FIM Supersport World Championship Nurburgring, Germany September 4, 2010 Final Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Honda CBR600RR), 1:58.415 2. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Honda CBR600RR), 1:58.557 3. Broc PARKES, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:58.617 4. Katsuaki FUJIWARA, Japan (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:58.654 5. Gino REA, Great Britain (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.110 6. David SALOM, Spain (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:59.277 7. Fabien FORET, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:59.374 8. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.381 9. Massimo ROCCOLI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.492 10. Mark AITCHISON, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.895 11. Robbin HARMS, Denmark (Honda CBR600RR), 2:00.034 12. Matthieu LAGRIVE, France (Triumph Daytona 675), 2:00.110 13. Ronan QUARMBY, South Africa (Honda CBR600RR), 2:02.246 14. Roberto TAMBURINI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 2:00.160 15. Miguel PRAIA, Portugal (Honda CBR600RR), 2:00.213 16. Chaz DAVIES, Great Britain (Triumph Daytona 675), 2:00.426 17. Vittorio IANNUZZO, Italy (Triumph Daytona 675), 2:01.194 18. Danilo DELL’OMO, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 2:01.770 19. Christian IDDON, Great Britain (Honda CBR600RR), 2:02.069 20. Bastien CHESAUX, Switzerland (Honda CBR600RR), 2:02.747 21. Imre TOTH, Hungary (Honda CBR600RR), 2:03.794 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Laverty shows class to take pole PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty leapt from provisional fifth to pole position in final qualification for the 11th round of the World Supersport Championship at Nurburgring in Germany, showing real class and pace whilst Miguel Praia improved his lap times but dropped to 15th. Laverty must beat Sofuoglu in tomorrow’s race to keep the pressure on in the title fight; he is currently second in the standings just 17-points behind with three races remaining. The race takes place at 1330 local time on Sunday 5th September. To follow the team or download photography of the action visit www.parkalgarhonda.com. Eugene: “We needed to get an advantage over the Turk and we did that. I made six laps within 2/10ths of each other and well over one-second faster than yesterday. We have made a good step with my Parkalgar Honda and my riding. We have played with the gearing as it is a bit of a compromise around here and also with the geometry of the bike. My Honda has improved a lot completing the corner and is nimble while providing excellent feedback from the rear. I think the race will be between Kenan and myself; he wants to win the race and has shown that so it should be a good battle between the pair of us at the front.” Miguel: “It could be better and mid-session it was OK, I always looked as though I should have been in the top 10. I was concentrating on setting my bike up and wanted as many laps as possible on a used tyre so stayed out for a long time. When I changed my tyre for a fast lap I only managed a single lap before the chequered flag and made a mistake nearly high-siding and that meant I ended up 15th. That is a shame as normally we should be in the top 10 but I have done many consistent lap times so I think we are OK for the race.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Eugene was very good today and completed several 1m58secs laps in a row which is impressive and shows his class. He has sorted out any issues with his bike and riding and is going to be battling for another win and keeping as much pressure as possible on Kenan. Miguel is not where he should be in 15th if he had timed his final run better and got another lap or two on a new tyre he should have achieved the top 10 – that is where we expect him to finish in the race.” More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu set the second fastest time in this afternoon’s final qualifying session for tomorrow’s 11th round World Supersport championship race at Nurburgring in Germany, earning himself a front row start alongside pole sitter Eugene Laverty. Sofuoglu, who leads fellow Honda rider Laverty in the points standings by just 17 points with three races remaining, had set an impressive pace in yesterday’s qualifying, but the Turkish ace was unable to improve his lap times around the historic 5.139km Nurburgring as much as he had anticipated. His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Michele Pirro, today continued his rehabilitation following injuries sustained in a crash at Brno in July. The 24-year-old Italian, was eighth fastest this afternoon and will start tomorrow’s 19-lap race from the second row of the grid. Kenan Sofuoglu P2 1m58.557s I can’t say I’m happy with qualifying here because I know that all weekend my speed has been quite fast. Unfortunately, my last tyre this afternoon did not give me so much grip, so I couldn’t put in a really fast time. I’m OK for tomorrow though and I’m on the front