FIM Superbike World Championship Monza, Italy May 7 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:41.745 2. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:42.393 3. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:42.614 4. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.688 5. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:42.714 6. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.723 7. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:42.954 8. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:43.043 From Superpole Two: 9. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.886 10. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:42.995 11. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:43.116 12. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:43.146 From Superpole One: 13. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:43.090 14. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:43.437 15. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:43.993 16. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:44.005 The Rest of the Grid: 17. Ruben XAUS, Spain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:44.216 18. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.515 19. James TOSELAND, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:44.989 20. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:45.022 21. Fabrizio LAI, Italy (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:45.739 22. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Monza Qualifying Practice 2 & Superpole. Saturday, 07 May 2011. Weather conditions: Sunny. Temperature: Air: 20 25 °C, Track: 34 43 °C Number of riders participating: 21/20 from 13 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:42.934 min Fastest lap Superpole 3: Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing) 1:41.745 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had a successful Saturday at Monza (ITA) and will start the fourth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship from the first and second rows. After strong performances in the second Qualifying session in the morning and in the Free Practice, the team consolidated on these in the deciding Superpole session. Works rider, Troy Corser (AUS), who scored the first podium for BMW Motorrad Motorsport one year ago at Monza, qualified fourth. His team mate, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished the very close third and final part of the Superpole in sixth, only three hundreds of a second behind Troy. Leon set the fastest lap times in the Qualifying sessions for the Superpole. Troy Corser: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:43.039 min (P3) / Fastest lap FP: 1:43.058 min (P4) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:42.688 min (P4) “I am quite happy with today’s result. I tried to push in Superpole 2 and made a small mistake at La Roggia – I hit the kerbs and lost some time. In Superpole 3 I was a little bit more cautious, and I braked a little sooner. As a result, again I lost a few tenths. The BMW S 1000 RR still does not like to be pushed too much. Nevertheless, I am happy enough as I made it onto the front row for the first time this season. I now hope for a good start and to get through the first chicane without any issues. On the race tyre I have quite a consistently good pace. I think wherever we are after the start, we can also be at the end of the race. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race.” Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:42.934 min (P1) / Fastest lap FP: 1:42.877 min (P3) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:42.723 min (P6) “I made a slight mistake in Superpole 1, which meant I went for the qualifying tyre to ensure I posted a quick time, so that’s why my lap time in SP1 was my fastest of the three sessions. In Superpole two I used the second and final set of qualifiers, but again I caught some riders in the wrong place on the track and my lap time wasn’t as quick. Still I made it through to Superpole 3. There I was forced to do the whole session on a race tyre, but I still managed sixth place. With regard to tomorrow I am feeling pretty confident, our race pace is good so I am really looking forward to getting out there.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “It was important for us to make it through to Superpole 3 today so we could qualify for the front two rows. In Superpole the results are determined by how much of a slipstream you have to benefit from. Still we are starting the races tomorrow from fourth and sixth, and we have a good base setting to work with. The races here are always about utilising the slipstream effect to your advantage and I think the podium is a real possibility.” More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga is ready to set fire on the italian public. The japanese rider will kick off from the second row tomorrow, gained during a thrilling qualifying day finale. His day didn’t begin in the best way due to a crash without major consequences during this morning free practices and interrupted after a few minutes for oil on the track. Back to the box he kept on with the tweak work, finalized in the afternoon practices, during which he paid special attention at the Superpole. A work well repaid, allowing to follow the pre-planned strategy. Nitro Nori so, has the chance to place himself among the first positions already since the beginning, trying to bring it to the end. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “This morning crush’s been spectacular but luckily I just feel some pain at my elbow that didn’t prevent me from hitting back the track, even though it still ache during course-changings. I managed the Superpole to gain a placement among the first two rows, a basic condition trying to run at my best the two manches. Tomorrow I’ll test another solution, to decide then the right setting to fight the races with. I’m sure will be a battle because it’s a really fast circuit where the values are pretty balanced.” More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: A SUPERPOLE AT MORE THAN 200 KM/HOUR AVERAGE FOR MAX BIAGGI WHO BREAKS EVERY RECORD AND RIDES HIS APRILIA RSV4 BEFORE THE WORLD. A Monza the Corsair leads a perfect Superpole and, with a record time of 1’41.745, he’ll start in the first box on the grid for the two races tomorrow. Monza, May 7th 2011 Flawless, three sessions run in perfect crescendo and a grand finale: Max Biaggi’s Superpole at Monza is one which will go down in sports history. The World Superbike Champion broke away from his rivals, showing great determination and excellent form, as well as excellent harmony with his Aprilia Alitalia RSV4. As foretold by the times from the previous practice sessions, Max Biaggi came through the first two sessions easily, without having to use the softer tyre. This allowed him to use the higher performance qualifiers only for the last part of the Superpole, the session when only the top 8 remain. Two first place laps, the last of which at 1’41.745 that also establishes a new SBK record on the Monza track, locked up the Roman rider’s first place. At the end of the sessions Max did not hide his satisfaction: “A great day, without a doubt, but the problem is that we still haven’t won anything. So we had better keep our feet on the ground. It’s always nice to start from the front row and that rewards the work that we did yesterday and today, even making some sacrificing for pure performance. We found a good general balance and that is how we were able to put the qualifying tyre to good use. This is to the credit of all the guys on the team. We are an all Italian company – we have the three colours of the Italian flag on our bike and we cannot be indifferent about this race – it is an important weekend for us. We still have the problem of tyre wear which obviously suffer with these averages, and the races here are always extremely heated: Yamaha and BMW have always done well – just look at the last SBK rounds on this circuit – and they will be worthy adversaries. We have certainly prepared as best we can, but the races haven’t been run yet.” Some more difficulties in Superpole for Leon Camier, despite the excellent race pace he showed in the previous sessions. With the tenth time he made today, the English rider will start from the third row. “I can’t explain how annoyed I am said Leon – I was looking good to go 6th fastest and then had a moment in turn seven. The rear came round on me, highsided and then pushed me wide. I messed up basically, and with such a competitive field, one mistake and you’re out. We’ve had a tough weekend with problems here and there, and I’ve not exactly helped the situation today. I’ll have to pick myself up and concentrate on doing a good job tomorrow. We know we’ve got good race pace and that we can challenge to make up places, I’ve just not made it easy for myself! More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Monza front row for Castrol Honda’s Rea Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two fourth round World Superbike championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the third fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole sessions at Monza. Pole position was taken by local rider Max Biaggi, as 24-year-old Rea worked diligently with his crew to find an improved race set-up for the two 18-lap races around the 5.777km picturesque and historic Monza circuit just north of Milan in northern Italy. After setting the pace in yesterday’s opening free practice session, Rea has spent subsequent sessions concentrating on optimizing the tyre wear on his Castrol Honda CBR1000RR to last each of tomorrow’s two races. His team-mate Ruben Xaus just missed out on a lap that was quick enough to guarantee a place with the final 16 riders to contest Superpole. The Spaniard will consequently start from 17th position on the grid. Jonathan Rea P3 To be honest, I’m very happy and savouring the moment to be on the front row here because we’ve had a bit of an up and down weekend so far. We’ve been working really, really hard for tomorrow’s races and the tyre choice is critical again here with the temperature going up and down. The front row is really important to get away with the front group, which will be quite a group I think. A big ambition of mine is to stand on the podium here at Monza it would be really special, so I’ll be trying my hardest to achieve that tomorrow. Ruben Xaus P17 Of course, it’s been a disappointing day and there’s not really much I can say. I feel OK on the bike but we tested a few things today to achieve a good basic set-up and went in the wrong direction. We’re all in it together and, as a team, we are all working very hard an d we must take the bad times together like we take the good times. We still had some brake problems today, but also some traction issues. We weren’t so far away yesterday and maybe we should have spent more time to get into