FIM Superbike World Championship Assen, Netherlands April 24, 2010 Superpole Results (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Three: 1. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:34.944 2. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:35.062 3. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000 RR), 1:35.306 4. Leon HASLAM (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:35.330 5. Leon CAMIER (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:35.633 6. Carlos CHECA (Ducati 1098R), 1:35.892 7. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:35.909 8. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098F10), 1:36.405 From Superpole Two: 9. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.027 10. James TOSELAND (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:36.061 11. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.069 12. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000 RR), 1:36.094 13. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:36.327 14. Tom SYKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.348 15. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.574 16. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:36.581 From Superpole Three: 17. Luca SCASSA (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.906 18. Lorenzo LANZI (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.989 19. Chris VERMEULEN (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.378 20. Broc PARKES (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.622 The Rest of the Grid: 21. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.471 22. Roger HAYDEN (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.769 More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: Assen, April 24th 2010 – The Assen Superpole saw both Althea Racing riders secure places on the second row for tomorrow’s races. At the end of the third phase, Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne had registered the sixth and seventh fastest times which will allow them to be up fighting with the leading group. Carlos Checa spent the practices preparing for the races but without losing sight of the importance of the grid position, fundamental in racing as close and competitive as this. “We’re looking good with renard to race pace”, said Carlos. “We’ve concentrated on preparing for tomorrow. In Superpole we set the same time with both the qualifier and the race tyre. Our grid position is not bad and tomorrow I will try to stick with the leading group and not let them get away early on. Tyre-wear will also be an important factor, hopefully my riding style will be an advantage in this respect.” Satisfying results for Shane Byrne too, who’s back among the frontrunners, having set the seventh fastest time to secure a place on the second row next to Carlos. “We’ve been mainly preparing for tomorrow”, said Shane, “and the times registered demonstrate that we can fight for good results. It will be important to make a good start so as to not lose contact with those starting on the front row. Overall I’m very happy with the work that we’ve carried out in these sessions.” Genesio Bevilacqua, team owner, declared, “This is the first track where we haven’t tested beforehand and the first job was to understand the new chicane. The qualifying was difficult and demanding for everyone and we’re happy with the work completed. Shane has returned to a good level and Carlos has proved himself to be a top rider.” The Superbike programme for tomorrow sees warm-up at 9.20, followed by Race 1 at 12.00 and race 2 at 15.30, both races are 22 laps in length, equal to 99,924km. The official lap record at Assen was set by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), in a time of 1’38″680 (average of 166,173 km/h) in 2009, while Ben Spies set a 1’37″626 (average of 167,970 km/h) during 2009’s practice. More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two fourth round World Superbike championship races from pole position after setting the fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole shoot-out at Assen in Holland. It marks the Northern Irishman’s maiden world championship pole start and was made in emphatic style as Rea was the only rider to dip under the 1’35s barrier at the recently revised 4.452km Assen circuit. Rea will be joined on the front row for tomorrow’s two 22-lap races by Jakub Smrz, Troy Corser and fellow Briton, Leon Haslam, while his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, has work to do from the fourth row of the grid after qualifying 16th fastest. Jonathan Rea P1 1’34.944s I’m so excited! It’s my first ever world championship pole position and Ronald [ten Kate] said to me before: “You’re not sweating here you nee d to push harder and do one fast lap!” But it didn’t even feel fast; I just clipped all my apexes and with the grip of the qualifier I was able to open the throttle earlier and the lap time even surprised me. But my team are really pulling out all the stops at the moment. We had a test here last week and I’ve been staying here the last couple of weeks in my motor-home behind the workshop. But it’s down to business tomorrow and I think my CBR is good enough on race pace. There’ll be three or four out there who can go at the front so I’ll just put in 22 big ones and see where we end up after that. Max Neukirchner P16 1’36.581s I’m very disappointed, of course, because we felt we were really making some progress here. I got held up behind Haga in Superpole 2 but didn’t have enough to get by and, of course, you only get one real good lap out of a qualifier so that was it . We didn’t really find anything more after qualifying this morning and I wasn’t able to go any