Fabrizio edges out Spies at end of Misano Q1
Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) slammed in two quick laps in rapid succession at the end of today’s Misano Q1 to end up with the provisional pole at the Misano World Circuit.
The Italian’s time of 1 minute 37.016 seconds was good enough to edge out Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) from the top slot, after the Texan rookie had headed the standings almost throughout.
Third and fourth on the provisional front row of the grid went to the still injured Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki Alstare) and British rider Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda).
The top 19 positions in today’s standings are all contained within one second, confirming the current equilibrium reigning in Superbike. The provisional front row is also made up of four different manufacturers – Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda – with a fifth, Kawasaki, opening up the second row following a superb performance by Broc Parkes.
The session also confirmed the constant improvement of the Ten Kate Honda team, with Ryuichi Kiyonari and Carlos Checa in sixth and seventh position respectively, ahead of points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), four-tenths of a second down on his team-mate.
After two difficult events, BMW have bounced back into the top 10, with Troy Corser running well throughout and ending up tenth overall. This time round BMW went better than Aprilia, as Shinya Nakano could only manage 11th and Max Biaggi 16th, eight-tenths off the polesitter. For the moment John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) is outside the Superpole top 20, the American down in 26th position on his return to action following his Assen crash.
World Supersport
Despite it being his first time at Misano Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport) soon made his intentions clear with quickest time in the first free practice session.
The championship leader stopped the clocks with a time of 1 minute 39.442 seconds, just five-hundredths off the track record. Crutchlow made his decisive move five minutes from the end of the session, grabbing the provisional pole from Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Provec), who also looked rapid throughout.
The British rider’s rivals for the title, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) follow in third and fourth place but are four and nine-tenths off the pace.
Fifth and sixth quickest times went to two of the possible candidates for the win, Frenchman Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Australian Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), ahead of Mark Aitchison (Honda Althea) and two Italians, Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Honda) and Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini).
— Team Reports
— Yamaha
Yamaha World Superbike riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes took to the Misano circuit for the first time today in what was without a doubt the hottest riding day so far of the 2009 championship. With temperatures approaching 40 degrees Spies got straight down to business on the unknown circuit, spending a large part of both the free practice and the first qualifying session running at the top of the time chart. He ended Friday’s qualifying session in second position less than one tenth of a second off leader Michel Fabrizio having spent the entire qualifying session working on race pace on a single set of tyres.
Team-mate Tom Sykes continued to improve his set-up from previous races and although ending the day in 19th position his times we less than seven tenths off his team-mate’s time as he searched for the optimum setting for the Misano circuit. The British rider lost valuable time in the morning free practice session fixing an issue with the bike but looked to be making it up quickly in the afternoon qualifying and was confident of more improvements for day two.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1’37.102)
“It was a good first day for us, the second session we opted to run race set up and we never put any new tyres on. A race is 22 laps around here, on the 22nd lap today we were half a second off the fastest lap done here. I’m pleased with that and we ran our whole race simulation in the 37’s. I’m ecstatic about the bike and tomorrow if it stays dry we know we’ve got a good package. We know if we put sticky tyres on it’s definitely going to go fast. If it rains, I guess we get some good rain time and go play in the rain. It’s still tough for us coming and learning these new tracks so I’m glad we picked it up as quickly as we did. There is still some more settings to find to be more comfortable but the speed is there. If it is wet then I hope we’ll be up there too, I don’t have as much time on this bike in the wet but I like riding in the rain.”
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (19th, 1’37.992)
“I think today we’ve made big improvements, this morning we lost a bit of track time with a couple of things but this afternoon we went from a high 39 to a 37.9 so we’ve found two seconds. I’m only eight or nine tenths of the front guys which is not a lot and considering it’s my first time here it’s not bad. We can still make improvements over the weekend and hopefully we’ll make it work and see what tomorrow brings.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“We started in the right way today, we are already close to the top of the times. Ben led part of both sessions which gives us a lot of confidence for Sunday. We have to solve some issues for Tom around the front end feel of the bike and also we have to wait and see what the weather is going to do as its forecast for some rain. If it’s raining it might be a good opportunity as we’ve not tested in the rain yet and I’m confident we can get good results.”
Crutchlow fastest on day one in Misano
Lack of track knowledge and incredible temperatures in the Italian sunshine didn’t stop Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow from conquering the Misano circuit on his first session today. Having never ridden here before it was an impressive turn out for Crutchlow who was within two tenths of a second of the lap record of 1’39.398 set by Broc Parkes last year.
Team-mate Fabien Foret was also on good form, having worked on some front set up changes the Frenchman put in consistently fast laps to end the first free practice session of the weekend a respectable fifth on the time sheet, less than a second off his team-mate.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st, 1’39.442)
“Today was good enough, my first time ever at Misano. I did six laps running around the track over the last couple of days and had a look at it. I’ve been watching it a bit on TV as well but that’s about it. It was a good first session. We were the fastest Supersport bike out there today and that’s good enough for me. Hopefully we’ll continue that over the weekend.”
