FIM Supersport World Championship Monza, Italy May 8, 2009 Free Practice One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:50.594, crash 2. Joan LASCORZ (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:50.605 3. Mark AITCHISON (Honda CBR600RR), 1:50.749 4. Fabien FORET (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:50.934 5. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.474 6. Danilo DELL’OMO (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.783 7. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:51.860 8. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.920 9. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.929 10. Michele PIRRO (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.939 11. Eugene LAVERTY (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.027 12. Massimo ROCCOLI (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.073 13. Franco BATTAINI (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.122 14. Garry MCCOY (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:52.154 15. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.383 16. Miguel PRAIA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.549 17. Patrik VOSTÁREK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.610 18. Gianluca NANNELLI (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:52.755 19. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:52.951 20. Alessandro POLITA (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:53.454 21. Anthony WEST (Honda CBR600RR), 1:53.753 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Practice points Parkalgar Honda in the right direction PARKALGAR HONDA racers Eugene Laverty and Miguel Praia used today’s practice session for the fifth round of the World Supersport Championship at Monza in Italy as an opportunity to find a direction for set up on their CBR600RR race bikes. Irishman Eugene, on his first visit to the circuit, finished in 11th just a fraction outside the top 10 and just in front of his Portuguese team-mate Miguel who ended 16th. Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow was fastest. The race starts at 1325CET on Sunday 10th May and can be viewed live on Eurosport. Eugene: “I’m learning my way round Monza. It is one straight after the other here and I have been testing my brakes and braking markers going into the chicanes. If you get in the slipstream at the start of the straight it carries the whole length of it and you need to adjust your braking marker to suit, it makes a big difference. We will move a little weight on to the front of my Parkalgar Honda for tomorrow to help with the change of direction but apart from that the bike is close to a good setting. It has been very warm today and I managed a race distance on a tyre which is positive and I set my fastest lap right at the end of that run which is encouraging.” Miguel: “I don’t have the flu this weekend like last time at Assen so I am feeling positive. It was a nice practice session and I concentrated on doing as many laps as possible 25-laps in total. I didn’t put the good tyre, the only one that works around Monza, into the bike until the last 10-laps and then the time came down OK. I am only half a second from the top 10 and from my best lap time of all weekend last year so this is good. I feel really comfortable on my Parkalgar Honda and think we are not far from getting the race set-up.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “That was a pretty good session for Eugene as it is his first time here and will set him up for tomorrow’s practice and then qualifying. He is learning real fast and I am sure he will be at the front as usual come qualifying and the race. It has been a positive start to the weekend for Miguel and he can build on it as he targets the top 10. There is no reason he cannot get in the top 10 here, he is good enough and the Parkalgar Honda is on the pace.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s World Supersport championship pairing of Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu declared themselves satisfied with progress after today’s opening free practice session at Monza in Italy. With series leader Cal Crutchlow topping the time sheets, Pitt and Sofuoglu set the eighth and ninth fastest times separated by just nine thousandths of a second – as they prepare for Sunday’s fifth round race at the historic 5.8km circuit. With a further free practice session tomorrow morning, followed by a 45-minute qualifying session to determine the grid for Sunday’s 16-lap race, the Ten Kate duo are confident of further improvement in both times and grid positions tomorrow. Andrew Pitt P8, 1’51.920s We’ve made a step forward with the engine but there’s still a bit of work to do on the balance of the CBR600RR, which has probably just a little too much weight on the front at the moment. The good things is that we found that issue early and we’ve definitely got a direction to follow tomorrow, which is very positive. We need to do some more laps tomorrow to fine tune everything and the front is still pushing a little. But I only used one tyre for the whole of that session and did three longer runs the hand that got damaged in Assen feels brand new. Kenan Sofuoglu P9, 1’59.929s I have to admit I am a little surprised at my position here because I love Monza and I am usually quite fast here. The speed of the bike has definitely improved, so I am very happy about that, but we’re going to have a long meeting tonight to find out which way we