a rhythm with that before trying so hard to improve it some more. Anyway, we’ll see if we can find something in warm-up tomorrow and, of course, I will be trying my best in both the races. Ronald ten Kate team manager We’ve been spending a lot of time this weekend working with Jonathan on used race tyres in various combinations, so we never really knew how fast he was going to be on a soft tyre for a single fast lap. But he was really quite good at it! The front row is important here at Monza because we don’t want to let the leading group get away, so we’re hoping he can hop on to the high-speed train with three or four other riders. Unfortunately, things are not quite so good on Ruben’s side of the garage. We can’t expect a miracle overnight but we’ve got some other things to try in warm-up tomorrow that we hope can propel him forward in the races. More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: 2011 Superbike World Championship Round 4, Monza, Italy Final qualifying & Superpole, Saturday 7th May Circuit: 5.777 kms. Conditions: Dry, mostly sunny, 20-25C (air), 34-43C (track) SUPER SEVENTH FOR MICHEL Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio qualified a superb seventh in Superpole today and will start tomorrows pair of 18-lap races from the second row of the grid. It had been his goal to qualify on the first two rows and he will now be in a good position to challenge the leaders right from the start of the races. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) took Superpole today, with a lap of 1:41.745, over a second faster than the lap record. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) was second, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) third and Troy Corser (BMW) fourth. Michel – 7th, 1:42.954 My target for Superpole was to finish with a place on the first two rows of the grid and I achieved that, so I am pretty happy. It is so important to be on the first two rows of the grid here because, although the front straight is quite long, the first chicane is very tight and it’s better not to get held up going into it. If that happens, it is difficult to make up the ground again and challenge the leaders. I went back to the forks and suspension I knew and I’m sure that was the right choice for me today. I was able to push hard and not worry about trying to understand anything new. I used my two qualifying tyres in Superpole 1 and 2, so did not have any super sticky rubber in Superpole 3. If I had a qualifier in Superpole 3, than maybe I could’ve finished on the front row of the grid. But, as I said, I am pretty happy with my result today and I am looking forward to tomorrow because I know that I will be able to challenge the leaders right from the start. It’s going to be two tough races and I’m sure that slipstreaming will play an important part. I don’t think anybody will clear off, so the last lap is going to be a tactical battle, a big fight and a lot of fun! More, from a press release issued by Althea Ducati: CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) ON THE THIRD ROW FOR TOMORROW’S RACES AT MONZA Monza (Italy), Saturday 7th May 2011: a taxing day for the Althea Racing team and rider Carlos Checa at the “Autodromo Nazionale di Monza” today; the Spanish rider closed a hard fought Superpole in eleventh position, meaning he will line up on the third row of tomorrow’s starting grid. In the second qualifying session, which took place this morning on a fairly hot track (34ËšC), Carlos was able to make good progress during the 45 minutes available to him. With the harder tyre solution, Althea’s flagbearer was able to lower his best time set yesterday by seven tenths, making his fastest lap in the final seconds of the session. He closed qualifying with the ninth fastest time overall, easily qualifying for the afternoon’s Superpole session. Superpole 1: in this first phase Checa went out first with a soft race tyre, managing to record his quickest lap of the weekend thus far (1’43.001). To be sure of safe passage to the next phase he made a second exit with the first of the two qualifying tyres but was unable to improve on this time, concluding this session in twelfth position. Superpole 2: with the second qualifier Carlos unfortunately lost precious minutes when he cut the chicane and had his lap time deleted as a result. In the few minutes that were left he did not manage to lower his best time, closing with a best of 1’43.116 that leaves him in eleventh place on tomorrow’s starting grid. Carlos Checa “It’s not easy here for us. We know that we are lacking some speed but tomorrow I think that if I can improve through the first sector we can defend ourselves well. Of course it wouldn’t be very realistic to think we can reach the podium but I am confident that we can stay with the front group and we’ll try to take the best possible results. It’s hard to say how we’ll finish but I’ll do my best as always and we’ll see.