eni FIM Superbike World Championship Misano, San Marino June 9, 2012 Combined Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Knockout Session Two: 1. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:35.375 2. Jonathan REA, UK (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:35.991 3. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.083 4. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.147 5. Jakub SMRZ, Czech Republic (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.183 6. Leon HASLAM, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.283 7. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:36.365 8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.559, crash From Superpole Knockout Session One: 9. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.509 10. Max BIAGGI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:37.686 11. Loris BAZ, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.704 12. Michel FABRIZIO, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:37.796 13. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:37.806 14. Leon CAMIER, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:37.985 15. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:38.078 16. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Ducati 1098R), 1:38.977 The Rest of the Grid: 17. Maxime BERGER, France (Ducati 1098R), 1:36.934 18. John HOPKINS, USA (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:37.168 19. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (Ducati 1098R), 1:37.202 20. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:37.250 21. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Aprilia RSV4 Factory), 1:37.312 22. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.688 23. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.674 24. Federico SANDI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:40.251 More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: Misano Qualifying Practice 2 & Superpole. Saturday, 9th June 2012. Weather conditions: Sunny with a short thunderstorm in the afternoon. Temperature: Air: 28 30 °C, Track: 33 42 °C Number of riders participating: 24 from 14 teams Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1:35.935 min Fastest lap Superpole 2: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1:35.375 min Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will tackle the seventh round of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2012 from the second row. Factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) finished today’s Superpole qualifying at Misano (ITA) in sixth position. His team-mate, local hero Marco Melandri (ITA), will start from 13th on his BMW S 1000 RR. Shortly before the session, a thunderstorm hit the track so Superpole was declared “wet”, meaning that only two sessions of 20 minutes each were held. It was still spitting at the beginning of the first session, but then the track dried quickly. After being third and fourth in the free practice before the Superpole qualifying, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had reason to be confident for the afternoon. In Superpole 1, Leon only used race tyres and was putting in consistent top five times that qualified him for the top eight riders competing in Superpole 2. Marco, on the other hand, struggled with the difficult conditions after the rain shower. With four minutes to go, he put a qualifying tyre on, but was unable to significantly improve his time. He finished 13th. In the first half of Superpole 2, Leon used his two available qualifying tyres, putting him second quickest. He then had to return to the harder and slower race tyres for the closing minutes and slipped back to sixth. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team will start from third place in the first row on his RR, his team-mate Michel Fabrizio (ITA) from 12th. Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:36.378 min (P5) / Fastest lap FP: 1:36.538 min (P4) / Fastest lap Superpole 2: 1:36.283 min (P6) “It has been a strange qualifying. It was really hot and it rained just minutes before the first part so we had to go out on slick tyres while the track was half dry and half wet. We stayed on the race tyre in Superpole 1. The main objective was to get onto the first two rows – that is where we need to be. In Superpole 2, we had chatter again with the qualifying tyre. We had a lot more grip, but we could not make use of it. At the end of qualifying I went out on the race tyre again, but we made a few mistakes with it, to be fair. I am looking forward to tomorrow. We have a good race set-up. Tyre-wise we have five different options this weekend so it took a lot to work out what we need. For me the tyre I can do my best lap time on is the one we use for the race so for me it’s looking pretty good.” Marco Melandri: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:36.749 min (P13) / Fastest lap FP: 1:36.333 min (P3) / Fastest lap Superpole 1: 1:37.806 min (P13) “It