Portimao World Superbike: Friday

NEWEST AT TOP

World Superbike

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) set the quickest time in today’s opening qualifying session at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. The Northern Ireland youngster grabbed the provisional pole from Jakub Smrz in the final stages of the session, with a time of 1 minute 43.786 seconds, eight-hundredths faster than the Guandalini Ducati man. Third quickest time went to Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) who was four tenths quicker than his title rival Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), only ninth fastest. The provisional front row was completed by Rea’s team-mate Carlos Checa, while the first two slots on the next row went to Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Fonsi Nieto (Ducati DFX) in an overall result that saw the private Ducatis lap quicker than the factory machines. Seventh place in fact went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), just four-hundredths ahead of fellow Italian Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). Things looked positive in Suzuki Alstare, with Yukio Kagayama up amongst the front-runners for much of the session and Sylvain Guintoli less than one second away from his team-mate on his WSB debut. The two BMWs of Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser were twelfth and thirteenth respectively, with the two Kawasakis of Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada making up the top 15.

Times: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.786; 2. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1′43.866; 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′43.870; 4. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.945; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′43.947; 6. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′44.005; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′44.154; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′44.210; 9. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′44.254; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′44.324; 11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′44.674; 12. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.822; 13. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.830; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.963; 15. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.977; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′45.077

Supersport
Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was quickest in Friday’s Supersport free practice session, the Turkish rider going to the top of the timesheets right at the very end with a time of 1 minute 45.355 seconds. The two contenders for this year’s title, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) were right behind, with the opening salvo going to the points leader, just a fraction ahead of his rival. Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) was fourth quickest and the only other rider to lap under the 1’46” mark. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) was fifth quickest, ahead of Garry McCoy, who took a competitive Triumph to sixth. Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) were next up, the Portuguese rider going particularly well at his home track.

Times: 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′45.355; 2. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′45.652; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1′45.727; 4. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′45.863; 5. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′46.069; 6. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1′46.464; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′46.473; 8. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1′46.597

Superstock 1000
The opening free practice session saw two riders hit the top, newly-crowned champion Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) and Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda). Both men exchanged a sequence of fastest laps throughout the session, the Belgian getting the better over his French rival in the final stages with a time of 1 minute 47.588 seconds over Berger’s 1’47.642. The rest of the field were over one second off the pace, with seven riders in the space of half-a-second. Third quickest was Frenchman Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha), followed by Austrian René Mahr (TKR Suzuki). Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini) was also well up in fifth, ahead of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare), who is fighting to hold on to the runner-up slot this weekend.

Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1′47.588; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′47.642; 3. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′48.814; 4. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′48.856; 5. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′48.999; 6. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′49.016; 7. Lammert D. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′49.068; 8. Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′49.111

Superstock 600
Italian riders took the top three places in the opening free practice session for the final round of the European Superstock 600 Championship, but the title challengers were some distance away from each other. Best time went to Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), with Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) three-tenths off the pace. Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) was over one second behind, Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) 1. 6” and points leader Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) almost 2.5” behind in sixth. Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) was just ahead of Rea in fifth, while Magny-Cours winner Florian Marino (Race Junior Honda) again went well with eighth quickest time.

Times: 1. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′48.464; 2. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′48.704; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′49.575; 4. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1′50.032; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA)Yamaha YZF R6 1′50.297; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1′50.852; 7. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′51.130; 8. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1′51.215

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Yamaha

Championship title contender Ben Spies got straight down to business today under a clear blue sky and brilliant Portuguese sunshine, spending both the free practice session and following first qualifying session re acquainting himself with the Portimao circuit. Spies spent the sessions working through different tyre options and race settings, looking for the optimum set up ahead of tomorrow’s second qualifying and following Superpole sessions. He showed a consistent pace throughout qualifying, before putting the hammer down as the final seconds ticked away to finish third in the standings, less than one tenth of a second off fastest man Rea.

Team mate Tom Sykes had a less enjoyable day. The British rider showed true courage to work hard through both sessions despite suffering constant shoulder pain resulting from his collision with Carlos Checa in the second race at Magny Cours.

Ben Spies
Ben Spies

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (3rd, 1′43.870)
“we had a good day today, we worked a lot on the race set up and evaluated a couple of different tyres. The package feels good and the bike feels good on the track, all we can do is keep trying to make it better and better and keep working on my riding and see what happens. The track is still a little green but it’s getting better.”

