FIM Superbike World Championship Misano, San Marino June 26, 2010 Final Qualifying Results (after Superpole, all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Troy CORSER, Australia (BMW S1000RR), 1:35.001 2. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:35.502 3. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (Ducati 1098F10), 1:35.680 4. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:35.683 5. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:35.851 6. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:36.096 7. Leon HASLAM, Great Britain (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:36.302 8. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.607 From Superpole Two: 9. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Ducati 1098F10), 1:36.093 10. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.170 11. Lorenzo LANZI, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.200 12. Ruben XAUS, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.204 13. James TOSELAND, Great Britain (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.216 14. Leon CAMIER, Great Britain (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.245 15. Shane BYRNE, Great Britain (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.376 16. Jonathan REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.561 From Superpole One: 17. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.889 18. Tom SYKES, Great Britain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.928 19. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.574 20. Roger HAYDEN, USA (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.986 The Rest of the Grid: 21. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.638 22. Federico SANDI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:38.109 23. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.287 More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: PIRELLI ADDS A PERSONALISED TOUCH TO WSBK FEATURING HOST NATIONS’ FLAGS ON SUPERPOLE TYRE SIDEWALLS FOR THE SIX REMAINING RACES 26th June 2010, Misano Adriatico (Italy) The Pirelli Diablo Superbike tyres used to set record times in the Superpole on world-class circuits will now fly each host country’s flag for the six remaining races of the Superbike World Championship. The personalised Superpole labels will debut mid-season at the Misano World Circuit, honouring its host by featuring the blue and white flag of San Marino along with the word SUPERPOLE, identifying the tyres to be fitted by the 20 participants in the final qualifying. Two printed white stripes around the centre of the tyres will be visible on newly fitted tyres and when these stripes are scrubbed off on the first lap, the labels will remain for further identification by TV and spectators. Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director for Pirelli Moto commented: “Pirelli is proud to display the flags of each circuit’s host country on these uniquely designed personalised labels created for the season’s remaining Superpole qualifying sessions. Superbike fans can be assured that we deliver the technologies developed in WSBK to street product, but it’s our pleasure to also offer this interesting design feature to WSBK fans and spectators that is available as part of Pirelli Moto’s premium street range.” Motorcyclists can now personalise their own Diablo Rosso Corsa tyres just like the world-class Superpole riders of the Superbike World Championship via MY DIABLO ROSSO™ Corsa site found at www.pirellityre.com/drc. More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: Max Biaggi takes a spot on the front row and rides his Aprilia RSV4 to the second block on the grid at the Misano track. Misano Adriatico, 26 June 2010 – Superpole Saturday ended with an exploit from Max Biaggi for the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team. With one last explosive lap the multiple world champion rode his RSV4 to the front row, just behind “specialist” Troy Corser’s BMW. Max came into the decisive Superpole round, passing the first two sessions without any trouble and staying firmly among the top riders. In the third and last round, Biaggi landed the decisive blow stopping the clock at 1’35.502. An unfortunate Superpole on the other hand for Brit Leon Camier who was not able to pass the second session after having made it into the top sixteenth with the seventh time. Leon will start from the fourth row (1’36.245 ), for him there is plenty of time to recover tomorrow during two races which promise to be truly heated, especially to the joy of the fans that fill the Aprilia stand which has been created for the occasion. “I’m very satisfied with this result which, to be quite honest, I didn’t even really expect”. Max Biaggi commented – “This is a track where it is very difficult to overtake, so starting up front was important. I’m quite pleased. In the last lap I gave it my all and was very quick, but what counts now is being strong for the entire race. There are a lot of riders here, not only Troy, who are capable of making very fast laps and they showed that today as well, so we’ll have to try to stick close to the leaders. Everything is still not sorted with the bike, which is suffering from a bit of instability, but for now this is the best possible compromise. Now we’ll just have to give our all in the race without making too many calculations, but just trying to obtain the best result”. “Nothing went right today” – was the comment from Leon Camier – “I wasn’t able to ride a clean lap without mistakes. I’m sure I can do better. Fourteenth place does not represent our potential. I tried to be more aggressive but on this track maybe that’s not the best choice. For tomorrow I won’t jump to conclusions. We know we can ride two good races if we get a good start. Sure, starting from the fourth row isn’t the ideal situation, but I’ll truly give it my best”. