FIM Superbike World Championship Portimao, Portugal October 14 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:43.579 2. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:43.666 3. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:43.860 4. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:43.895 5. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:43.907 6. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.030 7. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.111 8. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:44.112 9. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:44.144 10. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:44.201 11. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:44.278 12. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:44.410 13. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:44.426 14. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:44.598 15. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:44.631 16. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:44.715 17. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:45.243 18. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:45.454 19. Javier FORES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:46.076 20. Karl MUGGERIDGE, Australia (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:46.116 21. Josh WATERS, Australia (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:46.526 22. Santiago BARRAGAN, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:46.967 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Champion Checa heads the field yet again Portimao (Portugal), Friday 14 October 2011 Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) took over at the top in the afternoon’s SBK qualifying session after Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) had gone quickest in the morning’s free practice run. The 2011 champion’s time of 1 minute 43.579 seconds was good enough to see off his closest challenger, an impressive Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team), by just 0.087 seconds, while Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert – Liberty Racing Ducati) also looked good, finishing two-tenths down in third. Rea grabbed the final place on the overnight front row with the fourth quickest time, seeing off the challenge of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing), the Italian not appearing to show any ill effects from his recent left foot bone fracture. Two official Kawasaki ZX-10R machines were next up, with Spain’s Joan Lascorz getting the nod on Britain’s Tom Sykes. In his last race for the official Yamaha team, Marco Melandri was in eighth place, while Japan’s Noriyuki Haga (PATA Aprilia) and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Smrz (Effenbert – Liberty Racing Ducati) rounded out the top 10. Superbike rookie Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) made his debut in 18th place, while Santiago Barragan (Kawasaki Pedercini) wrapped up the field in 22nd. Yoshimura Suzuki wildcard Josh Waters was 21st quickest, his fellow Aussie Karl Muggeridge 20th in his stand-in ride for the Castrol Honda team. The overall pace in wonderfully warm conditions was close throughout the field as 1.136 seconds covered the top 16 riders. Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’43.579; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.666; 3. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.860; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.895; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.907; 6. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’44.030; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’44.111; 8. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’44.112; 9. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’44.144; 10. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’44.201; 11. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.278; 12. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’44.410; 13. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.426; 14. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’44.598; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.631; 16. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’44.715; etc. World Supersport Spain’s David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com) took the provisional pole in Supersport Q1 today, just a whisker ahead of Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) and Parkalgar Honda man Sam Lowes. Newly-crowned world champion Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) was also right behind the top 3 with fourth fastest time. Hannspree Ten Kate Honda men Florian Marino and Fabien Foret sandwiched the provisional second row in fourth and eighth with Aussie Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) and Britain’s Gino Rea (Step Racing Honda) in between. Times: 1. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’46.195; 2. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.201; 3. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.208; 4. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.390; 5. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.772; 6. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’46.788; 7. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.830; 8. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.974; etc. Superstock 1000 Right in the final moments of STK1000 qualifying, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Ducati) edged out Sheridan Morais (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) for the overnight top slot. The young Italian’s time of 1 minute 46.012 seconds was a couple of tenths of a second off the category’s record lap held by Badovini (1’45″773). South African Morais was a tenth behind Petrucci but ahead of Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing Ducati), Andrea Antonelli (Lorini Honda) and Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia STK). Times: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’46.012; 2. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’47.297; 3. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’47.676; 4. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’48.036; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.103; 6. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’48.172; 7. Massei F. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.218; 8. Baz L. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’48.341; etc. Superstock 600 American Joshua Day (Revolution Racedays Kawasaki) set the quickest time in the first qualifying session for the European Superstock 600 Championship, followed by the surprising Slovakian runner Tomas Krajci (TK Racing Slovakia Yamaha). Romain Lanusse was third quickest for the MRS Yamaha France team, with championship challengers Michael van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Honda) and Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha) in fifth and seventh respectively. Times: 1. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’49.346; 2. Krajci T. (SVK) Yamaha YZF R6 1’49.510; 3. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’49.702; 4. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.388; 5. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1’50.552; 6. Duwelz G. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.555; 7. Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.594; 8. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.628; etc. More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Noriyuki Haga closed the first qualifying day with a ninth place. The japanese rider suffered lack of grip on the track but managed to improve his performance later in the day. Seems everything is going on the right way and the team will work on different setting trying to get more control and more drive along those abrupting turns on this track. The aim is to fight for a starting position among the first two rows in order to close this championship with two great races. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “We are not still at our best, overall regarding the slowest stretches. We’ll keep on working on the setting reaching a better drive. I’m sure we still have room for improvements and that I’ll do my best to hit a good starting place.” More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: PROVISIONAL POLE FOR WORLD CHAMPION CARLOS CHECA (ALTHEA RACING) AT FINAL WSBK ROUND OF PORTIMAO Portimao (Portugal), Friday 14th October 2011: the final round of the 2011 World Superbike Championship got underway today at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao. Team Althea Racing and rider Carlos Checa are already World Champions but come here to Portugal to finish the season in the best possible way. Davide Giugliano, Superstock 1000 champion with Althea, participates as a wildcard in this last SBK race of the year. In this morning’s first free practice, and on an already hot track (40ËšC), Althea’s pairing made a solid start to proceedings. After only a few laps Checa was in first position with a fast time of 1m44.6. Giugliano, taking part in a SBK race for the first time, took things one step at a time in this opening session, working hard with his technicians to refine the set up of his bike. In the final stages of the session, Carlos improved significantly on his best time, recording a 1m43.9 that placed him second at the end of play, just a fraction of a second from Rea, first. Only those two riders were able to lap in under 1m44. Giugliano, beginning to find confidence with the 1198, recorded a best of 1m45.0 towards the end of the session, closing in eleventh position. During the afternoon, the riders were back on track for first qualifying in even higher temperatures (35ËšC air, 45ËšC track). Carlos went straight to the top of the timesheets while Davide lay tenth after his first exit. The young Italian rider continued to make good progress until a small crash (fortunately without consequences) caused him and his team to lose valuable time in the second half of the session. He therefore finished in eighteenth position with a best time of 1m45.4. In the final phase of the session Checa lowered his previous best by another half a second to close in first position with a best of 1m43.5, a tenth of a second quicker than Laverty, second. Carlos Checa: “We’ve worked well again today. Maybe it was a little harder than usual with regard to the tyres because, in these conditions, it becomes difficult to manage them after only a few laps, but everyone will have the same problem this weekend. We were able to make the fastest time, finding a way to keep the tyres stable for a few more laps and now we’re feeling more confident. I just want to relax this evening and be ready for tomorrow because I came to the track very tired after a very busy week.” Davide Giugliano: “Today is our first day and so I’d say it was very positive, both for me and for the experience I am gaining, and for the team that starts working together with the Superbike. We have tried a lot of things today and we’re confident that tomorrow we’ll be able to do better. Today I had a small crash unfortunately, and we lost a lot of time as a result, but these things happen. We still have tomorrow and I’m sure that during the day we will see what me and the team are really capable of doing. I think we are holding all the right cards and should be able to make two good races come Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Weather conditions: Sunny. Temperature: Air: 30 31 °C, Track: 40 44 °C Number of riders participating: 22 from 13 teams Fastest lap Free Practice: Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) 1:43.945 min Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:43.579 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had a difficult start to the final round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship at Portimão (POR). Factory riders, Leon Haslam (GBR) and Troy Corser (AUS), finished the first Qualifying Practice in 13th and 15th respectively. The team is confident that both riders can improve their positions tomorrow. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) and Xavier Fores (ESP), from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team, finished in 11th and 19th respectively. Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:45.150 min (P14)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:44.426 min (P13) “It was a difficult Friday. We experienced issues that we have already had a few times this season. It worsened when the temperatures rose in the afternoon, but we have an idea how we can solve this. We know in which direction we have to work tomorrow.” Troy Corser: Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:45.094 min (P12)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:44.631 min (P15) “It has been a tough day for us. We have worked hard to find a set-up that suits the characteristics of this track, but at the minute we still have some issues. The track has a lot more bumps than when we last rode here, and that has made it extremely difficult to find a good feeling on the bike. However, the conditions are the same for everyone, we just need to work hard in the sessions tomorrow to refine the set-up and then we will see what is possible. We all have to remain optimistic and work hard to put ourselves in a good position come Superpole.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “It was a difficult start to the weekend. This track is a little bit like a rollercoaster, and we are still working on finding the best set-up for these very special characteristics in order to make the bike easier to ride. In the afternoon, when it was hotter, we also had some issues with the grip. But I am sure tomorrow morning we can climb up the time sheets.” More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: BRAKING PROBLEMS FOR MICHEL Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio suffered braking problems in both practice and first qualifying today at the Autodromo do Algarve. The team tried a variety of ideas, but at the end of the day, Michel was still unable to get his GSX-R1000 stopping and turning and didn’t feel confident pushing any harder. Newly crowned Champion Carlos Checa (Ducati) topped the standings today, with a lap of 1:43.579. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) finished second quickest, ahead of Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Honda) Michel – 17th, 1:45.243 Today was very frustrating. We tried many things, but could not get the bike to stop and turn properly. I had braking problems everywhere on the track – both at fast and slow corners – and just didn’t feel confident enough to push any harder. On the brakes, the bike wanted to go straight on and I couldn’t get it to work any better. Despite the team making many changes from the morning to the afternoon, the feeling was the same. We changed suspension and set-up, but experienced the same problem with the brakes. The track is definitely more bumpy than last year and that hasn’t helped us either. For tomorrow we’re going to remove the whole braking system (lever, hoses, caliper, master fluid reservoir etc) and try a different one. Hopefully that will solve the problem and I can get confident with the bike and push as hard as I want. More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda: Rea on the pace in Portugal Jonathan Rea secured a provisional front row start for Sunday’s final World Superbike championship round at Portimao in Portugal after setting the fourth fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session. The Castrol Honda rider had earlier headed the morning free practice session and declared himself happy with progress and a time just three tenths of a second behind provisional pole sitter Carlos Checa. Eugene Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli took the other two provisional front row positions with the third and fourth fastest times respectively. Meanwhile, Rea’s team-mate for the weekend, Karl Muggeridge, who is replacing the injured Ruben Xaus, was 20th fastest. Jonathan Rea P4 1m43.895s It wasn’t a bad start to the weekend but we’re still working on making the bike more rideable. It’s all about momentum here and we need to make it easier to carry speed all the way round the lap. We’re working on power delivery at the moment but we’re not in a bad position. At the end we tried a slightly different engine specification which was really good but maybe a little too aggressive for this circuit. On my preferred race bike I’m quite happy and we’ve got some things to try tomorrow to make things easier. Karl Muggeridge P20 1m46.116s It was a hard day and I’m still a little lost on the track to be honest. It’s been a while since I rode here and I just need some more time and laps to get my head around the place. The bike’s also new and I haven’t ridden on Pirellis for a while, so I guess it’s OK. I’m rushing things, instead of letting the time come it’s like I’m late for a dinner appointment. Everywhere! The bike’s working well and I’m getting used to it but I need to calm down and work it all out. It should be under control tomorrow after a good night’s rest, when I’ve had a chance to process all that information. Ronald ten Kate team manager Things are going reasonably well so far. The bike’s getting better and better with all the adjustments we’re making. Tomorrow we’ll concentrate on some longer runs with a race tyre. With Karl, it was always going to be different to step in at short notice on completely different machinery especially on this roller-coaster circuit at Portimao where he hasn’t ridden for a long time. But he’s constantly getting faster so we’ll work hard to get him into Superpole tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT PORTIMAO. MAX BIAGGI REGAINS CONFIDENCE ON HIS RSV4 AFTER THREE MISSED RACES AND FINISHES THE DAY WITH A BRILLIANT FIFTH BEST TIME. A CRASH WITHOUT DAMAGE FOR LEON CAMIER, FOURTEENTH IN THE FIRST QUALIFYING SESSIONS. Portimao, October 14th, 2011 The Portimao weekend begins, the last round of the 2011 World Superbike season. The first Friday practice sessions gave Max Biaggi a chance to regain confidence on his Aprilia RSV4 and to test the conditions of the foot he fractured on the Nurburgring. For the moment the response is positive: Max feels pain and sometimes hits “neutral”, but he intends to carry on, getting his injured foot accustomed to the new condition. The five time world champion focused on his bike’s settings, going out for just a few laps at a time, precisely so that he wouldn’t tire out the injured foot and to get back into the WSBK pace gradually. The fifth place final time which he took in the afternoon session was quite satisfying, as Max does not fail to point out: “The fifth place final time is well above my expectations, considering the three missed races and the pain in my foot. I hit neutral more than once because of the pain which is concentrated on the point of contact with the shift lever and prevents me from being decisive. Today I kept myself to 4-5 laps at a time and then I get tired, but it’s only natural that I’ll have to gradually work my foot up to being able to push tomorrow. The track is one of the most physical in the championship and that doesn’t help, but it is also one of the nicest: I want very much to do well”. Team mate Leon Camier, after the excellent sixth place this morning, had a sliding crash in the afternoon qualifying sessions without suffering any damage but which prevented him from finishing up the work he had expected to do. “It’s a shame about the crash admitted Leon I was pushing to put some distance between myself and Badovini and get some clear track, but in turn 5 I overdid it and crashed. The changes we tried at the beginning of the qualifying sessions didn’t provide any advantage, so we went back to the setting from the free practice sessions this morning and on a new tyre I was trying to put a good time on the board. I’m struggling to find my pace. I’ll need to do some work if I want a good result”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Laverty makes an impressive start to the season’s grand finale in Portimao Yamaha World Superbike riders successfully completed today’s opener to the season showdown which took place in scorching sunshine at the Portuguese track of Portimao, on the infamous Algarve. Yamaha riders Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, intent on concluding the 2011 season in the best possible manner, got straight down to business to wind up the day in second and eighth places on the scoreboard. Eugene Laverty, determined to keep a strong hold on his current third place in the championship standings, was quick off the mark as early as in the morning’s free practice session which he wrapped up in seventh position. After making some adjustments to the suspensions of his R1 machine prior to the afternoon’s first qualifying practice, the Northern Irish rider proceeded to lap the Portuguese track at a relatively fast pace, clocking in an impressive 1’43.666 towards the end to climb up to second, just 0.087 of a second behind World Champion, Checa and on a provisional front row on Sunday’s race grid. Team-mate and fellow World Superbike rookie Melandri, worked hard today to get re-familiarized with the circuit which he first experienced just one month after his shoulder surgery, last January. The Italian spent the morning confronting different set-ups on the two R1s in search of suitable direction to work in. Despite the significant lack of rear grip, Melandri managed to make progress throughout the afternoon’s first qualifying session to end up in eighth place. Both Yamaha riders will continue to make adjustments and fine tune their machinery in tomorrow’s practice session ahead of the grand finale races on Sunday. Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team – 2nd, 1’43.666 “It was a pretty good day today, similar to the first qualifying session in Magny Cours. I’ve tested the Superbike here already so I feel comfortable on it and it’s nice to be up to speed from the very start of the weekend and not have to be catching up gradually. The R1 is working well, we got good speed in but the lap times are dropping after just a few laps so we need to work on consistency for tomorrow. Hopefully our lap times should be ok to get through to Superpole and we’ll see what other changes to make in the morning.” Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team – 8th, 1’44.112 “It was a fairly tough day today. I was struggling with a lack of rear grip all day which we managed to improve slightly only with the softer tyres. We are not at all where I’d like to be at the end of the first day, but hopefully we can make good progress for tomorrow. We need to focus mainly on improving lap times with the race set up, as at the moment I am quite slow.” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “In general the day went quite well, having both riders provisionally in the front two rows. As we expected, Eugene was quick from the very first session, has a good pace with the race tyres and is just behind Checa using the softer tyres. He needs to work on the stability of his machine and improve in sectors where he is losing some time. We knew Marco had to use the first session to get familiar with the track and learn the lines but he made noticeable improvements by the afternoon’s session. He is fast with the soft tyres but the team need to work hard to improve the set-up to provide better rear grip on the race tyres and how the bike enters corners. We are confident that he will make further progress tomorrow and both riders can be at the front on Sunday.”