has been a very difficult day. It was raining a little bit of the beginning of Superpole. We did not change anything on the bike, but in Superpole it was a completely different bike compared to free practice. We will try to understand why. I did not get a good feel for the bike, I could not go fast. We tried the qualifying tyre for safety to improve the lap time, but I was suffering with quite a bit of chattering with it. I am not happy about today and it is going to be very tough tomorrow. Starting from the fourth row is not the best position here in Misano. Now we need to see what we can do tomorrow morning in terms of tyres and bike set-up.” Andrea Dosoli (Head of Race Operations): “In this morning’s qualifying session we concentrated our work on the race pace, while in free practice we focused on performance. We can be pleased that both riders have improved their performance significantly compared to yesterday. Unfortunately the rain showers just before the start of Superpole qualifying mixed up everything. Leon’s approach to the first Superpole session was successful: He adapted well to the changing tarmac conditions and secured a starting position in the second row. This is important as we expect very tough races. Overall we are happy with the job done by Leon and his crew. Marco, conversely, struggled with the feeling of the bike after the changeable weather conditions. Tomorrow’s starting position does not reflect Marco’s potential, but we are confident that he will do well. We have seen in the last couple of races that with a good start anything is possible and Marco knows how to fight through the ranks.” More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: ALTHEA RACING AND GIUGLIANO SCORE FRONT ROW START FOR TOMORROW’S SBK RACES AT MISANO Misano Adriatico (Italy), Saturday 9th June 2012: the World Superbike riders faced a very hot Superpole today at the Misano World Circuit. Declared ‘wet’ due to the onset of rain just prior to the session, Althea’s Davide Giugliano put on a great performance in both phases, qualifying on the front row for tomorrow’s races, in fourth position. In similarly hot conditions to yesterday, the Althea riders returned to the track this morning for the second qualifying session. Both Carlos and Davide improved by about half a second each with respect to their best times set yesterday afternoon. Giugliano made his fastest lap towards the middle of the session, using one of the tried and tested tyres. The time recorded, a 1m36.2, propelled him to the front of the pack, together with his team-mate Carlos who in turn recorded a 1m36.0 in the final stages, taking advantage of one of the new tyre solutions provided this weekend by Pirelli. Thanks to these very fast times, the two Althea Racing men concluded qualifying in second (Carlos) and third (Davide) position overall, just behind Sykes on the Kawasaki. In the final practice session which took place in the early afternoon, Carlos was the fastest rider on track, recording a best time of 1m36.1. Davide was strong in the early stages but then suffered a small crash which caused him to lose valuable time. He nevertheless closed the session in eighth position. Superpole 1: in a ‘wet’ Superpole, the two Althea flagbearers waited for the track to dry before making a first exit in this first of two phases. Giugliano made a first exit on race rubber, before returning to the box and mounting a qualifier. With this tyre he was able to make a very fast lap which put him in third place and assured him of safe passage to phase two. Carlos was lapping fast but unfortunately a couple of minutes before the end of the session he returned to the garage as a result of a misunderstanding at the pitwall; this ‘pitstop’ meant that he unfortunately missed the chance to complete the fast lap of which he was capable, closing in sixteenth position. Superpole 2: once again Davide went out first on a race tyre, moving into seventh place. Knowing that he was able to improve further, he took advantage of the second qualifying tyre, lowering his time by four tenths to secure a place on the front row of tomorrow’s grid. He will line up in fourth position, alongside Sykes, Rea and Badovini. Carlos Checa: “Maybe we should have clarified our strategy beforehand. There was a miscommunication. They gave me ‘box’ on the pitboard and I thought I needed to come in and change tyre while I should have stayed on track. It’s a shame because we had demonstrated that we had the potential to do well in today’s Superpole. Anyway, we’ll be starting from the fourth row tomorrow and will need to make a good recovery from there. The tyre choice will be key, so we’ll need to make an educated decision and then see what we can do.” Davide Giugliano: “It’s the second time this season that I’ll start from the front row and I’m very happy with that. I prefer not to say too much because anything can happen in the races but I will say that I feel that I am growing little by little and that we have taken a