Tom Sykes
Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (18th, 1′45.239)
“it’s definitely not going to plan today. I’m upset for myself and for the team, I had very big expectations of this weekend especially as in the test I was running as fast as the front guys. I’m struggling a lot with the shoulder, it’s worse than I expected. I’m finding it hard but trying not to let the boys down so I’m going to the clinic tonight to see what the boyto s can come up with. I hope we can get stronger over the next couple of days.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“Ben is quite satisfied, he says the bike still needs some improvements in a couple of corners but he’s feeling confident. We are still working to find the right race tyre. Unfortunately Tom is in a lot of pain, I know how he feels because I had the same problem many years ago. We hope he can get some more help from the Clinica Mobile and will be able to improve tomorrow.”

Circuit Length: 4692
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′43.609 (Michel Fabrizio, 02/11/2008)
Last Years Winner: Troy Bayliss
2009 WSB Portugal - Portimão 23/10/2009
Qualifying 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1′43.786
2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1′43.866
3 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 1′43.870
4 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1′43.945
5 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1′43.947
6 Fonsi Nieto Ducati ESP 1′44.005
7 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1′44.154
8 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1′44.210
9 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 1′44.254
10 Leon Haslam Honda GBR 1′44.324
11 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1′44.674
12 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 1′44.822
13 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1′44.830
14 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 1′44.963
15 Makoto Tamada Kawasaki JPN 1′44.977
18 Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 1′45.239
25 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1′46.775

FREE PRACTICE REPORT 23/10/2009
Crutchlow gets straight onto the pace on day one

Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow got straight onto the pace today at the Portimao circuit. Starting with very clear intentions to perform at the top, he spent the first day’s free practice session testing out tyres and bike set up, and was typically consistently fast. Crutchlow spent the majority of the session as the fastest rider, only dropping to second at the end behind Kenan Sofuoglu.

Team mate Fabien Foret also enjoyed a good first session on the track. The French rider was firmly inside the top six for the majority of the free practice, dropping to seventh at the end, less than two tenths of a second behind Gary McCoy in sixth.

Cal Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd, 1′45.652)
“it wasn’t a bad session, today, definitely good enough for the first one of the weekend. We’ve shown we’ve got the pace to win the race; we just need to be careful this weekend. There are a lot of guys up there who are going pretty fast. We’re going to keep on our toes and keep doing what we’re doing and look forward to the race.”

Fabien Foret
Fabien Foret

Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (7th, 1′46.473)
“A good first day for me. We had a new front tyre I tried at the end which was interesting but I didn’t go to its full potential for an amazing lap time, I was focusing on being consistent and trying to get the rhythm of the pace for the race. I’m happy, even with seventh. For me it’s not a big deal, it’s more important to be happy with the bike and set up which I am so it should be ok tomorrow.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“we are pleased with the first session. Cal was consistently fast which was good. At the end Sofuoglu came a bit faster but it’s not a big worry as we know we can be faster and the bike feels really good. The track doesn’t feel great for the riders but tomorrow there should be more rubber on there. Fabien felt really happy with his front end set up which is really important for him so I’m a happy man at this moment, let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Circuit Length: 4692
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′45.156 (Kenan Sofuoglu, 02/11/2008)
Last Years Winner: Kenan Sofuoglu
2009 WSS Portugal - Portimão 23/10/2009

Free Practice
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1′45.355
2 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1′45.652
3 Eugene Laverty Honda GBR 1′45.727
4 Mark Aitchison Honda AUS 1′45.863
5 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 1′46.069
6 Garry McCoy Triumph AUS 1′46.464
7 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 1′46.473
8 Miguel Praia Honda POR 1′46.597
9 Massimo Roccoli Honda ITA 1′46.686
10 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 1′46.894
11 Barry Veneman Honda NED 1′46.979
12 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 1′47.085
13 Katsuaki Fujiwara Kawasaki JPN 1′47.148
14 Chaz Davies Triumph GBR 1′47.433
15 Michael Laverty Honda GBR 1′47.712
17 Kev Coghlan Yamaha GBR 1′48.432
19 Yannick Guerra Yamaha ESP 1′49.562
20 Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha IDN 1′49.812
26 Marcin Walkowiak Yamaha POL 1′52.355

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Alstare Suzuki

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Yukio Kagayama and new boy Sylvain Guintoli ended the first day of practice and qualifying at the Portimao World Superbike 14th round in Portugal with the 11th and 22nd fastest laps respectively.

Kagayama suffered rear suspension problems, but is confident that he and the team will improve the bike tomorrow so that he can attack Superpole and be in a good position for Sunday’s races. For Guintoli, today was all about learning the bike, learning a new track and working with his new team. He worked hard in both sessions and is now looking forward to tomorrow and making significant progress.
Jonathan Rea (Honda) set today’s fastest lap, with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Carlos Checa (Honda) fourth.