row. Over longer runs I’m still quite fast so I’ll try to be first tomorrow, which is the one that’s important. Michele Pirro P8 1m59.381s Today was better because we were able to improve the feeling with the bike, but my body is no good. I still have some pain from my wrist and no power in my hand when I push the brake. I did seven fast laps together this morning and there was no problem, but my wrist didn’t feel so good this afternoon. Tomorrow it’s possible to finish the race in a good position so I want to thank the team for all the hard work to make this possible for me. Ronald ten Kate team manager It’s a little disappointing for Kenan to miss out on pole position after the speed he had shown yesterday afternoon and in free practice this morning. However, the front row is the important thing and we hope a good result in the race can follow. Michele is still suffering a bit from the injuries he sustained in his Brno crash, and a full race distance will ask some questions of the strength in his wrist, but I’m sure he can dig deep to challenge for a good result tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Front Row Starts For Broc And Katsuaki Both Broc Parkes and Katsuaki Fujiwara impressed their peers in WSS qualifying, setting the third and fourth best times respectively and joining the front row group. Broc, who had raced a Superbike until recently, used the experience of a recent test with the team in Spain to help him get back into WSS mode. He lost little time in Germany, running near the front from the outset and qualifying third. Broc found himself at ease on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, which has already won a race this season in the hands of injured team regular rider Joan Lascorz. Katsuaki is fourth on the grid, only 0.239 seconds from pole man Eugene Laverty, who headed up series leader Kenan Sofuoglu in qualifying. Kats is a big fan of the Nürburgring circuit and is out to make a challenge for a podium finish in Germany. Kawasaki Lorenzini by Leoni Ninja ZX-6R rider Fabien Foret was seventh on the grid at the Nürburgring. Broc Parkes: “I’m really happy to come back here and be so close to the front guys, I’m really excited by that. The bike feels really good and I sort of surprised myself to be where I am already. Tomorrow is another day, I have to learn how to fight again in the bunch, but I don’t really have any pressure. I am just looking forward to getting in there again and mixing it. It is a fast circuit to come back on and it took me a short time to get used to the different lines used in Supersport, and also revving the bike so hard.” Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I had another change of Chief Engineer this weekend, and I teamed up with Pere Riba again. We worked very well together. This is the second time this year with Pere; the first time was at Salt Lake. We found a good set-up here and taking a front row start is very important because of the slow first right hand corner. The bike has been very consistent and that is very important for the race.” More, from a press release issued by ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing: The riders of the ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing team ran into unexpected issues in the second session of qualifying practice of round 11. The fastest of the four was David Salom, who despite having a very fast race pace, was not able to improve his time from yesterday and will start sixth on the grid. Matthieu Lagrive finished in row three, after posting the twelfth fastest time, while Chaz Davies, will start from the sixteenth position, due to a technical problem. Vittorio Iannuzzo finished seventeenth. As a consequence, the warm up session will be crucial in improving bike setup in order for the riders to ride an attacking race. DAVID SALOM | Triumph Daytona 675 | 6th in 1’59.277 : “I couldn’t improve my time, but I’m satisfied. My pace was very fast and I’m confident I’ll be battling with the front runners. I would like to go up in the overall standings after Nurburgring”. MATTHIEU LAGRIVE | Triumph Daytona 675 | 12th in 2’00.110 : “I improved myself, but my feeling with the bike didn’t allow me to push harder. We’ll try to get a better setup in warm up in the morning and hopefully will go up a few positions in race”. CHAZ DAVIES | Triumph Daytona 675 | 16th in 2’00.426 : “I will start farther back because the bike just shut down on me, while I was doing really well. Apparently, it was just an electronic issue. Although we had a better setup compared to yesterday, especially on the front end, we have to make a big step forward and get some traction and stability on the back”. VITTORIO IANNUZZO | Triumph Daytona 675 | 17th in 2’01.194 : “I’m not happy with what I did in qualifying, but I believe I can ride a good race nonetheless. I couldn’t improve, although I was faster by over a second by the end of the session, mainly because I had to brake as a rider had gone wide but returned on the track. I had to avoid him, but if it wasn’t for that, I’m sure I would’ve started more in front”.