FIM Superbike World Championship Misano, San Marino June 10 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.024 2. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.149 3. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.482 4. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:36.546 5. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.656 6. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.683 7. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.713 8. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.728 9. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.753 10. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.793 11. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.810 12. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.824 13. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.984 14. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:37.059 15. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.073 16. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.080 17. Ruben XAUS, Spain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.093 18. Alessandro POLITA, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.290 19. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.412 20. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.432 21. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.433 22. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.754 23. Lorenzo LANZI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:38.003 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Checa from Biaggi as first day of action winds up at Misano Misano (San Marino), Friday 10 June 2011 Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) ended up on the top slot in Friday’s World Superbike qualifying session with a time of 1 minute 36.024 seconds, half-a-second quicker than Cal Crutchlow’s lap record set during last year’s race. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) went head-to-head with Checa for much of the session, but any last-minute attempt by the Italian to oust his rival from the top was thwarted by a crash by Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad) four minutes from the end that interrupted proceedings. In the crash Corser suffered a bang on his head and was taken to the medical centre for checks but the Australian should be OK for tomorrow. The session was completed a short time afterwards, with Corser ending up fifth fastest at a circuit where he holds the qualifying record. Two more Italians are behind Biaggi; Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) and Michel Fabrizio (Alstare Suzuki), with Melandri’s team-mate Eugene Laverty completing the top 6. Jakub Smrz (EffenbertLiberty Racing Ducati) pushed his way to seventh on his big twin, one place up on the Aprilia Pata machine of Noriyuki Haga. Sylvain Guintoli, Smrz’ team-mate went ninth, with the top ten being rounded out by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike), with six different manufacturers represented in the top ten places. Top Honda rider was Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) in 12th, while comeback kid Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) finished his first day at Misano in 22nd place. In a close qualifying session the top 21 riders were within 1.5 seconds of the top spot. Final qualifying and the Tissot Superpole contest take place on Saturday 11th June. Times: 1. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing), Ducati 1098R, 1’36.024. 2. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team), Aprilia RSV4 Factory, 1’36.149. 3. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team), Yamaha YZF R1, 1’36.482. 4. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1’36.546. 5. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), BMW S1000 RR, 1’36.656. 6. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team), Yamaha YZF R1, 1’36.683. 7. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing), Ducati 1098R”ƒ1’36.713, 8. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia), Aprilia RSV4 Factory, 1’36.728. 9. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing), Ducati 1098R, 1’36.753. 10. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike), Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1’36.793. 11. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), BMW S1000 RR, 1’36.810. 12. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda), Honda CBR1000RR, 1’36.824. 13. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team), Aprilia RSV4 Factory, 1’36.984. 14. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team), BMW S1000 RR, 1’37.059. 15. Matteo Baiocco (Barni Racing Team S.N.C.), Ducati 1098R, 1’37.073, etc. World Supersport Sam Lowes made a clear impression on the rest of the field at the Misano World Circuit as the Parkalgar Honda man went quickest in the first qualifying session. His time of 1 minute 39.618 seconds was good enough to take the provisional pole away from points leader (equal with Luca Scassa) and Yamaha ParkinGO’s Chaz Davies. Two Kawasaki Motocard.com machines were next up with David Salom and Broc Parkes in third and fourth, while former champion Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was fifth. Wild-card entry, but also Italian champion, Ilario Dionisi (Honda Italia) proved to be a true revelation as he posted the sixth quickest time, with Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Honda) and Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) right behind. Times: 1. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda), Honda CBR600RR, 1’39.541. 2. Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO Team), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’39.618. 3. David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com), Kawasaki ZX-6R”ƒ1’39.795. 4. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com), Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’39.897. 5. Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Honda CBR600RR, 1’40.133. 6. Ilario Dionisi (Honda Italia Improve FG), Honda CBR600RR, 1’40.141. 7. Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team), Honda CBR600RR, 1’40.454. 8. Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), Honda CBR600RR, 1’40.467. etc. Superstock 1000 Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) took the top slot in this afternoon’s Superstock 1000 qualifying session, his time of 1’39.118 just ahead of points leader Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati). A German bike was right behind the two Italian machines, Sylvain Barrier taking his BMW Motorrad Italia S 1000RR machine to third place. Andrea Antonelli (Lorini Honda) was next up, with former champion Niccolò Canepa (GOELEVEN Kawasaki) finally producing good form in sixth ahead of Monza winner Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock team). Times: 1. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team), Ducati 1098R, 1’39.118. 2. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing), Ducati 1098R, 1’39.550. 3. Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock), BMW S1000 RR, 1’39.776. 4. Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini), Honda CBR1000RR, 1’39.891. 5. Niccolò Canepa(Goeleven), Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1’39.911. 6. Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock), BMW S1000 RR, 1’40.089. 7. Sheridan Morais (Lorenzini by Leoni), Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1’40.262. 8. Michele Magnoni (Baru Racing Team), BMW S1000 RR, 1’40.306., etc. Superstock 600 Wild-card rider Giuliano Gregorini (Trasimeno Yamaha) set the quickest time in the first qualifying session for European Superstock 600, ahead of regular campaigner Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha), currently second in the points standings. Third quickest was another domestic rider, Christian Gamarino (GOELEVEN Kawasaki), while Stéphane Egea (ASPI Yamaha) was the first foreign interloper in fourth, with the promising Australian Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Yamaha) next up ahead of another youngster, Francesco Cocco (Martini Corse Yamaha) in sixth. Times: 1. Giuliano Gregorini (RCGM Team), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’41.896. 2. Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.496. 3. Christian Gamarino (Goeleven), Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1’42.499. 4. Stèphane Egea (Team ASPI), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.718. 5. Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Team), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.755. 6. Francesco Cocco (Martini Corse), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.799. 7. Riccardo Russo (Team Trasimeno), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’42.831. 8. Luca Vitali (Forwards Racing Jr Team), Yamaha YZF R6, 1’43.007. etc. More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea set the 12th fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session in round six of the 2011 World Superbike championship at Misano in Italy a session which saw the 13 fastest times covered by less than one second With several other teams having tested at the 4.226km Adriatic circuit recently, Rea’s time of 1m36.824s left him just 0.3s off a provisional front row start and 0.8s from series leader Carlos Checa, who set today’s quickest time. Castrol Honda rider Ruben Xaus also made progress this afternoon and was less than two tenths off his team-mate, but, with today’s close times, that left him 17th fastest. With some showers forecast for tomorrow, the Spaniard will be pushing for a top 16 time in morning qualifying to ensure participation in tomorrow afternoon’s Superpole sessions. Jonathan Rea P12, 1m36.824s The times are so close and we are making progress, even though the result doesn’t look so good on paper. We were a lot further off after this morning’s free practice session and we’ve closed that gap now to eight tenths off the front time, so we made a step today. It’s clear where we’re lacking though, and that’s just finishing off the corner. The balance isn’t quite right and we had to compromise today to try and fix things. We may need to change the ride height a little which would then affect the grip levels again, so there’s some thinking to do. We’re not able to drive off the corners quite as aggressively as the others either so we’ll look at that as well tonight. Ruben Xaus P17, 1m37.093s Well, you can see from the timesheets where we are and, if you look closer, you can see how far away we are, which isn’t very much. Today was not bad and we’re do ing everything we need to be half a second from the top six. The times are tight, but we’re still missing something and I’m having some problems downshifting for the corners. I’m having to blip the throttle quite a lot, which is making the bike a little unstable on the brakes. We’ve got some bumps on the final corner, too, which is giving us a little chatter, so lots to work on to improve that little bit. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: SUPERB FOURTH FOR MICHEL ON DAY ONE Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio recorded the fourth fastest time in qualifying on the opening day of practice and qualifying at Misano today. Michel, now fully fit, posted a lap of 1:36.546 and is now looking forward to consolidating a front row grid position in tomorrow’s qualifying and Superpoles. Series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) was once again quickest, just over a tenth of a second ahead of reigning champion Max Biaggi (Aprilia), and well inside the current lap record. Third fastest today is Marco Melandri (Yamaha), less than a tenth of a second ahead of Michel, with the top thirteen separated by less than a second. Michel – 4th, 1:36.546 Today went pretty well and I am fairly happy with how things worked out. I found the morning a little difficult and was only seventh quickest. The afternoon session went much better and I was able to improve and make the fourth fastest lap. Despite the recent rain, the track’s grip was not so bad today and really my only little problem was with grip. This track is not an easy track – it’s very technical and for me the hardest part is the first section because there are many changes of direction and it’s important to have a really good bike set-up. If you can get through the first section well, then you can make a good lap. At the moment, the engine feels pretty good and the only thing we will work on tomorrow morning is the suspension – trying to improve the bike’s set-up so that I can get through the first section better. Fourth is quite good on day one, but I’ll be even more happy if I am fourth or better after Superpole because that’ll mean my first front row grid position of the year. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: The sixth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship at Misano (ITA) started with mixed emotions for the Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport. This Friday morning went well with works riders, Leon Haslam (GBR) and Troy Corser (AUS), finishing third and fourth in the first Free Practice. But in the final minutes of the first Qualifying Session Troy crashed in Turn 8 and had to be taken to the Medical Centre. After being checked by the medical staff it was found he had suffered no serious injuries. The decision as to whether it will be possible for him to ride tomorrow will be taken tomorrow morning according to his physical conditions. Troy provisionally qualified fifth. Leon tried several solutions for his BMW S 1000 RR and finished the day 11th. Troy Corser: Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:37.191 min (P4)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice: 1:36.656 min (P5) Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:37.090 min (P3)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:36.810 min (P11) “It was quite a good day. We were trying a lot of different strategies with the bike, and I think we have made some positive moves today. We were not really caring about lap times, and did most of the session with the same tyre. Then at the end of the session, I still put in my best time after ten laps. Now we just have to put all the bits and pieces together for tomorrow, but I am feeling pretty confident.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “After the checks in the Medical Centre the doctor told us Troy seems to be okay with no serious injuries. He obviously was following Carlos Checa and then highsided in a pretty fast corner heavily. “On the track, this Friday was not too bad for us. We tested quite a few new things and now we have to work on the set-up. All in all, it is going in a good direction. We now just hope that Troy is okay and will be able to ride tomorrow without any physical restrictions.” More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: THE ALTHEA RACING TEAM AND RIDER CHECA CONTINUE TO DOMINATE; FIRST PLACE IN FIRST QUALIFYING TODAY AT MISANO Misano Adriatico (Italy), Friday 10th June: In warm and humid conditions (with 25ËšC air temperature and 45ËšC on track), Althea Racing’s Carlos Checa took to the Misano World Circuit and continued to impress his rivals, concluding both practice and qualifying in first position and recording some extremely fast lap times in the process. In this morning’s free practice, the potential podium contenders immediately made their presence felt but it was Carlos, ahead of Biaggi and Corser, who dominated, at the top of the timesheets for the entire session. He recorded a fastest lap of 1m36.4 in the final stages, thus improving on the already fast lap he had made much earlier on in the session. During qualifying, which took place on an even hotter track, the Althea Racing flagbearer made numerous laps with consistently fast times (all under 1m37). He recorded his overall fastest time in the latter stages of the session, a 1m36.024 which permitted him to close in first position overall, an important result also considering the chances of wet weather tomorrow. At the end of this first day, Checa and his team declared themselves satisfied with the work completed and the provisional pole obtained. Carlos Checa: “We’ve made a good start today and we maintain the speed and rhythm of previous events; I feel I am able to ride the bike