Yukio Kagayama - 11th, 1:44.674:

“Today was not so bad and I am a bit happy because the front suspension is working well and I am getting a lot of feedback from it. This means that I can push the front much harder and attack more. Now we have to do more on the rear because, at the moment, the feeling is not so good. We can improve this for sure, but we just need more kilometres. I tried a soft tyre at the end of qualifying today, but for me, the grip was no better than race rubber. I am a bit sad, because this weekend will be my last race with Suzuki Alstare and so I want to qualify well and say thank you to the team by ending with a good result.”

Sylvain Guintoli - 22nd, 1:45.508:

“Considering that today was my first time on this bike and my first time at this track, I am pretty happy with what we did. Although I raced a GSX-R1000 Suzuki in the British Superbike Championship this year, the Suzuki Alstare bike feels very different and that means I have to learn about it. Also, this was my first time at this track and I can tell you that it is a very technical track and very demanding. On TV, you don’t get a true impression about the elevation changes and this track is a real roller-coaster! I am happy because I think we found a good base set-up today and I am very happy about how well I have got on with this new team. Already I feel part of it and this makes it easy to look forward to tomorrow and making further progress.”

Friday WSB Qualifying: 1 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:43.786, 2 Smrz (CZE-Ducati) 1:43.866, 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha) 1:43.870, 4 C Checa (ESP-Honda) 1:43.945, 5 Byrne (GBR-Ducati) 1:43.947, 6 Nieto (ESP-Ducati) 1:44.005. 11 Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki Alstare) 1:44.674. 22 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:45.508.

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World Superbike

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) set the quickest time in today’s opening qualifying session at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. The Northern Ireland youngster grabbed the provisional pole from Jakub Smrz in the final stages of the session, with a time of 1 minute 43.786 seconds, eight-hundredths faster than the Guandalini Ducati man. Third quickest time went to Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) who was four tenths quicker than his title rival Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), only ninth fastest. The provisional front row was completed by Rea’s team-mate Carlos Checa, while the first two slots on the next row went to Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Fonsi Nieto (Ducati DFX) in an overall result that saw the private Ducatis lap quicker than the factory machines. Seventh place in fact went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), just four-hundredths ahead of fellow Italian Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). Things looked positive in Suzuki Alstare, with Yukio Kagayama up amongst the front-runners for much of the session and Sylvain Guintoli less than one second away from his team-mate on his WSB debut. The two BMWs of Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser were twelfth and thirteenth respectively, with the two Kawasakis of Broc Parkes and Makoto Tamada making up the top 15.

Times: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.786; 2. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1′43.866; 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′43.870; 4. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.945; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′43.947; 6. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′44.005; 7. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′44.154; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′44.210; 9. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′44.254; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′44.324; 11. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′44.674; 12. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.822; 13. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.830; 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.963; 15. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.977; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′45.077

Supersport

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was quickest in Friday’s Supersport free practice session, the Turkish rider going to the top of the timesheets right at the very end with a time of 1 minute 45.355 seconds. The two contenders for this year’s title, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) were right behind, with the opening salvo going to the points leader, just a fraction ahead of his rival. Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) was fourth quickest and the only other rider to lap under the 1’46” mark. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) was fifth quickest, ahead of Garry McCoy, who took a competitive Triumph to sixth. Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) were next up, the Portuguese rider going particularly well at his home track.

Times: 1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′45.355; 2. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′45.652; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1′45.727; 4. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′45.863; 5. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′46.069; 6. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1′46.464; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′46.473; 8. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1′46.597

Superstock 1000

The opening free practice session saw two riders hit the top, newly-crowned champion Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) and Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda). Both men exchanged a sequence of fastest laps throughout the session, the Belgian getting the better over his French rival in the final stages with a time of 1 minute 47.588 seconds over Berger’s 1’47.642. The rest of the field were over one second off the pace, with seven riders in the space of half-a-second. Third quickest was Frenchman Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Yamaha), followed by Austrian René Mahr (TKR Suzuki). Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini) was also well up in fifth, ahead of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare), who is fighting to hold on to the runner-up slot this weekend.

Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1′47.588; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′47.642; 3. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′48.814; 4. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′48.856; 5. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′48.999; 6. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′49.016; 7. Lammert D. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′49.068; 8. Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′49.111

Superstock 600

Italian riders took the top three places in the opening free practice session for the final round of the European Superstock 600 Championship, but the title challengers were some distance away from each other. Best time went to Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), with Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) three-tenths off the pace. Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) was over one second behind, Vincent Lonbois (MTM Yamaha) 1. 6” and points leader Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) almost 2.5” behind in sixth. Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Yamaha) was just ahead of Rea in fifth, while Magny-Cours winner Florian Marino (Race Junior Honda) again went well with eighth quickest time.

Times: 1. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′48.464; 2. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′48.704; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′49.575; 4. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1′50.032; 5. Guarnoni J. (FRA)Yamaha YZF R6 1′50.297; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1′50.852; 7. Morelli N. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′51.130; 8. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1′51.215
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Stiggy Racing Honda

In the afternoon qualifying session Leon managed to improve further on his previous fastest lap time but due to a technical problem in the ultimate minutes of the session Leon didn’t get a change to squeeze in any more laps. He finished in a provisional 10th place for Sunday’s races, with one more qualifying session and then Superpole taking place tomorrow.

Leon Haslam -P10- 1′44.324s
“We started off qualifying pretty strong, we changed both front and rear suspension settings and we went a bit wrong in the rear but then managed to get the front working in a better way. We put in reasonable times for four or five consecutive laps but unfortunately didn’t get many more as we ended up with some technical problems towards the end of the session. We have a good sense of direction for tomorrow and I’m only a few tenths off the quickest so I’m sure it will be good.”

Johan Stigefelt - Team Manager:
“A pretty decent day. We tested a couple of different things between our number one and number two bike. Leon seemed to like the direction of one of the bikes and we went in that direction, but unfortunately in qualifying we didn’t get so many laps in because we had a technical problem with one of the engines. So he had to stop early. The most important thing is that we know what settings we have to improve, so we should be OK for tomorrow.”

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Ducati Xerox

Portimao (Portugal), Friday 23rd October 2009:  the 2009 World Superbike Championship finale opened today under clear, sunny skies at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, the duel between championship title contenders Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and Ben Spies (Yamaha) getting underway with a closely fought first qualifying session. Michel Fabrizio, already assured of third place in the final championship standings, closed qualifying in seventh position, with Noriyuki in ninth; both riders are confident ahead of Sunday’s showdown.

In the opening free practice session of this weekend’s season finale, championship contender Noriyuki Haga immediately demonstrated his determination by putting himself at the top of the timesheets early on in the session. He remained consistently fast throughout the hour, and was the only rider to complete several laps in under 1m45,  including a fastest lap of 1m44.9s registered during a mini long-run. His quickest lap left him in second position overall when privateer Ducati rider Smrz made a flying lap in the latter stages of the practice. Team-mate Michel Fabrizio worked to improve rear grip and overall feeling with his Ducati 1198 and although he closed in eighth position, he was only two tenths of a second off Noriyuki’s pace.

Later in the day and on a hotter track (38°C) with respect to the morning, both factory Ducati riders worked with their technicians to improve both grip and absorption over the uneven track surface. Both Noriyuki and Michel were lapping with consistently fast times but, with the first ten riders all within half a second of each other, the Ducati Xerox men closed this closely fought first qualifying session in seventh (Michel) and ninth place (Noriyuki), Michel just a tenth of a second faster than his Japanese team-mate. The Ducati 1198 machines in the hands of Smrz (Guandalini Racing), Byrne (Team Sterilgarda) and Nieto (DFX Corse) also demonstrated their potential today, closing in second, fifth and sixth position respectively.

Michel Fabrizio 1m44.1s
“For now I’d say we have things under control. Today we worked mainly with the hard tyres to improve feeling on the track surface. I don’t yet have total faith in the front of the bike and the asphalt was not in the best condition, which meant I couldn’t really push as hard as I wanted to. Tomorrow we’ll make some more changes, testing some different tyres and hopefully I’ll be able to improve significantly on my time.”

Noriyuki Haga 1m44.2s
“The lap times today were faster than those recorded during testing earlier this year. In general we haven’t had any real problems but we are working to find the optimal setting and we’ll continue this work tomorrow. I would like to find more grip but apart from that I am pretty confident, I know we are fast and that we can be very competitive here.”

TIMES: 1. Rea (Honda) 1m43.7s; 2. Smrz (Ducati) 1m43.8s; 3. Spies (Yamaha) 1m43.8s; 4. Checa (Honda) 1m43.9s; 5. Byrne (Ducati) 1m43.9s; 6. Nieto (Ducati) 1m44.0s; 7. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m44.1s; 8. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m44.2s; 9. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m44.2s; 10. Haslam (Honda) 1m44.3s