Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s final two World Superbike championship races at Portimao in Portugal from the front row of the grid after setting the fourth fastest times in today’s Superpole qualifying sessions. The 22-year-old had topped the time sheets in both earlier qualifying sessions and set a blistering time in the Superpole 1 on a race tyre. However, in Superpole 3, Rea had to ride around a slower rider, after showing the quickest time in the first two sectors of his flying lap of the 4.92km Portimao circuit. Rea’s bid for the top slot was spoiled, as Ben Spies went on to take pole position for tomorrow’s two 22-lap races, with series leader, Noriyuki Haga, qualifying tenth fastest. Although he ran comfortably within the top six of all free practice and qualifying sessions, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Carlos Checa will start from the third row of the grid after setting the 12th fastest time in Superpole. Jonathan Rea P4, 1’42.719s (Superpole 2) I’m actually quite happy it’s a front row start after all, and we’ve been right on the pace all weekend so far. The strange thing is that the bike seems to work better on race tyres than it does on the qualifiers, so I think we’re ready and feeling confident for tomorrow. I had a few problems with other riders on the track and I made a few mistakes of my own, but I’m not going to be too down in the dumps about it. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s two races, which are going to be a proper dog fight, for sure! Carlos Checa P12, 1’43.461s (Superpole 2) Once again, we seem to have struggled in qualifying. I did the same lap times on the qualifying tyre as I did on the race tyre. Qualifying yesterday and this morning was good and we had the pace for top five. But with the qualifying tyres in the bike, we don’t seem to have enough pace even for the top eight. I’m not so worried though, and I think we can run top five pace again in the races with a good start. The races are long so there will be plenty of overtaking opportunities. Ronald ten Kate team manager Clearly, someone was in the way of Jonathan’s fast lap in the final Superpole session and it was the usual guy waiting around for a tow. However, Jonathan’s front row start is not so bad and we are quite sure he will have the pace to run at the front in tomorrow’s races. Of course, we are disappointed for Carlos after he has been running in the top five or six all weekend, but I’m sure he will be able to battle well tomorrow. 2009 World Superbike championship, round 14 Portimao, Portugal Final qualifying results: 1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 1’42.412ss 2 Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati 1’42.996s 3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 1’43.015s 4 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’43.126s (S’pole3) 5 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda 1’43.523s 6 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1’43.526s 10 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati 1’43.377s 12 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’43.461s More, from a press release issued by Team Sterilgarda: Shane Byrne may be the outsider in the WSBK finale taking place tomorrow but the British rider set the second fastest time at the end of Superpole and will start from the front row. He will try to score his second podium result of the season, after the one in race 1 at Misano. Tomorrow’s two races will be a battle for the title between Haga and Spies. Shakey might have a say, although it will be a very hard-fought race. SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 2nd in 1’42.996: “I was never this close to crash as I was today. I gave 110%, I rode to the limit and I set a very good time. I’m confident for tomorrow, it’s going to be a battle for the title and I’ll try to give it my all. I’ll have to get a good start and be constantly focused because many riders are going very fast and it’s definitely not going to be an easy one. I just hope to end the season with a great result”. Superpole: 1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.412 2 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’42.996 3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.015 4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.126 5 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.523 6 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.526 7 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’43.553 8 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.719 9 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’43.240 10 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’43.377 11 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’43.406 12 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.461 13 22 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.671 14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’43.717 15 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.050 16 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’45.439 17 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’44.453 18 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.458 19 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.483 20 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.851 More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Spies takes Superpole #11 at Portimao, Haga starts from row 3 The final Superpole session of 2009 went the same way as ten others this season as Ben Spies made it 11 out of 14 for the Yamaha World Superbike team, an outright record for the series, at the Algarve Circuit in Portugal. The Texan’s lap time of 1 minute 42.412 seconds was almost one second