good result here today. I knew we would be able to do well here at Misano and to start from the front row is the first step. This doesn’t mean that we can relax as we still have everything to do tomorrow but I am feeling confident.” Geneso Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing: “At the start of the Superpole there was some confusion due to the rain. Then our strategy was to send Carlos out on the soft race tyre and then with the qualifier, but unfortunately in implementing this strategy we made a mistake in telling Carlos when to return to the garage. And that means that instead of starting from the front row, we’ll be on the fourth. Carlos is nevertheless capable of good results, having shown stronger pace than his rivals in every session he just needs a fast start. Davide can be one of the protagonists tomorrow he too has demonstrated that he is competitive and this means that I’m sure he can make two great races.” More, from a press release issued by Aprilia: SUPERPOLE AT MISANO ADRIATICO. THE DECLARED WET SUPERPOLE ON A DRY TRACK DOESN’T HELP MAX BIAGGI, WHO FINDS HIMSELF IN TENTH PLACE. EUGENE LAVERTY MOVES INTO THE SECOND ROW FOR THE RACES TOMORROW. Misano, 9 June 2012 Superpole at Misano was a bit of an anomaly for this Superbike Saturday. A downpour of rain right before the start prompted the choice to declare a “wet Superpole”, which means only two 20 minute sessions. In all actuality, after a few laps the riders found themselves on a completely dry track. In cases like these it is more important than ever to be lapping at the right time, given the constantly changing conditions. The complete turnaround in the standings during the last few seconds of the first session which relegated Max Biaggi to tenth place are a testament to this. The races tomorrow promise to be an uphill battle for the Corsair, although the tight times would indicate that anything might happen. “I can’t say that I’m satisfied. We got our timing wrong and weren’t able to stop and change tyres to try for another lap. I didn’t make it through to the second Superpole session, even if it was by a hair, and that cost me a good starting position for tomorrow. The races will be hard for us, as they always are when you start from behind. Tomorrow we will not be able to afford any mistakes and we’ll have to be focused in order not to lose any ground to our very strong rivals”. For Eugene Laverty this was his best Superpole performance of the year, riding two good sessions. The spot-on strategy, combined with an improved feeling compared to yesterday, allowed the Northern Irish rider to come through the first session to battle in the top eight. In Superpole 2 Eugene earned the seventh spot on the grid, a good starting place for tomorrow. In any case, Laverty is also convinced that the races tomorrow will be decided by tenths of a second, given the tight times. “This was definitely my best Superpole of the year and compared with yesterday I’m much happier. The changes we made felt good. We still have a lot of work to do because tyre choice will be fundamental: there are a lot of options which could be good in the race. I think everyone is in the same boat though, so the races will be very close tomorrow. We’ll do our best and try to come out strong”. More, from a press release issued by Effenbert Liberty Racing Team: Smrž and Guintoli will start from the second row All we know that the two Liberty Racing riders, Sylvain Guintoli and Kuba Smrž, are the fast lap specialists, as it is demonstrated in the last rounds of the WSBK Championship, and in fact also today, here at the Misano Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the Czech and French, with the time respectively of 1’36″183 and 1’36″559, conquest the 5th and 8th place, and will start both from the second row. The only regret was the Guintoli crash at the Misano 2, when the French was improving his lap time. Maxime Berger, with a time of 1’36 “934, will start from the fifth row behind two of the most competitive adversaries of the Championship: Checa and Melandri. More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: Five-star Sykes eases away in Tissot-Superpole Misano Adriatico (Italy), June 9, 2012 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was a clear winner in Tissot-Superpole at the eni FIM Superbike World Championship round at Misano, his fifth such success in 2012 thus far. His quickest lap time of 1 minute 35.375 seconds was the best of the weekend to date, with Sykes over 0.6 seconds faster than the next best rider, Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team). Sykes now has a career total of seven Superpole wins, putting him level with famous names in SBK racing like Regis Laconi and Noriyuki Haga. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia Gold Best) was a great third at his home round, while another local hero, Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) was fourth. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati) went fifth on the grid; Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) was sixth while top Aprilia rider was Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) in seventh. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati) crashed out when looking set for the second fastest time in Superpole two. Tom Sykes: “I enjoy the watches, it’s something to aim for! Today we did a very good job, I can’t deny we’ve had a difficult weekend, it’s the first time all year we’ve had very hot conditions and low grip levels. We started off the weekend very slow, quite embarrassing to be honest. Today was a mixed bag for qualifying, but when the pressure was on my boys delivered and I was able to put a good lap together.” Jonathan Rea: “I can’t grumble, that lap of Tom’s was incredible! For me, we achieved our first target to be on the front row, the guys are working hard on the bike for tomorrow’s race and I’m quite happy at a track that almost ended my season last year. To come back this year, qualify on the front row and to be quite strong makes me really happy.” Ayrton Badovini: “I’m very happy because these are very difficult moments for me and my team. The result is very important because we want to work more to win the race. We have been good in the races, but not very fast in the single lap and so far this season third place in Superpole has been impossible.” Matteo Baiocco (Barni Racing Team Italia) was a very impressive ninth fastest in his wild card run and Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) 11th. Top names like Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team), Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) did not get out of Superpole one and thus Biaggi starts Sunday’s races from the third row, with Melandri and Checa on the fourth. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) was 14th and top Suzuki runner in Superpole. Times: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’35.375 average 159.513 kph; 2. Rea (Honda) 1’35.991; 3. Badovini (BMW) 1’36.083; 4. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’36.147; 5. Smrz (Ducati) 1’36.183; 6. Haslam (BMW) 1’36.283; 7. Laverty (Aprilia) 1’36.365; 8. Guintoli (Ducati) 1’36.559; 9. Baiocco (Ducati) 1’37.509; 10. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’37.686; 11. Baz (Kawasaki) 1’37.704; 12. Fabrizio (BMW) 1’37.796; 13. Melandri (BMW) 1’37.806; 14. Camier (Suzuki) 1’37.985; 15. Zanetti (Ducati) 1’38.078; 16. Checa (Ducati) 1’38.977; etc. World Supersport Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) took the pole in the Supersport World Championship class at Misano thanks to his Friday best time, which could not be bettered by Lowes himself or any of his rivals today, despite their many close attempts. Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) was second with Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) third and Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) the final rider on the front row for Sunday’s race. Only 0.200 seconds separated the first four riders, with the top ten within 0.653 seconds of each other. Massimo Roccoli (Yakhnich Motorsport) was the top Yamaha rider, in fifth. Times: 1. Lowes (Honda) 1’38.987 average 153.693 kph; 2. Cluzel (Honda) 1’38.999; 3. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’39.110; 4. Parkes (Honda) 1’39.187; 5. Roccoli (Yamaha) 1’39.302; 6. Foret (Kawasaki) 1’39.568; 7. Quarmby (Honda) 1’39.573; 8. Morais (Kawasaki) 1’39.610; etc. Superstock 1000 Eddi La Marra (Barni Racing Team Ducati) took the pole position start at Misano after a final session that was interrupted by a red flag. He beat the push of Kawasaki MRS rider Jeremy Guarnoni by only 0.067 seconds with the G.M. Racing machine of Michele Magnoni third. He led a three BMW run of machines, with Lorenzo Baroni’s BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet version next up and Markus Reiterberger’s Team Alpha Racing S1000RR fifth. The second Barni racing Ducati Panigale of Lorenzo Savadori was sixth. Times: 1. La Marra (Ducati) 1’39.634 average 152.695 kph; 2. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1’39.701; 3. Magnoni (BMW) 1’39.784; 4. Baroni (BMW) 1’39.921; 5. Reiterberger (BMW) 1’40.005; 6. Savadori (Ducati) 1’40.099; 7. Barrier (BMW) 1’40.133; 8. Bussolotti (Ducati) 1’40.286; etc. Superstock 600 Race A brilliant last lap of action at Misano saw a two-rider fight for supremacy won by young Dutch master Michael van der Mark (EAB Ten Kate Junior Honda) from local ace Riccardo Russo (Yamaha Team Italia FMI). The margin of victory was only 0.095 seconds after 12 laps in which Russo was looking dominant for some time. In the championship Russo still leads van der Mark but now by only two points, 81 to 79. Christian Gamarino (GO ELEVEN Kawasaki) was third, over seven seconds down, with Luca Vitali (Yamaha Team Italia FMI) fourth. Results: 1. Vd Mark (Honda) 12 Laps/50.712 km in 20’40.578 average 147.160 kph; 2. Russo (Yamaha) 0.095; 3. Gamarino (Kawasaki) 7.597; 4. Vitali (Yamaha) 8.322; 5. Cocco (Yamaha) 14.451; 6. Nestorovic (Yamaha) 15.538; 7. Monti (Suzuki) 18.302; 8. Coveña (Kawasaki) 18.840; etc. Points (after 4 of 10 rounds): 1. Russo 81; 2. Vd Mark 79; 3. Calero Perez 50; 4. Duwelz 42; 5. Vitali 33; 6. Gamarino 27; 7. Chesaux 26; 8. Egea 24; etc. KTM European Junior Cup Lukas Wimmer from Austria posted the fastest lap in the single-make KTM European Junior Cup qualifying session, to earn the right to start from pole for Sunday’s race. Artur Wielebski from Poland was second, Christian Vidal and Javier Orellana from Spain were third and fourth. Jamie Patterson from the UK went fifth. Times: 1. Wimmer (KTM) 1’51.874 average 135.989 kph; 2. Wielebski (KTM) 1’52.296; 3. Vidal (KTM) 1’53.324; 4. Orellana (KTM) 1’53.589; 5. Patterson (KTM) 1’53.781; 6. Garcia (KTM) 1’53.882; 7. Kyee (KTM) 1’54.188; 8. Mikhalchik (KTM) 1’54.192; etc. Coppa dei Due Paesi (Two Nations Cup) Denis Sacchetti (SD Rider Team Kawasaki) topped the combined qualifying sheets, ending up 0.216 seconds from second place rider, Alessia Polita (Team Trasimeno) who was in turn closely followed by her team-mate, Leandro Leuthe Biliotti and Patrik Vostarek (Motorpower Honda). More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: FIXI Crescent Suzuki racers Leon Camier and John Hopkins both face a tough task at the beginning of both of tomorrow’s races at the seventh round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Misano. Camier (P14, 1’37.985) will start from the fourth row of the grid, with Hopkins (P18, 1’37.168) immediately behind his team-mate on row five. On a circuit where it is important to make a good start to ensure that you stay with the leaders, both FIXI Crescent riders will be looking to get their Yoshimura-powered Suzukis off the line and on the pace quickly. Camier looked impressive in this morning’s final qualifying session when he posted the eighth quickest time and for a large part of Superpole 1 he looked like he would advance to Superpole 2. Unfortunately Camier just missed out on a higher grid position, despite pushing hard all the way to end of the session and recording his best time on his last lap. Part of the track was still damp from previous rain showers and Camier delayed his timing for a good lap as long as he could, but unfortunately his gamble didn’t pay-off and he ran out of time. Hopkins lapped almost half-of-a-second quicker in this morning’s qualifying session than he did in yesterday’s first qualifying, but the close nature of World Superbike racing around the 4’226m Italian circuit meant his improvement was not good enough to get him into this afternoon’s Superpole. He was on a fast lap that looked enough to get him into Superpole, but got held up by a couple of slower riders and was unable to better his time as the session came to an end. Less than a second covered the top-17 riders this morning, which gives an indication that close racing could be the order of the day on Sunday. This afternoon’s Superpole was actually declared wet, despite the fact that the rain had finished and the track was almost dry by the time the session began. Due to a wet declaration it meant it was two 20-minute sessions instead of the three shorter ones that are normally scheduled in the dry conditions. Tom Sykes on a Kawasaki recorded the fastest time to take his fifth pole position from the seven events so far this year. Camier and Hopkins will have a warm-up session tomorrow morning to make any final alterations in time for the two races scheduled for later in the day, the first of which gets underway at 12.00hrs local time (11.00hrs BST). Today also saw the renaming of the Italian circuit in honour of the late Marco Simoncelli. During a ceremony at the track attended by Simoncelli’s father, a new logo was unveiled and the circuit will now be known as ‘Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli’, out of respect to the popular Italian racer who lost his life in MotoGP at Malaysia last year. Leon Camier: “My race pace on normal rubber is competitive and things were looking good for Superpole this afternoon, but when the rain came down, it ruined everything. Although it stopped pretty soon, there were quite a few damp patches on the far side of the track and it was difficult to know how hard to push the bike. I wasn’t confident enough to push really hard, but I still thought I’d make Superpole 2 OK. Towards the end of Superpole 1, we fitted a new tyre, but once I got out on the track, I experienced chatter and that was that. I’ve practiced some starts and I’m happy with the way they went, so hopefully I’ll manage to get two good starts tomorrow. I’ve got some of the top guys nearby, so I think it’s going to be a pretty exciting tomorrow!” John Hopkins: “I spent the first part of this morning’s qualifying carrying on getting comfortable with the bike – and the track – and also did some long runs. I put in a soft tyre and went for my fast lap, but I was held up by a couple of slower riders when I was really going for it. There wasn’t enough time for me to pit and try again, so I guess I just was unlucky. With hindsight maybe I should’ve tried doing my fast lap a bit earlier, but that’s how it panned out today and I will have to live with it. I am normally a good starter and I’m confident I can be in the mix from the start. It’s easy to get held up at this track, so my aim is to be at least two rows forward by the time we all get to turn one and then keep making progress.