FIM Superbike World Championship Imola, Italy September 24, 2010 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.178 2. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:48.558 3. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:48.621 4. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Ducati 1098F10), 1:48.660 5. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Ducati 1098F10), 1:48.667 6. Shane BYRNE, Great Britain (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.752 7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:48.813 8. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:48.851 9. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:48.970 10. Ruben XAUS, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.224 11. Lorenzo LANZI, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.275 12. James TOSELAND, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:49.528 13. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:49.560 14. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:49.613 15. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:49.622 16. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:49.659 17. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.776 18. Federico SANDI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:51.641 19. Roger HAYDEN, USA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.106 20. Fabrizio LAI, Italy (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:52.200 21. Ian LOWRY, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.248 22. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.315 More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Imola – Free Practice & Qualifying Practice 1. Friday, 24 September 2010. Weather conditions: Sunny in the morning, partly cloudy in the afternoon. Temperature: Air: 23 – 25 °C, Track: 34 – 39 °C Number of riders participating: 22 from 14 teams Fastest lap Free Practice: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:49.070 min Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:48.178 min Programme: Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport started the 12th and penultimate race weekend of the 2010 FIM Superbike World Championship in a solid way: Troy Corser (AUS) finished the first qualifying practice eighth, while his Catalan team-mate, Ruben Xaus, finished the session tenth. Troy Corser: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:50.179 min (12th ) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 1:48.851 min (8th ) “The day was not too bad. We are still working on improving the stability of the bike and its performance under braking. The engine feels strong and fast, but a little bit unstable on the exit of the corners. My lap times were not too bad, but at the moment I feel like I am making the bike do the time rather than the bike letting me do it. But I am sure we can solve this. The track’s grip was also a little bit down, so this also makes the bike more difficult to ride. All in all we made some improvements today. As it could rain tomorrow, it was important to get a good lap time in, so we are sure to be in the Superpole qualifying. I was able to push and do the time, so I am reasonably happy.” Ruben Xaus: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:49.674 min (7th ) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 1:49.224 min (10th ) “This morning my feeling on the bike was not too bad. In the afternoon we made some changes to it, and I had no grip at all, which meant I had no traction. Because of this it was quite difficult to do a proper lap time. Now we shall try to find a solution for this. The basis is not too bad, and I hope we can make the next step tomorrow to allow me to ride in the low 1:48s. But, of course, this depends on the weather.” Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager): “Our day was quite good. We worked on the bikes’ setup and simply struggled with the grip level. I am confident we can sort this out for tomorrow and manage to find some rear grip. Unfortunately the race track itself was not in a perfect condition. Nevertheless, our qualifying result is a solid basis for tomorrow. We will now analyse the data and continue working on the bikes.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: TOP FIVE FOR HAGA AND FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) IN FIRST QUALIFYING AT IMOLA. Imola (Italy), Friday 24th September : a positive first qualifying session for Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio; among the fastest on track in both of today’s sessions, the factory riders concluded qualifying in fourth (Haga) and fifth (Fabrizio) position. This morning, in the first half of the free practice session, both riders had some difficulty. Michel’s bike came to a stop during his first exit and Nori later rode too close to the flexible curb, touching it at high speed his right knee while exiting the penultimate corner, and causing severe swelling and bruising to his lower leg. From mid-session on however, both rider started to make good progress, Fabrizio making a string of fast laps to finish in third place and Haga, having lost precious time after the incident, closing in tenth. Later, in first qualifying, both Noriyuki and Michel made a strong start. Mid-session Nori projected himself to the top of the timesheets with a very fast time of 1.48.6. This remained his best lap of the session; the Japanese rider thus concluded first qualifying in fourth position. Michel, consistently fast, didn’t record his fastest lap until the very last minutes (1m48.7), lying in fifth at the session’s end. Noriyuki Haga 1m48.6 “Even though I don’t have exactly the level of feeling that