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (5th, 1’40.560)
“It was a good first day for me and I was happy with the bike by the end of the session. In the first half, before the session was red flagged for oil on the track I was not too happy with the front end but we made some changes and switched to a new tyre and it felt much better. I’m looking forward to starting again tomorrow and improving the set up even more for Sunday’s race.”
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
“It was an impressive first practice for Cal I have to say, he rode 28 laps and managed to be within one tenth of the lap record from last year and we’re happy with that. Everything feels ok on the bike, hopefully tomorrow we’ll have stable weather as I think it will be better for everybody. Fabien was also quite pleased with the bike, we tried a different front tyre which worked well, He started ok and we made some changes to the front end which improved a lot and he got even faster. We’re all looking forward to tomorrow with confidence.”
— Honda Reports
Jonathan Rea set the fourth fastest time in today’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s eighth round World Superbike championship encounter at Misano in Italy, earning himself a provisional front row start.
Along with Carlos Checa, his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman spent much of this morning’s free practice session evaluating Ohlins suspension alongside WP product, which has been run by the Ten Kate team in the past.
Fastest today was Italian rider Michel Fabrizio with Spaniard Checa setting the seventh fastest time. Despite air temperatures of 35 degrees and the track temperature approaching 50 degrees, the forecast for tomorrow at Misano is for rain.
Jonathan Rea – P4, 1’37.238s
I’m not that happy because the balance of the CBR is not quite right yet, although I think a small change can make it a lot better. This afternoon was a little frustrating because I have two engines with different characteristics. The one I prefer was in the chassis that wasn’t handling as well as the one with the other engine. We’ll overlay the two sets of data tonight though, and get it working for tomorrow. I’m not too worried about position, really – I’m just very happy with the way the development of the bike is going. We’ve been testing new suspension this week and I feel this big step could be a new way forward for us.
Carlos Checa – P7, 1’37.441s
For a first day this is not so bad. For a first day with new suspension it’s quite good. Of course, we need to understand how we can work with this alternative to get the best from it, but I think this is just a question of time. So far the feeling is very positive. For this weekend we now are working on tyres and we are getting good signs in this area, too. Tomorrow might be completely different of course if the weather forecast is correct, but the pace is quite good at the moment and times are very close. We can still improve things but I think a small change can make a big improvement.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
We tested at Magny-Course earlier this week and one of the things we looked at was suspension, which had a positive outcome. Of course, we have continued that evaluation here in Misano today with back-to-back comparisons to get as much data as we could. We will sit down and analyse that in fine detail tonight but, for a first day, it has not been a bad one.
With track temperatures nudging 50 degrees, Ryuichi Kiyonari set the sixth fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s World Superbike races at Misano in Italy.
The Japanese rider was quickly on the pace in this morning’s free practice session and backed that up with a provisional second row performance in today’s 60-minute qualifying session, in which Italian Michel Fabrizio set the provisional pole time.
The top ten riders, however, are separated by less than half a second and Kiyonari has already improved on his qualifying time from last year’s race at the 4.2km circuit.
Ryuichi Kiyonari – P6, 1’37.396s
What a difference a year can make. Last time here, I really struggled but already I am comfortable with the track and lapping a second faster than last year’s qualifying time. We have done a lot of racing and testing and development in the last 365 days and I was happy with the test we completed at Magny-Cours this week. We have been playing with the machine balance some more today but there is still a small problem with the weight transfer. But we will keep working to improve things and find a good setting for tomorrow’s Superpole and the races on Sunday.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
Kiyo-san has made good progress today and has been near the top of the leaderboard in both sessions. It is clear that he is more at home here than he was last year and he and his crew will continue to fine tune his CBR1000RR for tomorrow.
— Ducati Report
Despite extremely high track temperatures that hovered around 50° all day, the Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga made a great start to their “home” race weekend at the Misano World Circuit and it was Michel on board his Ducati 1198 who closed today as the fastest rider out there.
In the first free practice session earlier in the day both Michel and Noriyuki got off the starting blocks at a very quick pace and their immediate competitiveness saw them conclude the opening session near the top of the time sheets, with Fabrizio in second and Haga in sixth.
In the initial stage of the subsequent first qualifying session, Noriyuki was the first rider to duck under the 1m38 barrier, more than a second faster than his best time in the free practice. Having made that time, he came back into the garage before going back out to complete a long-run, thirteen laps, all at a very consistent pace. Many riders then started to improve their lap times until, right in the final minutes of the session, Michel completed two flying laps, closing today’s proceedings as the fastest rider.