faster this afternoon. The bike is much better than it was in Valencia but the fourth row is still not good enough. I’ll do my best to get some good starts in the two races tomorrow and try to make up some places in the early laps. Ronald ten Kate team manager Big thanks and congratulations to Jonathan for giving us a pole position at our home race. He’s in such a good rhythm with his race set-up and on race rubber but has struggled to put a single fast lap together. However, he pulled it out when it really mattered in Superpole 3. One thing for sure, though, is that there’s never an easy race in Superbike. We also live in two worlds with Max down in 16th. He has been moving forward all weekend until this afternoon when progress came to a full stop in free practice and Superpole, which is really a shame. He’ll have to dig deep tomorrow, but I still believe that top ten finishes are possible. I’d also like to congratulate the junior squad here for taking their Ten Kate Honda CBRs to pole position with Maxime Berger in Superstock 1000 and Florian Marino also winning in Superstock 600. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: LEON COMFORTABLE ON FRONT ROW AND READY TO CHARGE. Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam finished Superpole with the fourth quickest lap and will start tomorrow’s pair of 22-lap races from the front row of the grid. The young Briton was always in contention to win Superpole, but fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda) had tested at Assen recently and used his greater knowledge of the new section of the track to good advantage and stormed to his first ever World Superbike Superpole victory. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took second, with Troy Corser (BMW) third. Leon’s team mate Sylvain Guintoli improved from yesterday, but was unable to get his qualifiers to work and ended 13th overall. Leon – 4th, 1:35.330 I am on the front row, so I’m happy. Anything else would’ve been a bit of a disappointment the way the season is going and although pole would’ve been good, front row is fine. I’m pretty happy with the bike on race tyres, but I didn’t go any quicker on qualifying tyres, so that’s good for the races tomorrow. I’m not sure why we didn’t go any faster on qualifying tyres and it’s an area that we’ll have to look at next time out. My last lap today would’ve been faster, but I made a little mistake in the last sector and lost time. I’m not sure if it would’ve been fast enough to beat Jonathan, but it might’ve been good enough to get ahead of Jakub and Troy. It’s going to be a long, hard day tomorrow, but I don’t usually suffer physically in races, so I’m looking forward to fighting for podiums again and keeping my series lead. Sylvain – 13th, 1:36.327 Yesterday was pretty bad and although today was better, I should’ve improved more and gone faster. At least today, I felt more confident in the front end and was able to push harder. But I didn’t get much feel from my qualifying tyres this afternoon and so couldn’t go any quicker. We need to do some more work on the rear end and tomorrow I need to make two really good starts and be in the leading group. If that doesn’t happen, it’s going to be a very long day indeed. More, from a press release issued by Infront Motorsports: Rea takes his first ever Superpole win The classic circuit of Assen once more played host to a tense period of practice and qualifying, with the new overall length of 4.542km making for new track bests in each class. Six of the seven competing WSBK manufacturers were represented in the top ten after three sessions of Superpole, with a new track best coming in the very final session, a 1’34.944. TOP WORK FOR LOCAL TEAM: Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) won the first Superpole prize of his career at Assen, after setting a 1’34.944. Rea is the only rider to have gone under the 1’35 mark on the new Assen layout, although Jakub Smrz (Pata B&G Ducati) came close with his second place time of 1’35.062. Troy Corser starts from the front row on his official BMW, the first time a BMW has started this high up in WSBK. Leon Haslam went fourth for Suzuki Alstare, having spent most of practice working on race set-up, but having enough left to make a good job of Superpole. THE OTHER LEON ROARS: Leon Camier made it five different makes in the top five on his Aprilia Alitalia RSV4, as he continues to strive to find a perfect set-up. Behind the leading handful of riders, the second row will be completed for Sunday’s 22-lap Superbike races by Carlos Checa, his team-mate Shane Byrne and factory Ducati rider Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox). Each rider had perfect conditions to run in, on the modified Assen circuit, with the top riders getting more and more used to the new 4.542km layout, with a major change at Ruskenhoek and a minor one at the right of Hoge Heide. YAMAHA RIDERS NEARLY THERE: Of the eight riders who did not make the final Superpole 3 shoot-out, Cal Crutchlow was closest to the final session, with his Yamaha Sterilgarda team-mate James Toseland just behind him and tenth on the grid. Struggling to deal with his machine at this round, Max Biaggi was 11th overall on his Aprilia, Ruben Xaus 12th and a late faller in the second Superpole session. Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare), Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) rounded out the top 16 places, and the fourth row of the starting grid. VERMEULEN RETURNS AND IS READY: The tense and unpredictable nature of Superpole came to the fore again when Superpole started, with comeback rider Chris Vermeulen crashing his Kawasaki Racing Team machine by highsiding at a fast section of track, but escaping uninjured. He missed out on Superpole 2, as did Luca Scassa (Supersonic Ducati) who was 17th quickest, Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Corse Ducati) and ECHO CRS Honda rider Broc Parkes (another comeback kid). Only two riders, Matteo Baiocco and Roger Lee Hayden did not make Superpole this weekend, qualifying 21st and 22nd respectively. RIDER COMMENTS SUPERPOLE Jonathan Rea: “I am happy and excited to have won Superpole. I can’t quite believe that this is my first ever world championship pole, so it is good to win it. On a serious note, tomorrow is raceday and there will be at least three or four guys who have good pace, so it will be 22 long laps in each race.” Jakub Smrz: “Practice and qualifying has gone pretty well, always in the first few places, and we all did a good job. The set-up and tyre choice is good but for sure in the race other guys will be very strong and I think it will be a tough race. A few things will depend on temperature tomorrow.” Troy Corser: “This is my best qualifying for BMW so far, so I am pretty happy. The engineers have done a great job away from the track, we have done a fair bit of testing and it has definitely improved the bike. I feel more comfortable on the bike now and when you feel comfortable you push more, and can go a bit faster. I am looking forward to the race.” Leon Haslam: “I am happy to have a front row start, because this weekend had been pretty tough and Jonathan has been fast – all the guys in front of me have. It has been a case for us of finding a set-up not just for a fast lap but for the race as well. The positions have been changing in practice but I have been happy with my lap times on race tyres.” Times: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’34.944; 2. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1198 1’35.062; 3. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’35.306; 4.Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’35.330; 5. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F 1’35.693; 6. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1198 1’35.892; 7. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1198 1’35.909; 8. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1198 1’36.405; 9. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.027; 10. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.061; 11. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F 1’36.069; 12. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S 1000 RR 1’36.094; 13. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’36.327; 14. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10 R 1’36.348; 15. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1198 1’36.574; 16. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’35.581; World Supersport Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took pole position at a sun-kissed Assen, despite crashing in the final qualifying session. The Turkish rider set a new best of 1’37.908, to hold off Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) who put in a 1’38.421 today. Sofuoglu’s team-mate Michele Pirro was third quickest, one place up on Joan Lascorz (Motocard.com Kawasaki). Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) went fifth just up on fastest ParkinGO BE1 Triumph, ridden by Matthieu Lagrive. Times: 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR 600 RR 1’37.908; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR 600 RR 1’38.421; 3. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR 600 RR 1’38.567; 4. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6 R 1’38.660; 5. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’38.780; 6. Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph 675 Daytona 1’38.961; 7. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’39.087; 8. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph 675 Daytona 1’39.143; Superstock 1000 Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Race Junior Honda) took his first pole of the 2010 season with a 1’39.105, ahead of Suzuki rider Davide Giugliano (Team06 Suzuki). Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) could not add to his pole total of two so far, and now starts this race third on the grid. Michele Magnoni (SCI Garvie Image Honda) took the final place on the front row, in a class with 27 riders on the grid. Danilo Petrucci (Pedercini Kawasaki) was the highest-placed Kawasaki rider, sixth. Times: 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’39.205; 2. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’39.677; 3. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’39.702; 4. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’39.726; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S 1000 RR 1’39.897; 6. Petrucci D. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10 R 1’40.374; 7. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’40.429; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’40.434; Superstock 600 Race Florian Marino (Ten Kate Race Junior Honda) scored his second win of the year and moved to within 11 points of the championship lead at Assen. He was only 0.154 seconds up on second place rider Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing Yamaha) who still leads the championship, on a new total of 61 points. A close fight for third place saw Bernardino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) take the final podium place, from his team-mate Federico D’Annunzio and Fred Karlsen (MTM Yamaha). Results: 1. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR 600 RR 17’07.536 (159,130 km/h); 2. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 0.154; 3. Lombardi B. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.436; 4. D’Annunzio F. (ITA) Yamaha R6 7.709; 5. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 7.871; 6. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 20.050; 7. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 20.892; 8. Major N. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 21.176; 9. Carrillo C. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 21.194; 10. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 21.244″¦. Points (after 3 of 10 rounds): 1. Guarnoni 61; 2. Marino 50; 3. Karlsen 47; 4. Lombardi 38; 5. D’Annunzio 31; 6. Lanusse 30; 7. Fanelli 25; 8. Major 20; More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) SECURES SECOND ROW START FOR TOMORROW’S RACES AT ASSEN Assen (The Netherlands), Saturday 24th April : Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga will line up on the second and fourth row respectively for tomorrow’s Superbike races at the TT Circuit in Assen, Michel having qualified in eighth position, Noriyuki in fifteenth. In morning qualifying, the lap times began to fall in the latter stages of the 45-minute session. Both Michel and Noriyuki were losing valuable tenths through the third split, which prevented them from putting together very fast laps, but both riders nevertheless improved on yesterday’s performances, with Nori taking eight tenths of a second off his best time, and Michel half a second. They thus concluded the second qualifying session in sixth and ninth position, easily qualifying for the afternoon’s Superpole. Superpole 1. Both riders made a first exit on the race tyre but, with so many riders putting together such fast laps, Michel and Nori both decided to exit again, this time on a qualifier, to ensure safe passage to the second phase. Superpole 2. Noting that the level of grip between the race tyre and qualifier were similar, both riders replicated the first session,going out first on one then the other. Michel was able to make an extremely fast lap on the race tyre, faster than the lap he made later in the session on a qualifier. That first lap time meant that he finished the second phase in eighth place. Noriyuki unfortunately was not able to put together a clean lap, despite his best efforts, and he concluded with the fifteenth fastest time. Superpole 3. Michel, having already made use of the two available qualifiers, went back out on race rubber but couldn’t get below 1m36, thus closing in eighth place, securing a place on the second row for tomorrow’s races. Michel Fabrizio “Second row for tomorrow is not too bad after quite a difficult weekend. I thought that times would drop with the qualifiers but in the end I made my best laps on the race tyre. I’m happy with that, because the laps finally came together, and it gives me confidence for tomorrow’s races. It’s a breath of air after the last two difficult rounds. Tomorrow will of course be tough once again and I guess they’ll be some close racing but I’ll do my best to stick with the leaders.” Noriyuki Haga “I’m disappointed with today’s Superpole result. I was really pushing but the competition has the advantage here and I wasn’t able to put together consistently fast laps. I don’t quite understand what the problem is but I hope to make strong starts in tomorrow’s races and will do everything possible to take away as many points as I can.” More, from a press release issued by Team PATA B&G Racing: Front row for team Pata B&G Racing as Jakub Smrz confirmed his great form finishing second in Superpole, after setting the fastest time yesterday. The starting position obtained today, which will allow the rider to battle for the top positions in race, is also due to the hard work of the entire crew, which should bear fruit tomorrow. Lorenzo Baroni overcame the shock of yesterday’s crash setting the ninth fastest time. JAKUB SMRZ | Ducati 1098R | 2nd in 1’35.062: “We were always in front this weekend, the team has done an amazing job finding the right setup for the bike. I’m sure everybody will fight hard, I think I’ll be battling with Corser, Rea and Haslam, who all have the same pace as me, but some other riders might get involved. I would’ve won the Superpole if it wasn’t for a small mistake I made in a corner but it’s still a very good result. I’ll give it my all tomorrow and hopefully will celebrate as I did today”. LORENZO BARONI | Ducati 1098R | 9th in 1’40.445: “I’m really happy that I could continue racing and be fast again after that awful crash at over 200 kmph. I hope to further improve in race as well and score a good result, especially for the team who did a great job repairing the machine”. Marco Borciani: “Everything went smoothly this weekend. We narrowly missed the pole position and we’re ready to battle for the podium. Hopefully we’ll get a good start and be in the leading pack from the beginning”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland made it through the first Superpole heat this afternoon to secure ninth and tenth place on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s two World Superbike races at the Assen TT circuit. Both riders had spent the previous qualifying sessions working on their set ups for the afternoon’s Superpole heats and had headed in to the Superbike shootout with confidence. They both made it through the first heat comfortably on race tyres, then switched to qualifiers midway through the second session. Crutchlow struggled to improve on his time in the second session leaving him just outside the top eight at the end. Team mate Toseland was on form and had nearly completed a hot lap which would have taken him through to the final eight when a violent wheelie three corners from the end at high speed disrupted his time. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1’36.027) “I struggled with my qualifier tyre in the second Superpole heat, and couldn’t make it through to the third. Both James and I are still working on some stability issues which could be seen on track as well. We need to work hard in tomorrow morning’s session to see what we can change in the set up to make another step forward. We’re all working really hard, and on the positive side the electronics issues we’ve had in the past are now working very well for us.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1’36.061) “Frustrated is the word! It was a real surprise for the bike to do that in a place where I’ve never had that before, it kicked up and wheelied at over 180mph in fifth gear, it was a bit touch and go there but luckily I was able to save it. The lap was good up to that point, I only had two corners left to go and would have been through to the top eight and the third session. We’ve had so much work to do to get where we are, the team has done a great job trying to get the bike to work here. Tenth on the grid is not ideal and we’re not sure about tyre life, depending on temperature tomorrow we might not be able to use the softer race tyre, everyone is waiting to see how warm it will be. I’m not too worried about race pace, it’s all about what happens in those first few laps. The new fast section has effectively deleted a passing place so I’ll have to get off the line well and see how we go.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “We still have one practice session left tomorrow morning, for sure we will never give up so we will spend the session working hard to make more improvements ahead of the two races. We will definitely find something to help us. James was very unlucky on his hot lap in the second Superpole session, it was good he managed to save it safely. He’s got a good race pace so needs a good start tomorrow and we will see what he can do. Cal has shown this weekend that he also has a competitive pace, especially on worn tyres so we are confident both riders can perform tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY ON THE FRONT ROW! Throughout the weekend Troy has been on the pace and today he stormed through Superpoles 1 and 2, taking third position in both, before going on to retain third in the final Superpole – his best ever result for BMW. Jonathan Rea (Honda) posted the fastest lap in Superpole 3 and took pole position – his first in World Superbikes – with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second. Joining Troy on the front row of the grid is series leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki), but early season favourites Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) had disappointing Superpoles and will have to start from the third and fourth rows of the grid respectively. Troy – 3rd, 1:35.306 Well it’s been a while since I’ve done post-Superpole TV interviews and the paddock show press conferences, but I’ve never doubted we’d get there with the BMW. The boys have done a lot of work recently and we made really good steps forward in the last round in Valencia and then the Mugello tests last week. I can really ride the bike now and it’s great to be up there on the front row and fighting for pole position at last. The warmer conditions seem to be suiting our tyres better at the moment, so I’m hoping that it is as warm, or warmer, tomorrow, because then tyre life will not be so much of a problem. I normally make good starts, so I’m looking forward to my front row grid position and getting into turn one at the front or right in with the leaders. Assen is a fast track and tomorrow’s races are going to be tough for sure, but I feel comfortable on the bike and when that happens I can push harder and go for good results. More, from a press release issued by ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing: Arie Vos will start from the pole position in round two of the ParkinGo European Series, held at the Assen circuit. The Dutchman, who was a permanent rider in World Supersport last year battled for the top position with Fabrizio Perotti. The Italian will start second alongside Torcolacci and Rovelli. Tomorrow will apparently be a hard-fought race, with Vos decided not to allow Perotti a second win after Valencia. “I was surprised by the easy handling and stability of the Street Triple R, which enabled me to set a very fast and unexpected time. I will be racing at home and so my goal is to win, although it’s not going to be easy”. Vos has a long career as a professional rider, as Enrico”Tarzan” Annoni as a footballer, who played for Como,Torino and Roma for many years in the Serie A and in 1999 was acquired by Scottish giants Celtic. He has already won his race: being a motorcycling enthusiast he has has wealth of experience in motard and enduro, but has never raced on a track before. Annoni loves challenges and so chose to make his debut at Assen, one of the most important motorcycling venues . “I’m having a ball in this competition. Although it’s like a battle on the track, after the race the faster riders have always a good piece of advice to give. I’m very happy with the technical support we’re receving, even for a rookie like myself, the mechanics are very helpful when we have difficulties. I’m pretty far behind , but I hope to improve tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Warm and sunny conditions today at the Dutch TT Assen circuit. In the Superbike morning qualifying session Matteo Baiocco (1’38″471) obtained the twenty-first place while his teammate Roger Lee Hayden (1’38″769) reached the twenty-second position. Both team Pedercini riders missed the Superpole for less than three-tenth of a second. During the final free practice session, they were able to work on the bike settings for the races. Baiocco (1’38″821) reached twentieth place while Hayden (1’39″212) ended in twenty-second position. Both Pedercini riders will start from the sixth row in tomorrow’s 22-lap races. Superbike qualifying 2 : 1) Corser (BMW) 2) Smrz (Ducati) 3) Rea (Honda) 4) Checa (Ducati) 5) Camier (Aprilia) 6) Haslam (Suzuki) ..”