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Weather conditions: Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon. Temperature: Air: 25 – 32°C, Track: 25 – 50°C Number of riders participating: 23 from 14 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:35.791 min Fastest lap Superpole 3: Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:35.001 min An Australian rider on a German bike stole the show from the Italians at the race in Misano (ITA): Troy Corser (AUS) secured Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s historical first ever pole position in the FIM Superbike World Championship on Saturday. Italian riders Max Biaggi and Michel Fabrizio will start from second and third on Sunday. Troy lapped the 4.226 kilometre long Misano World Circuit in a new Superbike lap record of 1:35.001 mins. His team mate, Ruben Xaus (ESP), qualified 12th for Sunday’s races. Troy Corser: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:35.791 min / Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:36.240 min / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:35.001 min “First of all I would like to say ‘Thank You’ to the entire team – my mechanics, technicians and the guys in the workshop in Germany. We have struggled a lot with the tyres over the last couple of weeks, but completed some very good steps in last week’s test. We made some changes to the chassis and the suspension. Finally our work has paid off. This was more or less a perfect lap. Nevertheless, I am a little surprised about the lap time. For tomorrow, I do not want to change a lot on the bike’s setup, as now it really works well. Maybe we can play a little bit with the electronics and the engine brake, but that’s it. Today we reached another milestone. Certainly now I also want to win a race soon.” Ruben Xaus: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:36.218 min / Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:36.720 min / Fastest lap Superpole 2: 1:36.204 min “I feel good on the bike. I did my fastest qualifying lap today on race tyres, so I know we have a strong race pace. Unfortunately I struggled to make the qualifying tyre work for me. Troy has posted an unbelievable time today. I just need to work on my riding style so it suits the characteristics of the qualifying tyre. Based on my lap times this weekend, I am confident for tomorrow. I have left myself a lot of work to do from the third row, but I know anything can happen in racing, so I am still optimistic for some good results. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.” Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager): “I am really happy today. Troy secured the young team’s first ever pole position. The bike is definitely improving all the time, but Troy made the difference today. We have made some improvements with the S1000RR over the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow will not be easy because the times on race tyres have been really close. Nevertheless, I believe in the package we have. Sadly Ruben was unlucky today. He was riding well and pushing hard, but he crashed on his flying lap which prevented him from posting a quick time. I still believe he will be able to finish in the top eight tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two eighth round World Superbike championship races at Misano in Italy from the fourth row of the grid after the Northern Irishman was able to set only the 16th fastest time in today’s qualifying sessions. One place behind him on the grid will sit his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner who, like Rea, was unable to find a setting that gave him a good level of confidence around the 4.226km Misano circuit. Pole position went to Australian Troy Corser. The disappointment from the qualifying performances is compounded by the fact that Rea won the second race at Misano a year ago the team’s first outing on Ohlins suspension, tuned by local firm Andreani. Both sides of the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda garage, however, are determined to continue to seek improvements overnight and during warm-up in the morning in preparation for tomorrow’s two 24-lap races. Jonathan Rea P16 It’s difficult to know what to say after what is probably the worst qualifying performance of my career. Actually, we made a wee bit of progress by going slightly harder at the front today, but it was nowhere near enough to make the jump to the guys at the front. Our backs are against the wall really, and I’ll just have to show what I’m made of tomorrow and ride the wheels of the bike for 24 laps. Twice! To get anything like some good results, I’ll need to make a blinding start and rely on other people’s mistakes but, as ever, we’ll give it a good go. Max Neukirchner P17 It’s very frustrating because whenever we are able to find extra grip either by changing something on the bike or fitting a qualifying tyre the chatter just seems to become worse. Looking at the times from last year’s qualifying, it seems that everyone has made a step forward except us. It will be difficult starting from the fifth row of the grid for the races tomorrow, but we will try to make some improvements in warm-up and see what happens when the lights go off. Ronald ten Kate team-manager Needless to say, we are not at all happy with the results from today’s qualifying and Superpole. Yesterday now feels like a completely wasted day but at least today we have made some progress. Despite the fact