more or less at the limit. We had good feeling with the bike at Miller and also have useful information from the testing we did here at Misano a month ago so those factors have surely helped us here today. We saw some positive results during testing and those have given us a good base. Today it was important to test the tyres on the dry track as tomorrow rain is forecast and we need to know how the tyres behave in all conditions. We perhaps had a small advantage today but we know that Biaggi and Melandri will be there on Sunday and the races will be tough. Anything could happen come Sunday but the important thing is that we know we are competitive.” More, from another press release issued by Althea Racing: A DETERMINED GIUGLIANO (ALTHEA RACING) CLOSES STK 1000 QUALIFYING AT MISANO IN SECOND POSITION Misano Adriatico (Italy), Friday 10th June: very warm and humId conditions (air: 24ËšC, track: 45ËšC) for the riders taking part on the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup today at the Misano World Circuit. Despite the heat, Althea riders Davide Giugliano and Lorenzo Baroni made a strong start to the weekend’s campaign on their home track. In the morning’s free practice session, Davide immediately found good feeling with his 1198 bike on this track, recording some very fast laps which propelled him to first position before the close of the session. He was the only rider to lap in under 1m40 this morning, with a best time of 1m39.939. His team-mate Lorenzo improved throughout the thirty minute session, closing with a best lap time of 1m40.691 which positioned him sixth on the final timesheet. Later in the day, in first qualifying, both riders set out with determination. The results, especially those of Davide, were convincing and the Althea Racing rider recorded a best time of 1m39.550. A fall for Davide mid-session fortunately did him no harm but did mean that he lost precious time. Despite this, Giugliano managed to close the session in second position overall. Baroni improved on his morning’s times by several tenths of a second but, unable to complete a clean lap, he concluded the qualifying in tenth place. Davide Giugliano “This morning we worked well during practice and then in the afternoon we were able to lower our times even further which was good news. We are working to perfect suspension settings that I’m not yet 100% satisfied with but, all things considered, I’m happy with today’s results and am sure that we will continue to improve tomorrow.” Lorenzo Baroni “I’m really disappointed, someone was in my path during my fast lap and I threw away both a fast time and the tyre. It shouldn’t happen that riders sit in the middle of the track when others are trying to make a fast time. Tomorrow we of course have to improve. We still have more work to do, especially regarding the rear settings of my bike but I am confident that we will be able to lower our times tomorrow. I’m just hoping for a dry track!” TIMES (Qualifying): 1. Petrucci (Ducati) 1’39.1; 2. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’39.5; 3. Barrier (BMW) 1’39.7; 4. Antonelli (Honda) 1’38.9; 5. Canepa (Kawasaki) 1’39.9; 6. Zanetti (BMW) 1’40.0; 7. Morais (Kawasaki) 1’40.2; 8. Magnoni (BMW) 1’40.3; 9. Bussolotti (Kawasaki) 1’40.3; 10. Baroni (Ducati) 1’40.3 More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: WORLD SUPERBIKE – FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT MISANO. A GOOD START FOR WORLD CHAMPION MAX BIAGGI AND TEAM APRILIA Misano Adriatico, June 10th 2011 – Off on the right foot from the first free practice this morning with the second best time, practically breathing down the pipes of leader Checa (11 thousandths gap), Max Biaggi repeated the great performance in the first timed laps of the sixth championship round. Second best time behind the ranking leader and a good feeling about the work done so far: “It was the usual Friday work day – commented Max – Misano is a track that we know well since it is our test and research circuit. So more or less we are exactly where we expected to be. There were a lot of expectations for the new tyres announced for this weekend, but when it came down to it they didn’t change much at all. They don’t seem to be that great of an improvement, at least not as much as was expected”. In the first day of practice Max’s ribs are feeling better than expected, still aching after his crash during the American race: “I was afraid it would be worse. Maybe it helped that today I wore, for the first time, a latest generation riding suit with an airbag system. It helped me to fee more protected and consequently more serene. It’s a nice helping hand”. Today the Misano paddock was the forum for an initiative which found Max Biaggi as key player: the APEX Limited Edition helmet was sold on e-Bay and the proceeds given to the Andrea Tudisco charity Association (www.assandreatudisco.org) which helps children with long hospital stays which the five-time world champion founded and supports. The helmet, made by Suomy and designed by Bargy Design, was created specifically to celebrate Max’s victory in the 2010 World Superbike season. Today the helmet was autographed and presented by Biaggi himself to Pasquale Talia, who won the charity auction. Leon Camier, after an encouraging fifth time in the free practice this morning strayed a bit in the afternoon with a harmless slide contributing to the situation and not managing to do better than thirteenth time, almost one second behind the leader. The Misano circuit is certainly not the Team Aprilia English rider’s favourite track, but after working hard all morning trying different set ups and solutions on his RSV4 he is confident in a decisive improvement tomorrow: “This morning I started off very well – commented Leon Camier – especially considering the fact that this is by far not my favourite track. But then, after making a slight change in the settings, I lost the feeling with the bike – the rear became more unstable. Now it’s all a bit more difficult. I need to concentrate on identifying the problem and solving it. Of course, as always, we’ll be giving it our all”. