Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Losail International Circuit
Doha, Qatar
November 2, 2017
Free Practice One Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:57.843
2. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:57.925
3. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:57.965. mechanical
4. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:58.136
5. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:58.315
6. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:58.543
7. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:58.671
8. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:58.736
9. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:58.757
10. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:59.053
11. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RC), 1:59.069
12. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:59.116
13. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:59.303, crashed twice
14. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 1:59.531
15. Alessandro ANDREOZZI, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), 1:59.616
16. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:59.639
17. Jake GAGNE, USA (Honda CBR1000RR), 2:00.077
18. Jeremy GUARNONI, France (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 2:00.670
19. Ondrej JEZEK, Czech Republic (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 2:01.275
20. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 2:01.727
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
Torres qualifies for Superpole2 at Losail
Doha (Qatar), Thursday 2 November 2017
The final round of the 2017 Superbike world championship got underway today at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Althea BMW riders Jordi Torres and Raffaele De Rosa were out on the floodlit track this evening for the first two sessions of timed practice.
In a change to the traditional programme, the timed practice sessions play out on Thursday this year, with the weekend’s races to be run on Friday and Saturday rather than the classic Saturday-Sunday format.
In first practice, which took place at 5.45pm local time with an air temperature of 30°C, Torres and De Rosa started working to set up their BMWs together with their technicians. A series of fast laps for Jordi in the latter stages saw him close tenth (1’59.295), while a quickest time of 1’59.846 for De Rosa positioned him thirteenth at the session’s end.
The second session saw De Rosa lower his time by half a second early-on. Improving further throughout the 60-minute session, the Italian set a fastest time of 1’59.218 to finish the practice in thirteenth place overall. Torres’ fastest time came towards the end of the session; a best of 1’58.726 for the Spaniard put him in eighth position at the end of day one. While De Rosa will have to take on Superpole1 tomorrow, Torres has qualified directly for Superpole2.
Jordi Torres:
“Today didn’t go too badly. I like this track, long and wide, and it suits the BMW quite well. We’re suffering from a lack of rear grip, which we still need to understand but we’ll make some changes tomorrow to see if we can improve the situation. A lot of hard work but we’re pleased we’ve qualified directly for SP2. Tomorrow I’ll work on trying to lower my lap time, I think I can shave off a few more tenths.”
Raffaele De Rosa:
“We’ve completed this first evening in Qatar but it didn’t really go as I’d hoped. I would have liked to get into SP2 but some mistakes prevented me from putting together a fast, clean lap. A shame but I’m feeling quite good on the bike, so tomorrow we’ll work to improve through those points of the track where I’m suffering most. I hope to be able to thank the team with good results this weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Champion Rea in front after Thursday sessions
The triple World Champion ended day one at the Acerbis Qatar Round at the top of the timesheets, ahead of Lowes and Sykes
At the conclusion of the first day of WorldSBK action at the Acerbis Qatar Round Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) sat at the top of the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheets with a 1’57.666 lap of the spectacular floodlit Losail International Circuit.
The Northern Irishman’s best time on Thursday came in the earlier of the opening two practice sessions at the final round of the season as he sped around the desert track on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR and finished FP1 a 0.689s margin ahead of his closest rival and teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Rea was unable to improve in FP2 and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) closed the gap at the top of the combined timesheets to 0.259s as the fastest man in that session and the second quickest overall on Thursday. FP2 was interrupted briefly after a technical problem at turn 10 for the day’s third best overall performer Sykes – which led to a red flag – but the riders were soon back in action after the track conditions were confirmed as safe for them to continue riding.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fourth quickest and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also featured in the top five. At this season-concluding round in Qatar Sykes and Davies will battle it out for the runners-up position in this year’s championship behind title winner Rea.
Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team), Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team), Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and
Laverty’s Aprilia teammate Lorenzo Savadori completed the top ten. Savadori crashed twice in FP2, first at turn 16 and then again at turn 14.
The riders will be back on track for FP3 in Qatar at 4.20pm local time (GMT +3) on Friday. SP1 is at 6.30pm, with SP2 at 6.55pm and Race 1 at 9pm.
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team prepares for the last round: Davies and Melandri respectively 4th and 7th in Day 1 at Losail
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team resumed action at Losail (Qatar), home of the last round of the 2017 WorldSBK Championship, which is also the only one held during night time. Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri took it back to the track after sundown to seize 4th and 7th position respectively in the combined time sheets.
