FIM Supersport World Championship Monza, Italy May 5, 2012 Final Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Sam LOWES, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:47.601 2. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:48.038 3. Sheridan MORAIS, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:48.419 4. Fabien FORET FRA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:48.696 5. Stefano CRUCIANI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:48.808 6. Roberto TAMBURINI, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:48.817 7. Broc PARKES, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:48.910 8. Matthew SCHOLTZ, South Africa (Honda CBR600RR), 1:49.188 9. Massimo ROCCOLI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:49.204 10. Jules CLUZEL, France (Honda CBR600RR), 1:49.363 26. Josh DAY, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:50.553 More, from a press release issued by PTR Honda: PTR HONDA’S Jules Cluzel took nearly a full second off his best time yesterday in morning dry practice but with the rain falling in the afternoon he could not improve on his qualifying position for the fourth round of the World Supersport Championship at Monza in Italy and will start from 10th. Ronan Quarmby on his PTR Honda was quick in the morning but opted to sit out the afternoon wet session, as it was impossible to improve grid position. Martin Jessopp on the Riders PTR Honda also sat out the second wet qualifying after closely matching his times from yesterday during morning practice. PTR stable mate Sam Lowes on a Bogdanka liveried bike will start from pole position in the race that starts at 1330 tomorrow, Sunday 6th May. Jules: “Yeah, practice was OK. I lost a lot of time yesterday but this morning everything was right and if it is dry I have a good feeling for the race. However, it looks like it will be wet for tomorrow. I would prefer a dry race as I think I can go for the podium – I pray for the dry. If it is wet I will do my best and finish as high as I can.” Ronan: “The bike was much better this morning. We made some adjustments and there was a big improvement from yesterday. There’s still a lot to come from me and it is a pity qualifying was wet or I would certainly have improved my lap time. The race is tomorrow and 12th isn’t that bad; we will wait and see on the weather.” Martin: “We didn’t get any luck with the weather, just before Superbikes it started to rain. This morning I went out in the dry and was seventh after 15-minutes, and was 14th with 20-minutes to go. I tried a different final tyre and got mugged; I couldn’t get it to work on a single-balls out lap – I’ve never been good at the one off crazy lap. I have the pace for points if it is dry or if it is wet, the Riders PTR Honda is good and can overtake other bikes. I just want a good start and to get points regardless of the weather.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Jules is in really good shape for the race after finding a much better dry set up in practice. It was not possible for him to improve in qualifying as it rained but he has got a good feeling for the wet as well. Ronan was consistent and more confident this morning, which is a good sign. Martin on long runs looks in contention for a points finish but is struggling for one lap pace.” More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: WET weather meant no-one was able to improve their first qualifying times at the fourth round of the World Supersport Championship at Monza in Italy, giving Bogdanka PTR Honda’s Sam Lowes his third consecutive pole position of the season based on yesterday’s times. It also means that Mathew Scholtz on the second Bogdanka PTR Honda enjoys his best qualifying to date on the second row in eighth place. Bogdanka Honda PTR racer Kieran Clarke will start from 32nd on the grid whilst he stands in for the injured Pawel Szkopek. The race starts at 1330 tomorrow, Sunday 6th May. Sam: “I worked a lot on race pace this morning and on my 12th lap on a hard race tyre I did a 1min 48.2secs. I’m peaking; if it is a dry race I am in my best position ever. The weather is serious thunder and lightning right now and it could be wet or dry. I am just really happy; the bike’s come on massively since last year and is the fastest out there. When I come behind anyone my Bogdanka PTR Honda is strong which is what you need here. It’s great to get another pole but I’d give them all back for a win if I could.” Mathew: “Things have gone really well here at Monza and I’m very happy. I’ve qualified eighth which is the best I’ve done all season and hopefully we can have a solid race. We have a good set up for the race whether wet or dry – I am pretty confident we have strong race pace.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Honda Team Manager: “Well done to Sam for his third pole position. Dry set up he is has found his best set up ever. He is good in the rain. Mathew went seventh quickest this morning in the dry and is looking good. He’s settled in well for the race.” Kieran Clarke: “I was faster in morning practice than yesterday which means we keep on improving. It was a shame it rained this afternoon but I went out anyway to get a feeling for the wet conditions. It’s going to be a tough race starting from 32nd but I’ll go out and do my best tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Four Kawasakis In The Top Five At Monza In Qualifying WSS, Monza, Italy, 5 May 2012 Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Sheridan Morais will line up second and third on the grid for Monza’s WSS race, with Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step Racing) in fourth. Such was the potency of the Ninja ZX-6R in the only qualifying session that was dry – and therefore counted towards final grid places – that local wild card rider Stefano Cruciani (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki Italia) was fifth. Romain Lanusse, Foret’s team-mate, was 17th in qualifying and starts from row five of the grid. For the second race weekend in succession weather played its part in qualifying, with only the first official session giving consistent track conditions and therefore everyone in the class qualified as a result of their dry Friday lap times. Sofuoglu is out to ensure he stays in the lead of the championship on Sunday and hopes for a dry track like most of his peers. Morais was particularly pleased to have made great strides through qualifying and practice and he too would prefer to find a dry track on Sunday for a 16-lap race around the fastest circuit on the calendar. Kenan Sofuoglu: “We were nearly on pole but we are getting better. Free practice yesterday was really difficult and I needed to change a lot to the gearing and the set-up on the bike but the good thing is that we are all adapting to working together and quickly we made changes and improved. It brought us close to pole but I never have the goal to score pole position, I have the goal to always be on the front row and make preparations for the race. In dry conditions I am very confident. The bike has a good potential under braking and if tomorrow it is a dry race then I am sure we are going to fight. If it is going to be a wet race then we still have to work on a few things in the warm-up. Wet or dry we have to fight for good results.” Sheridan Morais: “I am sure every rider here, even if they were on the front row already, wanted to go faster today but the tricky conditions did not allow that. I am happy to be on the front row and we have made really good progress. Yesterday we were a bit off the pace but we found the things we were looking for and went a lot quicker in first qualifying. We did a real good time in race simulations this morning, over 18 laps, so we were happy with that. This afternoon we were hoping for rain so we could just get a good set-up in those conditions too. Let’s see what the conditions are tomorrow but I hope they are dry.”