that Jonathan will start from the fourth row of the grid, I’m still more than hopeful that we can make a big leap forward tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: In a second day of qualifying with high temperatures and hot track conditions Cal Crutchlow scored himself a fourth place start for tomorrow’s two Misano World Superbike races on the front row of the grid. Crutchlow flew through the first two Superpole sessions, recording the fastest time in each to arrive at the final heat. Impressively, his fastest time recorded in the second Superpole heat was on a used race tyre, as he saved both qualifier tyres for the final session. Crutchlow’s team mate James Toseland cruised through the first Superpole in 12th position with a race tyre, then set out with a qualifier for the second. Unfortunately the bike set up was focused on using a harder front tyre for race pace so struggled to match the softer qualifying rear tyre in the heat. Toseland was unable to make it through to the final heat and starts tomorrow’s races from the fourth row of the grid in 13th position. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (4th, 1’35.683) “It was disappointing not to get pole but to be honest I think we were going as fast as we could. It was a good enough Superpole session and I’m pleased to be on the front row, keeping my tally of front rows going. It’s going to be a close battle tomorrow, we’re still deciding on race tyres, but I think most people are. We’ve made some improvements from yesterday and I’m feeling confident we can be up there and fighting for the win. James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (13th, 1’36.216) “It’s been a tough Superpole session as far as position is concerned and also for the earlier qualifying. I’ve been really concentrating on a good race pace and race set up and that’s definitely not a problem. Unfortunately when we tried to go 0.3 or 0.4 of a second faster we struggled. It’s so close but it means the difference between front row and fourth row and I just missed out. I know the pace is there for the race we just need to work hard now to make sure we’ve got a good setting to get past people and get up to the front.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “Troy Corser put together a really unbelievable lap. We took the first row with Cal which is very important here because the Misano circuit is not an easy place to overtake on. Unfortunately James had an issue which didn’t work well this afternoon so he will start from the fourth row which will make his life harder tomorrow. He is a good fighter and is capable of moving through the pack.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Record holder Corser gives BMW its first ever Superpole win Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) posted a brilliant 1 minute 35.001 seconds to take the new track best lap and BMW’s first ever Superpole win. In doing so he extended his own record of pole wins in WSBK racing to 43 and he did it in some style, finishing half a second clear of his nearest rival. Second on the grid for Sunday’s races will be championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) who was surprised and delighted to be so far forward at a circuit like Misano. Third went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and fourth to the charging Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda). BMW, Aprilia, Ducati and Yamaha machines share the front row places, after the usual close competition for grid places in a class with seven competing manufacturers. Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) was not able to get into contention with Corser and Biaggi in the final Superpole contest and went fifth, but Sylvain Guintoli overcame the result of an earlier qualifying collision with Corser to put his Alstare Suzuki sixth on the grid. Leon Haslam, second in the championship, took his Alstare Suzuki machine to seventh place in a tough Superpole for man and machine. Luca Scassa (Supersonic Racing Ducati) put in another great performance for a privateer rider as he posted a top eight time; he now starts Sunday’s races as last man on row two. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) battled hard to go ninth, just missing the final Superpole knockout session; Pata B&G Ducati privateer Jakub Smrz was tenth. James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) struggled in qualifying and Superpole and thus went 13th fastest, joined by fellow British riders Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia), Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Once again Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was top Kawasaki rider, 18th, while his team-mate Chris Vermeulen was 21st fastest. Troy Corser: “I don’t know who’s older, Max or me but here we are! I’m very happy with what we did today, it’s been a long time since I was on pole, but the team has put in a lot of work since Miller and this is a really good result. I am happy with the set-up of the bike, it’s easier to ride and it has a more balanced position. It was very hot this afternoon and the surface was a bit more slippery but it is the same for everybody. If we get a good start tomorrow I will go from the front and see what happens.” Max Biaggi: “I’m very satisfied with this result which, to be quite honest, I didn’t even really expect. This is a track where it is very difficult to overtake, so starting up front was important. I’m quite pleased. In the last lap I gave it my all and was very quick, but what counts now is being strong for the entire race. There are a lot of riders here, not only Troy, who are capable of making very fast laps and they showed that today