Both riders took advantage of the two hour-long sessions to lay the setup foundations ahead of the races, which for the first time will be held on Friday and Saturday. Davies, third in FP1, took about four tenths of a second off his personal best to post a 1:58.146 that granted him fourth position, +0.470 behind the provisional best time. Melandri finished Day 1 with 1:58.671, more than half a second faster than his time in FP1, to take 7th position (+1.005).
Both riders thus gained direct access to Superpole 2. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action tomorrow at 16:20 local time (CET +2) for FP3 in preparation of Superpole and Race 1, which is scheduled to start at 21:00 local time.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1’58.136 (4th)
“I’m pretty happy overall with how things went today. We’re sticking to the plan, working on the setup with a focus on tyre options, which we took to race distance. We managed to be pretty consistent, which is the most important thing ahead of the races, but we still miss something on fresh tires, especially in the first couple of sectors. We made some changes that turned out to be positive, we just didn’t have enough time to try one final step before doing the time attack. I’m confident about the direction we’re going in, we’re all pretty close and I’m looking forward to two fun races.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 1:58.671 (7th)
“Despite the steps forward made recently, today was a bit more complicated than what we expected. The grip wasn’t bad at the beginning, but as humidity increased in FP2 we struggled with both the front and the rear. Now we’ll take a good look at the data to study some radical changes ahead of tomorrow. FP3 will crucial to this end. I’m confident we’ll get back the right feeling again before Superpole and Race 1”.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:
Giugliano and Gagne confident of more improvements after first day
Qatar Round
Losail International Circuit, Qatar
The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has completed the opening day of action for the final event of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship – which is currently taking place at the Losail International Circuit. The standard bearers for the Dutch-based squad at this round Davide Giugliano and Jake Gagne were 16th and 17th, respectively, in the combined times of today’s two free practice sessions held under floodlights at the iconic circuit located on the outskirts of Qatar’s capital city Doha.
Despite being unable to move up the timesheets between the two sessions, both riders managed to significantly improve their lap-times in the latter hour of action as they worked hard with their crews to improve the feeling with their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine at this long, wide and beautifully flowing racetrack. Giugliano successfully tried new electronic settings, while for 24-year-old Gagne the priority was to get to grips with the new circuit – as well as to riding under artificial lighting.
In light of today’s results, Giugliano and Gagne will take to the track at 18:30 local time (GMT +3) tomorrow for Superpole 1, before lining up on the grid for the 17-lap, first race of the Qatari round which will get underway two and a half hours later (21:00).
Davide Giugliano 34
16th
Today was a quite productive day! We tried some new electronic settings which I never tried before and that represent – at least for me – a little but positive step forwards. I was expecting to be a little quicker, but there’s still time to do some more work tomorrow. The good things is that the bike works very well chassis-wise, although we still need to do some more work with the electronics in order to improve our pace. I think things will be better tomorrow.
Jake Gagne 45
17th
I feel I got to grips with the track pretty quickly, but it was also a matter of getting use to riding under floodlights: it was kind of strange in the first two-three laps, but soon after that it was not a problem anymore – it’s just you and the track. We made a lot of progress today, with me simply having to get used to this bike again and learning my way around the track. Towards the end of FP2 we made a couple of changes to chassis and electronics, and I feel we’re heading in the right direction. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.
Ronald ten Kate
Team Manager
The first session was not an easy one for Davide as things didn’t go as smooth as we’d hoped and that cost us some valuable track-time. Both crew and rider did a great job in FP2 and tried successfully some different electronic settings, so we’re confident for some more improvement tomorrow. Jake did quite well despite the lack of knowledge of the track and being his first time riding under floodlights, so all in all it was more of a productive day than what the timesheets would suggest.
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Pata Yamaha Get Off to a Superb Start Under the Lights in Qatar
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team got off to their best start of the year in Qatar on day one of the final round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship. In the sweltering heat and humidity under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit, Alex Lowes continued the excellent form he has shown at the last two rounds, finishing the day in a sensational second position on the combined timesheets, just 0.259s off the top. Michael van der Mark also had a great start to the final race weekend of the season, ending Thursday in fifth overall to cap a superb opening day for the team with both riders, once again, making it directly through to SP2.
