FIM Superbike World Championship Imola, Italy September 24 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Session Three: 1. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:47.196 2. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:47.274 3. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:47.442 4. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:47.468 5. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:47.929 6. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (BMW S1000RR), 1:48.081 7. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:48.234 8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.416 From Superpole Session Two: 9. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:47.781 10. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:47.858 11. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:48.126 12. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.334 From Superpole Session One: 13. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.741 14. Federico SANDI, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.812 15. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:48.894 16. Alessandro POLITA, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.091 The Rest of the Grid: 17. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:49.159 18. Joan LASCORZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:49.185 19. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:49.378 20. Ruben XAUS, Spain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:49.595 21. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:49.668 22. Javier FORES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:50.888 More, from a press release issued by Alitalia Aprilia: LEON CAMIER IS UNABLE TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE QUALIFYING TYRE AT THE IMOLA SUPERPOLE. HE WILL START FROM THE THIRD ROW WITH A RACE PACE WHICH GIVES HIM HIGH HOPES. Imola, September 24th, 2011 The problems with his fast lap encountered in all of the sessions kept Leon Camier from his best performance during the Imola Superpole. The Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team’s English rider came through the first Superpole session by a hair, but in the second (where the top 12 riders compete) he lost his seventh place time in the last few seconds. The high level of competition is confirmed by the time gaps, with all twelve riders grouped within less than one second. This places him in the tenth spot on the grid in the third row for the two races tomorrow. An analysis of his race pace brings better news. Leon demonstrated a good pace over distance, with interesting times even on very worn tyres. From a race point of view this situation could provide Camier with two competitive races, searching for the best possible result. Leon is also justifiably confident: “I was expecting this. I worked all weekend with the soft tyre on my fast lap. The changes we made to my RSV4 in the last session before Superpole improved the problem with chattering I was having and in the end they helped me to be quicker. What happened in the second Superpole session is a shame. Everyone was really close and in the last few seconds I dropped to tenth place. With my good race pace I’m able to see the glass half full. I’ll have to get a good start tomorrow and stay focused to keep up a fast pace, trying to move forward as many positions as possible”. More, from a press release issued by Team Alstare Suzuki: MICHEL FRUSTRATED IN SUPERPOLE Throughout regular practice and qualifying, Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio, had consistently been in the top five and so was looking forward to his best Superpole of the year. But once he put on the qualifying tyres on the his bike, he began experiencing front and rear end chattering and was unable to push hard enough to secure what would’ve been his first front row grid position of the year. Instead, he will start tomorrow’s two 21-lap races from the third row of the grid and will once again will have to try and made good starts if he is to have any chance of chasing podium places. Carlos Checa (Ducati) once again took pole position – his sixth of the season – though this time it was by the narrowest of margins. Less than seven hundredths of a second separated him and Jonathan Rea (Honda) in second place. Third is Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia), with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) completing the front row line-up. Once again the top six bikes in Superpole are from six different manufacturers. Michel – 11th, 1:48.126 Well, I am frustrated with my Superpole. All weekend, I have been in the top five in the standings and I was feeling very positive about Superpole. My pace on race rubber has been consistently fast and I was happy because my bike set-up was good. But, as soon as we put qualifying tyres on the bike, it behaved differently. I got bad chattering – so bad that I couldn’t work out if it was from the front or the rear – or maybe both! Because of this, I couldn’t push the bike harder and so couldn’t go fast enough to get into final Superpole and a chance of a front row grid place. It’s been a disappointing end to the day and now I am once again facing the prospect of having to make two great starts if I am to have any chance of good results. Although the first turn seems a long way away, I still have to make super starts and try and be in