Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) will start the 8th round’s two World Superbike races from the front of the grid after winning this afternoon’s Tissot-Superpole at a very hot and sunny Portimao circuit, his third in a row at the Portuguese track and 22nd Pole Position so far in his WSBK career.
A thrilling Superpole 1 saw David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team) progress to join the already seeded top ten from the combined free practice sessions with the 12 riders then doing battle for the final 15 minute grid deciding shoot-out.
The opening session wasn’t without incident as after 4 minutes the red flags came out as the marshals tended to Claudio Corti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who had fell on the rollercoaster section of the circuit. He was taken to the medical centre for further checks. Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) also failed to record a time as his Aprilia developed a technical problem on his out lap.
In the final 15 minute Superpole 2, the times at the top changed almost every time a rider recorded a time but at the flag and with less than a second covering the top 9, Sykes emerged as the fastest, ahead of Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), who will join him on row one tomorrow.
Row two will see Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team), Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and other factory Aprilia rider Sylvain Guintoli, who recovered from a high speed FP4 crash to claim 6th.
In the battle of the EVO riders, Sylvain Barrier will start 10th and David Salom 12th.
Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) crashed in the final minute of the session and will therefore start 11th tomorrow.
Tom Sykes: “The Ninja ZX-10R is working well after we started quite steadily this weekend. We made some small changes to the bike every session and now I feel more comfortable on it. On the race tyre I was able to feel more comfortable and in Superpole, with the qualifying tyre, I just made it to the apexes a little bit easier. I am happy, especially after the changes we made today. I feel more comfortable and confident for the races tomorrow but I expect two difficult races. There are a lot of riders who are capable of running at the front but we will do the best we can.”
Jonathan Rea: “We made quite a big change to the set-up on the rear of the bike for Superpole after we’d compared data with Leon. It is really good that he’s also on a good pace here this weekend because we can share data much better and I’m also learning some things from him. We’ve made a lot of progress here compared to the last few races and I’m really enjoying riding my bike here. We’ve gone back to basics, to something we know, and it’s good to come to Portimao where we have a lot of data. I’m really excited about tomorrow’s races. We’ve done a lot of laps on old tyres so we’ll have to wait and see if all that hard work will pay off.
Times: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’42.484 average 161.305 kph; 2. Rea (Honda) 1’42.765; 3. Davies (Ducati) 1’42.924; 4. Melandri (Aprilia) 1’43.038; 5. Baz (Kawasaki) 1’43.048; 6. Guintoli (Aprilia) 1’43.076; 7. Laverty (Suzuki) 1’43.245; 8. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’43.317; 9. Haslam (Honda) 1’43.475; 10. Barrier (BMW) 1’43.754; 11. Lowes (Suzuki) 1’43.840; 12. Salom (Kawasaki) 1’44.361; 13. Badovini (Bimota); 14. Canepa (Ducati); 15. Iddon (Bimota); 16. Morais (Kawasaki); 17. Staring (Kawasaki); 18. Andreozzi (Kawasaki); 19. Corti (MV Agusta) ; 20. Elias (Aprilia);
World Supersport
Kenan Sofuoglu has grabbed the 8th World Supersport Pole Position in the final ten minutes of today’s qualifying session at Portimao in Portugal despite a late charge from series leader Michael van der Mark who will start 2nd.
Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) improved as the session progressed eventually ensuring the final front spot in 3rd.
Jack Kennedy will start 4th after holding provisional pole for the majority of the session, the Irishman showing the form that we know he is capable of aboard his CIA Insurance Honda.
He will be joined on the second row by his CIA Insurance Honda team mate Raffaele De Rosa and Pata Honda’s Lorenzo Zanetti who were 5th and 6th respectively.
Podium finisher last time out PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) will start 8th despite falling in the final minute of the session.
Times: 1. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’45.924 average 156.067 kph; 2. Vd Mark (Honda) 1’46.002; 3. Cluzel (MV Agusta) 1’46.089; 4. Kennedy (Honda) 1’46.310; 5. De Rosa (Honda) 1’46.591; 6. Zanetti (Honda) 1’46.632; 7. Coghlan (Yamaha) 1’46.644; 8. Jacobsen (Kawasaki) 1’46.673; 9. Marino (Kawasaki) 1’46.726; 10. Roccoli (MV Agusta) 1’46.795; 11. Tamburini (Kawasaki) 1’47.074; 12. Rolfo (Kawasaki) 1’47.322; 13. Bussolotti (Honda) 1’47.391; 14. Wilairot (Honda) 1’47.525; 15. Debise (Honda) 1’47.744; 16. Menghi (Yamaha) 1’47.874; 17. Baldolini (MV Agusta) 1’48.024; 18. Marconi (Honda) 1’48.191; 19. Gamarino (Kawasaki) 1’48.242; 20. Coveña (Kawasaki) 1’48.310; 21. Nocco (Kawasaki) 1’48.820; 22. Calero (Honda) 1’49.365; 23. Ivanov (Yamaha) 1’49.933.