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Biaggi and Aprilia blow them all away in Superpole Monza (Italy), Saturday 7 May 2011 – Reigning champion Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) reasserted himself at his home circuit of Monza with a spectacular display in Superpole qualifying, setting a lap of 1 minute 41.745 seconds to take his first pole position of the 2011 season. Biaggi had a truly record-breaking day today, the Italian using a qualifying tyre to set his new best lap of the 5.777km circuit together with an all-time record average lap speed in WSBK history of 204.405 km/h. He also set an absolute top speed record, achieving 334.8 km/h in second free qualifying session. Second in Superpole, some 0.648 seconds behind, was Eugene Laverty (Yamaha Superbike Racing Team) then Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) and Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) completed the front row, making it four different bikes in the top four places. Max Biaggi: “It was very good, my first Superpole this year. This track is special for us and finally it came after three races in which it has been difficult to be competitive and get back on top. In qualifying we made good set-up trying a few different things, some of which worked and some of which didn’t. But we did a good job and Italy is always special for us. For sure, top speed is a help at Monza and you need it, but also good braking and agility helps, and I’m happy with everything.” Eugene Laverty: “It’s been a good weekend for us, the fact that the team is pretty much next door to the circuit is nice and hopefully we can have a couple of good races tomorrow and be fighting for the podium. We’ve been waiting for it for a long time and hopefully tomorrow we can achieve that. The Yamahas managed to challenge the Aprilias on this track last year, so we’re looking forward to this weekend to try and challenge Max again.” Jonathan Rea: “For sure I’m very happy to be on the front row of the grid, because the weekend hasn’t panned out great so far. We’ve been working very hard for tomorrow’s race, it was pretty critical in the end for tyres with the temperature going up and down, but I’m savouring the moment to be on the front row, it’s exactly what we need to get away in the group tomorrow. For sure it’ll be a big group but a big ambition of mine is to stand on the podium here at Monza, it’ll be very special.” Fifth on the grid for Sunday’s 18-lap races is another local legend Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike) with Friday’s fastest qualifier Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) sixth. The second row is completed by the last two riders in Superpole 3, Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) and Noriyuki Haga (Pata Aprilia). A great ride from satellite competitor Ayrton Badovini (BWM Motorrad Italia Superbike) put him ninth, ahead of British rider Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia). Championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) was the top twin-cylinder rider on show, 11th, one place up on the battling Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert – Liberty Racing Ducati). Out of Superpole after a close combined qualifying ranking were big names like Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) and James Toseland (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike), each struggling with injuries, Vermeulen from a first day highside crash that gashed his left elbow and Toseland from an existing operation on his right hand. Times: 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’41.745; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.393; 3; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’42.614; 4.Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’42.688; 5. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.714; 6. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’42.723; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’42.954; 8. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.043; 9. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’42.886; 10. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’42.995; 11. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’43.116; 12. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.146; 13. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’43.090; 14. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’43.437; 15. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’43.993; 16.Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’44.005; etc. World Supersport The ParkinGO Yamahas continue to dominate in the Supersport World Championship, but this time pole position at Monza is in the hands Chaz Davies. The British rider set a quickest time of 1 minute 47.809 seconds around the high-speed track, a couple of tenths quicker than Sam Lowes on the Parkalgar Honda. Broc Parkes took his Kawasaki Motocard.com ZX-6R machine to third place, with the front row completed by Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Fifth and sixth place went to two Italians, Roberto Tamburini on the Bike Service Racing Team Yamaha and Luca Scassa with the second ParkinGO Yamaha. Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) continued his Supersport learning curve with the next slot on the grid, and James Ellison took his Bogdanka PTR Honda to the outside row 2 position, one place ahead of Gino Rea (Step Racing Honda). Times: 1. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’47.809; 2. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.051; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’48.189; 4.Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.347; 5. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.368; 6. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.468; 7. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.55; 8. Ellison J. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.080; etc. Superstock 1000 Opening round winner Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) powered to pole position for tomorrow’s Superstock 1000 race at Monza with a time of 1 minute 46.044 seconds. The Italian was ahead of the three BMW S 1000 RR machines that have been setting the pace so far, the Italia STK version of Sylvain Barrier, Michele Magnoni (Baru Racing Team) and the other BMW Italia bike of Lorenzo Zanetti. Australian champion Bryan Staring put in an excellent run to take his Kawasaki Pedercini to fifth overall ahead of the second Althea Racing Ducati of Lorenzo Baroni. Times: 1. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’46.044; 2. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.261; 3.Magnoni M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.352; 4. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.358; 5. Staring B. (AUS); Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’46.527; 6. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’46.807; 7. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’46.875; 8. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’47.013; etc. Supersport 600 Race With his win at Monza, young Frenchman Romain Lanusse ((MRS Yamaha Racing France) has now taken over at the top of the European Superstock 600 Championship. Such was Lanusse’s domination that the following group were a full six seconds behind in their sprint to the line. The photo-finish saw Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) take the runner-up slot, ahead of American Joshua Day (Racedays Kawasaki), wild-card Franco Morbidelli (Forwards Yamaha), Riccardo Russo (Trasimeno Yamaha) and another wild-card Giuliano Gregorini (RCGM Team Yamaha). In the standings Lanusse is now followed by Dutchman Michael van der Mark, who could only finish tenth. Results: 1. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 18’43.803 (185,061 kph); 2. Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.167; 3. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 6.662; 4. Morbidelli F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.665; 5.Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.685; 6. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.829; 7. Vitali L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.500; 8. Major N. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 8.398; etc. Points: 1. Lanusse 45; 2. Lombardi 33; 3. VD Mark 31; 4. Day 23; 5. Russo 20; 6. Calero perez 17; 7. Metcher 16; 8. Morbidelli 13; etc. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Front Row on Grid for Laverty Ahead of Tomorrow’s Race Day in Monza Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Eugene Laverty provided the Italian spectators in Monza with a sensational performance, securing himself a front row start, in second place on tomorrow’s grid. Laverty comfortably flew through all three Superpole heats, completing the first in fifth position and the second and third sessions in second place, making the most of his qualifiers in the final heats. Marco Melandri was also on top form, completing Superpole two , less than a tenth of a second ahead of his Irish team-mate, topping the time sheets with an impressive 1’42.201. The Italian was less fortunate in the third and final heat, just missing out on a front row start ahead of tomorrow’s two races, completing Superpole three in fifth place. Unfortunately Melandri struggled on exiting the infamous Ascari chicane and was unable to put in his fastest time and earn himself the front row grid start that he was fighting for. Both Yamaha World Superbike riders are heading to tomorrow’s race day determined to provide the spectators with skillful racing on the team’s home track in Monza. The YZF-R1 has been successful on the historic track in the past and results over the weekend so far prove it could well be a strong podium contender again. Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team – 2nd, 1’42.393 “It’s been a great weekend so far. The team’s workshop is literally just down the road so it really means a lot to me to do well here in Monza. Hopefully we can have two good races tomorrow. I’ll definitely be fighting for the podium! I’ve been waiting for it for quite a while, so I’m planning on finally achieving that tomorrow. The R1 has always been strong here in Monza so I’m really looking forward the race. “ Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team – 5th, 1’42.714 “It was a relatively good day but we’re still having difficulty finding the right set-up . We seem to have a good rhythm for the race and that’s good but on a qualifying tyre the bike was a little agitated, so I struggled exiting the fast corner. We still have time to improve and I’m confident that we are making progress. Tomorrow is another day, so let’s see what happens.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “Firstly congratulations to Eugene, that was an amazing Qualifying session. He proved to be consistent on a race tyre and also put in a fantastic time on his flying Superpole lap. It’s very important that he has secured a front row start, so we are confident he can do well in tomorrow’s races. Eugene has demonstrated today that he is making constant progress. Unfortunately Marco has been struggling a bit all weekend. He has tested various set-ups, even during this afternoon’s free practice. During the final Superpole session he suffered a lack of stability on exiting the “Ascari”. The team have made progress over the weekend but there’s still a lot of work to do. We know Marco can do really well over a full race distance, even from the second row, so I’m not too concerned.