I had during the tests, I must say that I’m satisfied. The conditions, the track temperature for example, are very different compared to how they were in the summer of course and unfortunately the tyres might not be the best ones for today’s conditions but, if we manage to improve rear feeling, we’ll be able to make two great races on Sunday I think.” Michel Fabrizio 1m48.7 “We’ve started well, after the initial technical problem that is! We have been making good progress this afternoon and I’ve feeling quite confident. They say it will be wet tomorrow which will complicate things of course but for now I’ve not got any problems really, though I hope I can improve further tomorrow, weather permitting.” More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: The most intense weekend of the season begins for Max Biaggi and the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team. The Friday practice sessions at Imola are, as usual, dedicated to the search for the best feeling. Imola, 24 September 2010 The weekend began today and, without a doubt, it is one of the most important of the season for the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team and its colours bearer, Max Biaggi. Both come to the Santerno looking down on their rivals in the respective rankings and they are making no bones about their desire to strengthen their hold on first place. In the first Friday tests Max is calm and focused on refining his RSV4 on one of the less hospitable tracks for the four cylinder Aprilia. The bumps and the poor condition of the asphalt demand a lot of work from the technicians, searching for grip and stability without compromising the manoeuvrability needed for quick changes in direction. The four time champion is candid about admitting to some problems: “Today was a more difficult Friday than usual. This is a new track and, in spite of the good results from last year, we have always had to work hard to find the right solution. Even after having done some tests here a few months ago, I’m still not completely comfortable and I’m not able to ride smoothly. If you add to that the progress that our adversaries have made, today’s times are easily explained. There’s nothing to be alarmed about we simply need to work well as we always do and give our best. Nothing has been handed to us this season, much less now that the championship title is on the line. Unfortunately the weather doesn’t seem to be helping either as we would have needed to do a lot of testing in stable conditions. We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed.” As already announced, Aprilia’s second rider, Leon Camier will not be riding this weekend. Rehabilitation is going well after surgery on his right wrist due the crash on the Nurburgring and it looks positive for him in view of the next WSBK round at Magny Cours. More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Great start for Checa as he owns Imola on day one Althea Racing’s Carlos Checa posted two great displays in practice and qualifying at Imola, leading both and taking the overnight provisional pole at the intense Imola circuit. Late drama arrived when flag signals indicating a fall of rain appeared in the last three minutes of the first qualifying session. Checa was eventually clearly ahead of his peers with a 1’48.178 lap, set in the afternoon’s qualifying session. Second quickest rider, a winner last time out in Germany, was Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea, almost four-tenths off Checa. Championship contender Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) battled to third, improving on his performance from free qualifying despite lingering injures from his big crash in Germany. He had a heavily strapped left knee to support his damaged knee ligament. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) was a firm fourth, his team-mate Michel Fabrizio one place back. Checa’s team-mate Shane Byrne was fast at this bumpy and challenging circuit, going sixth, and heading up a high quality bunch of riders in the lower reaches of the top ten. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha Sterilgarda team) was seventh, Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) went eighth, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was ninth and Corser’s team-mate Ruben Xaus was tenth. To the surprise of most championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) was 14th, some 1.435 seconds behind the leading pace put in by Checa. Biaggi could not find the chassis settings he wanted on the first day and now will concentrate on making his bike set-up suit the bumpy and intense Imola layout. In all, 22 riders made it into practice at Imola, despite the absence of Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) who is recuperating from an operation on his wrist. Times: 1.Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’48.178; 2.Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’48.558; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’48.621; 4.Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’48.660; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’48.667; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’48.752; 7.Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’48.813; 8.Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.851; 9. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’48.970; 10. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’49.224; 11.Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’49.275; 12.Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’49.528; 13.Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’49.560; 14.Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’49.613; 15.Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1’49.622; 16.Smrz J. (CZE) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’49.659; etc. World Supersport Kenan Sofuoglu (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) took provisional pole in the Supersport class with a 1’52.397 lap, in another session where rain showed itself for a short time. Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) was second fastest, local rider and Sofuoglu’s team-mate, Michele Pirro, was third. The top Kawasaki rider first time out in Imola qualifying was Katsuaki Fujiwara (Kawasaki Motocard.com), fourth quickest and easing out top Triumph rider, Chaz Davies (ParkinGO BE1 Triumph). Broc Parkes, in his second race in this class in 2010, completed the top six on his Motocard.com Kawasaki. Times: 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.397; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.279; 3. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.333; 4. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’53.541; 5. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1’53.723; 6. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’53.798; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.867; 8. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.981; etc. Superstock 1000 Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Junior Superstock) posted a lap time of 1’51.528 to head up the first qualifying session, the next closest rider being Lorenzo Zanetti (SS Lazio Motorsport Ducati), almost a second behind. Maxime Berger, from the Ten Kate Race Junior Honda Team) scored third best time. Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini Honda) was a close fourth, right behind Zanetti and Berger. Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Junior Team BMW) was fifth. Times: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’51.528; 2. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’52.525; 3. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’52.693; 4. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’52.722; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’53.273; 6. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’53.382; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’53.494; 8. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’53.735; etc. Superstock 600 Local man Giuliano Gregorini (Elle2Promotion Yamaha) took provisional pole in the smaller Superstock class, holding onto his advantage despite a late charge from other leading riders. Second was another wildcard runner, Fabio Massei (Moto Club Piellemoto), from Championship chaser, Florian Marino (Ten Kate Race Junior Honda). Argentinean rider Leandro Denis Mercado (BWG Racing) Kawasaki ZX-6R finished the top four places, with championship leader Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha fifth), with one more qualifying session to go. Times: 1. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.518; 2. Massei F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’56.736; 3. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’57.518; 4. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’57.718; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’58.045; 6. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’58.217; 7. Egea S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’58.627; 8. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’58.710; etc. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha Sterilgarda get to grips with first Imola qualifying Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland completed the first qualifying session at the Imola circuit today battling the cooler temperatures and bumpy circuit as they worked on their set ups in advance of Sunday’s two races. The qualifying session was hampered towards the end as rain started to fall, preventing both riders from setting their hot laps of the session. Crutchlow had started the session well and was the first rider to break into the 1.48s, spending part of the session with his R1 as the only four cylinder machine in the top six. Team mate Toseland improved on his morning practice time by over 0.7 of a second. The two-time World Champion switched to fresh tyres at the end of the qualifying session but was unable to make use of them as rain prevented any attempts at improving on the lap times. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (7th, 1’48.813) “It wasn’t too bad today, my ideal time was second position, and I got held up on my fast laps at the end of the session which didn’t help. It’s going to be a bit of a gamble over the weekend with tyre choices, when we tested here back in July we were 1.4 seconds quicker than we are now and that was with a hotter track temperature. Now the same tyre isn’t working as well with the cooler conditions so we’ll have to look at other ways. It looks like the Ducatis’ have an advantage in these conditions so we’ll have to see what we can come up with overnight. Overall I know we can be faster so we’ll see tomorrow.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (12th, 1’49.528) “Not the greatest day today, we had a few issues to resolve this morning so I missed some of the practice before I could get going. This afternoon wasn’t so bad, the times weren’t too far off but we’ve got some work to do to get up to pace. The weather didn’t help; it just started to rain at the end when I had a new tyre so I couldn’t get a good lap in. We’ll have a good think this evening and come back in the morning.