World Superbike Donington: Friday qualifying (updated regularly)

NEWEST AT TOP

Yamaha

Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies got straight down to business at Donington today, with some rain falling in the second session. His track knowledge gained at last year’s MotoGP clearly paid off as he ended the first free practice session of the day at the top of the time sheets ahead of British Superbike wildcard Leon Camier on the Airwaves Yamaha. The qualifying session saw Spies using old tyres from the morning’s free practice while he worked on a good set up for the weekend. He finished the first qualifying session of the weekend in third, just half a second behind leader Fabrizio.

Team-mate Tom Sykes was clearly happy to be on a circuit he knows well and was regularly in the top five in the free practice session whilst setting up his Yamaha R1 for the Donington circuit for the first time, eventually finishing in eighth position. The afternoon’s qualifying session saw him repeatedly in the top three however a change of set up in the last ten minutes to try different settings saw him drop to end the session in 11th.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (3rd, 1′31.294)
“today went well for us. We started out with a good first session. The second session started out wet, we tried a very different set up to the one we used in Misano and straight away we were quick, when the track was wet we were second quickest which was good. When it dried out we put on tyres that we had used in the first free practice session and put race distance on them. They were heat cycled and already had a lot of laps on them from this morning and we were still right there and running 1’31s easily so the bike’s working really well. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (11th, 1′31.838)
“today we’ve made big steps, but I was a little bit annoyed that we made the top three in the qualifying session then with ten minutes to go I came in to make some changes which didn’t work. By the time I was back out I didn’t want to come back in so I put my head down and tried my best. I knew if I’d stayed with the setting from before I think we could have improved by at least 5/10ths plus. It’s not where I wanted to be in first qualifying so I’ll have to put my head down in qualifying tomorrow for a few laps just to put a good time in. overall I think things are progressing and I certainly think we’ll be there at the end of the weekend.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“Pretty good for the first day. For sure the rain compromised it a bit, so we were unable to try some things we had planned but in the end we finished close to the front so we are still confident we can do another good result. Let’s see what the weather brings tomorrow, both riders are confident and keen to get back on the track in the morning.”

Circuit Length: 4023
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′30.370 (Troy Bayliss, 01/04/2007)
Last Years Winner: Ryuichi Kiyonari
2009 WSB Europe - Donington Park 26/06/2009
Qualifying 1
Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time
1     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1′30.775
2     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     1′31.191
3     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     1′31.294
4     Gregorio Lavilla     Ducati     ESP     1′31.401
5     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     1′31.436
6     Leon Camier     Yamaha     GBR     1′31.454
7     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     1′01.000
8     Lorenzo Lanzi     Ducati     ITA     1′31.705
9     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     1′31.736
10     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     1′31.760
11     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     1′31.838
12     James Ellison     Yamaha     GBR     1′31.890
13     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     1′31.913
14     John Hopkins     Honda     USA     1′32.007
15     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     1′32.103
27     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     1′34.259

FREE PRACTICE REPORT     26/06/2009
No pain no gain for Crutchlow as he tops the time sheets on day one in Donington

The first session of free practice at Donington was a bittersweet affair for British rider Cal Crutchlow after a high side on the first lap saw him break a bone in his ankle. Undeterred he switched to his second bike and proceeded to lay down consistently fast laps for the duration of the session, ignoring his obvious discomfort to finish at the top of the time sheets, over 3/10ths of a second faster than second placed rider Lascorz.

Team-mate Fabien Foret had an equally impressive start to the race weekend. Having missed last year’s World Supersport race here through injury and never having ridden here on the R6 before, he made short work of the session, lapping consistently quickly and finishing the day in fourth and still looking to make some set up improvements in advance of tomorrow’s qualifying.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st, 1′33.323)
“it was hard session for us today. It was good enough and we still came out on top. We tried something with the bike and the gearbox which didn’t work so we went back to our usual setting which worked fine. Once I managed to get out of the medical centre I was all guns blazing. I’m very sore in both arms and hand, and my ankle is broken but I’ll rest tonight and we’ll have a good go tomorrow.”

Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (4th, 1′33.928)
” It was actually a pretty good session for me, I was quite relaxed. I didn’t race here last year so I tried to improve a little bit in different places and in the end it wasn’t so bad. The bike is working ok but there are still some changes I want to make. Let’s see what the weather will be like tomorrow, I hope it will be a bit more dry. A good start anyway!”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“mixed feelings I have to say! We were fastest in the free practice on the first day but a big crash in the first lap from Cal. He’s bruised everywhere but I think on adrenalin he was able to finish the practice, and his lap time was good. I’m afraid tomorrow he’s going to feel some pain. These guys always want to try hard at their home track and I think he was just a bit hot too early, hopefully it won’t hold him back tomorrow. Fabien is quite happy, he changed his approach to the first session a bit and he feels really well. He was not completely pleased with the setup but still he finished fourth so let’s see what tomorrow brings as he’s feeling good so we’re pretty confident.

Circuit Length: 4023
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′34.066 (Pere Riba, 01/04/2007)
Last Years Winner: Joshua Brookes
2009 WSS Europe - Donington Park 26/06/2009

Free Practice
Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time
1     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1′33.323
2     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     1′33.650
3     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     1′33.871
4     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     1′33.928
5     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     1′34.175
6     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     1′34.219
7     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     1′34.578
8     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     1′34.986
9     Anthony West     Honda     AUS     1′35.015
10     Barry Veneman     Honda     NED     1′35.061
11     Miguel Praia     Honda     POR     1′35.141
12     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     1′35.209
13     James Westmorland     Triumph     GBR     1′35.248
14     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     1′35.253
15     Robbin Harms     Honda     DNK     1′35.267
21     Hudson Kennaugh     Yamaha     RSA     1′36.261
27     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1′37.704

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Stiggy Racing Honda Supersport

Just three minutes into the session the red flag was raised following a crash by series leader Cal Crutchlow. The rain halted the restarted session halfway, and the remaining part of the 60-minute session was finished in wet conditions. Both riders continued to make progress with the set-up of their machines, with Anthony West setting his day in the ninth fastest time of 1′35.015s, followed by Gianluca Vizziello in 17th, with a best time of 1′35.507s.

West still finds himself 1.6s off the pace run by fastest man Cal Crutchlow, but is confident of further improvement this weekend.

Anthony West, 1′35.015s:
“The session went fine. We have made a big step forward with the set up, and might have found what the problem has been all year. I am happy with that, even though the position I am in at the moment is still not good. I feel like I can still go a lot faster now with what we just found, instead of feeling I am already at the limit. I hope our solution will work tomorrow, will either see if it does or not, we’ll have to put it into practice. I am confident we can make a step forward.”

Gianluca Vizziello, 1′35.507s:
“It went reasonably well today, but we will have to change some things for tomorrow. I am expecting more progression tomorrow, and hope I can keep my pace consistent. My 17th place is not satisfying and I will push myself further forward tomorrow. Hopefully I will be feeling fit again, as I have not been feeling well at all today.”

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“The conditions in the Supersport session were not very good. It started to rain and we stayed in the garage for the last ten minutes of the session. The guys just need to find their confidence with the bikes here at this track. We are not there yet, but it is getting there step by step, even though I think it is a little too slow. But we are working on it and will try to push further in tomorrow’s sessions.”

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Ducati Xerox

Donington Park (UK), Friday 26th June: just as he did a week ago at Misano, Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio was once again the fastest rider in first qualifying, this time at Donington Park.

Very mixed conditions throughout the day meant that the Ducati Xerox squad, Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, rode their Ducati 1198s both in the dry (in free practice) and in the wet.

In the early afternoon the Superbike riders took to the track for the first free practice session, in dry conditions. The British contingent immediately made its mark as was expected, with Camier, Haslam and Ellison all lapping very fast, but Italian Ducati Xerox man Michel Fabrizio held his own and gradually improved his times to close this initial session in fourth position. Team-mate Noriyuki was one of the fastest in the third sector of the track but was losing valuable tenths in the first and second splits, that meant he finished the hour-long session in eleventh place.