under last year’s best lap set by Troy Bayliss. Spies thus becomes the number 1 favourite for the race wins tomorrow, seeing as his chief rival for the title, points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) will only start from row 3 of the grid with the tenth quickest time, after not making the cut in Superpole 2. Partial consolation for Ducati came from the performance by privateer Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Haga’s team-mate Michel Fabrizio, who were in second and third place respectively. The front row was completed by Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) overhauled Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) at the end of the session to take an excellent fifth place, after the Italian had crashed out in the pre-Superpole free session. Fonsi Nieto (DFX Ducati) and Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad) will line up alongside on the second row, while WSB newcomer Sylvian Guintoli made an excellent debut with eleventh place on the Suzuki Alstare machine. Ben Spies: “We’ve been working under the radar all weekend on a lot of different things. Superpole was good for us, we kept pushing as hard as we could. Unfortunately Nori is back on the third row but we need anything we can get for track position. But it’s not just about me and Nori tomorrow, there are other guys, we’ll just run our own race and give it everything we’ve got to try and win both these things.” Shane Byrne: “I’m delighted to be back on the front row, it seems like it’s been forever. We actually used both of our qualifying tyres before the last section and then a 42.99 came up on my dash and I was so tired that I closed the throttle on the straight and I had one more lap to go! Hopefully we can have a good weekend here and see what happens for next year.” Michel Fabrizio: “It was very hot and difficult in qualifying today. For the race I think the bike is OK, but in qualifying it was not so good. My race pace is quite similar to Ben Spies’s but I know he is very fast. Hopefully also Shane can get into the battle. It’s very important for me to do a good race for Ducati tomorrow and for sure I’ll try and give a hand to my team-mate.” Jonathan Rea: “Twelve months ago I made my Superbike debut here and I didn’t like the track. I think I must be getting worse because I was third on the grid last year. But we’ve had a good weekend so far and I’ve got a really good feeling with the bike.” Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.412; 2. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’42.996; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.015; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.126; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.523; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.526; 7. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’43.553; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.719; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’43.240; 10. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’43.377; 11. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’43.406; 12. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.461; 13. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.671; 14. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’43.717; 15. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.050; 16. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’45.439 Supersport Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) scored the first pole position of his Supersport career at the Portuguese team’s home circuit. The Irish rider needed to put together a blistering lap to keep Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) at bay, and he did just that with a time of 1 minute 44.836 seconds, a new circuit record. The points leader however was less than a tenth behind the man he will be trying to outpace tomorrow for the title. Italian Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini) put in a great run for third on the grid, his second best result of the season following pole at Misano. The front row is completed by Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who held off Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) by just four-thousandths of a second. Once again Garry McCoy produced another positive performance, taking the Be1 Racing Triumph to the second row, which also includes home favourite Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport). Times: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’44.836; 2. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’44.909; 3. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.087; 4. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.157; 5. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.161; 6. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1’45.366; 7. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.436; 8. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.742 Superstock 1000 With a new lap record of 1 minute 46″316 seconds, Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda) clinched the pole position, his second of the season, in the Superstock 1000 qualifying session. The Frenchman managed to hold off the attacks from the newly-crowned champion Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), who was just 56/1000ths off the pace. The other two riders on the front row are Austrian Renè Mahr (TKR Suzuki) and Frenchman Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha). Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare) is in fifth place on the grid, with another of the protagonists of the season Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini) alongside. Times: 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.316; 2. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1’46.372; 3. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’46.516; 4. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’46.943; 5. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’47.363; 6. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’47.379; 7. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R11’47.417; 8. Lammert D. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’47.622 Superstock 600 Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno) and Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) will start from the front row, with the other title challengers Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) on row 2 and Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) on row 3. These four riders will fight it out for the European Superstock 600 title tomorrow. Pole position, the first of the season, went to Eddi La Marra (Ten Kate Honda), while fourth place went to Norway’s Fredrik Karlsen (VD Heyden Yamaha). Young French talent Florian Marino (Race Junior Honda), winner at Magny-Cours, set the seventh quickest time. Times: 1. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.445; 2. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.481; 3. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.497; 4. Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.820; 5. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.923; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’49.112; 7. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.272; 8. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.292 More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI IN THE SECOND ROW, CAMIER FINISHES THIRTEENTH It was sunny and warm at Portimao for the final Superpole of the 2009 season. Ben Spies, on his Yamaha factory conquered the pole position with a time of 1:42:412, 0:584 ahead of Byrne’s Ducati and 0:603 ahead of Fabrizio’s factory version. Max Biaggi came in sixth with a time of 1:43:714, just 1:114 from the pole position. The Roman driver was the victim of a bad fall during the warm-ups before the Superpole, suffering several contusions and damaging the motorcycle that he had chosen for the race. In Superpole 1, he used the second bike and managed to secure the second place time by using racing tyres. In Superpole 2 he the first qualifying tyre and he achieved a time of 1:42:956, which qualified him for the last stage in third place. Leon Camier finished in thirteenth place with a time of 1:43:671, 1:259 behind Spies. During the first stage, the English driver qualified for the last open spot with the first qualifying tyre. In Superpole 2, he used the second one and remained in ninth place for quite a while, dropping back to thirteenth only during the last moments of the qualifying race. “During the fall that happened in the warm-ups I damaged the bike that I do the best with,” stated Biaggi, “and I had to use the second motorcycle which wasn’t ready. In order to qualify, I couldn’t push it to the maximum with the qualifying tyre because I wasn’t very secure, and I don’t know how to explain the reason why Superpole 3 was slower for everyone. I ended up with some contusions, which hurt a bit and I went to the Mobile clinc. Fortunately nothing is broken and starting this evening I’ll begin a therapy with painkillers so I can participate in the two races tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll have to work a lot more during the warm-ups to be able to make up for the time that was lost with the falls.” “We changed the bike quite a bit with respect to yesterday,” said Camier, “and the situation has improved a great deal, just as my feeling with the RSV4 has also improved. The grid position isn’t the best, but we all have times that are close to each other. We’ve understood which direction we have to work towards and I’m certain that well have a great race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Stiggy Racing Honda: Stiggy Racing Honda rider Leon Haslam secured a strong fifth place on the second day of qualifying for the ultimate round of the World Superbike Championship at Portimao in Portugal today. Leon who started the weekend at a strong pace encountered technical issues in the last minutes of qualifying yesterday and didn’t get enough laps out around the 4.592km track on his CBR 1000RR, finishing in a 10th place. Luckily Leon quickly found his pace again in today’s sessions and worked his way up through the afternoon’s three 12-minute Superpole shoot-outs to finally take a second row start for tomorrow’s 22-lap races. Leon Haslam – P5 – 1’43.523s: “I am pretty happy and we made some good progress through the weekend. We are lacking a little bit in the high RPM, so we are losing 0.1 or 0.2 seconds per lap, but we have only been 0.1 or 0.2 off the quickest all weekend. In that last Superpole we were frustrated because we ended up going back to the old qualifying tyre. It had dropped off a bit but it was still better than the new one. But I’m still quite happy to be fifth and on the second row.” Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “I am really happy and it is fantastic to come to the end of the season and make it into the final Superpole, and Leon finished fifth, which is great. We were hoping for a front row but the second qualifying tyre he used in the last section was not good enough so he did his best time on a used qualifier. We are looking forward to tomorrow as Leon is very strong, one of the most consistent riders, and I’m sure he can challenge for the podium.