From the World Superbike Championship
Michel Fabrizio’s magic moment continues as last Sunday’s Imola winner powered to the quickest time in the first World Superbike qualifying session at Magny-Cours on Friday with a time of 1 minute 38.770 seconds on his Xerox Ducati.
There was quite a scrap for second place, with Fabrizio managing to hold off Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and the two main title contenders Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike), with all four separated by 0.169 seconds and the only riders able to lap under the 1:39 mark.
Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was back among the top echelons with fifth place, ahead of Troy Corser (BMW), the Australian looking much more at ease on the French track than at Imola, and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare), who brought back some morale to the Alstare team.
The surprise of the day was Fonsi Nieto (Ducati DFX), who set ninth quickest time ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), victim of a harmless crash.
It was a positive debut on the Aprilia RSV4 for BSB champion Leon Camier, the British rider posting 17th quickest time just two-tenths away from Biaggi.
The Supersport free practice session saw a two-way battle between Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com). The Turkish rider, who won at Imola last Sunday, eventually took the top slot with a time of 1:41.885, holding off his rival by just 14 thousandths of a second. Lascorz also crashed out while trying to set the quickest time.
The pace of the top two was far superior to the rest, with Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) in third place, but seven-tenths behind, while Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) in fifth was almost a whole second off the pace.
The two title rivals Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) were seventh and ninth respectively in the timesheets, albeit separated by a fraction. After his Imola crash, Crutchlow did the same Friday in the hour-long session, fortunately without any consequences.
Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) continued on his way towards the 2009 Superstock 1000 title in Friday’s opening free practice session at Magny-Cours. The Belgian rider, who just needs five points to be crowned champion, immediately made his mark with the quickest time of 1:42.621.
Two Italians set the pace in Superstock 600 free practice. The quickest time of 1:46.389 went to Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Trasimeno), who was three-tenths ahead of his team-mate Danilo Petrucci. The points leader, who crashed during the session, soon found his rhythm again to set his quickest time right at the final moment.
Superbike Times
1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1:38.770
2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1:38.821
3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1:38.877
4. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:38.939
5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1:39.379
6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1:39.435
7. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 1:39.497
8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1:39.613
9. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1:39.772
10. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1:39.834
11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1:39.900
12. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9 1:39.964
13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1:40.000
14. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1:40.017
15. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:40.048
16. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1:40.101
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