A rain shower arrived just a few minutes before the start of qualifying, forcing the teams to quickly change over to “wet” bikes. Having seen various riders, some of them unexpected, taking turns at the top of the timesheets in the wet, the track then quickly dried out mid-session. Both Ducati Xerox men were subsequently able to lower their lap times but, while Michel immediately found the way with his Ducati 1198 in the dry, his team-mate Noriyuki had more difficulty, again in the second split, lapping a second slower than the Italian. Fabrizio was the only rider to lap in under 1m31 today, taking provisional pole once again; Haga meanwhile closed today in tenth place.

Michel Fabrizio 1m30.7s
“It hasn’t gone at all badly. In the practice I had a few problems with my right arm, maybe because it hadn’t had time to recover from Misano, but it felt a lot better in qualifying. A few minutes before that session the rain came and it’s clear that in the wet we’re not yet where we should be. Thankfully the track dried out very fast and so in the last part of the session I was really able to push and record some fast laps. We know where we need to work if it turns out wet again tomorrow but for now I can say I’m satisfied with what we’ve accomplished today.”

Noriyuki Haga 1m31.7s
“Today wasn’t so easy for us. It’s the first time I am riding the Ducati 1198 here and I feel I need more track time. We tried some different settings because I’m having trouble through the fast corners, especially in the second split, where it seems that I can’t open the gas because the bike’s not reacting as it should. We know where we need to improve and so I hope it’s dry tomorrow to allow us to make the necessary progress.”

TIMES: 1. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m30.7s; 2. Haslam (Honda) 1m31.1s; 3, Spies (Yamaha) 1m31.2s; 4. Lavilla (Ducati) 1m31.4s; 5. Byrne (Ducati) 1m31.4s; 6. Camier (Yamaha) 1m31.4s….. 10. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m31.7s

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Superbike World Championship

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) confirmed himself to be one of the quickest men currently around as he powered his 1098 round the 4.023 km circuit in a time of 1 minute 30.775 seconds in Donington’s first qualifying session. Lapping just four-tenths of a second off the record held by Troy Bayliss, the Italian was the only rider to dip under the 1’31” mark on a dry track after the initial rain showers. Next up, but four-tenths behind, was the first of the numerous British riders in the 31-strong field, Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), followed by Texan rookie Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike), a fraction slower. The final provisional front row grid slot went to the surprising Gregorio Lavilla (Guandalini Ducati), who knows Donington well after several seasons in BSB.

Fifth quickest time went to one of the race favourites, Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), who also had a harmless crash in the session. Excluding Fabrizio, the top 17 riders are all separated by one second. So far points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) has failed to shine and he could only manage tenth, three places ahead of Max Biaggi with the first of the Aprilia RSV4 machines. It was a difficult day for the Misano race 2 winner Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), the Northern Ireland youngster ending up with a sore back after crashing in free practice and setting 15th quickest time. The two BMWs, once again showing encouraging signs in the wet conditions, found the dry pace more difficult and Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser could only finish 17th and 20th respectively. The latest arrival in World Superbike, Blake Young (Alstare Suzuki) was 28th on his debut, while John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) set a positive time despite still not being fully fit

Times: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′30.775; 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′31.191; 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′31.294; 4. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′31.401; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′31.436; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′31.454; 7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1′31.584; 8. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′31.705; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′31.736; 10. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′31.760; 11. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′31.838; 12. Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′31.890; 13. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′31.913; 14. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′32.007; 15. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′32.103; 16. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′32.139

World Supersport

Points leader Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) got his Donington weekend off to a terrific start with the quickest time of the day of 1 minute 33.323 seconds, knocking half-a-second off the previous record set in 2007 by Katsuaki Fuijiwara. Crutchlow was also the victim of a crash in the early stages but after a quick check at the medical centre Cal resumed his record-breaking pace. The second slot went to the talented youngster Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec) from Spain, three-tenths behind. Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), Crutchlow’s chief rival in the title fight, was another couple of tenths behind, with Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) in fourth place. 2007 champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was fifth, but his team-mate Andrew Pitt could only manage 12th while fellow Aussie Garry McCoy took the ParkinGo Be1 Racing Triumph to an encouraging eighth place.

Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′33.323; 2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′33.650; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1′33.871; 4. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′33.928; 5. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.175; 6. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′34.219; 7. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′34.578; 8. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1′34.986

Superstock 1000

The first free practice session again saw a battle for supremacy between the top three in the championship, quickest time of 1 minute 34.653 seconds going to points leader Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), the only man to dip under 1’35”. The Belgian looked particularly impressive as he reeled off a string of laps at that pace and he looks to be favourite for the win this weekend. Second went to Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), who dominated last week’s race at Misano, but who was half a second behind. Third place went to Claudio Corti (Alstare Suzuki), who was one tenth slower than his French rival. The Italian was quick at the start of the session, but proved to be less effective on used tyres. Davide Giugliano (MV Agusta) made it four different manufacturers in the top 4 with fourth place, while Spain’s Javier Fores added another one to the list with fifth quickest time for Kawasaki Pedercini.

Times: 1. Simeon X. (BEL) Ducati 1098R 1′34.812; 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′35.347; 3. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′35.459; 4. Giugliano D. (ITA) MV Agusta F4 312 R 1′35.724; 5. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′36.257; 6. Barrier S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′36.280; 7. Burrell B. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′36.566; 8. Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′36.605

Superstock 600

Three Yamahas took the top three places in the opening European Superstock 600 free practice session, with quickest time going to Belgium’s Vincent Lonbois (MTM), who put almost three-tenths between himself and the dominator of the championship Danilo Petrucci (Trasimeno). Third place went to Frenchman Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS), ahead of home rider Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda). Petrucci’s Trasimeno team-mate Marco Bussolotti did not take part in the first day of practice as he had to undergo school exams back in Italy, but he will be present for qualifying tomorrow.

Times: 1. Lonbois V. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1′37.364; 2. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′37.632; 3. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′37.728; 4. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1′37.789; 5. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′37.900; 6. Hamilton J. (IRL) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′38.157; 7. Guittet B. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1′38.376; 8. Kerschbaumer S. (AUT) Yamaha YZF R6 1′39.298

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Stiggy Racing Honda

In the first day of qualifying at Donington, the Stiggy Racing Honda pairing of Leon Haslam and John Hopkins opened the Superbike free practice in a great way, by setting the third and seventh fastest time respectively.

Leon Haslam was found in the top regions of the sheets throughout the session and closed the first practice in a third fastest time of 1′31.209s. John Hopkins made his re-appearance with the team after sitting out the last race at Misano and set the seventh fastest time of the free practice session in 1′31.894s.

Haslam and Hopkins both managed to keep their lap times fast and consistent in the afternoon’s first qualifying practice. Haslam squeezed out the day’s second fastest time of 131.191s in the last minutes of the session and finds himself just 0.4s off the pace set by provisional pole sitter Michel Fabrizio, while Hopkins is found in 14th position with a best time of 1′32.007s.

Leon Haslam, 1′31.191s:
“ I am pretty happy with my qualifying results today. It started off wet which was good to get a couple of wet laps in. It wasn’t a full wet session so we didn’t quite get the wet set-up sorted yet, but the dry set-up is good. We were doing well on an old tyre and able to go into the top three. Then we put a new tyre in towards the end and put the bike at second position. I am feeling really confident with what we have achieved so far. We still have a bit more to go and we’ll have to concentrate on doing some race runs tomorrow.”

John Hopkins, 1′32.007s:
“This morning it was all about losing up my hip and getting a good feeling with the bike again. I really enjoy riding the Donington track. The most important thing for me today was getting the feeling with the tyres and the bike again. I took it easy in the wet, but the lap times were still pretty good and pretty consistent. As soon as the track dried out, I stayed out and did over half a race distance. My last lap was my fastest lap, but I got hold up by Rea, otherwise I would have been even faster. But we are in the top 20 today and that’s the most important thing. We know that we can run a consistent pace on used tyres, that is one step forward for us. We’ll just have to see what the weather holds tomorrow.”

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“It was a very good day here. Leon has gone as fast as we expected. He has found his way quickly and is not far off his ideal race setting. We still have a few things to improve and to test, but I am confident we can work on that tomorrow. I am very pleased with John’s results. He has shown he is capable of being up there and is felling much better. The whole team is happy with this, John can finally show what he is capable of and push himself forward. We still have some things we will have to work on tomorrow, but right now it looks quite promising.”