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Superpole Proves Tough At Monza Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz each qualified for Superpole at Monza, with Lascorz finally placing 13th on the grid and Sykes 14th in readiness for Sunday’s two 18-lap WSBK races. Lascorz had been fast in his first visit to Monza on a Superbike but could not make the most of his opportunities on qualifying tyres as they caused him to drift wide in the exit of corners, losing valuable time that counted against him in Superpole one. Sykes had similar issues to deal with, finding good levels of performance on used race tyres but being unable to improve once fresh tyres had been fitted. Now each rider faces a start from the fourth row of the grid, meaning that clean getaways from the line are essential to make up places in the early laps. Chris Vermeulen will miss Sunday’s races after he fell on Friday and suffered a long and deep gash in his left elbow. Swelling around the elbow has also restricted his movement considerably. After a rest day today and much treatment from the Clinica Mobile staff a decision has been made that Chris will not attempt to race on Sunday. Pedercini Team Kawasaki riders Roberto Rolfo and Mark Aitchison qualified 18th and 20th respectively. Joan Lascorz: “On race tyres were good but on the qualifying tyre we could not go so fast. The bike seems to run wide when we have more grip from the rear tyre. We should have a good race set-up for Sunday and we were fast at some stages this weekend. We need two good starts and then we can make up some places in the chicanes.” Tom Sykes: “On used race tyres we can set good lap times and we are looking very strong in those conditions. But for whatever reason we have struggled to set the best lap times on fresh tyres. That got even worse when we used qualifying tyres. I am feeling confident over race distance to get a decent result for the bike and the team, but we will have to see how it goes on Sunday. We maybe need to go back to the drawing board to work it out a bit. We will come out swinging tomorrow and we can still make a good day of it. We just need to get all our ideas together tonight.” Chris Vermeulen: “My elbow is the only problem, even though the rest of me is a bit sore after my Friday fall. They say the gash in my elbow needs about six stitches in it and the elbow has swollen up a lot inside. I have been having it drained of fluid a couple of times a day. They say there is nothing majorly wrong with my elbow and it was only a problem because it got stuck under the bike when I crashed. I have been advised not to ride this weekend but the good thing is that my knee feels a lot better and we were reasonably quick after only a few laps.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Today was the second day of qualifying for team Pedercini’s Superbike and Superstock 1000 riders at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. The Superbike riders Roberto Rolfo and Mark Aitchison had a tough qualifying period, but were still not far from the leaders in terms of their overall best lap times. The morning qualifying session was red flagged due to oil on the track. Both Rolfo and Aitchison improved their best lap times but unfortunately not enough to enter the Superpole. Rolfo (1’44″515) was eighteenth while Aitchison (1’45″022) reached the twentieth position. In the early afternoon’s free practice, both riders worked with their technicians to solve the problems with the settings which had prevented them from participating in the Superpole. In the free session Rolfo finished in seventeenth (1’44″944) while Aitchison (1’45″159) closed nineteenth. Tomorrow they will both start from the fifth row of the grid for the two eighteen lap races. Superbike qualifying 2 : 1) Haslam (BMW) 2) Biaggi (Aprilia) 3) Corser (BMW) 4) Lascorz (Kawasaki) .”¦..18) Rolfo (Kawasaki) 20) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Superbike free practice : 1) Biaggi (Aprilia) 2) Camier (Aprilia) 3) Haslam (BMW) 4) Corser (BMW) 5) Laverty (Yamaha)”¦”¦. 17) Rolfo (Kawasaki) “¦ 19) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Superbike – Superpole : 1) Smrz (Ducati) 2) Checa (Ducati) 3) Rea (Honda) 4) Haga (Aprilia) “¦.”¦..20) Rolfo (Kawasaki) 21) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo : “I’m satisfied with the work I have done today together with my technicians but of course I’m not satisfied with my result because I missed the Superpole and tomorrow I’ll start from the fifth row of the grid. This morning I was able to improve on my best lap time by half a second by using both my bikes and trying different settings. In the last few minutes of the session, after the long pause, I preferred not to change the tyres and tried to push very hard to improve my lap time. My bike is working better than yesterday and my pace is not so bad. Tomorrow’s races will be very difficult for me starting from the fifth row, but I’ll try my best to take a good result.” Mark Aitchison: “Today we have finished our practices and qualifying in preparation for our races tomorrow. My team worked hard during the night to help improve the bike setup and we have found a direction that I think is good for consistency. In the race this is what I will be aiming for, a consistent lap time where I can maintain my pace and improve my position. We have some small changes to make overnight but I’m confident we can show good pace in the races”.