the top four going into the first chicane or otherwise I will get held up and it will be even more difficult. Hopefully, nobody will make a big break at the start and I can be with the leaders. It’s not just because this race is taking place in my home country, I want to do well in all races. Of course, there are lot of my fans here, so I would love to get on the podium tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Castrol honda: Imola front row for Castrol Honda’s Rea Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two eleventh-round World Superbike championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the second fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole sessions at Imola in Italy. Rea was pipped to pole position by series leader Carlos Checa, whose time around the 4.936km Imola circuit was just a tenth of a second under that of the Northern Irishman. Noriyuki Haga was third, with Tom Sykes rounding out a four-manufacturer front row. Having been fastest in yesterday’s qualifying session, Rea was second fastest this morning as he and his Castrol Honda team continue to develop a new ride-by-wire system for their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades. The system allows Rea’s data engineers to dial in precise throttle opening electronically, rather than using a physical cable. However, the team is keen to emphasise that the system is still in the early stages of development. Rea’s Castrol Honda team-mate, Ruben Xaus, is also developing the new electronics package and will start tomorrow’s two 21-lap Imola races from the fifth row of the grid. Jonathan Rea P2 1m47.274s We were nearly there! I made a mistake on my first lap in Superpole three and, although I had another go, I’d used up most of the tyre by then. But it’s SO nice to be back here and, although Superpole is pretty minor compared to the races, we’re in a good position, so I’m really looking forward to them. It’s been a big journey to get here, recovering from injury with the help of medical staff and my family, but the team has also been working so hard with this new system. While I’m really looking forward to racing here at Imola tomorrow, we’ve got one eye on 2012 and I’ve a sneaking suspicion we can be quite competitive then as well. Ruben Xausong> P20 1m49.595s Well it’s been another busy day as we work with the new system. It’s obviously working well with Johnny but I’m still having a few problems getting it to work well for me. There is lots of information to work through tonight but we always knew this weekend was going to be a bit of a test for me and the new system. Hopefully, something will be seen in the data tonight that will give us something to try tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager We came here with a mission to use this event to develop the ride-by-wire system and we were all pretty clear that we would sacrifice results to follow that path. As a matter of fact it has turned out beautifully for us. We’ve spent a long time setting it up and we’ve got a result as well! However, we are under no illusions about where we are and how much time we still need on it. The specific layout of the track here a nd the new tarmac over much of it is suiting the bike very well there are no bumps and lots of grip, which makes it easier for us. That doesn’t take anything away from the success so far this weekend and, on longer runs, the new technology is also helping Jonathan keep a very consistent pace. For sure, this was not a one-lap wonder and we believe we have a set-up to bang out some fast laps tomorrow, too. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Weather conditions: Sunny. Temperature: Air: 26 28 °C, Track: 35 44 °C Number of riders participating: 22 from 14 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1:47.799 min Fastest lap Superpole 3: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:47.196 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport has a promising platform for the 11th round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship. The team will start tomorrow’s races at Imola (ITA) from the second row. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished today’s Superpole qualifying in sixth. His team mate Troy Corser (AUS) encountered some grip issues and qualified 15th. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team finished in seventh and will also start from the second row on his BMW S 1000 RR. His team mate Xavi Fores (ESP) qualified 22nd. Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:48.396 min (P6) / Fastest lap FP: 1:48.254 min (P3) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:48.081 min (P6) “I have been feeling confident all weekend and we managed to get the bike working well yesterday. That gave me a lot of confidence coming into Superpole but today we had a few issues with the bike which made things difficult. We still managed to qualify on the second row of the grid however, which is a good position to be in going into tomorrow’s races. On the whole I am feeling pretty happy and looking forward to tomorrow.” Troy Corser: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:48.879 min (P13) / Fastest lap FP: 1:49.033 min (P13) / Fastest lap Superpole 1: 1:48.894 min (P15) “We have been improving with every session this weekend and we have found a pretty good set-up on race tyres. Sadly when we changed to qualifying tyres we were not able to take advantage of the extra grip. I actually set my fastest lap on race tyres but that wasn’t good enough to progress further in Superpole today. Still, we are happy with the race set-up. We just need a good start tomorrow in both races and then let’s see what happens from there.” Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “On Leon’s side, we encountered unexpected issues this morning. This might have been due to today’s higher temperatures but we were able to sort this out for the Superpole. In the deciding third part, Leon was out on the slower race tyre, as we had no qualifying tyres left. He was very consistent and quick, which makes me optimistic for tomorrow. With Troy’s RR we found a good set-up for the Superpole. Unfortunately the qualifying tyre did not work. We could not get enough grip out of it. However we have confidence in him for the race as we have a good race set-up for his bike.” More, from a press release issued by PATA Racing Team: Nitro Nori Haga hit the the first row. The PATA Racing Team rider keep up his intentions ending the Superpole with a third place and placing himself among the favourite in tomorrow races. Haga, welcomed by a standing ovation has been constantly fast trying to refine his bike laps after laps. But the masterpiece took place during the second session when, after going back at the box to replace his soft tyres, managed to score the best timing. From that moment on, he’s been forced to face the third session of the Superpole with race’s tyre but, thanks to a great setting and a strong determination he set the perfect lap ending third on the finale. Noriyuki Haga – Aprilia RSV4R #41 – “It’s been a day of working on the setting. It’s not an easy track and it’s vital to be prepared for the races. I’m really happy about the third session of this Superpole because that tyre gave us great feedback. I’m confident about tomorrow and, even though I know it won’t be easy, I’ll do my best to hit the goal of step up on the podium.” More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: CARLOS CHECA AND ALTHEA RACING SNATCH THEIR SIXTH POLE OF THE SEASON “JUST AT THE RIGHT TIME” TODAY AT IMOLA Imola (Italy), Saturday 24th September 2011: team Althea Racing and Carlos Checa worked hard during the three Superpole phases at the Imola circuit today and these efforts paid off; the Spanish rider, current championship leader, achieved his sixth pole of the season with an impressive lap time of 1m47.196, also a new lap record! Checa continued to make progress this morning in second qualifying, making some small changes throughout the session and improving on his best time set yesterday right in the final minutes. His fastest lap time, 1m48.1 (three tenths of a second faster than yesterday) positioned him fourth at the end of this final qualifying session. Federico Sandi, a wildcard entry with team Althea Racing this weekend, also had a positive morning, making a step forward mid-session and improving on yesterday’s time by half a second. His fastest lap of the session was a 1m48.7 and with this time Federico qualified in eleventh position for this afternoon’s Superpole. Superpole 1: in hot conditions, and on race rubber, Checa completed two laps, the second of which placed him third. He therefore progressed to the second stage with no problems. Young Italian rider Sandi made two exits, one with a race tyre and a second exit with a qualifier, recording a best time of 1m48.8. With this time, he unfortunately did not pass to the second phase and will start in fourteenth position on tomorrow’s grid. Superpole 2: using the first of two qualifying tyres, Checa recorded the sixth fastest time but to be sure of safe passage to the final phase, he went back out with the second qualifier and this time he improved on his time, closing in third. Superpole 3: with no more qualifiers available to him, Carlos went out on used rubber but this did not prevent him from snatching pole, and scoring a new lap record at the same time with his impressive time of 1m47.196. This is Carlos’ sixth pole of the season, a very satisying result for the whole team. Carlos Checa: “I’m really happy with today’s pole because it comes just at the right time. I was having some problems with the first Q tyre and had to use the second, to then do the final stage without a qualifier. I gave it my all in the final phase and was able to make a very fast, very clean lap, but you always have that doubt at the end that maybe someone went faster in the final seconds! Rea was really strong today and I knew he’d be there on the front row. I’m looking forward to two really competitive races tomorrow.” Federico Sandi: “I didn’t have any experience of the Pirelli tyres with this bike until this weekend and so I needed some time to get used to them. Having said that, I was satisfied with how we were going this morning and hoped to do a little better than I did in the Superpole, maybe even reaching the second phase. Fourteenth, seeing as I’m on track with so many fast guys, isn’t bad but I hoped for something more. We’re all really close in terms of times though so I hope to be able to make two great races tomorrow.” TIMES (Superpole): 1. Checa (Ducati) 1’47.1; 2. Rea (Honda) 1’47.2; 3. Haga (Aprilia) 1’47.4; 4. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’47.4; 5. Laverty (Yamaha) 1’47.9; 6. Haslam (BMW) 1’48.0; 7. Badovini (BMW) 1’48.2; 8. Guintoli (Ducati) 1’48.4″¦ 14. Sandi (Ducati) 1’48.8 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Carlos out front in Tissot-Superpole at Imola Imola (Italy), Saturday 24 September 2011 Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) took his sixth Tissot-Superpole win of the season on his Ducati at Imola, heading off Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) with a new track best of 1 minute 47.196 seconds. Rea came within a tenth of Checa in the final session, with Aprilia rider Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team) third and fastest man from combined qualifying, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) fourth, and the last rider on the front row. Carlos Checa: “Jonathan has been very strong all weekend and we knew it was going to be hard to beat him. Basically we’ve been struggling with the qualifying tyres, and in the end we put on the race tyre and improved. I did a really good clean lap with no mistake, and when I saw the time, I was pretty sure that no one was going to beat it.” Jonathan Rea: “It’s been such a big journey to get here on my side with my family, the physio and the doctors, and on the team’s side because they’ve worked so hard with the new ride-by-wire system and Cosworth are helping us a lot so I can’t thank everyone enough for their belief in me. I think we can be really competitive tomorrow but at this point I’m really looking forward to 2012!” Noriyuki Haga: “I’m really happy for this position, especially because I made a little mistake in the second exit of Superpole, but finally I got third position with a race tyre and the front row and I’m feeling good.” Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) was fifth, Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) sixth, Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) seventh and Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati) in eighth place. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team), Checa’s championship rival, exited in Superpole 2, and he now starts from ninth place on the grid, at the head of the third row. Behind Marco is a bunch of potential top finishers come raceday, with Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) tenth, and perennial hard trier Michel Fabrizio Suzuki Alstare) 11th. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Ducati) is the final rider on row three, on his privateer machine. The riders who exited Superpole in the first of three sessions were Jakub Smrz (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati), Federico Sandi (Althea Racing Ducati), Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Alessandro Polita (Barni racing Ducati). In all 22 riders qualified, with 21 of them within 1.869 seconds of each other. Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’47.196; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’47.274; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’47.442; 4. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’47.468; 5. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’47.929; 6. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.081; 7. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.234; 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’48.416; 9. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’47.781; 10. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’47.858; 11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’48.126; 12. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’48.334; 13. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’48.741; 14. Sandi F. (ITA) Ducati 1098R; 1’48.812; 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.89; 16. Polita A. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’49.091; etc. World Supersport Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) held off the challenge of Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) to take pole at Imola, earning his second top starting position of the season. Parkes also set a new track best of 1 minute 51.592 seconds on his way to pole, in a session twice interrupted by red flag incidents. Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was in sparkling form and went third, one place up on Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO). David Salom, Parkes’ team-mate, was fifth with Yamaha rider Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service RT) sixth. Massimo Roccoli (Kawasaki Lorenzini by Leoni) and Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) completed the second row. Times: 1. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’51.594; 2. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.669; 3. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.737; 4. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6; 1’51.852; 5. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.120; 6. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.140; 7. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.353; 8. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.543; etc. Superstock 1000 FIM Cup leader Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) set the quickest time in Superstock 1000 qualifying, putting almost four-tenths of a second between himself and his chief rival Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati). Alongside the two Italians in third can be found Frenchman Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia STK), who crashed towards the end of the session, while the front row will be completed by Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing Ducati). Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia STK), currently lying second in the FIM Cup 23 points behind Giugliano, set the fifth quickest time, followed by Niccolò Canepa (Lazio Motosport Ducati). Times: 1. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’50.016; 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’50.402; 3. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’50.588; 4. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’50.768; 5. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’50.794; 6. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’50.940; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’51.220; 8. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 1’51.396; etc. Superstock 600 – Race An 11-lap thriller was decided on the final lap, when Riccardo Russo (Trasimeno Yamaha) made a lunge on Joshua Day (Kawasaki Revolution Racedays) but ran wide exiting the Acque Minerali corner, and American Day was left to hold his pace and nerve and win his second race of the season. Russo was second across the line and Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Team) third. Nicola Morrentino (Elle2 Ciatti Yamaha) was fourth, Michael van Der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Team) fifth, as the top five were covered by only 1.744 seconds. Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha) was only ninth today. Results: 1. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 21’17.080 (153,057 kph); 2. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.813; 3. Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1.226; 4. Morrentino N. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1.589; 5. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1.744; 6. Morbidelli F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.948; 7. Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 8.491; 8. Dittadi F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 8.744; etc. Points (after 8 of 10 rounds): 1. Metcher 117; 2. Day 102; 3. Lanusse 101; 4. Vd Mark 87; 5. Lombardi 86; 6. Russo 83; 7. Duwelz 67; 8. Egea 39; etc. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Second and Third Row Starts for Yamaha WSB Riders at Imola Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri fought hard in a challenging Superpole knockout this afternoon at the historic Italian circuit at Imola to qualify in fifth and 9th places on tomorrow’s race grid. Eugene Laverty began the first Superpole session on a set of race tyres but with three minutes to go switched to qualifiers to produce a flying lap, clocking in an impressive 1’47.756, taking him to the fastest slot. The Northern Irish rider completed the tough second heat, which saw nine riders finish within three tenths of a second apart, in fifth place. Despite having already used both qualifiers, Laverty managed to better his lap time in the third and final session to maintain fifth place and a second row start on tomorrow’s grid. Team-mate Melandri started Superpole well, making it through the first session in ninth place using a race tyre before switching to the qualifiers for the second heat. Unfortunately the Italian rider’s lap time was not sufficient to guarantee a place in the top eight so Melandri was forced to go back out with just 3 minutes left on the clock on the last set of qualifying tyres. Struggling with a chattering issue, the Romagnolo was unable to better his lap time and was bumped to ninth place, missing out on qualifying for the final session of the day by just 0.007 of a second. As a result Melandri will start from third row on the grid for tomorrow’s two races at his home circuit. This morning’s second qualifying session was successful for both Yamaha World Superbike riders with Melandri and Laverty improving on yesterday’s qualifying times to complete the session in seventh and 11th places. Laverty made some adjustments to the weight distribution on his R1 in order to improve feeling with the rear of his machine. Despite losing some time in the last sector of the track, Melandri managed to complete the session with a good consistent race pace. Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team – 5th, 1’47.929 “It was a much better day today than yesterday which is obvious from my position. Initially I wasn’t sure where I’d be today but I was confident it would go much better after our lengthy de-brief last night, where I understood the direction we needed to go in to make the difference. I am fortunate to be in a team with such good experience. The issue I had yesterday was new brand new for me, I never had that sensation on the bike before, and it’s nice that we were able to turn things around so quickly. I’ll be fighting for the podium tomorrow but it’ll be tough.” Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team – 9th , 1’47.781 “I’m relatively pleased with the day today. We improved the race pace quite lot and did a good run with race tyres in the second qualifying session which went quite well. Unfortunately the qualifying tyres in Superpole didn’t work out at all. We struggled from chattering in both in the second session and after half a lap the tyre lacked performance and I wasn’t able to improve my times. It’s a pity as we have a good race pace but now we’ll have to push hard to get in front on a track where it’s not easy to overtake. ” Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager “We knew the track at Imola wasn’t going to be easy for us and the Superpole results confirm this, even if there is an evident improvement from yesterday’s performance. Both riders have a good race pace but it’ll be crucial to get off to a good start. It’s a pity that Marco couldn’t make the most of either qualifiers to get a better result and missed out on Superpole three by just 0.007 of a second. Eugene was impressive, managing to improve yesterday’s time by a second. The team worked very hard and made good progress. Both riders have some fine tuning to do tomorrow in order to be more competitive and improve on the last sector of the track where they are losing precious time.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Sykes On The Front Row For Imola Races WSBK, Imola, Italy, 24 September 2011 Tom Sykes headed combined qualifying on his Ninja ZX-10R at Imola before ending up fourth on the grid after posting strong performances through all three Superpole qualifying sessions. Nürburgring race winner Sykes carried on his good run of form from the first day at Imola, aided by a recent dry weather test at Misano. The English rider’s pace has been good on both race and qualifying tyres, building his confidence for race day at one of his all-time favourite circuits. Joan Lascorz found the nature of the Imola circuit difficult to match his machine settings to, and thus qualified 18th, just missing out on a place in Superpole by a fraction of a second. He was still only 1.386 seconds from Sykes after combined qualifying at this near 5km long circuit. Joan and his crew found improvements in the final afternoon free practice session and he hopes to make great improvements in his final placings on raceday. Roberto Rolfo and Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki Pedercini Team) had tough times in qualifying, with Aitchison 17th and also out of Superpole. Rolfo was 21st, although only 1.869 seconds from Sykes after combined qualifying. Rolfo also suffered a crash today but the popular Italian rider will be fit to race on Sunday. Tom Sykes: “We had some success in Germany with a win at the last round but wet conditions are a great levelling factor, and I had a good package to work with as well. The test we did at Misano recently was also good in the dry. We confirmed some geometry and chassis settings there that we had been trying out and I was considerably faster than the race at Misano this year. We kept those settings on the bike and came here with minimal changes, and it all shows that we are getting there now. The 1’47.799 I did to lead combined qualifying this morning I was happy with, as it was done on a relatively hard race tyre. We are not in a bad situation. After Superpole Two I was quite confident to get pole position but I think we had reached our limit. A front row place in dry conditions is another step forward for all of us in the team. We also got away with using a race tyre in Superpole One so that was a refreshing change.” Joan Lascorz: “We were much better in this afternoon session and it would have been a good enough time to get into Superpole. We had problems stopping the bike because of the settings at one stage and of course it was even worse as there are some downhill braking areas here too. We made the bike a little bit longer to help this and also to help us not wheelie so much. Normally I run the bike shorter than Tom but not at this track. Tomorrow will be complicated as it is difficult to pass here but I hope I can overtake many riders in the early laps.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Today was the second day of qualifying in Imola for the Superbike World Championship and the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. Team Pedercini Superbike riders Mark Aitchison and Roberto Rolfo will start respectively from the fourth and fifth rows of the grid after qualifying seventeenth (1’49″159) and twenty first (1’49″668) in the morning’s second qualifying session at the Autodromo Endo and Dino Ferrari in Imola, missing the Superpole. Both riders worked hard with their technicians during the afternoon free practice to refine their bikes’ set up to be ready for tomorrow’s 21-lap races. Aitchison (1’48″914) was eleventh while Rolfo (1’49″589) unfortunately high sided towards the end of the session, fortunately without any physical consequences. It was a positive session overall for Aitchison even though there is still work to do if he is to stand any chance of chasing the fastest riders at the front. Rolfo improved in the free practice and tomorrow will try to recover some positions with a good start and a fast pace. Superbike Qualifying 2 : 1) Sykes (Kawasaki) 2) Rea (Honda) 3) Fabrizio (Suzuki) 4) Checa (Ducati) 5) Haga (Aprilia) “¦17) Aitchison (Kawasaki)”¦.21) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike free practice : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Rea (Honda) – 3) Haslam (BMW) 4) Sykes (Kawasaki) 5) Fabrizio (Suzuki)”¦”¦.11) Aitchison (Kawasaki)..”