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: Troy ended the first day of practice and qualifying at Misano with the fifth fastest lap, but suffered a heavy fall in the afternoon session and hurt his neck and right hip in the process. He was taken the Clinica Mobile for X-rays and a check-up, but fortunately no broken bones were revealed. Due to the severity of the fall, Troy will undergo further checks tomorrow morning before a decision will be made as to whether or not he will race. Series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) was once again quickest, just over a tenth of a second ahead of reigning champion Max Biaggi (Aprilia), and well inside the current lap record. Third fastest today is Marco Melandri (Yamaha), less than a tenth of a second ahead of Michel, with the top thirteen separated by less than a second. Troy – 5th, 1:36.656 Coming out Quercia corner, I was highsided and took a heavy fall. It was on the second lap on the tyre, but I don’t know if that was a contributory factor or not and we will have to look at the telemetry to see what went on. All I know is that I am pretty sore. I took a hit to the back of my neck and also my right hip and for sure I’m going to be pretty second-hand tonight. I don’t know how it’s all going to feel in the morning, but I’ll have another medical check and then we’ll decide if I am fit enough to take part tomorrow. It’s a real shame because things had gone pretty reasonably today and I was happy enough with fifth on day one. Now we’ll have to see what happens tomorrow morning and how I feel. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha World Superbike Riders on Top Form in Misano Beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures provided ideal track conditions for Yamaha World Superbike riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty to complete a successful first qualifying session in Misano world circuit. Both World Superbike Rookies took to the track in this morning’s free practice on their YZF-R1s for the first time and got straight down to business testing various set ups on their machines ahead of the afternoon’s first qualifying session. Unlike most other competing riders Melandri and Laverty, did not test in Misano last month, but despite this disadvantage they completed first qualifying practice in third and sixth position respectively. Melandri didn’t hesitate to make most of his familiarity with his local track and regain confidence, stilted following the disappointing results in Miller just less than two weeks ago. The Romagnolo continued to make progress throughout the free practice and first qualifying session as he searched for the optimum setting for the Misano circuit, putting in his fastest lap towards the end of the red flagged session, to complete in the third place, just four tenths of a second off Checa in the lead. Team-mate Laverty was also on top form making constant progress throughout the 18 laps completed and ended the session in sixth place, less than two tenths off his Italian team-mate. Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team – 3rd, 1’36.482 “This afternoon’s session went quite well. We tried various different set up options one after another and gradually improved the overall performance. We also tried a better tyre option which produced improved results. Hopefully it will remain dry tomorrow so we have the opportunity to further improve on today’s setting and work on choosing a race tyre for Sunday. The team has been working very hard and has done a great job. Let’s hope that we’ll find the perfect set up to be as competitive as we can be and should be and have two good races on Sunday.” Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team – 6th, 1’36.713 “This morning didn’t go so well, we ended the session down in 17th position but I wasn’t concerned because I had quite a good feeling on the bike. Having said that we did have a little wheeling issue but seen as it’s my first time riding a Superbike, I think that was to be expected. The team worked hard and improved that before this afternoon’s session which went much better. Checa was fast in the tests here a month ago, he was fast again today so it was great to be so close to him after just one day on the track with my R1. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry enabling us to work some more on the Sunday’s race set up which is already at a good point.