as well, so we’ll have to try to stick close to the leaders. Michel Fabrizio: “It is very important to start on the front row of the grid here in Misano, where I have never really gone very well. I made a little mistake on the final lap when I saw the chequered flag a little bit too late to put in anything extra. In tomorrow’s races the early laps are going to be difficult, I don’t want to be controversial because once again we’re missing a bit in engine power with respect to the fours, but we’ll see how it goes.” Cal Crutchlow: “Testing here went OK, but we’d like to have some new parts because now we’ve come here to race we’re doing the same pace as in all the tests with the same set-up. We do need to find something extra because everyone else is going really well here, but in any case congratulations to Corser and I’m satisfied to be on the front row for tomorrow’s races.” Times: 1. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’35.001 (160,141 km/h);2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’35.502; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’35.680; 4. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’35.683; 5.Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’35.851; 6. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’36.096; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’36.302; 8. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’36.607; 9. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’36.093; 10. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’36.170; 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’36.200; 12. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’36.204; 13. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.216; 14. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’36.245; 15. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’36.376; 16. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’36.561; etc. World Supersport Michele Pirro (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) set a new track best at the very end of the final qualifying session to take pole position at Misano, his 1 minute 38.444 seconds proving to be not just unbeatable but also very well timed. Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) had to settle for second on the grid, with local wildcard rider Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service Yamaha) an impressive third. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) earned a top four place, with Gino Rea (Intermoto Czech Honda) a positive fifth, one place up on series points leader, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Welshman Chaz Davies (ParkinGo Triumph BE-1) made it onto the second row behind Sofuoglu, but one place ahead of Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda). Times: 1. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’38.444 (154,451 km/); 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’38.611; 3. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’38.911; 4. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’39.019; 5.Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’39.224; 6. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’39.277; 7. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1’39.371; 8. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’39.383; etc. Superstock 1000 A new track best of 1 minute 39.190 seconds put Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) firmly into pole position in Superstock 1000 making this his fourth pole start of the current campaign. Lorenzo Baroni (Ducati Pata B&G) was second on his big vee-twin and Maxime Berger (Team Ten Kate Junior) proved to be top Honda rider in third place. Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini Honda) finished in the top four, as Michele Magnoni (Team Shiner Honda) earned a fifth place grid spot. Eddi La Marra (Team Lorini Honda) went sixth fastest, and was one of seven Italian riders in the top eight places. Times: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’39.190 (153,378 km/h); 2. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’39.466; 3. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.596; 4. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.839; 5. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.844; 6. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’40.051; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’40.231; 8. Colucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’40.308; Superstock 600 – Race Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) set a new lap record on lap eight as he chased down long-time leader Florian Marino (Ten Kate Honda Junior) then improved the lap record again on lap nine, eventually taking the lead in the final few corners and winning by 0.577 seconds. Spain’s Nacho Calero Perez (Orelac Racing Yamaha) was a clear third, but behind him a four-rider fight eventually saw Davide Fanelli (All Service System by QDP Honda) hold off his rivals in a thrilling fashion and take fourth place. In the championship, Guarnoni now has 111 points, with Marino on 86 after five rounds. Results: 1. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 17’11.087 (147,549 kph); 2. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 0.577; 3. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 3.375; 4. Fanelli D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 8.412; 5. Mercado L. (ARG) Kawasaki ZX-6R 8.738; 6. D’Annunzio F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 8.778; 7. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 9.091; 8. Elliott J. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 15.531; 9. Major N. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 17.283; 10. Krajci T. (SVK) Yamaha YZF R6 22.360; 11. Lombardi B. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 24.367; 12. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 27.550; 13. Pesek K. (CZE) Yamaha YZF R6 31.102; 14. Rosini M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 31.801; 15. Vrajitoru M. (ROU) Yamaha YZF R6 32.053; 16. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 32.365; 17. Della Biancia M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 50.276 Points (after 5 rounds of 10): 1. Guarnoni 111; 2. Marino 86; 3. D’Annunzio 61; 4. Karlsen 51; 5. Calero Perez 44; 6. Lombardi 43; 7. Lanusse 39; 8. Fanelli 38; More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: SYLVAIN AND LEON SIDE BY SIDE ON ROW TWO. Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli will start tomorrow’s pair of 24-lap races side by side on row two of the grid. Both were happy with their grid positions after a frantic final Superpole session which saw Aussie Troy Corser give BMW their maiden Superpole victory. It was Corser’s 43rd pole and his lap of 1:35.00 was half a second faster then his nearest rival – Max Biaggi (Aprilia). Third quickest in Superpole was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) fourth. Sylvain took sixth, with Leon seventh. Sylvain – 6th, 1:36.096 Today was much better than yesterday and I managed to get a much better feeling with the bike. It was great to get into Superpole 3 and that made me so happy – especially after yesterday’s performance. The track had much better grip today and seemed less dirty, so I was able to get more and more confident. We have a choice of two different tyres for the races, so we will wait and see what the weather is doing before we make our final choice. My right shoulder and hand is a bit sore after my crash this morning when I was hit by Troy (Corser). I didn’t see or hear him at all. I was minding my own business and suddenly ‘bang!’ I don’t think anything is broken in my hand, but I will get the physios to work on my shoulder so that it’s OK for tomorrow. Leon – 7th, 1:36.302 We had a few issues with electronics and the clutch and because the problems weren’t consistent I was unable to get a really good rhythm going. It’s not a big deal, because the second row of the grid is OK here, but we’ll have a look at all the data and see if we can fix the problem in the warm-up tomorrow morning. I really had to grit my teeth to get into Superpole 3 today, but I was determined not to have to start from the third row of the grid because that would’ve given me a lot of work to do in the opening laps and that’s the kind of thing that wears the tyres out more quickly. The track has improved from yesterday and there is a bit more grip, but only if you stay on line. If you drift off line, you can still get into trouble easily. Second row of the grid may not seem good, but I’m confident that I can get on the podium tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: Misano Adriatico, June 26th 2010 – Some recriminations for the Althea Racing team after today’s Superpole. The availability of some experimental tyres prevented the team and Carlos Checa from being able to concentrate on recording fast times. As usual, however, the team’s satisfaction lies in the race pace found during the qualifying and free practice sessions which bodes well for tomorrow’s races. Carlos Checa registered the fifth fastest time which places him on the second row, eight tenths behind Troy Corser, after having concluded Superpole 2 in second place. “It went quite well”, said the Spanish rider. “Starting from the front row would have been better of course but the second row isn’t too bad. I tried a soft tyre in Superpole 3 but it slid around a lot and I was unable to improve. I could only have fought for the second position anyway because Troy was unbeatable today. We’ve made some great times with the race tyres and hope to be up at the front tomorrow.” Shane Byrne will start from the fourth row, having qualified in fifteenth position. Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing declared: “We can blame the continual search for perfection that made us work so hard. The choice of tyre for Superpole 1, made during the free practice, perhaps caused us to lose focus with regard to recording the fastest times. We hoped for the front row but it was impossible to catch Corser. We’re confident for the races, having a strong race pace, and Carlos hasn’t lost the will to fight back. As far as Shane is concerned we are regretful after practice sessions in which he was one of the main players, but he unfortunately doesn’t have a great feeling with the qualifiers. Tomorrow, even though he’ll start from further back, I hope to see him in the top ten.” Sunday morning’s warm-up takes place at 9.20 while race 1 commences at 12.00 and Race 2 at 15.30, both races are 24 laps in length, equal to 101,424km. The official Superbike lap record at Misano was set by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) in 2009 in 1m37.135 at an average of 156.620 km/h, while Jakub Smrz set a 1m35.435 (average 159.410 km/h) in practice in 2009. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: A DETERMINED FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) TO START FROM THIRD ON TOMORROW’S GRID AT MISANO Misano (Italy), Saturday 26th June : this afternoon at the Misano World Circuit, Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio fought until the final seconds of a Superpole characterised by very hot conditions. The Italian rider closed today in third position and his team, after two days of intense work, are extremely satisfied to be on the front row for tomorrow’s races. With respect to yesterday’s qualifying session, times improves dramatically for the Ducati Xerox riders in second qualifying this morning, with Noriyuki improving on his best time by over a second and Michel by six tenths. Despite this improvement, overall positions at the end of qualifying remained almost as they were yesterday evening, with Fabrizio qualifying for the afternoon’s Superpole in fourth position and Noriyuki in twelfth. Michel found a better level of grip by using Ducati’s “traditional” rear tyre used in all the races up until now, while Noriyuki continued to struggle slightly with a lack of traction. Superpole 1: in the first phase of today’s Superpole both Ducati Xerox riders exited first on race tyres. Michel only needed to make this exit, registering a fast enough time (1m35.8) to close the phase in second position overall, while Noriyuki went back out on a qualifier, to record the eighth fastest time. Superpole 2: two different strategies for the riders this time, with Michel confident that he could record a fast time with the race tyre and Noriyuki opting straight for the second available qualifier. Although satisfied with the initial time recorded, Fabrizio decided together with his race engineer to test the new qualifier that Pirelli had brought, and finishing the session with the fourth fastest time. Noriyuki was less fortunate, making a small error during his fast lap which left him in ninth position, just a hundredth of a second from eighth placed Scassa. Superpole 3: Roman rider Fabrizio went out first with the new qualifier and then with a race tyre, to finish this final phase in third position, satisfied with a place on the front row of tomorrow’s grid. Michel Fabrizio “I’m very happy to be starting on the front row, although tomorrow’s races will still be tough. We have a good race pace but the racing will nevertheless be difficult, especially in the initial stages. In the Superpole I was faster with the race tyre and all went well; it’s only a shame that there was a moment of confusion after the session concluded, Corser made contact with the bike and I ended up on the ground. Anyway everything’s ok, although there was some damage to my bike, and I’m hopeful ahead of tomorrow. I’d like to have two great races in front of the “home” crowd of course. I also want to thank my team for all their hard work this weekend.” Noriyuki Haga “Of course I’m disappointed with today’s Superpole result, I missed out on entry into the last phase by just a fraction of a second. I wasn’t able to find a good rhythm with the qualifiers and even though we made some small changes to my bike during the day, I didn’t feel any big difference as I had hoped to. Having said that, I think we have a good set up for tomorrow’s races and I’m happy with the choice of tyres we have made. We’ll see tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: ‘MR SUPERPOLE’ STRIKES AGAIN! Misano saw history made today, when Troy blasted his way round the 4.226 kilometre circuit and gave BMW their first ever Superpole victory. It was Troy’s 43rd Superpole win and two years since his last pole position, which also took place at Misano. Troy’s tally of 43 pole positions is 17 more than his nearest rival Troy Bayliss and a staggering 36 more than any current rival. Troy – 1st, 1:35.001 It seems that number 43 has been a long time coming, but in fact number 42 was only two years ago – funnily enough here at Misano. Misano is a difficult track, but it’s a track where you can actually use different lines, instead of the ‘racing line’, and still go fast. My lap in Superpole 3 was pretty much perfect and when you do an easy, smooth lap it’s quite often the fastest. We had a really good test here in Misano last week and made a big step forward with a new rear link and chassis set-up and that has made the balance of the bike a lot better. If I had been able to use that set-up in the last round in USA I would’ve made the podium for sure. The bike is just so much easier to ride now and I really feel I can fight for the podium. I’m very happy with the bike’s set-up and I’ve been able to run consistently good lap times on race tyres this weekend and although my Superpole lap was a very low 1:35, I reckon that race times are going to be in the high 1:35s or low 1:36s, but that will depend on the temperature tomorrow and how the tyres last. I had a couple of ‘moment’s today – the first was in this morning’s qualifying when I was on a hot lap. I saw Sylvain (Guintoli) as I approached turn one and could see that he was not at full speed, so I went for my racing line. Unfortunately, as I dived underneath him he came back a bit and I hit his bike with my rear tyre and down we both went. I was OK, but he was a bit battered and bruised. It was my fault and I hope he’s not hurting too much. The second incident involved Michel (Fabrizio) and happened after the chequered flag, though this time it was not my fault. He suddenly sat up, more or less still on line and we touched. He crashed but I stayed on the bike OK. He took a hard fall and I guess he’s going to be a bit sore this evening. All in all, it’s fantastic to give BMW their first ever Superpole and the feeling in the garage is tremendous. If I can make my normal good starts, I think I can make the team even happier, with a podium or maybe two. More, from a press release issued by Team PATA/B&G Racing: Jakub Smrz put in another great performance in day 2 , despite having to deal with a small technical problem which caused him to miss the third session of Superpole. After working on improving the bike’s setup in the morning session, the rider from the Czech Republic qualified for