Lowes arrived in Qatar full of confidence after two strong rides to fourth at the last round in Jerez and he was quick right out of the blocks as the sun set in Qatar, setting a 1:59:502 on his just his second lap. Unfortunately, just as he was starting his fourth flying lap, the 27-year-old British rider was caught out by the dusty track conditions that often affect the early sessions at the Losail International Circuit and had a small crash at Turn 1. Luckily, the 2013 British Superbike Champion was unhurt and his team worked superbly to repair his Yamaha R1 in time and allow Lowes to take to the track for the final ten minutes of the session. Lowes managed to improve his time to a 1:58.679 on his final lap to finish the session in fourth.
Track conditions had improved for FP2 and determined to make up for the lost time, Lowes got straight down to work and, after an early red flag, managed to run a full race simulation to collect vital data for his team with most of the laps in the 1:58s, highlighting his very strong pace and consistency. Heading out to set a quick time at the end of the session, he managed a brilliant 1:57.925 on his very last lap to end Thursday in second overall, just 0.259s off the pace of Jonathan Rea.
Fresh from an excellent MotoGP debut in Sepang with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team the weekend before, Van der Mark approached Thursday at the Losail International Circuit in his usual fashion, building his pace with the Yamaha R1 throughout the day. Despite a lack of grip in FP1, there was almost nothing to separate the 25-year-old Dutch rider and his flying teammate at the end of the hour long session, with van der Mark recording a 1:58.680 to finish just 0.001s behind Lowes in fifth place.
In FP2 van der Mark focused on trying to find the right setup with his Pata Yamaha R1, working with his team in an effort to find increased rear grip. After making some tweaks, the 2014 Supersport World Champion put together a nice run of laps in the mid to high 1:58s, but still feels there is more potential to unlock with his R1 when it comes to race pace. On his final run, he managed to set a 1:58.315 which saw him finish fifth overall on the timesheets, 0.649s off the top, and he is determined to make another step forward on Friday in Qatar.
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team return to action at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on Friday at 16:20 pm local time for FP3, with qualifying due to start at 18:30 pm and the 17-lap Race 1 at 21:00 pm.
Alex Lowes
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 2nd +0.259s
“Before the weekend, I was really looking forward to this round as it’s a track I really enjoy! The team got their first podium here last year as well, so it’s obviously a track that suits the Yamaha R1 too. I also feel like I am riding well at the moment, so it was a bit annoying to make a mistake right at the start of FP1 and miss about 45 minutes of the session, which was a shame because we missed out on some time to find the right setup. In FP2, I made a long run and felt quite good plus, after missing out on the time in FP1, there is a good chance we can make more improvements tomorrow. I really, really hope I can fight with the guys at the front during the race, as it has been a great year and I want to finish it as strongly as possible. FP2 was a very busy session and doing a race simulation in these temperatures is always hard work but it is all about putting in the effort in during practice so that you can reap the benefits come race day!”
Michael van der Mark
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 5th +0.649s
“We have had a good first day here in Qatar and I am very happy with my Pata Yamaha R1! To be honest, we had quite a good pace but we are still struggling a little bit, so we have some changes to make for tomorrow. Anyway, it was good to see how much the bike has improved again, every track we get to it is now competitive straight away. The bike was quick here last year and it was great to see with all the changes we have made this season that it was still quick here! I am happy with how today went but, for sure, we have a lot of work to do as I have a good one-lap pace, but we need to work on our consistency. One of the issues is grip, we managed to solve most of the problems by the end, but we are still searching for the perfect setup and we will work as hard as we can tomorrow to get it right!”
Paul Denning
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal
“The night race here in Qatar is always a slightly surreal and special atmosphere and the bikes look fantastic under the lights at the Losail International Circuit. The Pata Yamaha Team achieved its first podium here at the end of 2016 and following some great results in Magny-Cours and Jerez, we arrived here with the confidence that we would be able to perform quite well. It has been the best first day of the season for the team, the only minor blip being Alex’s crash in FP1, but on a dirty, dusty circuit it is easily done and, most importantly, there was no harm done to the rider. Once the bike was retrieved, the team did an incredible job to repair quite extensive damage very calmly but, also very quickly, to get Alex back out at the end of the session to not only check the bike but also to improve his lap time. Well done to Alex’s crew and everyone involved! The track improved a little in FP2 but as the humidity levels rise that also causes its own issues. We managed to improve quite significantly with both riders, Michael pushing hard and showing good consistency as always, in addition to a race simulation and a great lap at the end for Alex, and P2 and P5 were just reward for a good day’s work by the whole team.”