¦ 18) Rolfo (Kawasaki) Superbike Superpole : 1) Checa (Ducati) 2) Rea (Honda) 3) Haga (Aprilia) 4) Sykes (Kawasaki) 5) Laverty (Yamaha) 6) Haslam (BMW) 7) Badovini (BMW) 8) Guintoli (Ducati) Roberto Rolfo: “I’m disappointed because of the crash, but fortunately my physical condition is good and I’ll be able to race tomorrow. I was improving my pace and my lap times when unfortunately I highsided towards the end of the free session. This afternoon I found good rhythm and a good feeling with the bike. I’m pretty happy with the work we have done in these two days. Of course I’m not satisfied with my starting position and I know tomorrow will be very difficult starting from the sixth row but I’ll try my best as always.” Mark Aitchison: “Today we have improved on the situation from yesterday by quite a lot. Even though I narrowly missed entry to the Superpole, I am happy with the work we have done and I am looking forward to our races tomorrow. We can improve the bike in some points on the circuit, so tonight we will analyse the situation and the data, then make some changes to try during warm up to go from there.” Team Pedercini’s Superstock 1000 riders were unable to make a strong challenge for optimum grid positions in qualifying at Imola today. After yesterday’s frustrating free practice and qualifying, in this morning’s free practice Marco Bussolotti (1’53″561) was at least able to complete fourteen laps with his Kawasaki on the Italian circuit, reaching the fourteenth position. Bryan Staring (1’54″106) followed in sixteenth position. Another strong performance for Tati Mercado (1’53″134) who obtained twelfth place. In the afternoon’s qualifying session, due to the higher track temperature, all three riders suffered from a lack of grip. Bussolotti (1’52″531) was fifteenth followed by Mercado (1’52″679) and Staring (1’53″054), respectively sixteenth and seventeenth. Fourth row for Bussolotti and Mercado, while Staring will start from the fifth in tomorrow’s 12 lap race. Superstock 1000 free practice : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Petrucci (Ducati) 3) Barrier BMW) 4) Baroni (Ducati) “¦”¦. 12) Mercado (Kawasaki) “¦. 14) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) “¦. 16) Staring (Kawasaki) Superstock 1000 qualifying 1 : 1) Giugliano (Ducati) 2) Petrucci (Ducati) 3) Barrier (BMW) 4) Baroni (Ducati) “¦”¦. 14) Bussolotti (Kawasaki) 15) Mercado (Kawasaki) 16) Staring (Kawasaki) Marco Bussolotti: “Today was better compared with yesterday but it was really impossible to find the best set up for my Kawasaki in only two sessions. I suffered from some chattering on the front and near to the end of qualifying it was difficult to ride my bike due to a lack of grip. Of course I’m not satisfied with my starting position”. Brian Staring: I’m disappointed with my results once again but at the very best I think I could have gone only a few tenths faster. This seems to be the pace of me and the bike at this track but everyone did their best and I guess we have to keep on working. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow but it won’t be easy from this track position.” Leandro “Tati” Mercado: “I’m disappointed for my qualifying practice today. I’m trying hard, but haven’t been able to improve much. I’m losing some time in two sectors because of some set up problems on my bike. I know tomorrow’s races will be very difficult, starting from fourth row, but I’m still positive, also because this morning my race pace was good and tomorrow I’ll try my best to reach a good result. If I have a good start and follow the fast riders I can hopefully bring some points back home.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY FEELING POSITIVE Despite ending up on the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow’s two 212-lap races, Troy is in a positive mood. As long as he can get two good starts, he believes he will overcome Friday’s problems and come away with some good results. Friday’s loss of track time hindered Troy’s progress today, but on race rubber he feels generally satisfied with the bike. On qualifying tyres, the story is different and once again Troy and the team could not get the bike to perform as well as it had done on regular rubber. Carlos Checa (Ducati) took pole position – his sixth of the season – though this time it was by the narrowest of margins. Less than seven hundredths of a second separated him and Jonathan Rea (Honda) in second place. Third is Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia), with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) completing the front row line-up. Once again the top six bikes in Superpole are from six different manufacturers. Troy – 15th, 1:48.894 Generally I am reasonably happy with how today went, though obviously I would’ve preferred a position higher up the grid. Considering that we lost at least fifteen laps yesterday, I think we did pretty well and I’m happy enough with the bike on race rubber. Once again, we had a problem when we put qualifying tyres on the bike and there was no improvement. Part of this, in Superpole anyway, might have been down to the fact that the track temperature was 44C and there are often problems when it’s so hot. We also need to work on the bump absorption. At the moment, it is not so good and I cannot use the kerbs, like everybody else. Tomorrow morning, in the warm-up, we’ll try a different (shorter) swing arm. It’s something that I’ve been wanting to try and tomorrow we’ll give it a go and if it works OK then we’ll make more tests at the next round. My starts have been pretty good and it’s a fair drag down to turn one, so if I can make good starts, I can at least be up with the leaders. Row two would’ve been better for sure, but let’s see what happens tomorrow.