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “It was a good start to the weekend for both riders considering that we have’t tested the track unlike many other riders out there today. We made the most of this morning to gather data and see how to improve from there. Both riders made great progress. Eugene suffered from a wheeling problem in one particular section in this morning’s practice so he and the team worked hard to resolve this before this afternoon session. Marco had a chance to regain confidence after the disappointing weekend in Miller. It’s important to be consistent throughout the race to enable him to get good results and reduce the gap between him and Checa in the lead. Both teams worked hard on finding a suitable the race set up, considering they may not have the same opportunity tomorrow if the rain doesn’t hold off. They still need to choose the right tyre depending on track temperatures but we are satisfied with the results today.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Contrary to expected conditions, sun and hot temperatures today in Misano Adriatico for the Superbike and Superstock 1000 free practice and qualifying sessions. In his second home race of the year, Roberto Rolfo is eager to prove himself and add some points to the scoreboard this weekend, for both his team and his sponsors. In morning free practice he obtained the sixteenth place (1’38″165) while during the afternoon’s qualifying practice he was able to improve on his best lap time (1’37″412), obtaining the nineteenth position. This morning Mark Aitchison (1’39″191) struggled with some set up problems and using both his bikes he reached the twenty third place. In the first qualifying session the Aussie rider improved on his best lap time (1’37″433) ending in twenty first position. Both riders hope for good weather conditions again tomorrow but the weather forecast unfortunately predicts rain. Superbike free practice : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Biaggi (Aprilia) 3) Corser (BMW) 4) Haslam (BMW) 5) Camier (Aprilia) “¦16) Rolfo (Kawasaki)”¦23) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Superbike Qualifying 1 : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Biaggi (Aprilia) 3) Corser (BMW) 4) Haslam (BMW) 5) Camier (Aprilia) “¦16) Rolfo (Kawasaki)”¦23) Aitchison (Kawasaki) Roberto Rolfo :”This morning I obtained a better position compare with this afternoon, but I’m more happy with my qualifying’s best lap time because I improved a lot and tried to improve also more, but unfortunately I make a small mistake during my fastest last lap. My feeling with the bike is going better also if we still have some set up problems to solve. Tomorrow I hope for a good weather to be able to continue work with my team and enter the Superpole that’s my target”. Mark Aitchison :”We started our day in Misano today with some problems inside the engine of my preferred bike. Afterwards we commenced working with my spare bike to understand how to modify the settings for this circuit. During the free practice and qualifying we have made some small steps forward, but overall I am still not happy with my feeling from the bike. It seems there is a very big difference in the front end feeling of both bikes at the moment and we must understand why. In any case my technicians are working hard on my preferred bike in preparation for tomorrow’s qualifying. The Pedercini Superstock team started the Misano weekend in a positive way. In morning free practice Bussolotti reached tenth place (1’40″858) while team mate Staring (1’40″877) obtained the eleventh position. Not an easy start for Mercado as he closed the session in twenty second place (1’43″153). In the qualifying session all three riders were able to improve on their best lap times. Marco Bussolotti (1’40″333) was ninth while Staring (1’40″366) consolidated the eleventh position already obtained this morning. Tati Mercado improved on his lap time by more than one second, reaching twenty first place. Superstock 1000 free practice : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Petrucci (Ducati) 3) Barrier (BMW) 4) Canepa (Kawasaki) “¦”¦. 10) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) 11) Staring (Kawasaki) “¦”¦.. 22) Mercado (Kawasaki) Superstock 1000 qualifying 1 : 1) Petrucci (Ducati) 2) Giugliano (Ducati) 3) Barrier (BMW) 4) Antonelli (Honda) “¦”¦. 9) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) 11) Staring (Kawasaki) “¦”¦.. 21) Mercado (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti :”I was hoping for something better today but unfortunately during both the free and qualifying sessions I suffered some chattering on the front wheel. In these conditions I’m not able to enter into the curves fast enough and I’m losing a lot of time. I hope my team will be able to solve this problem for tomorrow’s second qualifying session because I’m sure we can obtain a better result. I want to start Sunday’s race from one of the first two rows”. Brian Staring :”I’m just a little disappointed because I finished Friday in eleventh position and I know we can reach one of the first five places. There are no major problems but I think we have to improve the setting of the bike at the front. I hope for a big step forward tomorrow also because my team is working well and the bike’s potential is very high. Tomorrow we can move forward and reach a place in one of the first two rows of the starting grid”. Leandro “Tati” Mercado :”After the big crash I suffered in Monza I don’t have a good feeling with the bike at the moment. This afternoon I tried my best, but I was not able to push hard enough to improve my lap times as I would have liked. I don’t think my position reflects where we actually are today, although there’s still some work to do on the bike setting. Tomorrow I think we can further improve our time and our position quite easily”.