FIM Supersport World Championship Autodromo Algarve Portimao, Portugal October 31, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires): 1. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:58.614 2. Josh HAYES (Honda CBR600RR), 2:00.021 3. Joan LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR), 2:01.576 4. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR), 2:02.784 5. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), 2:03.083 6. Gianluca NANNELLI (Honda CBR600RR), 2:03.247 7. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 2:03.683 8. Didier VAN KEYMEULEN (Suzuki GSX-R600), 2:04.297 9. Jesco GÃœNTHER (Honda CBR600RR), 2:04.498 10. Andrew PITT (Honda CBR600RR), 2:04.929 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Front row for Hayes at home round PARKALGAR HONDA’S Josh Hayes is second on the grid after first qualifying for the 13th and final round of the World Supersport Championship at his team sponsor’s circuit the awesome new Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park in Portugal. After a wet morning practice session, the afternoon qualifying was held in damp conditions. Double Formula Extreme Champion Hayes took an early lead on the timesheets using wet tyres before coming into the garage and waiting for the track conditions to dry. Times started to drop and Hayes was pushed back to second before going out again on intermediate tyres. Rain foiled his chances to improve and he had to settle for second behind provisional pole setter Matthieu Lagrive on a Honda. Portuguese ace Miguel Praia took a season’s best 11th place on the grid in the treacherous conditions. Raising his performance in front of his home crowd, he took a calculated approach to building his speed. At the end of the session with rain falling he was one of the fastest riders on track. Guest Parkalgar Honda rider Simone Sanna qualified in 19th place the final rider to make the grid out of 32-starters. The 13th and final round of the World Supersport Championship takes place at the 4-592km Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park near Portimao in Portugal on Sunday, November 2nd. It is the first major event to be held at the all-new five-star track facility and a huge 50,000+ crowd is expected to visit to watch the World Superbike regulars in their last outing before the winter off-season. Less than an hour’s drive from Faro airport, the circuit is nestled in beautiful countryside and near the sea with tickets still available for the event, organisers are encouraging people from all over the world to visit. Tickets are available on line from www.autodromodoalgarve.com. Hayes: “I had a good run on wets and as the track was drying I came in for some intermediates. I waited and watched the times come down and then went back out to have a go for pole. By halfway round the first spot of rain hit my visor and by the end of the lap it was raining properly so I missed the chance to improve. The test we had here through the week has helped for sure. We are in good shape come rain or shine for the rest of the weekend.” Praia: “I am not that fond of the middle conditions with a damp but drying track so I spent time getting a feel for my Parkalgar Honda. My bike feels very comfortable now and as the session progressed I was going faster and amongst the quickest which is good. I would like to improve and be better but 11th is OK for today and I hope to improve tomorrow in front of my home fans.” Sanna: “I am pleased to have qualified in such difficult conditions. I like the circuit and think it is an absolute gem for riders with plenty of blind crests and changes in elevation to make it interesting. I need to be careful as I only have one bike and it needs to last all weekend, so I cannot afford any crashes in tricky conditions. I will be trying hard tomorrow in final qualifying and then want to race at the front on Sunday and try to get on the podium for the circuit as a thank you for this opportunity to race.” More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Kenan Sofuoglu rode his HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR for the first time in more than a year today at the brand new, but wet, Autodromo Internacional do Algarve at Portimao in Portugal. The Turkish rider, who has returned to the Supersport team for this weekend’s final 2008 World Supersport round, went on to set the fifth fastest time for Sunday’s 20-lap race at the undulating 4.5km circuit. Newly-crowned 2008 World Supersport champion, Andrew Pitt, meanwhile, was tenth fastest today as he got to grips with the new circuit layout. Kenan Sofuoglu P5, 2m03.083s I knew as soon as I went out for the first time this morning that I was back on ‘my bike’ I felt at home straight away and was able to have some fun on this fantastic new track. Unfortunately, we got a bit unlucky in the qualifying session this afternoon. I saw the track was starting to dry so came in for an intermediate, but it was a little too late. By the time I got back out it had started to rain again. But I’m so happy to be back on my CBR600RR and looking forward to some dry time tomorrow. Andrew Pitt P10, 2m04.929s This track will be really nice when it dries out, which I hope will be tomorrow. We weren’t using