonight and find out was is happening. We definitely have to pick up the pace and improve our positions. The results we achieved today are just far from good. ” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha Supersport riders take first and second row starts for race day Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow endured a frustrating qualifying session today at the Miller circuit in Salt Lake City. The British rider worked hard and was on the pace for the duration of the qualifying heat however on several attempts at a flying lap came up against slower riders who thwarted attempts to lay down the perfect pole position time. As a result Crutchlow will start the race tomorrow in third position on the front row of the grid. Crutchlow’s team-mate Fabien Foret had much of the same trouble today. Having started the weekend’s practice yesterday with an outstanding pace and adapting to the circuit quickly Foret also struggled today with some of the slower traffic during the qualifying session and will start the race tomorrow in eighth position from the second row of the grid. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (3rd, 1’52.051) “Today was really hard work. The last two days have been the hardest I’ve had so far this year. We’re not feeling too comfortable here at Miller but maybe for the race tomorrow we’ll be able to pull out the stops and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be on the podium. Winning the race is going to be hard but I’m going to be fighting for it definitely. ” Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (8th, 1’52.827) “I’m not really satisfied with my qualifying session. On my fastest lap I got stuck behind an American rider and was held up. I then waited too long to go for another good lap time on fresh tyres and messed up my session a bit. I’m on the second row though so it’s not the end of the world and I’m feeling really good with the bike and everything so tomorrow will be different.” Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager “It didn’t go really smoothly today, with the red flags and slow US riders blocking both riders when they were on good laps it’s been a frustrating session. But we have two good guys and tomorrow is race day so we’ll see. No matter what happened today in qualifying it’s going to be a battle tomorrow, hopefully nobody will get away.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Pole Breakthrough For Lascorz At Miller WSS, Salt Lake City, USA, 30 May 2009 Joan Lascorz took his first career pole position in WSS racing at Miller Motorsports Park, securing a new best lap of 1’51.749 on his way to the best grid slot for Sunday’s 18-lap race. Lascorz was the leading rider throughout the lone qualifying session, and his success was also the first Kawasaki pole in 2009. This result for Joan and his team was particularly sweet because he has been second on the grid no fewer than four times this year, but not quite in the prime starting spot until now. Lascorz’ Provec Motocard.com Kawasaki team had a new engine specification for him to try at this race and he made good use of both his machine’s high pace and his own determined and skilful riding performance to beat his nearest challenger, Eugene Laverty, by 0.080 seconds. Joan also finished 0.302 seconds up on the third best rider, Cal Crutchlow, with the rest of the field some way behind those three. Katsuaki Fujiwara rode his Ninja ZX-6R into the top ten, earning a third row start in the only US-based round of the 2009 calendar, which signifies the halfway point of the 14-round season. The Miller circuit, in use by World Supersport for the first time this year, has proved relatively easy to learn for most of the WSS riders. The fact that only one of the main protagonists has ever raced there before is sure to make Sunday’s race an entertaining event for competitors and fans alike. Joan Lascorz: “My fast lap was perfect and we took the pole position. At the end I had learned how to run at a consistent level and could keep the pace high. Then I needed to put in a new tyre and see if I could go faster, and we went a tenth or so better. I just rode a bit better and it made the difference. Other riders are fast and maybe we will have a race between three or four riders, not like in Kyalami. I think we still have more potential from our bike, it’s still new this year. This was a new track for us although it is not that technical. But when you go at the fastest pace the track always feels technical enough!” Katsuaki Fujiwara: “Our qualifying wasn’t so bad but I wanted more, a little bit more, to get into the 1’52s. We got better through all the sessions. The track is fun, but a little bit bumpy. Tomorrow we will have a look at something in the warm-up session to help us with our overall race pace.” More, from a press release issued by Swigz.com Racing: American Chip Yates Has Qualified for the FIM World Supersport Race at Miller Motorsports Park This Weekend MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK, UTAH, May 30, 2009 — SWIGZ.COM Pro Racing announced today that rider Chip Yates (AMA #89) has qualified his Suzuki GSX-R600 for the grid of Sunday’s World Supersport race at Miller Motorsports Park. Chip’s weekend has not been without drama and qualifying within 107% of the world’s fastest 600cc riders proved difficult with a right shoulder injury sustained in a crash at the AMA Infineon Daytona SportBike race two weeks ago. Chip Yates: “The situation with my shoulder is only making this experience more colorful and exciting. We have overcome pretty steep odds to put our bike on a world-level grid. The crash at Infineon destroyed my bike and we spent all our time and energy rebuilding it to world specs as best we could for this race weekend. We only had 2 days to build our engine and it makes 123 horsepower versus the 138 ~ 145 horsepower of the incredible World Supersport machines. Still, it’s great to be here and the rider has lots of room for improvement and I expect to drop my laptimes at least another 2 seconds during Sunday’s race.” Crew Chief Jimmy Summers: “Chip’s being a little baby with his shoulder so we won’t participate in the final qualifying session today or in Sunday’s warmup session to give the shoulder a break, which means we have to start last on the grid but this is still the best strategy. We have his orthopaedic surgeon here and he is keeping an eye on things. We were doing very well fitness-wise, but then Chip got popped out of the seat hard in a pretty dramatic incident in turn 16 and it yanked his injured shoulder badly.” Also assisting Chip’s World Supersport efforts is his wife Julie Yates and Mechanic Jamal Malik.