Superstock 1000
Lorenzo Savadori (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) is the pole sitter for tomorrow’s 14-lap FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race at Portimao after setting a 1’46.802s lap-time in the sole qualifying session for the series. The Italian rider edged points leader Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team Ducati) and Englishman Kyle Smith (Agro-On Wil Racedays Honda), second and third respectively, with the Englishman getting his first front row start of his rookie STK1000 year.
Other title contender Ondrej Jezek (Barni Racing Team Ducati) was fourth ahead of David McFadden (MRS Kawasaki), Romain Lanusse (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), Joshua Day (Agro-On Wil Racedays Honda) and Kevin Valk (MTM Racing Team Kawasaki). Federico D’Annunzio (FDA Racing Team BMW) and wildcard Federico Sandi (Team Motoxracing BMW) completed the top 10.
Times: 1. Savadori (Kawasaki) 1’46.802 average 154.784 kph; 2. Mercado (Ducati) 1’46.917; 3. Smith (Honda) 1’46.988; 4. Jezek (Ducati) 1’47.122; 5. McFadden (Kawasaki) 1’47.732; 6. Lanusse (Kawasaki) 1’47.844; 7. Day (Honda) 1’47.912; 8. Valk (Kawasaki) 1’48.050; 9. D’Annunzio (BMW) 1’48.102; 10. Sandi (BMW) 1’48.164; 11. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 1’48.211; 12. Massei (Ducati) 1’48.329; 13. Nemeth (Kawasaki) 1’48.512; 14. Muresan (BMW) 1’48.857; 15. Suchet (Kawasaki) 1’49.552; etc.
Superstock 600 – Race
Marco Faccani (San Carlo Team Italia) has won his 4th European Superstock 600cc race after dominating once again at a very sunny but windy Portimao circuit in Portugal.
Turn one saw a group of midfield riders tumble, all thankfully without injury whilst at the front championship leader Marco Faccani (San Carlo Team Italia) overtook Poleman Wayne Tessels (Wayne’s Racing Team) before coming under intense race long pressure from the Dutchman along with Misano second place rider Federico Caricasulo (Evan Bros Racing Team).
As the top three eased away Ukranian Ilya Mikhalchik (Go Eleven Kawasaki) led fellow European Junior graduate Richard Bodis (Talmacsi Racing) in the fight for 4th.
At the flag it was championship leader Faccani who claimed his 4th win of the year and with it takes a healthy points lead into the summer break.
Less than 0.1s separated 2nd from 3rd with Tessels coming home ahead of Caricasulo in the run to the line.
Behind the podium finishers Ilya Mikhalchik clung on to 4th ahead of Richard Bodis who claimed a career best 5th ahead of 6th placed Andrea Tucci (San Carlo Team Italia).
Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing) was a notable retirement for the second consecutive race. The Finnish rider now third in the championship standings after starting the weekend 2nd. Australia’s Adrian Nestorovic took seventh place ahead of Lahti.
Nestorovic – “Finally started on the front row again today which was good! Unfortunately my start wasn’t perfect and I lost some positions. I had a good battle and walked away with 7th position in the end! Were slowly moving forward. I want to thank the sponsors, team and especially my mechanic levi for the hard work this weekend!”
Results: 1. Faccani (Kawasaki) 12 Laps/55.104 km in 21’58.928 average 150.406 kph; 2. Tessels (Suzuki) 4.029; 3. Caricasulo (Honda) 4.210; 4. Mikhalchik (Kawasaki) 10.744; 5. Bodis (Honda) 10.807; 6. Tucci (Kawasaki) 10.900; 7. Nestorovic (Yamaha) 12.330; 8. Lahti (Yamaha) 13.384; 9. Zaccone (Honda) 13.827; 10. Puffe (Kawasaki) 14.715; 11. Rouse (Honda) 18.068; 12. Salvadori (Kawasaki) 18.198; 13. Pittet (Yamaha) 25.010; 14. Casalotti (Yamaha) 25.278; 15. De Gruttola (Kawasaki) 25.916; etc.