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “As a first day the results were not so bad. For sure we will work to understand where we can improve the set ups for both James and Cal’s bikes and after that we will make some changes in order to start the first session tomorrow with a faster pace. It was a shame that Cal got held up at the end of the session by other riders, and the rain ensured we couldn’t lay down any fast laps at the end.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: LEON A SUPERB THIRD, DESPITE PAIN. Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam once again defied the pain barrier on his way to posting the third quickest time on the opening day’s qualifying at Imola. Visibly limping throughout the day, Leon somehow managed to put aside the pain in his left knee and hustled his way round the 4.936 kilometre circuit, to record a lap of 1:48.621, just behind Carlos Checa (Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Honda). Team mate Sylvain Guintoli ended 13th quickest, but felt it had been better than his usual Friday performane. Leon – 3rd, 1:48.621 In the morning session my knee felt really bad and the whole session was a bit of a struggle, even though I had some strapping on it. So for the afternoon qualifying, we made the strapping much stronger and I had some pain-killing injections before I went out. I definitely felt a bit more comfortable and was able to put in some decent laps. My thumb is a bit irritable, but I forget about when I am on the bike and it’s OK as long as it doesn’t move in a certain direction! Today the track didn’t feel as good or as quick as the tests and it is a bit more slippery. Hopefully, as more rubber goes down, it will improve. This afternoon, my lap times were quite comfortable and I really didn’t have any big problems. Obviously my main competition is Max and I have to beat him in both races if I want to keep my title dream alive. I’ve heard that he’s not so good in the wet, so maybe it would be better for me if it did rain on Sunday. But, the weather is something I cannot do anything about so I will be doing my best, whatever the conditions. Sylvain – 13th, 1:49.560 For me, for a Friday, today wasn’t so bad. We’ve made some good progress today even though it has taken me a bit of time getting back into a rhythm. At the moment we’ve been working on getting a good balance for the bike on race tyres and I am happy because I think we’ve more or less decided what tyres we’ll use in the races on Sunday. Of course, if it rains we’re all going to suffer, but I really don’t want a wet race. The track felt a bit greasy this morning, but it was better in the afternoon. I am determined to do my best this weekend (as usual) and feel that I am very close to that elusive podium. I have four chances left and my aim is to make them count. More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Rea maintains form as rain threatens Imola Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea continued his recent run of form in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s two 12th round World Superbike championship races at Imola in Italy. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman, who has finished no lower than second in the last six races, took second place behind Spaniard Carlos Checa, lapping the historic 4.936km Imola circuit in a time of 1m48.558s. Rea’s fellow Brit, Leon Haslam, set the third fastest time today, as rain began to fall just a few minutes before the end of the qualifying session. Japanese rider, Noriyuki Haga rounded off the provisional front row of the grid. Max Neukirchner ended up 15th fastest today after running near the top ten for much of the session. However, electronic gremlins near the end of the session prevented him from retaining a higher position. Jonathan Rea P2 Free pract ice was OK this morning but we still had some work to do on engine braking. We’re running as open as we can but we need some engine braking in some areas, so it’s a bit of a compromise. This afternoon, I went out on old tyres from this morning’s session and did a lot of work to find a set up that works when the tyres are nearly finished. When we put some new tyres in on that set up, it worked with the grip. The main thing for today was to get into a rhythm, so Peter (Breddels engineer) sat me down, kind of got me by the scruff of the neck and sent me out. And it kind of worked! So, now I’ve got the rhythm, we know what tyres are working we’ve been through all the options and I think we have two to work on for the race we’ll do some long runs tomorrow and see which is working better after 21 laps. Then we’ll be good to go. Max Neukirchner P15 The track fel t very heavy today and was a little difficult like Nurburgring, but we made some improvements today between the two sessions. The biggest problem we have is with the corner exit where we need to find some more grip. I was in P12 near the end of the session but I had some electronics problems and then it started to rain when we put some fresh tyres in and I found it hard to concentrate then. We started this morning with one bike from Nurburgring and one from the July test here. Most of the bike is like Nurburgring with some parts from the test, and we have quite a good direction I think. I also have some ideas to try in the morning, but it is forecasting rain for tomorrow and Sunday. Ronald ten Kate team manager It’s been a good start to the weekend with Jonathan. We had a few issues to resolve during the day and there are some other areas where we have to improve the bike, so there is still quite some work to do. We are already up to speed but we can already improve some more. Max made some progress today but wasn’t able to hold on to a good position right at the end. I’m sure he and his guys will look for some ways to pick up that progress