Story and photo from the World Superbike Championship
Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) added another Superpole scalp to his crown as he took his ninth trophy of the year, one away from Doug Polen’s 1991 record for Ducati, at the difficult Brno circuit in the Czech Republic.
The Texan’s time of one minute, 58.868 seconds on Saturday was the quickest seen all weekend so far but was still half a second away from the circuit best lap held by Troy Bayliss. The Yamaha rider (pictured) didn’t have it all his own way however as he was pushed hard by Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing).
“So far we’ve been good with the race set-up, and we found something in the second session this afternoon that made a big improvement on the race tires," Spies said. "That Superpole was good as well. I had a small problem in the last session, but my time was good enough to get the job done today. I’m in a strong position and the bike is good on the tires after a few laps, but I think it’s going to be tough against Michel and Max tomorrow.”
The two Italians, both from Rome, will start Sunday’s two 20-lap races from second and third on the grid and look to be Spies’ most serious challengers for the wins.
“Let’s hope well for tomorrow," Fabrizio said. "Both Ben and I are the guys who are doing well at the moment and we are both up at the front for the races. It’s a pity that Nori [Haga] is not up with us at the front because he’s still got a few problems with his shoulder, but we’ve been making really good progress all weekend and I am looking forward to the races tomorrow.”
The front row was completed by Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who hauled himself up to fourth slot after a struggle to get to the front over the first two days.
Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) had a good run to fifth place, ahead of the star performers of the day, Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus of the BMW Motorrad squad, who placed their S1000 RR machines in sixth and seventh positions, the German manufacturer’s best qualifying performance of the year.
Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) was in eighth place ahead of Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Ducati), while Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who had looked incisive earlier on, was unable to keep up the momentum in Superpole and finished in 10th place, while Makoto Tamada was the first Kawasaki runner in 11th.
It was a day of suffering for points leader Haga (Ducati Xerox), who got no higher than 14th due to his shoulder injury, and he lines up behind the only Suzuki on the grid, the Alstare BRUX machine of Yukio Kagayama.
There was disappointment as well for home rider Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati), who crashed out in the second knock-out phase and will have to start from the third row.
Supersport qualifying turned into a one-man show as Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) powered to his seventh pole of the season. The British rider stopped the clocks at an incredible time of 2:02.060, the height of his weekend domination so far.
The only man able to get close to Crutchlow, but nine-tenths of a second behind, was Ireland’s Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), his chief rival in the title battle. The front row is completed by the increasingly competitive Kawasaki Motocard.com pairing of Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara in third and fourth.
The third and final championship contender Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was unable to go any higher than 14th and a fourth row grid start will leave the Turk with it all to do on Sunday.
The Superstock 1000 qualifying session confirmed the results of the first half of the season, with the top four in the championship starting from the front row. Pole position, his fourth this season, went to points leader Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox), with a time of 2:03.188, the Belgian rider managing to hold off a last minute attack from Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Honda), a tenth away at the end.
Third place, at six-tenths, went to Javi Fores (Kawasaki Pedercini), just ahead of Claudio Corti (Suzuki Alstare).
Vincent Lonbois (MTM Racing Yamaha) produced a real surprise in the Superstock 600 qualifying session, the Belgian, who was leading at the time, taking advantage of the rain that fell at the end to clinch the pole.
The other front row positions went to Britain’s Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda), currently second in the points table, Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini) and championship leader Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno).
World Superbike Times
1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:58.868
2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1:58.950
3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1:59.055
4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1:59.740
5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1:59.787
6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2:00.046
7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2:00.096
8. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 2:00.240
9. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1:59.730
10. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1:59.748
11. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1:59.873
12. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2:00.159
13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 2:00.223
14. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2:00.235
15. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2:00.262
16. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2:00.498
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