Team PATA/B&G Racing’s Jakub Smrz set the fastest lap time during provisional World Superbike qualifying Saturday at Miller Motorsports Park. Smrz over came some small imperfections with his bike to lap the 3.0-mile course in 1:48.517, which is quicker than Ben Spies’ race lap record time of 1:48.768. “This morning [free practice] went very good. I was almost at the top, but everybody change tire and went faster and we went with the same [tire], which made it hard to go faster,” Smrz told Roadracingworld.com. “In qualifying I was at the top from the beginning. While I was in the box some people went faster, but in the end I could go quick again. “The bike is going very well. At the end of the session we made some changes that were worse, so I think I could do a little faster. And we had some problem with a loose clamp of the steering damper, which also made me not comfortable in the fast corners. But, in general, everything is OK, and the bike is working well. So I think I could go a little faster.” Smrz has been fastest early in World Superbike weekends and has even won a Superpole (Misano 2009), but other than one podium last season at Assen, top results have eluded the popular 27-year-old Czech. And the primary reason for Smrz’s struggles is he is racing a 2009-spec privateer Ducati 1098R against superior factory and semi-factory Ducatis and the powerful 1000cc Fours. “We are using last year’s bikes without any changes. So we [have] lower RPM than the factory bikes and also the bikes of Althea. We also have no fly-by-wire,” said Smrz. “The problem is at the beginning of the race when we are with the group it is very hard for me to pass people because I just lose something on the straight. Braking in the corner I can do a little bit. In the middle of the corner I can’t do anything. Then at the exit I lose again. We are working on it to be fast at the beginning. I think if I can stay in the front for the first three laps then it will be possible to fight for the podium.” FIM Superbike World Championship Miller Motorsports Park Toole, Utah May 29, 2010 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Jakub SMRZ (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.517 2. Michel FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098F10), 1:48.670 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:48.682 4. Leon HASLAM (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:48.734 5. Carlos CHECA (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.742 6. Shane BYRNE (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.853 7. James TOSELAND (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:48.887 8. Luca SCASSA (Ducati 1098R), 1:48.945 9. Troy CORSER (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.040 10. Max BIAGGI (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:49.191 11. Jonathan REA (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:49.281 12. Noriyuki HAGA (Ducati 1098F10), 1:49.386 13. Leon CAMIER (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:49.443 14. Tom SYKES (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:49.748 15. Ruben XAUS (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.961 16. Max NEUKIRCHNER (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:50.121 17. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:50.133 18. Roger HAYDEN (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:50.806 19. Broc PARKES (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:51.074 20. Chris VERMEULEN (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:51.122 21. Matteo BAIOCCO (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.724 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Smrz rips to an early advantage in America Czech star Jakub ‘Kuba’ Smrz (Pata B&G Ducati) piloted his 1098R Ducati to provisional pole after the first qualifying session at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA, setting a 1’48.517 that was under the existing race lap record, if not quite beating the absolute track best. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) was a close second, and the Yamaha Sterilgarda four-cylinder machine of Cal Crutchlow third. World Championship leader Leon Haslam was fourth on his Suzuki Alstare machine, after a steady untimed session earlier this afternoon. Althea Ducati riders Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne mixed it up with the factory bikes once again, going fifth and sixth respectively on what was a good first day for the twin-cylinder machines, which are now 3kg lighter from this round onwards. Despite a crash late in the session double world champion James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) was seventh, and only 0.370 seconds from provisional pole man Smrz. In another impressive ride, Luca Scassa (Supersonic Ducati) was a firm eighth, ahead of the factory BMW of Troy Corser. Max Biaggi’s Aprilia Alitalia vee-four set a whopping top speed of 313.7kmph on the main straight today, with Max tenth overall, just ahead of top Honda finisher from the Hannspree Ten Kate team, Jonathan Rea. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and Biaggi’s team-mate Leon Camier were the last of 13 leading riders all within the same second. Top Kawasaki Racing Team rider on show proved to be Tom Sykes, 14th, one up on Ruben Xaus’ works BMW, those two riders keeping Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) in 16th. Sylvain Guintoli was 17th for Alstare Suzuki, while local rider Roger Lee Hayden made the best of his home advantage in his rookie WSB season to go 18th for Pedercini Kawasaki. Times: 1. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’48.517 (162,787 km/h); 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’48.670; 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’48.682; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’48.734; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’48.742; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’48.853; 7. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’48.887; 8. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’48.945; 9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’49.040; 10. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’49.191; 11. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’49.281; 12.Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’49.386; 13. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’49.443; 14. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’49.748; 15. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’49.961; 16. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.121; 17. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’50.133; 18. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’50.806; 19.Parkes B. AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 1’51.074; 20.Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’51.122; 21.Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’53.724 Laverty the early leader Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) once more made a good start to his race weekend, posting a 1’51.652 second lap to break the outright Supersport best lap at Miller. He has a clear early advantage over Kawasaki Motocard.com rider Joan Lascorz, who set a 1’52.211. Spaniard David Salom (ParkinGo BE-1 Triumph) ensured there was variety in the top slots by finishing third quickest, one place up on supported Kawasaki rider Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni). Experienced privateer rider Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Honda) beat the official Honda of 2009 Miller race winner Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) for fifth place. Local man Jason DiSalvo (ParkinGo Be-1 Triumph) was creditable seventh. Nineteen riders have qualified so far. One more qualifying session remains to determine the final grid line up. Times: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’51.652 (158,217 km/h); 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.211; 3. Salom D. (ESP)Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.310; 4. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.328; 5. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.509; 6. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.534; 7. DiSalvo J. (USA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.607; 8. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1’52.646; 9. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’52.732; 10. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’53.015; 11. Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’53.329; 12. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.425; 13. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’53.647; 14. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1’54.313; 15. Lundh A. (SWE) Honda CBR600RR 1’54.467; 16. Odom T. (USA) Honda CBR600RR 1’54.637; 17. Chesaux B. (SUI) Honda CBR600RR 1’56.813; 18. Farrell J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’57.314; 19. Paris M. (USA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’58.826 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Crutchlow and Toseland get straight onto the pace in Utah The wide open skies of Utah provided the perfect back drop for Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland today as they got down to business in the first qualifying session of the Salt Lake City race weekend. Crutchlow’s pace was quick from the go, the rider rarely straying out of the top three and running fastest at times during the session. As the flag signalled the end of the weekend’s first qualifying heat he took third with a provisional front row start, less than two tenths off provisional pole. Crutchlow’s team mate Toseland put in a remarkable performance in his first riding session on the Miller Motorsports circuit. Despite no track knowledge Toseland spent a good part of the morning’s free practice session in the top three riders, and continued to display consistent fast pace in the afternoon’s qualifying despite a small crash near the end of the session. He ended the session in seventh position, less than four tenths of a second off provisional pole, and just two tenths off team mate Crutchlow. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (3rd, 1’48.682) “It wasn’t too bad today, third position is pretty good. I had some issues with the brakes and was struggling to stop in some places, making it difficult to judge when to brake. We’ve got some new things to try tomorrow, and I have to say it’s a very different riding experience on the R1 compared to the Supersport bike last year.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (7th, 1’48.887) “I’ve never been too bad at learning circuits, but it’s been pretty impressive for some of the guys including Frankie my Crew Chief as it’s their first time here too. To get the bike running as well as it was today is great, fair play to them. I’m a bit annoyed with myself for the crash as I don’t usually make mistakes like that, I just got a bit excited as the bike was feeling so good. I thought I could go round the corner a bit faster than the package could, I think I was 17 years old the last time my enthusiasm outmatched my talent! All in all a good day, I’m pleased with the progress and it’s a great track, the bike works really well round here.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “We made a good start today. We are improving the bike all the time and we came here knowing we had good results from last year which gave us a confident start. We didn’t push too hard, and hopefully tomorrow we will make another step forward. We have a technical problem with Cal’s brakes which we are looking into and will resolve for tomorrow. James had a small crash at the end of qualifying but he had no injuries at all.