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “It’s hard to know exactly what to say today except that we know what Leon and John are capable of come race-day! Leon always has good race pace and so we expect him to move up the grid and challenge the lead group sooner rather than later. John continues to build his confidence and was just plain unlucky to get held up on his fast lap – I’m sure he’d have qualified for Superpole otherwise. It was a strange Superpole and quite a few of the top guys are also in difficult positions on the grid. It’s a bit of a shame that we weren’t able to capitalise on that, but it’s going to make it all very interesting for the spectators and the TV audience tomorrow. ” Misano Adriatico WSB Superpole: 1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’35.375: 2. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1’35.991: 3. Ayrton Badovini (BMW) 1’36.083: 4. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) 1’36.147: 5. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1’36.183. 14. Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) 1’37.985. 18. John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) 1’37.168. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Sykes Blasts To Superpole Number Five WSBK, Misano Adriatico, Republic of San Marino, 9 June 2012 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) secured his seventh career pole and his fifth this season when he set the fastest lap at Misano. Loris Baz joined Tom in Superpole and qualified an impressive 11th. Sykes did not find the early sessions at Misano an easy challenge but his team made some changes to his set-up that allowed him to go fastest after regulation qualifying and lead the pack of 16 competing riders into what was declared a ‘Wet Superpole’. By the time Superpole one was underway the track was nearly dry, then almost completely dry by the end of Superpole two, allowing Sykes to get come to the outright track best, but not better it. On his Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R Sykes was quickest in Superpole one before repeating that feat in the second session, posting a 1’35.375, which was a time that his closest competitors could not get close to. Loris Baz set out with the ambition to take a Superpole start and managed that feat, then went on to secure an 11th place starting position. He felt he could have even improved on that had he had a clear track and more of a chance to get used to the qualifying tyre he had his first experience of today. He still exceeded his and his team’s main pre-race expectations. Kawasaki Team Pedercini riders Leandro Mercado and David Salom had difficult days at their team’s home circuit, with Salom 22nd and Mercado 23rd in qualifying. In Superstock 1000 combined qualifying times Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) was an impressive second. Tom Sykes: “It looks like the qualifying tyres change the balance of the bike and we have been working in a similar set-up direction all weekend. So it looks like when we get to qualifying the softer tyres really benefit our package. It is really valuable information and the data is something we can use to build on for the future. I used all but one of the five available rear tyre options they have here, maybe saving one to try tomorrow. I am quite happy with two of the tyres for race use right now so let’s see what tomorrow’s track conditions bring. I had a big moment at the end of Superpole one when I think I hit a little puddle of water on the rumple strip and the back end stepped out. There was no mistake on my part but just a bit of a puddle of water. I managed to hold tight on the handlebars and got through the moment OK.” Loris Baz: “I was able to be faster during Superpole but I got stuck behind another rider when I had a qualifying tyre on. Also, the conditions over the back of the track were peculiar as there was a wet corner there for a while. My objective was to be in Superpole and I got up to the third row so that is good. Second row was possible but I am happy with the way things have been going this weekend. We made a really big step with the new tyres, and also in race pace, so I am confident for the race tomorrow. I think I found something to help me in the more stop-and-go corners by changing my style but it is not east to change your style from one hour to another. The team and mechanics have all done a good job to let me ride well on the bike and be comfortable. I am really happy because everything is going really good.”