Michel Fabrizio 1m37.0s
“I am really happy because I must say that I didn’t expert to be the fastest out there today. The only annoying thing was the traffic; every time I was pushing on a fast lap, I would find someone in front of me, the only rider I didn’t find was Nori! They say it may rain tomorrow and I can’t say how we’ll go if the track is wet but I’m feeling confident and am satisfied with today’s work because if and when it’s hot again on Sunday I’ll know that we are well prepared.”
Noriyuki Haga 1m37.4s
“For now all is under control. I have a good feeling with the bike and I’m pretty happy with the setting we tried today. Despite the heat I didn’t have too many problems with the tyres, and if it hadn’t been for traffic that I came across, I would have finished today in third or fourth – we know that we have the race pace. The forecast predicts rain for tomorrow and maybe Sunday too but I am confident that whatever the weather we’ll be ready for battle come race day.”
— Suzuki Report
Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama defied the doctors and pain at Misano today and finished quickest in qualifying for Sunday’s World Superbike eighth round.
His time of 1:37.209 was less than two-tenths-of-a-second slower than provisional pole man Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) as team mate Fonsi Nieto ended the day with the 18th quickest lap time, and is confident of further progress tomorrow as he continues his steep learning curve onboard the 2009 GSX-R1000 K9.
Yukio Kagayama – 3rd, 1:37.209:
“I am lucky because my right foot is broken in the heel area and I don’t use this area much when I ride my bike. Of course, after some laps, I feel some pain, but it is a matter of understanding the pain and managing it when I am on the bike. If it rains tomorrow, or on race day, it would be kinder to my body, but unfortunately not for the bike as this track is very slippery in the wet. I am really hoping for dry conditions and finishing both races with good results.”
Fonsi Nieto – 18th, 1:37.979:
“Although I am only 18th fastest, the lap times are pretty close and so I am not unhappy. I am still understanding this bike and every session it becomes a bit more comfortable for me. We will continue to try some things tomorrow – maybe change the gearbox a little – and see how much we can improve. We had no big problems today and hopefully we will not have any tomorrow.”
| SBK QP1 | SS FP1 |
| 1 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’37.016 2 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’37.102 3 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’37.209 4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.238 5 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’37.281 6 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.396 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.441 8 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’37.451 9 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’37.490 10 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’37.503 11 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’37.630 12 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’37.702 13 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’37.710 14 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’37.773 15 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’37.786 16 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’37.813 17 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’37.898 18 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’37.979 19 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’37.992 20 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’38.441 21 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’38.522 22 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.671 23 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’38.755 24 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’38.827 25 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1’38.828 26 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.856 27 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.067 28 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’39.308 29 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’40.489 | 1 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’39.442 2 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’39.821 3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’39.895 4 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.355 5 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’40.560 6 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.592 7 8 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.673 8 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’40.676 9 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’40.981 10 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’40.984 11 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’41.190 12 9 Dell’Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.353 13 13 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.401 14 5 Pradita T. (INA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’41.485 15 40 Gentile F. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.522 16 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.534 17 77 Veneman B. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.551 18 44 Brannetti A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’41.580 19 105 Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.664 20 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1’41.750 21 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1’41.962 22 30 Günther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 1’42.091 23 28 Vos A. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.001 24 7 Vostárek P. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.468 25 96 Smrz M. (CZE) Triumph Daytona 675 1’43.769 26 25 Laverty M. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.785 27 101 Coghlan K. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’44.279 28 22 Muresan R. (ROU) Triumph Daytona 675 1’44.861 29 88 Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.362 |
Superstock 1000
The first day of Superstock 1000 action went the way of Maxime Berger. The Ten Kate Honda man was quick right out of the box, and he set the best time of the day in 1 minute 41.245 seconds. The Frenchman used his testing experience from last week here to break the domination of the Italians at their home track. Second quickest time went to Davide Giugliano (MV Agusta Unionbike), ahead of Michele Magnoni (Yamaha Bevilacqua). Fabio Massei (Yamaha Lorenzini) made an excellent debut in fifth place, while second place man in the championship Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox) struggled to sixteenth quickest time.
Times: 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’41.245; 2. Giugliano D. (ITA) MV Agusta F4 312 R 1’41.652; 3. Magnoni M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’41.855; 4. Corti C. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’41.969; 5. Massei F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.081; 6. Barragan S. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’42.126; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.157; 8. Fores J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’42.202
Superstock 600
As expected, Danilo Petrucci (Yamaha Trasimeno) immediately went quickest in the first Superstock 600free practice session. The points leader, level at the top with Gino Rea (Ten Kate Honda) was half-a-second quicker than his rivals, but Rea today was only down down in seventh. Second place went to Eddi La Marra (Honda Lorini), while team-mate Marco Bussolotti was third ahead of two more Italians, wild-cards Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha WCR) and Giuliano Gregorini (Yamaha Baru).
Times: 1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’42.528; 2. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.063; 3. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.288; 4. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.301; 5. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.302; 6. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.647; 7. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’43.661; 8. Lamborghini F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.821