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: FABRIZIO AND HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) CONFIDENT AFTER FIRST QUALIFYING AT SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake City (USA), Saturday 29th May: the Ducati Xerox squad is both satisfied and confident at the end of day one in Salt Lake City, with some very encouraging results in first qualifying at the Miller Motorsports Park. Factory rider Michel Fabrizio, having closed first practice in first place, continued to impress in qualifying when he finished the session in second position overall. Team-mate Noriyuki Haga, concentrating predominantly on set-up refinement, closed in twelfth position but remains confident after a positive start. Roman rider Fabrizio made a determined start to the weekend, immediately fast in today’s first free practice session on board his 1198. Despite blustery conditions the times of all Superbike riders on track dropped by several seconds during the session but it was Michel who closed in first position, with a fastest time of 1m49.7 (only he and Carlos Checa ducked under 1m50 in this first session). Noriyuki, in the top five for the first half of the session, made some fast laps but dropped to tenth place in the final minutes. The two Althea Racing riders Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne, also riding 1198 machines, finished in second and third position respectively. In first qualifying the two Ducati Xerox riders began to pick up the pace from mid-session onwards. Michel projected himself from 11th to 2nd position and although other riders made faster laps in the closing stages, a final fast lap by Fabrizio consolidated second place, just a tenth of a second behind Smrz on Team Pata B&G’s Ducati. Noriyuki and his team worked to optimize set-up of the 1198, with the Japanese rider thus concluding first qualifying in twelfth position yet satisfied with the times registered in the latter part of the session. Michel Fabrizio “We still have work to do tomorrow with regard to the set-up of my 1198 but I’d say we’ve made a good start today. I was able to make some fast laps but tomorrow we need to concentrate more on the durability of the tyres, and make a long-run to understand how the two available tyres behave. For now I’m very happy and today’s results bode well for Monday’s races.” Noriyuki Haga “I seem to have better feeling with the bike with respect to last year at this track, the level of absorption is better. Today we concentrated mainly on the race distance but we know what direction to take tomorrow and will of course aim to improve on times. We still have to decide which tyre to use for the races as it will depend greatly on weather conditions but I can say that I’m feeling fairly confident ahead of tomorrow and Monday’s races.” More, from a press release issued by Team Pedercini: Dry weather conditions today in Miller Motorsport Park – Salt Lake City – in the U.S.A. for Superbike free practice and qualifying sessions, despite some dark clouds that occasionally obscured the track. During the morning free practice Roger Lee Hayden reached a good eighteenth position (1’51″980) on his home circuit. Teammate Matteo Baiocco (1’54″893) spent the free practice session working to familiarize himself with Miller that’s a completely new circuit for him. The afternoon’s qualifying saw Baiocco (1’53″724) capitalize on the earlier session, improving his morning best lap time for more than one second. Hayden (1’50″806) made definitively a positive start to the weekend and took the eighteenth fastest time of the day in the first qualifying session. Superbike free practice : 1) Fabrizio (Ducati) 2) Checa (Ducati) – 3) Byrne (Ducati) 4) Biaggi (Aprilia) 5) Rea (Honda) ..”¦18) Hayden (Kawasaki) “¦”¦ 21) Baiocco (Kawasaki) Superbike qualifying 1 : 1) Smrz (Ducati) 2) Fabrizio (Ducati) 3) Crutchlow (Yamaha) 4) Haslam (Suzuki) 5) Checa (Ducati) “¦”¦.18) Hayden (Kawasaki) “¦.. 21) Baiocco (Kawasaki) Roger Lee Hayden :”The first session started out very well and we got up quickly to a decent pace. Knowing the track definitively helped me to reach a good results. We made some improvements for the afternoon and I was able to improve my best lap time. The team and me are trying to figure how we can find some more speed for tomorrow and all my technicians have done a great job for me so far. Hopefully tomorrow I can remain in Superpole spot. It would be a great birthday present as tomorrow is my birthday”. Matteo Baiocco : “It was quite a good day, but I think we have a lot of improvements to make. This morning I spent my free practice learning the track. This track is not so easy to learn and it’s my very first time riding here. I improved a lot in the afternoon qualifying session compare with this morning and I’m sure we can make another significant step tomorrow. Of course I’m not satisfied with my twenty first position but I am confident for tomorrow second qualifying day”. More, from a press release issued by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: Jonathan Rea and Max Neukirchner both had a difficult opening day in round seven of the 2010 World Superbike championship at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City in the USA, finishing in 11th and 16th places respectively. Provisional pole position was taken by Jakub Smrz of the Czech Republic after the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda duo were unable to find an ideal set-up for a fast lap around the 4.907km Miller circuit. Rea has no issues with his settings for Monday’s two 21-lap races, expressing confidence in his CBR1000RR’s ability to extract the best out of its tyres towards the end of the race. However, the 23-year-old Northern Irishman will seek more of a compromise tomorrow to find enough pace for a good qualifying lap. Jonathan Rea P11 I’m a bit disappointed with where we ended up today after the first qualifying session, especially as everything felt pretty good afte r the first practice session this morning. The problem we have is that, at the moment, the bike is better suited to longer runs. It kind of backs up what we’ve found in recent races when I’ve been strongest towards the end of the race. We’ll look to change the balance a little tomorrow to try and put in a one lap wonder like everyone else seems to be able to do. Max Neukirchner P16 I seem to still be having the same problems. It’s fine in the first session, but I reach the limit very quickly and I am unable to improve afterwards. When I try to push to stay with the faster riders, I have problems on braking for corner entry and holding a line. I started with two different set-ups this morning one with more weight on the front and the other with more on the rear. I definitely had a better feeling with the second option, so we’ll have to try and develop this some more for tomorrow. Ronald ten Kate team manager In spite of the position we’re in, we’re not in any kind of panic. Jonathan’s set-up on well-used race tyres is good, so now we just need to find something like a qualifying trim for him to make a couple of fast laps when he needs to. Max started with two different options this morning, but neither worked for him as we would have wanted. He’ll need to settle on something quickly tomorrow in order for him to progress into Superpole to get a decent qualifying position. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Alstare: LEON ON THE PACE. SYLVAIN HAS WORK TO DO. Many times this season, the two Suzuki Alstare riders have suffered mixed fortunes on the first day of qualifying and today at the Miler Motorsport Park was no exception. Leon qualified a comfortable fourth fastest, but Sylvain struggled and ended the day a lowly seventeenth. It is Sylvain’s first visit to the very technical Miller circuit, but the Frenchman knows all too well that he should have finished higher up the leaderboard after two one hour sessions. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) set the quickest lap of qualifying, with a time of 1:48.517, three tenths of a second inside the lap record. Second today was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) third. Leon – 4th, 1:48.734 I think today was pretty good and I certainly got a feel for the track this morning. This afternoon we used some of the good stuff (tyres) that we’ll be racing on and I am pretty happy with how we got on. We had a bit of a chatter problem today and it was worse the more aggressive I was, but not so bad when I rode smoothly. Though when I rode very smoothly, my lap times were not so good! The general layout of this track needs a very different set-up to Kyalami in the last round and although our current set-up is not bad, we will try and improve it and the balance of the bike tomorrow. The aim tomorrow is to work on getting a good set-up and making sure that the tyres will last a race distance OK. Sylvain – 17th, 1:50.133 Not sure what to say really, except that I have been learning the track OK and the afternoon felt a lot better than the morning. I know that doesn’t seem much, when you consider I ended 17th today, but this track is very technical and it is difficult to knock off those last fractions of a second which are so important. I think the track is good and I like it very much. I know there’s quite a bit more to come from me and tomorrow we’ll work on improving the balance of the bike and finding a good set-up. I had some brake problems today – inconsistency – and that’s another area we will have to sort out tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Team PATA/B&G Racing: Team PATA B&G Racing opened their American weekend with Jakub Smrz powering to the provisional pole position. The Czech put in another great performance to repeat the result he had scored at Assen a month earlier, when he posted the fastest time as well. Miller Park is a circuit that adapts well to the skills of the Czech Republic rider and his Ducati, but repeating the result will be very difficult. The gap from the others is not very big and it should be a hard battle for the first two rows in qualifying tomorrow. The goal for day 2 is qualifying in the front row and keep up with the front runners in race. JAKUB SMRZ | Ducati 1098R | 1st in 1’48.517: “We scored a great result which means we’re on the right path. The team did a great job to prepare the machine for the race. I was among the fastest right away, from the morning practice session. In the afternoon, I started off very determined, but I got temporarily passed by the end of the session, while I was in the pit lane. I returned to the track with new tyre and managed to score this great result. I’m very confident for tomorrow’s qualifying practice, I can certainly improve, but I know that tomorrow is going to be very hard to repeat the result. I’ll try my best nonetheless”. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: TROY 9TH ON DAY ONE Troy ended the first day of qualifying at the Miller Motorsport Park with the ninth fastest lap and although he was satisfied with what he and the team achieved, he is looking for improvement tomorrow. The 4.905 kilometre Miller circuit has a fairly smooth surface, so is a very different kettle of fish to Kyalami and its bumps in the last round. Troy’s main problem today, as it was in Kyalami, is that when he pushes harder the lap times become worse! Jakub Smrz (Ducati) set the quickest lap of qualifying, with a time of 1:48.517, three tenths of a second inside the lap record. Second today was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) third. Troy – 9th, 1:49.040 Today was not too bad and it was good to be on a track without bumps. It felt completely different to Kyalami, but a bit similar to Monza. The track may be different to Kyalami, but I had more or less the same problem in that, when I try and push hard, I actually go slower! At the moment, the first movement of the rear shock feels a bit too soft, but when we change that we get problems elsewhere. As I said before, I think we need some more mechanical grip and that is something we probably need to do away from the racetrack. I think that we more mechanical support from the bike. Ninth is not fantastic, but we’re only half a second slower that the fastest guy, I don’t feel that we’re way off. Ducatis always go well here and now that they have been allowed to drop three kilos, it’s no wonder that they’re doing well. I don’t think they should have been allowed to drop the weight, but three kilos is three horsepower and three horsepower is a lot at this level!