Spies takes Donington pole
Eurosport - Sat, 27 Jun 16:44:00 2009
Ben Spies took Superpole at Donington Park after setting a quickest lap just before rain prevented anyone from challenging him in the British leg of the World Superbike Championship.
His eighth pole position of the season, Spies's effort of one minute 29.846 seconds was timed to perfection as the riders struggled to react on the increasingly slippery surface.
It meant the first lap attempts would prove crucial, allowing Max Biaggi, Shane Byrne and Shinya Nakano to complete a surprise front row.
Provisional pole sitter Michel Fabrizio was forced to settle for fifth, ahead of team-mate Noriyuki Haga.
Carlos Checa and Jakub Smrz completed the second row, the latter having left it too late to set a representative time.
Ben Spies: "It was a good session for us, but we almost got caught out. I was one of the last to leave the garage and as soon as I went out of pit-lane I could see the drops starting to come, so I had to really attack the warm-up lap to make sure I got around and get relaxed in case it started raining. The first sector was brilliant, but then the rain started to come and I had to be careful not to touch the paint. It was good to get pole, this circuit has a short start for turn one so it's good positioning. The bike's working well on race tyres so we need a good start tomorrow."Max Biaggi: "In the last session I was really lucky because no one expected any drops and then it really started to rain. I started soon because I had nothing more to learn after what I had done in free practice and I thought I must put my head down and go as fast as I can. Second place is good for us, for tomorrow I'm quite OK, maybe not exactly the way I wanted to be but OK. It's great to be here, I like this track, my bike could be a little bit better but I think I can go well tomorrow."
Shane Byrne: "I think we got a little bit lucky because the bad weather came in quickly. Fortunately we got through the first Superpole session without using qualifying tyres, but I was kind of hopeful of a good result anyway. We've been doing a lot of work on both bikes this weekend and we ended up with them going in different directions, but I'm happy with the direction that we've been going since America and Misano. I'm delighted with getting the first front row of the season for myself and the team."
Shinya Nakano: "Like Max said we had some luck today, but so far this is my best qualifying performance in Superbike. On Friday we were struggling but things went much better today and I am looking forward to racing here at the Donington Park track." moto-live.com
Full Superpole qualifying times for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park, Great Britain.
1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 29.846s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.080s
3. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1min 30.535s
4. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.671s
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 30.734s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 31.023s
7. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.342s
8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 34.797s
9. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.159s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 30.229s
11. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.272s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.387s
13. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 30.612s
14. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 0.816s
15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 30.916s
16. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 31.120s
17. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 31.176s
18. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 31.215s
19. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1min 31.260s
20. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.217s
Positions 21 to 31 decided in Q2
21. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 31.874s
22. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 1min 31.887s
23. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.183s
24. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1min
32.243s
25. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1min 32.245s
26. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.343s
27. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.584s
28. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 32.735s
29. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 1min 32.811s
30. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 33.384s
31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.408s
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