Superpole. After easily passing the first session, in the second was only able to do one full-speed lap before having to return to the pit box due to a bike malfunction. He did however set the tenth fastest time, second fastest rider not to make it into the third and last session. Despite everything, the team is confident for a good result tomorrow. Lorenzo Baroni is also hopeful, after managing to improve the fourth place from yesterday. The Italian rider will start the World Superstock 1000 race from second position, behind overall leader Badovini. JAKUB SMRZ | Ducati 1098R | 10th in 1’36.170: “It wasn’t a very lucky Superpole for me, even though everything went smoothly in the first two sessions. I’m disappointed because I could’ve qualified in the front row, but I guess I’ll have to settle for tenth place. However, my goal is still the same and I’ll ride an attacking race”. LORENZO BARONI | Ducati 1098R | 2nd in 1’39.466: “I’m very happy with the result, but I have to battle for the top positions in race as well. I’m racing at home and I really want to score a great result”. MARCO BORCIANI: “We could’ve started in front, but it wasn’t to be. We’ll work harder in order for us to be at our best tomorrow. I would also like to congratulate Baroni for his great performance, hopefully he will do just as well in race”. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Sykes and Vermeulen Work Hard in Qualifying WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 26 June 2010 Tom Sykes and his team-mate Chris Vermeulen worked with new settings and electronics packages in qualifying at a hot and humid Misano but were not able to reach the grid spots they were aiming for. The riders and the team simply needed more time to get the best out of the latest technical developments, and will now try out revised race setting in the 20-minute warm-up session on Sunday morning before making a final choice on machine set-up for each 24-lap race. Weather conditions at the 4.226km circuit have been hot and humid so far, and the races are expected to be carried out in similar conditions. Tom went 18th on the grid after Superpole 1 and starts from row five, while Chris was 21st, just missing out on a start in Superpole, and he now begins his races from row six. Tom Sykes: “We have made steady progress, but unlike many others were could not test here recently. We have a different nominated test track, not Misano, so nothing we could do about it. We wouldn’t choose to start the race from where we are but there are a few riders around us who are not normally in that position either, so it has been a bit of a peculiar weekend so far. Our times are good, under the lap record pace on race tyres, but everybody else has lifted their game too. Tomorrow is another day and we will make a bit of a set-up change for morning warm-up up. We will treat the races just like any others, give it our best and see how far up we can finish.” Chris Vermeulen: “We had some new parts to try this weekend, some worked well and we have found some positive points. But the new settings also make the bike harder to use in other ways right now. We still have some work to do so we will try something new in warm-up tomorrow morning to see if we can find even more improvements. We didn’t get into Superpole because we did not use the qualifying period to the best of our abilities. It’s not the easiest place to pass other riders here, but it is a long old race at Misano, lots of laps. If we can come away with some points from our starting position I will be happy. This is Superbike racing, anything can happen, and we will give it our full effort to take the best finishes we can.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Second qualifying day for team Pedercini Superbike riders Roger Lee Hayden and Matteo Baiocco at Misano World Circuit. In the second qualifying session Hayden was able to improve his best lap time reaching the nineteenth position (1’37″419) and his second Superpole of the season. Also Baiocco improbe his performances (1’38″287) but he obtained only the twenty third position, missing the Superpole for less than four tenths. In first Superpole session unfortunately Hayden scored the twentieth (1’37″986) lap time and so he was not admitted to the second phase. Fifth row for him and sixth row for Baiocco in tomorrow’s 24-laps races. Superbike qualifying second session : 1) Corser (BMW) – 2) Byrne (Ducati) 3) Scassa (Ducati) 4) Fabrizio (Ducati) – 5) Biaggi (Aprilia) .. 19) Hayden (Kawasaki) “¦”¦ 23) Baiocco (Kawasaki) Superpole : 1) Corser (BMW) 2) Biaggi (Aprilia) – 3) Fabrizio (Ducati) – 4) Crutchlow (Yamaha) – 5) Checa (Ducati) “¦…. 20) Hayden (Kawasaki)”¦”¦ 23) Baiocco (Kawasaki) Roger Lee Hayden :”This morning it was really better compare with my yesterday qualifying. I learned the circuit and I entered the Superpole that’s an important results for my team , my sponsor and me. I was really happy to participate to the Superpole here in Misano that’s my team’s home circuit. It was only my second Superpole of the season and for sure I need more experience to take advantage of the soft tires but overall I’m pretty happy for my today result and tomorrow I hope to be able to collect some good points.” Matteo Baiocco :”I’m not satisfied for my result but today I found a better feeling with my bike and we are not so far from the Kawasaki official riders. We had some problems with the general set up and we need more acceleration out of the curves. I’m disappointed only because this morning I missed the Superpole. I know tomorrow’s races will be very difficult for me, but this afternoon my race pace was pretty good and tomorrow I’ll try my best to reach good results”.