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Tamada Row Four After Superpole WSBK, Portimao, Portugal, 24 October 2009 Both Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada took their official Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R machines into the Superpole contest today, with Tamada making it to Superpole 2 and securing a fourth row grid slot. Makoto was 15th in the final pre-race contest of the year, improving five places from his regulation qualifying result. Parkes was unlucky to not make it beyond Superpole 1 and he now starts the 22-lap races on Sunday in 18th place. Weather conditions have stayed fine throughout practice and qualifying for the finale of the 2009 season, with Broc and Makoto equally determined to score good points in the last races of the year. Both Tamada and Parkes expect to make improvements again in real race conditions, and Parkes in particular will use warm-up to find set-up improvements to complete the races in good shape at this intense and physical circuit. Makoto Tamada: “Basically, I have a good feeling on the bike. I am confident in the grip and the handling is quite good. I am also confident in my race pace, so if I get a good start at the very least I will be in the points – but I am aiming for two top ten finishes. That would be a great way to finish my season.” Broc Parkes: “I didn’t get a very good qualifying lap. I went out, made a mistake, started again and did one more lap, but just an OK lap. I came in to get another tyre but missed my final chance by only two or three seconds. I didn’t really get to do what we could have done. We have been between tenth and 15th all weekend so I think that is a realistic goal for tomorrow. We have a couple of things still to do to tonight to improve the race set-up even more. I think we will all have two long races tomorrow, because it’s hard work at this track. It’s difficult to be consistent as well, so I think that will be the key factor in the race.” More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: DIFFICULT QUALIFYING FOR HAGA (DUCATI XEROX) TODAY AT PORTIMAO, SOLID THIRD PLACE FOR FABRIZIO Portimao (Portugal), Saturday 24th October 2008: championship contender Noriyuki Haga and his Ducati Xerox squad experienced a difficult day, and a difficult Superpole, at the Portimao circuit today, closing in tenth position, while Michel Fabrizio and his Ducati 1198 had more success, qualifying on the front row, alongside Spies (Yamaha), Byrne (Ducati) and Rea (Honda), for tomorrow’s crucial races. In second qualifying this morning both Noriyuki and Michel continued to work to improve the rear setting of their Ducati 1198 machines, with both able to improve on yesterday’s qualifying times despite an apparent lack of rear grip. Michel recorded the second fastest time of the session, ducking under the 1m44 barrier several times, to be beaten only by Jonathan Rea (Honda) while Noriyuki concluded the session in fifth place, improving on yesterday’s performance and securing himself safe passage into the afternoon’s Superpole. Early afternoon free practice passed without incident, Michel and Noriyuki finished in second and eighth place respectively. Noriyuki and Michel then exited in the first mini-Superpole sessione on race tyres, thw two factory riders doing enough to progress easily on to the second phase, having closed phase one in tenth (Michel) and eleventh (Nori) position. Qualifying tyres were then mounted for the second session and in his first exit Michel registered the fifth fastest time. He didn’t re-exit and so his fifth position dropped to eighth. Noriyuki, having consistently lost time in the third split throughout today, was unable to put together a fast lap in this second Superpole with his best time leaving him in tenth place, which positions him on the third row for tomorrow’s all important races. Michel, with a new qualifier ready for the final Superpole phase made one very fast lap to project himself into first position, a position he maintained until the last minute when both Yamaha’s Spies and Byrne on the Ducati lapped faster, meaning third place on the grid for the Italian rider tomorrow. Michel Fabrizio 1m43.0s “Of course I’m satisfied to be on the front row but it wasn’t easy this afternoon. Ben really got the best out of the qualifying tyre while I found it more difficult to work with; there are also many strong guys out there this weekend. Anyway, I’ll start from third and, bearing in mind that the championship is at stake, I will do everything to get ahead of Ben tomorrow, to help my team-mate Nori in the fight for the title. It will be hard for him, starting from the third row but we will see tomorrow; he is an extremely strong and expert rider. For me it might be difficult to stick with Ben, especially in the first laps, but I feel prepared. There’s also another Ducati on the front row; it’s good to have Shakey here too and I hope that he can be part of tomorrow’s battle for the win.” Noriyuki Haga 1m43.3s “Of course it is a disadvantage to be on the third row of the grid but I’ve won races from that position in the past and I know that anything can happen on race day. The problem is that all day today I’ve had trouble turning and, at the same time, I’m not happy with the level of rear grip. We used the two qualifying tyres in the second Superpole session and they gave me better grip but didn’t help me to move the bike into the corners any more easily. So I’m consistently losing time in the final split and that’s the real problem. We must change something for tomorrow so I’m talking to my engineer and we’ll see tomorrow morning if we’ve found a solution that will enable me to fight for the race and title wins.” TIMES: 1. Spies (Yamaha) 1’42.4; 2. Byrne (Ducati) 1’42.9; 3. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1’43.0; 4, Rea (Honda) 1’43.1; 5. Haslam (Honda) 1’43.5; 6. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’43.5; 7. Nieto (Ducati) 1’43.5; 4″¦.. 10. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1’43’3 More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES SETS WORLD SUPERBIKE POLE RECORD Texan Reports Calm on Eve of His Most Important Race Day PORTIMAO, Portugal (Oct. 24, 2009) Yamaha Superbike rider Ben Spies turned in a record-setting ride in qualifying Saturday at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal. Spies won the pole and set the track record with a time of one minute, 42.412-seconds on his Yamaha R1 for the final round of the World Superbike Championship. The pole was his 11th of the season, a new single season World Superbike record, breaking the old mark set by Doug Polen set in 1991. The pole gives Spies, the 25-year-old World Superbike rookie and three-time American Superbike Champion from Dallas, the upper hand over points leader Noriyuki Haga going into Sunday’s final pair of World Superbike races. He trails his Japanese rival Haga by 10 points with the championship battle going down to the final event. Haga, riding a factory Ducati, had a sub-par qualifying outing and will start tenth in both races Sunday. Spies improved his qualifying time in each of the three Superpole sessions. In the first session he was third with a 1:43.532, behind Brit Jonathan Rea and Max Biaggi of Italy. In the second session Spies moved to the top of the charts, chopping nearly a second off his time, turning a 1:42.58. In the final session Spies waited until the closing lap before blazing around the 4.4kilometer (2.7-mile), 12-turn circuit in a record-setting time of 1:42.412. “I’m glad I was able to take the pole, it’s a good first step,” Spies said. “The team focused so much on race set up this weekend, that we were a little behind at first in Superpole. It took me a session to really get focused on holding the thing wide open. Once I got up to speed everything felt great on the bike. My pole lap wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to get the job done. “Winning the record for the most poles in a season is a great accomplishment, but I really can’t enjoy that right now. I’m looking at having to win both races tomorrow [Sunday] to win this championship. That’s where my focus is right now.” Doug Polen, reached by phone, said he was happy for Spies even though his record was broken. “That pole record held for 18 years, it was about time someone broke it,” said Polen, who like Spies also grew up in the Dallas area. “If anyone was going to break the record I’m glad it was Ben. I’ve watched him since he was racing mini-bikes and I’ve never seen a rider with the kind of work ethic he has. Ben has amazing talent on a motorcycle no doubt, but he got to where he is by working harder than his competition. I don’t feel bad at all losing a record to a guy like him.” In addition to his single-season pole record Spies also moved into seventh on the all-time World Superbike pole wins list. Spies explained the strategy for Sunday was simple. “I’m hoping for a couple of clean races tomorrow,” he said. “Ideally I’d like to get out front early to avoid any problems, but that’s always a tough thing to do. I’m in a little better position with Nori having a bad qualifying session, but he’s good about getting through the field early in a race, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him working up to the front. I’m very focused on what I need to do. I’ve been in pressure situations before and I enjoy the challenge of riding my best when everything is on the line.” When asked how the pressure of tomorrow’s races compares to 2007 when Spies trailed Mat Mladin going into the final race and the AMA Superbike Championship amounted to a single-race showdown. “There’s no comparison,” Spies said somewhat surprisingly. “I felt much more pressure in ’07 than I do now. I’m not sure why, but I really haven’t felt much pressure at all coming into this weekend. I think coming in here as a rookie and accomplishing what I’ve been able to accomplish, knowing where I’m going next season, being very comfortable with my team, the motorcycle, this track, all of that has made me a lot more relaxed now than I was then.” This could be the final World Superbike race for Spies. He recently signed a two-year contract to race with Yamaha in MotoGP. In the U.S. both legs of World Superbike from Portimao will be shown back to back tomorrow (Sunday, Oct. 25) starting at 3:00 pm Eastern on SPEED. Ben Spies is sponsored by Yamaha, HJC, Alpinestars, Specialized and Parts Europe. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Suzuki Alstare new boy Sylvain Guintoli continued his steeping learning curve today at Portimao and managed to secure a third row grid position after posting the fifth fastest time in Superpole 1. Although he couldn’t progress any further than Superpole 2, he showed that he has quickly come to grips with his GSX-R1000 K9 and will undoubtedly go even faster once he has become more familiar with the bike. Yukio Kagayama suffered some gearing problems today and a lack of grip with his qualifying tyres and wasn’t able to push hard enough in Superpole 1 and 2 to get into Superpole 3. Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his 11th Superpole victory of the season with a lap of 1:42.412, over half a second ahead of his nearest rival, Shane Byrne (Ducati). Sylvain Guintoli – 11th, 1:43.406: “I am pretty happy and satisfied with how everything is going and I am really happy about how well we as a team are working already. It makes the job so much easier and is a great sign for the future. I am getting to know the bike better and better every time out and I am happy with the bike set-up and feel I can do a pretty good race pace. Everything is going in the right direction and I am feeling very positive about racing with this team. Although the third row is not wonderful, it’s not so bad and if I can make a couple of good starts, then I think I can fight for a good top-10 place. Yesterday, a funny thing happened when I had my first debrief with my mechanics, who are all French by the way. I had a lot to say and I talked and talked for nearly 10 minutes. Then I realised that some were looking at me a bit strange and I realised that I had been talking in English instead of French!” Yukio Kagayama – 14th, 1:43.717: “Not such a good day for me and I am not so happy because I really want some good results in my last race with the team tomorrow. Now I am way down the grid and I need two of the best starts of my life if I am to get good final positions. Today, I had some problems with the gears or gearbox and we couldn’t get the qualifying tyres to work with the bike. We also tried some different engine parts this afternoon, but the bike was not so easy to ride and so we will go back to what we know for tomorrow. The good news is that my times on race rubber are OK, so I am hoping that I still have a chance to end the season on a positive note.” Final WSB Qualifying + Superpole: 1 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:42.412, 2 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:42.996, 3 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:43.015, 4 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:43.126, 5 Haslam (GBR-Honda) 1:43.523, 6 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:43.526. 11 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:43.406. 14 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare) 1:43.717. SUPERSTOCK 1000 CUP: Team Suzuki Alstare rider Claudio Corti finished today’s final qualifying with the fifth fastest time and will start tomorrow’s last round of the championship from the second row of the grid. Although he and the team improved the bike from yesterday, he was still struggling with grip problems in the final split of the 4.592 kilometre circuit and that was enough to prevent him from pushing harder and getting that elusive spot on the front row. Claudio Corti – 5th, 1:47.363: “Well today was definitely better than yesterday, but far from perfect. I finished the day not having the bike I wanted and although it was an improvement over yesterday, it was still not enough. The bike is OK in the first two splits, but is spinning and sliding a lot in the final split and that’s where I am losing time. Fifth place on the grid is actually not so bad and I think I can make a good start from there, attack the first corner and then go on to a good result.” Final Superstock 1000 Qualifying: 1 Berger (FRA-Honda) 1:46.316, 2 Simeon (BEL-Ducati) 1:46.372, 3 Mahr (AUT-Suzuki) 1:46.516, 4 Barrier (FRA-Yamaha) 1:46.943, 5 Claudio Corti (ITA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:47.363. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: TROY EASES TO SECOND ROW. RUBEN ON ROW FIVE. Team Motorrad Motorsport riders Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus had mixed fortunes in Superpole qualifying at Portimao today. Troy easily qualified for Superpole 2 and 3, but Ruben was unable to progress any further than Superpole 1 and now faces a difficult start from the fifth row of the grid. Troy suffered hardly any of yesterday’s grip problems and passed from Superpole 1 into Superpole 2 and then into 3 without any drama. But then, a small crash in Superpole 3, effectively ruined his chances of a front row grid place and he will now start on row two. Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his eleventh Superpole victory of the season, with a lap of 1:42.412, over half a second ahead of his nearest rival, Shane Byrne (Ducati). Third quickest today is Michel Fabrizio (Ducat), with Jonathan Rea (Honda) fourth. Troy – 8th, 1:44.719 Today, we didn’t have anything like the problems with grip we had yesterday and I was able to push a lot harder. We shortened the wheelbase to put a bit more weight on the rear end and also made some changes to the rear shock. The bike worked a lot better than yesterday and maybe part of yesterday’s problems might just have been tyre-related. So today, when everything started to work properly, I was happy and able to lap pretty quickly. On race rubber, I know I can run a good pace, so I’ve got to make good starts tomorrow and keep with the leaders. I had a little crash this afternoon in Superpole 3, when I pushed the front a bit too much and that cost me some time. I had already used my allocation of qualifying tyres so I knew that the second row was as good as it was going to get. But, I have made quick starts from further dow the grid before, so I am hopeful of good results tomorrow. Ruben – 19th, 1:44.483 We definitely improved some things from yesterday and on soft tyres or race rubber I can make pretty good lap times. But when I tried a qualifying tyre, although the grip improved a bit, the bike got upset and it became very risky to push harder. We’ll look at the telemetry and try and work out how or why this happened and then see if we can make some adjustments. We had a little problem with one bike this afternoon and that cost me some time. Here I am trying to understand the recent things the guys have done to the bike, work out how they are affecting it and then how I must ride it. At the end of the work, there is always improvement, but these are the kind of things we have to do because this is the first year with the bike. Considering all this, I am very happy about the progress we are making and the potential that is still to come. Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director) The recent steps the team have done and the new engine spec have given us all something to thing about. But this is the way we progress and I am satisfied that we are continuing to go in a forward direction. I am happy that Troy did not suffer with the same problems as yesterday and for a while he made us dream that we would finally get a front row grid place. But we know what kind of starts he can make from down the grid, so we are all hopeful he has two good races tomorrow. Ruben is obviously not yet 100% physically and this track is very demanding, but we have had absolutely no complaint from him about when he is on the bike. There is no pressure on him this weekend and we hope that he has two safe races, comes away unhurt and with results we can all be happy about. More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist: SECOND ROW START FOR TROY The problems Troy had yesterday with lack of grip did not manifest themselves today and so he was able to push a lot harder in today’s practice, qualifying and Superpole. He qualified comfortably for the final Superpole, but a small crash and a lack of qualifying tyre meant that he was unable to bag a spot on the front row of the grid. Instead, he will start tomorrow’s pair of 20-lap races from row two but, as he has had good results from lesser grid positions, he and the team are hopeful of ending the season with a couple of strong finishes. Ben Spies (Yamaha) took his eleventh Superpole victory of the season, with a lap of 1:42.412, over half a second ahead of his nearest rival, Shane Byrne (Ducati). Third quickest today is Michel Fabrizio (Ducat), with Jonathan Rea (Honda) fourth. Troy – 8th, 1:44.719 Well that was quite a bit better than yesterday and a relief that I could actually push the bike harder without thinking I was going to come off. .It’s hard to work out exactly what went wrong yesterday but in the end it might just have been a tyre problem. What is important though, is how we have worked hard to turn round yesterday’s disappointment and end up almost on the front row of the grid. I’m not sure if we could’ve got a front row place today, because we had already used up our allocation of two qualifying tyres, but it shows how closely we are. I’m pretty happy with my times on race rubber and having done about a fifteen lap stint, I have a fair idea of how the tyre is going to behave. It was quite a bit hotter today and that had some affect on the grip, but at least I am in a good position for tomorrow’s races. I aim to make a couple of good starts, see how well I can fight with the leaders and try and come away with the best results of the year. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Any doubt of Ben Spies’ claim to all-time rookie fame was squashed today as he took pole position ahead of tomorrow’s races with an incredible flying Superpole lap. This makes eleven poles for Spies, and gives him the record for most poles in a season ever in World Superbike to add to his other records already smashed this year. The American rider had a clear strategy for the three Superpole heats, coming out for just one lap in the first to qualify fifth for the second session with a 1’43.532. He then switched to a qualifier for the second heat and immediately dropped below the 1.43 mark to put in an astonishing 1’42.568, nearly eight tenths of a second faster than the previous lap record held by Troy Bayliss in 2008. Having moved through to the final heat, Spies then made it clear he was here to win this weekend, using his second qualifier to smash his own record, setting pole with an incredible 1’42.412. Spies had spent the earlier qualifying and free practice sessions working quietly on the set up of his race bike, holding out for the Superpole to reveal the Yamaha’s balance and turn of speed. Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes continued to struggle today with his shoulder injury. The British rider bravely battled on despite being in serious pain and discomfort, but was unable to translate his efforts into a fast consistent lap time on what is a very physical track. He will start tomorrow’s two races from 21st on the grid. Ben Spies, Yamaha World superbike Team (1st ,1’42.412) “Getting the Superpole record is cool, it’s one of those things that one day I’ll look back on and enjoy, however right now I just see it as track position for me. I’ve got no other goals but to gain further help for my race tomorrow. We saw Haga struggle a little bit today but I’m sure Ducati will work it out quickly. We’re just going to put it together tomorrow and see what happens. We’ve not wanted to show our pace until Superpole, then we pinned it and got some good laps in. We’ve got some other things to work on for race day and hopefully we can tie it down some more.” Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (21st, 1’44.978) “We tried a number of things today to get myself comfortable, I’ve spent a lot of time in the Clinica Mobile, hats off to them they are working really hard to patch me up. It seems I need more time to recover from the injury properly though. I’m really sorry for the Yamaha World superbike Team. To end this way is not ideal for me, It’s not how I wanted to repay them for a season of hard work, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team “There are places where we can still improve on Ben’s bike so for sure tonight the guys will try to find some solutions to make him more comfortable, hopefully we’ll see positive results from that in the morning warm up. Tom unfortunately missed the Superpole session but I was expecting something like that today as he has been in a lot of pain. I know what he’s feeling so all I can say is that he’s trying really hard.”