Home riders top of the pops as World SBK invades Silverstone

The Superbike action got under way today at the new-look Silverstone track and Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga had to learn fast, closing first qualifying in fifth and twelfth position respectively.

After some major restructuring work over recent months, the Silverstone track presented a fresh challenge today as very few of the Superbike riders had seen the track in its new configuration. Riders therefore concentrated, particularly in the first free practice session, on getting to grips with the long and tricky circuit, before turning their attention to optimizing machine set-up during first qualifying.

Both Ducati Xerox riders made continuous and steady improvement during the first practice session, concentrating on the “hard” rear tyres, but, perhaps inevitably, it was the British contingent who were quickest off the mark, all seven of them closing the first session in the top nine, ahead of Noriyuki in tenth and Michel in thirteenth.

Exchanging the rear for a softer compound at the start of first qualifying seemed to make a significant difference to lap times with an improvement of a second and a half for both Haga and Fabrizio. They remained in the top five for the best part of the session, during which various modifications were made to the set-up of the Ducati 1198 machines, with riders also trying different tyre configurations. A final fast lap for Michel saw him close first qualifying in fifth position but with the same lap time (2m06.0) as Rea, Corser and Camier, respectively second, third and fourth. Noriyuki, losing valuable tenths in the first split mainly due to problems with grip, eventually closed day one in twelfth place.

Michel Fabrizio
“I really like the new configuration of the track. I liked the previous long version that we raced on years back, in 2003 I think, but once they shortened it I could never get the results. Now it’s been lengthened once more I’m enjoying it, it’s only a pity that they removed the little bridge that was the best point as far as I’m concerned. We’ve made a good start today but we’re all very close, second to fifth position all with the same lap time! I think we can improve further tomorrow, if the weather permits that is.”

Noriyuki Haga
“To tell the truth I preferred the old layout; particularly the final section. What surprised me is that some of the new sections are more or less blind corners which made today a little difficult. It was also hard to time exactly when to open the throttle through the corners but I hope that, with the time available tomorrow, we’ll be able to resolve a few things and improve. The bike doesn’t seem bad and the tyres have given me pretty good feeling.”

—  Yamaha Report

TBC

—  BMW Report

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had an encouraging start to the race weekend at Silverstone (GBR), the tenth round of the 2010 FIM Superbike World Championship. With a cloudy sky but a mostly dry track, rider Troy Corser (AUS) finished the first qualifying session in third, setting a very good base for the weekend and showing the potential of the BMW S 1000 RR. His team mate, Ruben Xaus (ESP), also looked good with quick lap times in practice and qualifying, but got stuck in traffic on his last run. Ruben finished 16th. Both riders quickly got to grips with the new layout of the Silverstone circuit.

Troy Corser: Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:07.689 min (5th ) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 2:06.052 min (3rd)
“Silverstone is a completely new circuit for our team. The track is very bumpy, and you feel them a lot because it is quite a high speed track. There are a couple of corners that are bumpy at the entry. We still haven’t got the bike set-up right, as it is not really absorbing the bumps very well. Therefore I have to take a lot more risks than I like to set a good time. As usual, on a completely new track, we have to find the right braking points and the right lines. This can create some confusion for the engineers. But I am not too worried. The guys now have a lot of data to look at, and I know we can set good lap times. I am a 100 per cent fit and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Ruben Xaus: Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:09.649 min (20th) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 2:07.101 min (16th)
“Overall, the bike feels good, and I am confident for tomorrow. We just need to find a little more tyre grip. I haven’t been riding the bike for three weeks, and I have to get used to some changes that have been made. Unfortunately I had traffic on my quick lap. I expected the slower guys to get off the racing line, but I was blocked by them. I could have done a lot better lap time. We have another qualifying session tomorrow, and I expect to finish better than today.”

Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager):
“We are quite happy with today’s result, as we are among the top guys. Obviously it will be a tough race on Sunday, as the Brits are keen to win their home race. As Troy is spending some time this year in the UK, Silverstone is also a sort of home race for him, and he performed well today. Ruben was unlucky, as he had traffic on his fast lap. I expect him to finish higher tomorrow.”

—  Suzuki Report

Both Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli gave the thumbs-up to the new British Silverstone circuit after spending the day learning the new layout – and look forward to improving their positions tomorrow at the 10th round of the World Superbike Championship.

Haslam finished eighth fastest and was the happier of the duo, although Guintoli is upbeat about his prospects tomorrow, despite ending the day 17th in the standings.

Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) set the day’s fastest lap with a time of 2:05.664 with fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda) second and Troy Corser (BMW) in third.