again in the morning. More, from a press rleease issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY RELIEVED WITH 8TH. It was not the easiest two sessions at Imola today and, in the end, Troy was relieved to have finished eighth quickest as spots of rain fell on the 4.936 kilometre circuit. With rain forecast tomorrow, it may be that today’s time will prove useful if tomorrow’s qualifying is wet. Carlos Checa (Ducati) ended fastest today with a lap of 1:49.070, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Leon Haslam (Suzuki) third and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) fourth. Troy – 8th, 1:48.851 Well, I am happy and not happy – if that makes any sense. I would’ve liked to have been faster, but at the moment the setting of the bike isn’t right and the lap time I did to end eighth was as good as I could’ve done. It was a bit ragged, but I was concerned that the rain would come down harder and that would’ve been that. When I saw the drops of rain on my visor towards the end of today’s qualifying, I knew I had to stick my neck out and go for it. I am relieved that I got eighth because if it rains tomorrow in qualifying, that eighth will stand me in good stead for Superpole. So that’s why I went for it and although I might’ve been able to do another one like it, I certainly could not have done a string of them. This track is very slippery when it rains and none of us look forward to racing here in the wet, because it feels like you are riding on ice. The problem is that, because of the changes of elevation, you get areas of running water on the track and that can cause aquaplaning and that’s not good. The track felt a bit dusty and dirty this morning – normal for a Friday morning – but the grip improved in the afternoon. The setting of the bike is not right yet and I also had a bit of a problem getting the bike to stop. Often I was running wider than I wanted to and that probably contributed to the problem with stopping. Hopefully we’ll sort that out, but what concerns me, for tomorrow and raceday, is the rain. If it is wet, you’re probably going to see laps times about twenty seconds a lap slower round here. That’s not normal, because the normal difference between wet and dry is about ten seconds or so. That shows how slippery this place can be. More, from a press release issued by Team PATA/B&G Racing: Jakub Smrz focused on preparing for Sunday’s two races since the opening day of practice. The rider from the Czech Republic, once reached the time which allowed him to get into Superpole, preferred riding on used tyre, managing to set his fastest time after thirteen laps to finish on provisional sixteenth place. Lorenzo Baroni did well too as he posted the provisional sixth fastest time, which makes it easier for him for tomorrow when rain is forecast for the late afternoon. JAKUB SMRZ | Aprilia RSV4 | 16th in 1’49.659: “We set a fast time pretty easily and so we decided to focus on the race. Hopefully we will score the results we could have scored in the past rounds. I believe I can get a good starting position at the end of Superpole tomorrow, if the weather condition will allow it. In the last lap I was improving my time and I wasn’t really going for it, but Fabrizio slipped in front of me and I had to get up again”. LORENZO BARONI | Ducati 1098R | 6th in 1’53.382: “I know this track well as I’ve raced here before. I managed to find a good setup from the beginning, but there’s a lot to be improved nonetheless. I just hope the weather will be on our side tomorrow afternoon, when it’s supposed to rain”. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: session which took place at Imola circuit, host of the penultimate round of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne made a positive start, at the top of the timesheets on board their Ducati machines right from the start of the morning’s free practice session. Spanish rider Carlos Checa’s best time was very impressive (1m48.178) and meant that he closed the session four tenths of a second ahead of second placed rider Jonathan Rea. He had a strong race pace throughout, and his times bode well ahead of tomorrow’s sessions. “We worked really well today”, said Carlos. “We’re already ahead with renard to set-up and every time I go out on track I feel more at ease. At the last round we made an impression and I’m feeling confident here too. We have good pace and a good feeling through the corners so I think that we can be really competitive on Sunday. Weather permitting that is”¦” Shane Byrne also made an impressive start. The English rider closed first practice in second position, behind team-mate Checa and in the afternoon he remained among the top three until almost the end of the session. He eventually closed in sixth place, just six tenths from Carlos and returned to the box in high spirits. “I’m happy”, said Shane. We’ve tried a loto f things ahead of the race and have got some good results. This afternoon we concentrated on making a fast time but I was also working on pace and I’m very satisfied. The team has worked really hard and I’m feeling fit. I’m ready to do well.” General Manager of Althea Racing, Genesio Bevilacqua was also very pleased with today’s outcome. “We immediately found good pace in the free practice with both Carlos and Shane and this gives us hope. The test here a few months ago helped us as we started from a strong base, making the most of the indications received from Pirelli. Carlos did well to concentrate on the set-up while Shakey demonstrated that he can keep pace with the fastest guys, something he hasn’t often done this season. I’m very happy with his performance and confident ahead of Sunday’s races.”