our usual wet set-up today because the circuit is so up and down. The front was too hard this morning so we softened it up a bit for this afternoon, but then the rear wasn’t quite right. We’ll play around a bit more tomorrow but we’ll be all right for Sunday. Ronald ten Kate team manager: Of course it’s difficult to learn a new track in these wet conditions, but I’m still happy with how both riders did today. Unfortunately, we were just a couple of minutes too late with our intermediate tyres but I’m sure both riders’ times will improve tomorrow. Special compliments to Kenan, who clearly gelled with the bike before he had even reached the end of pit lane on his first outing. More, from a press release issued by Triumph Italia Be1 Racing: SuperSport World Championship last round has opened today on the brand new track of Portimao, in the Algarve region, Portugal. Once again the rain restrained the riders from taking the best feeling with the track. After a wet morning session, Mark Aitchison, Garry McCoy and Ivan Clementi faced the afternoon qualifying on a dryer road although they lapped with rain tyres. Then, on the end of the session, another downpour made the track slower, wasting the day definitely. The starting grid will be settled tomorrow when the weather should be better according to the forecast. GARRY McCOY | Triumph 675 | 16th provisional time in 2’05.908: “I would have liked to face the week-end with the opportunity to work under good conditions from the first day. Anyway It has been good to get back on the bike after three round away because of the injury I got at Brno. I’m happy to be back especially on a Triumph of the Be1 Racing. I really appreciate the work done by the guys during the season. They have reached to bring Daytona 675 at high levels in less than one year”. MARK AITCHISON | Triumph 675 | 13th provisional time in 2’05.496: “The day has gone wasted due to the rain. I got some feeling with the track, at least, although the real work will start tomorrow”. IVAN CLEMENTI | Triumph 675 | 15th provisional time in 2’05.787: “On the wet track I have found a good feeling, and today I chose to avoid useless risks, since the starting positions will be decided tomorrow in the afternoon timed session”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Parkes and Foret caught out by rain at new circuit The stunning new Portimao circuit was a real challenge to most of the WSS field and after the weather turned for the worse halfway though qualifying, it prevented many of the top riders from qualifying in the first timed session. Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) each found themselves in a similar position, with an increasingly wet track preventing them from making a push towards a qualifying place. A delayed first day of action was once more affected by poor weather conditions, which combined with an unfamiliar circuit layout made for some peculiarities in the overall rankings. An improvement is expected in the weather tomorrow. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) felt his machine moved around too much in the morning session and in the afternoon he pushed a touch too hard in his efforts to qualify and he fell, without injury. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was another caught out by the conditions as he posted 22nd best lap time. Broc Parkes (24th – 2’07.830 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “We were OK when it was properly wet on the track this morning but in the afternoon we had a drying track, then a wet track again so we missed the best chance to set a quick time. I’m a bit disappointed because I was happy this morning and feeling good. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and we can wipe today away. The new track is awesome I reckon it’s great. I was surprised because it was not as slippery as we thought it would be and it’s got everything you could want in a track. Open corners, slower sections, ups and downs. It’s going to be awesome in the dry.” Fabien Foret (30th – 2’10.663 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “The track itself is very nice but the conditions are quite bad. The weather forecast says that tomorrow should be better so we are looking forward to that, if it happens. The grip was fine but we just need to get more confidence and understanding of the track.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “A little bit of a strange day, to say the least. What can we say except that in the morning in the wet it was OK after we had made some adjustment to the machines. The tyres we used in the early part of the qualifying session were maybe a little too soft so changed them but as soon as the riders went out again the rain came back. So we missed the best chance, and it was disappointing to not qualify when we had the best chance to do it.” Massimo Roccoli (25th – 2’08.485 seconds – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “We had a few problems with the bike moving around on the track this morning, under braking and also under power. It felt slippery because the track was dirty in some places. I lost the front and crashed near the end of the session while trying to go for a better time. I am fine no injuries, so we will be back again