Standings (Round 5 of 7): 1. Faccani 106; 2. Tessels 72; 3. Tuuli 58; 4. Tucci 55; 5. Caricasulo 46; 6. Salvadori 42; 7. Mikhalchik 40; 8. Manfredi 35; 9. Casalotti 27; 10. Duwelz 23; 11. Lahti 22; 12. Rinaldi 19; 13. Nestorovic 19; 14. Stirpe 16; 15. Zaccone 16; 16. Hartog 13; 17. Puffe 12; 18. Bodis 11; 19. Sabatino 11; 20. Morrentino 10; 21. Marchal 10; 22. Rouse 5; 23. Mercandelli 5; 24. Gobbi 5; 25. Lewis 5; 26. Pittet 5; 27. Zeelen 5; 28. Canducci 3; 29. Monti 2; 30. De Gruttola 1; 31. Patronen 1.
European Junior Cup
Javier Orellana (Europ Food S.L.) has secured the pole position for tomorrow’s Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda, 10-lap race, courtesy of the 2’03.935s lap-time set in the second qualifying session held today. The young Spaniard, who is currently second in the standings, will be joined on the front row of the grid by compatriots Mika Perez (Cuna de Campeones) and points leader Augusto Fernandez (WIL Sport).
Times: 1. Orellana 2’03.935 average 133.386 kph; 2. Perez 2’04.517; 3. Fernandez 2’04.560; 4. Harland 2’04.824; 5. Fernandez 2’04.951; 6. Hubner 2’05.138; 7. Licciardi 2’05.327; 8. Soomer 2’05.864; 9. Hill 2’06.123; 10. Wisdom 2’06.161;11. Van Sikkelerus 2’06.537; 12. Ortt 2’06.694; 13. Ferreira 2’07.144; 14. Epis 2’07.389;15. London 2’07.460; 16. Somosi 2’07.604; 17. Van Schoonhoven 2’08.148; 18. Miebach 2’08.290; 19. Moreno 2’10.8
Kawasaki Report
Tom Sykes took his official Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R to his third pole of the year and in the process lifted his career total of Superpole wins to 22, making him the third best ever pole setter in this class, in his own right.
With Sykes on pole his team-mate Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) continued his good 2014 form to go fifth and take a valuable second row starting position for Sunday’s 20-lap Superbike races.
David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team SBK Evo) was the first rider in the Superpole one contest, before heading into Superpole two to join Sykes, Baz and the other top ten qualifiers. David ended up 12th on the grid and on the same fourth row of the grid as the only other Evo rider to make it into Superpole 2.
The circuit conditions at Portimao – with wind, some bumps and a track surface that has not yet delivered the same levels of grip as in previous years – ensured that Sykes’ existing track best would survive Superpole.
Sykes was still 0.281 seconds ahead of his nearest rival after working hard with his team to improve the qualifying and race settings on his Ninja ZX-10R. This was Sykes’ third straight Superpole win at Portimao, following his successes in 2012 and 2013.
For Baz some final fine tuning will be done in the pre-race Superpole session on Sunday morning, but he is already showing good pace after some incredibly close qualifying sessions at the 4.592km Portuguese circuit. In the combined qualifying times less than 0.2 seconds covered the top eight riders before the final free session and then Superpole got underway.
Tom Sykes: “The Ninja ZX-10R is working well after we started quite steadily this weekend. We made some small changes to the bike every session and now I feel more comfortable on it. On the race tyre I was able to feel more comfortable and in Superpole, with the qualifying tyre, I just made it to the apexes a little bit easier. The circuit is missing a little bit of grip and of course the high winds are not helping, especially on the final section, but it is costing everybody some time. I am happy, especially after the changes we made today. I feel more comfortable and confident for the races tomorrow but I expect two difficult races. There are a lot of riders who are capable of running at the front but we will do the best we can.”
Loris Baz: “Our pace is good but I am just missing a few tenths right now. We have improved a lot and we are not really far away but at this track it is very close. When you are two-tenths slower you can be seventh! I am have to say I am happy with qualifying because the second row is good for the race and to get on the front row was just too hard here. If you make a good start second row it is still good for the race. We will try to find our missing two or three tenths in warm up and I love this track, even if it is not the easiest one to ride. I am sure we can find something to make life easier over race distance, but overall our pace is good.”
David Salom: “It was not so bad today even thought I have some difficulties here with my hand injury. We will see how it goes in the races on Sunday but in Superpole one I made good progress with the qualifying tyre and went into Superpole two. In the second one I could not take the best from the qualifying tyre and finished 12th. But at the end we made into Superpole two, I am happy with the work of the team and we will follow the path we have planned into the races. We are happy.”