¦21) Baiocco (Kawasaki) – 22) Hayden (Kawasaki) Superbike Superpole : 1) Rea (Honda) 2) Smrz (Ducati) 3) Corser (BMW) 4) Haslam (Suzuki) 5) Camier (Aprilia) 6) Checa (Ducati) 7) Byrne (Ducati) 8) Fabrizio (Ducati) Roger Lee Hayden : “My qualifying session started out pretty good today and I was able to run some quick laps. Unfortunately, near to the end of the session we had some mechanical problems and I had no benefit from the soft tire. The technical staff is now working on my bike’s engine and I’m sure they’ll solve the problem. Tomorrow the races will be difficult because of the twenty second position on the grid but I’ll try my best to reach a good result”. Matteo Baiocco : “I’m really disappointed that I was not able to enter the Superpole for less than three-tenth of a second as it was an attainable goal for me. The bike was much better than yesterday and during the afternoon free session my technicians worked hard to reach certain objectives for tomorrow’s race. Tomorrow I’ll be starting from the sixth row and it won’t be easy, but I’ll try to do my best and I hope to reach the best possible results”. In Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, the team Pedercini riders were consistent in both free and qualifying sessions, but they were still working on some small issues with the team to be ready for tomorrow’s 13-lap race. Petrucci (1’42″080) ended the morning free session in eleventh position while Leeson (1’44″130) was twentieth. In the qualifying session Danilo Petrucci (1’40″374) improved his best lap time a lot reaching an excellent sixth position. Second row for the Italian rider in tomorrow’s race. Chris Leeson (1’42″626) was also able to improve his lap time but he obtained only nineteenth position and he’ll start tomorrow’s race from the fifth row. Superstock 1000 qualifying 2 : 1) Berger (Honda) 2) Giugliano (Suzuki) 3) Magnoni 4) Badovini (BMW) 5) Barrier (BMW) 6) Petrucci (Kawasaki) “¦”¦ 19) Leeson (Kawasaki) Chris Lesson : “Today I worked very hard with my team to improve the bike’s setting, but up until now we did not find the best solution for my Kawasaki. Also this afternoon, we worked quite a bit on the suspension to find a solution for our setting problems in view of tomorrow’s races. I still have some lack of traction and the technicians are now working to find the best solution that I’ll test during tomorrow’s morning warm-up. Starting from Monza I’ll try to improve my performance in the qualifying session because it’s very important to start the race from a better position on the grid”. Danilo Petrucci : “I’m pretty satisfied with today’s qualifying session. I improved my best lap time even if I did a lot of laps with used tires. Near the end of the qualifying practice I encountered a lot of traffic during one of my best laps and this did not allow me to reach more than the sixth position, but I’m still pleased with my results. My race pace is pretty good and we’ll work on it during tomorrow’s warm-up session. I’m happy about the set-up we found and I think it’s good enough for the full race. I’m confident about tomorrow’s race and I’ll try my best to reach good results for me and for my team. They have done a great job during these last two days here in Assen.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Fourth Row For Sykes Both Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Chris Vermeulen and Tom Sykes, made it into Superpole qualifying, with Vermeulen finishing 19th and Sykes 14th before the start of Sunday’s 22-lap races. Sykes worked his way through practice to find a good raceday set-up on his Ninja ZX-10R, finishing 18th in combined qualifying, but improving four places on this when the real grid positions were up for grabs. Vermeulen, despite suffering pain and lack of strength due to his recent right knee injury, made it into Superpole by qualifying 19th. A crash in the first Superpole session left him on the same position on the grid, but luckily uninjured after a high-speed highside. Tom Sykes: “We came here with open minds and with machine settings and lessons we learned from the previous round. It has been hard work around Assen so far and I have had to focus and concentrate to do the best lap times. But we are making progress and altering the bike to get the best from the whole package. We made changes to the front and rear, just to get a good balance on the bike. We also have some new ideas for tomorrow. We need to get away cleanly and I think we can set consistent lap times in the races.” Chris Vermeulen: “I am really happy to be back racing but I am struggling a bit more than I expected in terms of just riding the bike the way I want. But it is good to be back on the bike and it should make the Monza race next time out that much better. I was trying a bit too hard when I crashed, but I wanted to get into Superpole 2. I am annoyed at the crash and part of the reason was the fact that we have lengthened the gap between the footpeg and the seat to help my knee bend enough, but that also makes it more difficult for riding technique. Because my leg does not have the power it did before, it gets tired very quickly. That means I have had to muscle the bike around with my arms. I am not injured after my fall, which is good. The tyres are pretty much chosen for tomorrow, but I will confirm that in warm-up.”