Leon Haslam – 8th, 2:06.464: “Happily, today was like a normal Friday – and that is a good feeling to have after Brno. This is a fantastic track and has bags of character, is fast and flowing; and there are lots of passing opportunities. I think it’s going to be great racing on Sunday. At the moment, I am still trying to find the right lines around it, but, because the track is quite wide, there are many different lines to try.

“It’s bumpy for sure, but I don’t think any more than other tracks, but because of the high speeds, you notice it a lot more. I like bumpy tracks though and I think I’m going to have a lot of fun here. It is a very technical track and very safe, so once you have a good set-up, you can push pretty hard. At the moment, we’re getting there and really we’re not far off; just fine-tuning really. Tomorrow we’ll push harder, hopefully have a good Superpole; and be in a much-better position on the grid than Brno!”

Sylvain Guintoli – 17th, 2:07: “This is a very, very nice track and I’m going to enjoy racing here. Obviously my position today is not so good, but I have been spending the day learning the track and trying to find a good set-up for my bike. The track is very technical and because it is quite bumpy, it is important to get a good set-up. There are many changes of rhythm at this circuit, some slow corners, some fast; and for me it is really interesting. I have to work on the first split because that’s where I’m losing time at the moment, but I once I get that sorted out, my lap times will come down.

“This is like a ‘home’ race for me, because I live in UK and many of my friends and fans will be coming to support me this weekend. I would like to improve my position tomorrow, get a high grid place and good results, so that they will go home happy.”

—  Ten Kate

Jonathan Rea finished second fastest in today’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s two tenth round World Superbike championship races at Silverstone in the UK. The 23-year-old had topped the earlier free practice session but had to cede provisional pole position to fellow Brit, Cal Crutchlow.

After taking a win and a second place last time out at Brno in the Czech Republic, Rea’s good form continued into last weekend’s prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour race, where he finished on the podium, and the Northern Irishman relished Silverstone’s new 5.902km layout in today’s two sessions.

His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, also liked the new circuit, although, like many other riders, its bumps caused him some issues. The German rider finished 18th fastest today, after crashing unhurt at turn one towards the end of the qualifying session.

Neukirchner had just put in a new rear Pirelli for a faster lap but the crash ended his session. His Honda CRB1000RR righted itself, however, and went head on into a track-side barrier, causing extensive damage.

Jonathan Rea – P2 2’06.006s
I really enjoyed riding the circuit today – it’s like it fills me full of happy pills because it’s all new and fresh! The bike is working OK straight away and I got up to a good rhythm pretty much from the off and qualifying was good. We’ve still got some more work to do tomorrow but I’m looking forward to making improvements. The bumps are bumps and they’re same for everybody and we spent this afternoon working more on the gearing and trying to get the right compromise for that. But it’s always fun when you come to a new circuit – the layout’s really nice, but it’s just that the bumps and the surface isn’t great.

Max Neukirchner – P18 2’07.325s
I think I like the circuit but there are a lot of bumps so it’s not easy to get the right chassis set-up so I think you must live with a not perfect setting. Of course the crash was bad for me – I put in a new rear but the front was already 17 laps old. The bike carried on for maybe 200 metres more and hit the wall, so the front end looks not so good. I’m sorry for my guys who have a lot more work to do now.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
I think that, for all the World Superbike riders, today was more about learning the track rather than setting up a bike for it. From tomorrow we can really start to make some changes to the bike to improve it. Johnny was quick from the box today and his Suzuka 8 Hour experience definitely didn’t slow him down at all. Max was on a decent pace as well and just when we put the new tyre in for him to set a fast lap time he had a small crash with big damage, which was a pity. But we’ll be back for more tomorrow.

— Althea Ducati

Day one of official practice on the British circuit of Silverstone was a positive one for the Althea Racing team with the two riders closing in ninth and thirteenth position. Carlos Checa completed twenty laps in qualifying and, having got to grips with the layout, was able to
push, finishing the session, as he did the free practice, inside the top ten.

“We’ve got a good idea of the track now”, declared Carlos, “but I’m still having trouble in T1. I’m going wrong in the first section and am not able to ride smoothly. We need to be faster through that section too. Having said that, I think we can fight for the positions that count. The track is great and I’m enjoying it; it’s very technical and safe, they’ve done a good job. With the sun it would be fantastic.”

Shane Byrne also likes the new-look circuit but, having recorded the sixth fastest time in free practice, he dropped back a little in qualifying. “I like the track”, said Shane. “There are however two points that I’m finding difficult and I hope the changes I’ve made with my technicians can help us there. I’ve tried the tyres and have identified my preferred front tyre. Tomorrow we’ll continue to work on the set-up.”