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki is looking forward to the two eni FIM Superbike World Championship races at the Portimao circuit in Portugal tomorrow after a promising second day at the track saw both racers on the pace despite a challenging Superpole.
Eugene Laverty will start from seventh on the grid for Sunday’s races after a successful day had seen him running second and fourth in the earlier free practice sessions. Consistently within the top-four times throughout the two-days at the Portuguese circuit so-far, the Irishman is encouraged by his Yoshimura-powered machine and firmly believes he has the capacity to challenge under race conditions tomorrow.
A high-speed crash at the end of his first flying lap of Superpole on qualifying tyres sees Alex Lowes reside in 11th, despite a promising pace which looked to have seen him on the second row. Largely unharmed from the off, the Englishman remains positive of his Suzuki GSX-R’s potential ahead of tomorrow’s battle, with less than 0.3-of-a-second separating the top-10 in the morning practice.
The warm conditions continued at the Autodromo do Algarve with track temperatures reaching 49°C for the afternoon’s Superpole while a strong wind kept the circuit a fresh 27°C for the visiting fans. Pole position was claimed by Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes, with Sylvain Barrier leading the Evo class’ times.
In a change to the standard European schedule, Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s first race will commence at 12:00BST tomorrow with the second instalment following at 15:00BST.
Eugene Laverty: “It’s a disappointing qualifying as I have been inside the top-four in every session this weekend. I have always been aiming for the first two rows and I thought that would be a minimum today and we are seventh. The bike has been good in practice, we had our struggles over one lap which has often been the case this year, but the bike is fantastic from mid-distance on, so if I can get in the mix early I know I will be strong towards the end!”
Alex Lowes: “Obviously I’m unhappy with the crash today; the GSX-R had a lot of potential and we have made some good progress this weekend. I really enjoy the Portimao circuit so I’m looking forward to regrouping this evening, getting down to work and coming back fighting for tomorrow’s races.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager: “We have had another very positive day here at Portimao right up until Superpole started! At this point the bikes are still in parc ferme and we have yet to download the data but it appears that for both riders the engine braking character was different in that session than earlier in the day. We don’t know if that is connected with track temperature or the fact that the wind got up a lot but either way the bike was tough to ride to make the lap-time that we needed.
“The positives are that even with the problems Eugene is seventh, and is only a couple of tenths-off the front row, so even with the issues we’ve shown good potential and good speed. Alex got caught out on the fastest corner of the track and went down on his first timed lap on the qualifier when on front row pace which was a pity. It was a very fast accident so the biggest positive we can take from that is that he is essentially uninjured, apart from a few bumps and scrapes, and in a positive frame-of-mind for the races tomorrow.”
Pata Honda Report
Pata Honda’s Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two eighth-round World Superbike Championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the second-fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole qualifying session at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portugal.
After topping the combined free practice timing sheets this morning, Rea, 27, took his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP into Superpole in confident mood to lap the 4.593km Portimao circuit in a time of 1m42.765s, 0.2s behind the pole position time of Tom Sykes.
Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate, Leon Haslam, was also in a positive frame-of-mind heading into Superpole after showing good speed in both today’s free practice sessions. The 31-year-old was just 0.1s from Rea’s fastest time in FP3 when the top ten riders were separated by just three tenths of a second.
As Superpole 2 began, Haslam set the third-fastest time on his initial run on race rubber, but was unable to significantly improve his time on the qualifying tyre and he will start tomorrow’s two 20-lap races from the third row of the grid in ninth place.
Jonathan Rea – P2 – “It was really windy for qualifying this afternoon and we made quite a big change to the set-up on the rear of the bike for Superpole after we’d compared data with Leon. It looked like he had a little bit more grip and it’s really good that he’s also on a good pace here this weekend because we can share data much better and I’m also learning some things from him. We’ve made a lot of progress here compared to the last few races and I’m really enjoying riding my bike here. We’ve gone back to basics, to something we know, and it’s good to come to Portimao where we have a lot of data. I’m really excited about tomorrow’s races. We’ve done a lot of laps on old tyres so we’ll have to wait and see if all that hard work will pay off.”
Leon Haslam – P9 – “Obviously I’m disappointed because I was P3 on the race tyre and I felt pretty confident that we could make another step with the qualifying tyre. On the first lap I had a small problem so I cruised to try and get some more life from the tyre. I had another problem going into turn five on the second lap and my best time ended up being on lap three when the tyre was finished. It’s kind of frustrating because we’ve definitely been in the ball park to get back to the front boys there. But I’m feeling really good on the race tyre, we’ve done some good race runs so I’m looking forward to the two races tomorrow.”