must go to find a better set-up. The bike is not performing that well under braking and there is quite a lot of braking here, so we definitely need to do some work on that. Ronald ten Kate team manager We’ve definitely found a good direction with machine set-up although there is still some work to do, everything seems to be pointing in one direction. That’s definitely a relief after the complex issues we had in both Valencia and Assen. We also seem to be back on track speed-wise, with both Andrew and Kenan heading the top-speed chart. More, from a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Good start for Doni Tata Pradita On this very particular track of Monza, Doni Tata Pradita started to try to find the right setting for his Yamaha R6 involved in the Supersport World Championship. As there is now no more practice on Friday morning, the time is running short. With the 24th time, 3.8 seconds away from the pole position, Doni is getting ready to work on the setting of his bike to go faster tomorrow and to achieve a good time for a nice position on the starting grid. Doni Tata Pradita: “I am not completely happy. We have to find a good setting for the suspension and the gearing. It’s becoming better for the braking points. I was fast in my last lap, but unfortunately a slower rider got in my way. And they already displayed the chequered flag, the session felt so short! Tomorrow, I will go quicker since the beginning of the session to record a good lap time. Today, I lost time in the second split; the gearing and the shock absorber have to be set up better. Normally in that portion I go full gas, but I had to cut a little bit. Tomorrow will be better.” Martial Garcia (team manager): “Doni confirmed the lap time he made during the preliminary tests. On this track where braking is very important, the suspension needs to be well set up to obtain a good stability.” The fastest track of the Championship Monza is the quickest of the tracks used for the 2008 Superbike World Championship. The fastest lap was done last year by Noriyuki Haga on a Yamaha, with the average speed of 198.730 kph. This is not the quickest lap ever, as Pierfrancesco Chili on a 750 Suzuki averaged 203.960 kph at Hockenheim on June 4th, 2000. Last year in Monza, Michel Fabrizio had the best top speed on his DFX Corse Honda. It was during the first race and he went 322.7 kph, which is the fastest speed ever recorded in world Superbike. A track with a great history Monza was built in 1922 (in only 100 days!) by the Milan Automobile Club. The “Autodromo Nazionale di Monza” is only 15 km from Milan. It is the oldest permanent racing circuit still used in Europe and the third such circuit to have been built after Brooklands (GB / 1907) and Indianapolis (USA 1909). The track is 5.793 km long and features a 2.405 km long oval, which is no longer used. The main straight is 1.195 km long. The first Grand Prix of the Nations (September 8, 1922) was won by Amadeo Ruggeri on a 1000 cc Harley-Davidson. In the 500 class, the winner was Italian Gnesa on 2-stroke 350 Garelli. A very special circuit Monza is the fastest circuit on the World Superbike calendar. The track has two very slow chicanes, the “Prima variante” and the “Variante della Roggia”. It also has a long right-hander called the “Curva Parabolica”. Monza only has one real left-hander, the “Curva Del Serraglio” after the Lesmo double right-hander. Monza is different because the bike is upright for so much of the lap, during acceleration, top speed and braking phases. Monza is unique in that the bikes are running more often in a straight line than in a corner, the opposite of the other World Superbike circuits. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Crutchlow and Foret get straight down to it in Monza Both Cal Crutchlow and Fabien Foret got down to business quickly in Monza today. Crutchlow used the free practice session to familiarize himself with yet another new circuit, something he managed to do in just a few laps as his searingly quick pace showed at the end of the session. A small tumble early in the session did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm. His last lap of the day turning out to be the fastest of the Supersport riders, sending a clear message to his competitors that he means business on Sunday. Team-mate Foret was well and truly back on form, having picked up his pace dramatically in Assen and showed his old racing style, he got down to it quickly in Monza today and put in consistently fast laps at the top of the pack, leading the session briefly before settling for fourth at the end, less than 0.5 of a second off his team-mate. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st, 1’50.594) “It was good enough for me over the session, but I had a little bit of an off which I’m disappointed about. Every time I stick new boots on I crash! We worked hard this afternoon and done a lot of laps in the session. The race distance was good on the tyres so I’m happy enough, hopefully we can go into the weekend confident now. The second corner is weird, it’s absolutely flat out, you don’t shut off at all on a 600 and it took a bit of getting used to, there’s barrier all the way round and it kind of sucks you in! It’s nice to be quickest on the last lap and on one set of tyres, let’s hope we can keep that up over the weekend.” Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (4th, 1’50.934) “It was good for me, I found my pace pretty easily, I used a very similar bike set-up to last year which was very good. Obviously we tried to update it a bit but right now it’s working really well and I’m not pushing 100% yet so I would say everything is under control and good up to now. I enjoyed being out there on the bike and having fun on the track today, . I’m pretty happy and looking forward to tomorrow.” Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager “It seems to be that Cal likes the track, not bad for his first time here and on provisional pole. Both the riders are happy, Fabien particularly likes this track. They both tried some different things in the session, including an Assen setting and the Monza setting from last year. We have a good direction as a result of the session, we’ve got a good combination of tyres which we didn’t have last year so everything seems to be under control! Cal had a little off, he started with a tyre which was probably not the best and had a small front end slide. The problem here is that anything is a high speed incident but he’s ok, no injuries so we’re looking forward to tomorrow with confidence.” More, from a press release issued by Parkin GO Triumph BE1 Racing: The first practice session of the Monza WSS round was employed by team ParkinGo Triumph BE1 Racing to improve bike setup as the riders can keep their focus on lap time consistency tomorrow. Today’s times were not significant at all as Garry McCoy set the fourteenth fastest time, while Gianluca Nannelli was the eigteenth quickest. GARRY McCOY | Triumph Daytona 675: “We have tried out a few solutions which enabled us to continue the work we had started at Assen. I have a good feeling with the machine but we have to solve a chattering problem when I reach the braking point. I didn’t use the slipstreams today, although they’re very important on this track. I prefered not to think about the time. I focused on setup though and I hope to qualify in the first rows and get a good starting position tomorrow”. GIANLUCA NANNELLI | Triumph Daytona 675: “We’ve done a good job on the cycle part. I’m confident on the bike although I’m not 100 per cent yet. Today I wasn’t as fast as I would’ve wanted. We’ll try to find out why and hopefully the engine will perform well during the race on Sunday because on this track maximum speed is fundamental”. More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Fast Monza track proves hard work for Stiggy squad The fast track of Monza is re-known for its high speed battles and slip-streaming action, but proved hard work for the Stiggy Racing Honda squad in the opening Free Practice today. The team keep continuing their search for corner speed, as accelerating out of the fast corners is hugely important in order to make the connection with the front runners. The fast track demands corner exit speed, but both Stiggy Racing Honda bikes had a tough session to deliver just that. Anthony West – desperate to make his way to the top of the sheets – struggled to match the pace of the competition on the short straights, and lost valuable seconds exiting the fast corners. West returned to the box for an outing on his second bike with an altogether different setup, and pushed hard throughout the session for the much desired improvement. West found himself languishing at the back of the field in a disappointing 21st position, and set his best time today at 1’53.753s – 3 seconds off the pace ran by front man Crutchlow – who posted the fastest time of 1’50.594s. Team mate Gianluca Vizziello finished his first session in 15th position, with a best time of 1’52.383s. Gianluca Vizziello, WSS: ” I had some difficulties with the set up of my bike today, and found it hard to find good form. I struggle to open the throttle in the corners as quickly as I would like to and find it hard to run the pace of the competition. I am confident we can solve the issues and improve our lap times in tomorrow’s sessions “. Anthony West, WSS: ” I had a difficult session today. We tested totally different settings on both bikes today, but found it hard to find a good feeling on any of them. We are missing the balance in the bike, that is definitely something we will have to focus on. We tested both tyres that we have for the rear, but found it hard to lower the lap times. My crew will be analysing the data tonight and see where we can make the improvements for tomorrow”. Johan Stigefelt, Teammanager: ” We knew we would be struggling on this fast track before we came here. Both riders have worked hard throughout the session, but we lack the acceleration to run the pace of our competitors at the moment, and are finding ourselves in a disappointing position. We will have to work hard on finding the improvements needed to bring both riders in a competitive position for the race on Sunday “. Introducing S2 Racing Swiss-based S2 Racing – the Holding Company of the Stiggy Racing Team – specialises in initiating and developing Sponsor, Marketing and Event strategies for the Motorsports Business. Gianluca Barbagallo, Vice President of the holding: ” S2 Racing and the Stiggy Racing Team have set up a partnership that targets to compete at the top of the Motorsport World Championships. For this year we have set our goal on achieving a top position in the Superbike World Championship”. Johan Stigefelt, Stiggy Racing Team Manager: ” Partnering with S2 Racing provides the solid foundation for our team and enables me to fully concentrate on the technical aspects. We have managed to put a great package together and are targeting to achieve the best possible results”.