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator – “It’s been quite an exciting day and this morning we made quite a good breakthrough with Jonathan’s electronics settings. He immediately went quick on used tyres and the feeling was back. In the afternoon for FP4 we tried a few settings changes which didn’t really work so we went back to the morning set-up. He took second place on the grid which is a good place to start. He normally goes quite well here so I expect him to be in the fight for podium finishes tomorrow. Leon has been going extremely well this weekend and his pace is also good on used tyres. However, with the qualifier in Superpole, he got ninth on the grid but, just before putting in the qualifier, he was third fastest on the race tyre. That was a bit of a shame but everything is looking good for tomorrow and I think he can fight near the front which will be go od for him and the whole team.”
Aprilia Racing Report
The practice sessions and foretold what was to come: Superbike at Portimão will be come down to hundredths of seconds. With minimal gaps between the top 10 finishers, the battle for Superpole was extremely tight. The Aprilia riders took on the decisive session in two different states of mind. Marco Melandri had been fast in all the sessions, whereas Sylvain Guintoli was forced to skip the last free practice session due to a crash (without consequences despite the high speed) on the last turn.
In spite of a less then optimum feeling with the qualifier tyre, Melandri put to good use what he had learned from yesterday’s tests and rode his RSV4 to within a shout of the front row (114 thousandths of a second). Fourth place on the grid is a good starting place and if the races go as expected we will see a compact group in the first phase, whereas the difference will be seen in the last laps. This is a situation that Marco has tried to prepare for as best he can with targeted testing on tyre life and a setting that will allow him to be consistently fast.
Marco Melandri: “I knew it would be a close Superpole. On this track it is very hard to stand out and a lot of riders showed their potential to be fast. I think we’ll see a tight group tomorrow for the first ten laps and then we’ll begin to see who did the best work on race pace. From that point of view starting from the fourth spot on the grid is not bad. I would have preferred the front row but I know that I’ve worked well on my pace. It isn’t very easy to overtake on this track. The best place is on the final straight stretch as long as you come out of the last turn well. In any case we will be in the thick of it”.
Crashing in FP4, Sylvain Guintoli had to deal with the strong wind that is a particular problem for him. It won’t be a problem in the race but when the French rider was pushing the bike to the limit, as is typical in Superpole, he lost a bit of accuracy because of the strong gusts on the Portimão circuit. His session ended with the sixth spot on the grid, a position that doesn’t worry Sylvain as he is confident that he’ll be able to improve throughout the race.
Sylvain Guintoli: “Unfortunately, as has happened during other weekends, the strong wind gave me some problems. It isn’t a problem that will affect me during the race where pace is the priority, but when pushing the bike to the limit on a qualifier tyre I’m unable to be as accurate as I need to be to follow my ideal line. I have been really fast in practice recently and then I’ve struggled in the races, so I hope this is where that trend will be reversed! Now we need to carefully analyse the data and try some things during tomorrow morning’s warm up sessions. If we are able to improve we will be able to shoot for a good result”.
Team Hero EBR Report
After the challenging opening day at Portimao, on Portugal’s Algarve coast Team Hero EBR riders Geoff May and Aaron Yates both improved substantially in this morning’s Free Practice 3 to ensure their participation on the grid for tomorrow’s 8th round of the World Superbike Championship.
Qualifying in 24th and 26th respectively both riders are in positive mood as the continued development and enhancements with their EBR1190RX machines continues.
For Geoff, this morning’s session was the first real opportunity for him to ride the improved engine, and after only managing a few exploratory laps in FP2 yesterday was visibly pleased with the huge steps forward.
Aaron was equally buoyant after he too improved considerably, albeit using the previous engine configuration.
Tomorrow’s races will be tough but with things clearly now moving in the right direction, the mood within the garage and the outlook on the second half of the season is certainly brighter.
Geoff May – “This morning is by far the best session of the year. We are only 3.8s from the fastest guy after 29 laps for the whole weekend, so it’s a bit like a win to be honest. The new engine is showing promise and I am really excited for the rest of the season now. I am expecting good things at Laguna based on today.”
Aaron Yates – “FP3 went well and we are heading in the right direction. I put a new tyre in at the end of the session and made some set-up changes but that was the wrong way. We have a few other things to try before the races like optimising the gearing but we hope to have the bike as good as we can for the races.”
