Jakub Smrz
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Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) brought Ben Spies' seven-race Superpole record to an end with a new circuit best lap in the decisive qualifying session at Misano.
The 26 year-old from the Czech Republic was in terrific form, powering his private Guandalini Ducati 1098 around the 4.226 km Misano World Circuit in a time of 1 minute 35.435 seconds.
Second place in an exciting session, which was held under the constant threat of rain, went to Britain's Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), who has been fast all weekend. Spies was also on the pace on his team Yamaha World Superbike machine, but the Texan this time had to settle for the third slot, just ahead of one of his championship rivals, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) in fourth.
Jakub Smrz: “I am really pleased with my first-ever Superpole, it's a great feeling to be there. But not just my Superpole time was good, I also have a good race pace as well, and I hope to be able to fight against the other guys up at the front and get a podium in the races. Last year I went well at Misano, but I hope for a better result this time around.”
Jonathan Rea: “It's been pretty good for us, we found a good time for the second place. A big thanks to my crew, they've been doing so much all week. We got through a fair amount of hardware at Magny-Cours testing and got a good base setting for this weekend. And finally in the last few sessions and qualifying we've been doing some good times, so hopefully it'll all come good in the race tomorrow.”
Ben Spies: “A front row start is good anyway and congratulations to Jakub. We missed out today because we just didn't have it when it counted. I'm happy with the bike and the race set-up is good, but to be honest we're a little bit quicker than the guys we're racing against for the championship and that's a good thing. However I'm sure they'll all be up there in the race tomorrow.”
Michel Fabrizio: “It's important to be on the front row here at Misano and I start from the same position as last year, but this time in the race I hope to do better! I saw both this morning and this afternoon that my race pace was very similar to that of Ben's so it's clear that I'll be running my race around him tomorrow.”
| Saturday, 20 June 2009 16:40 (worldsbk.com) |
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1 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'35.435
2 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.609
3 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.631
4 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'35.811
5 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'36.224
6 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'36.277
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.537
8 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.884
9 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'36.439
10 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.510
11 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'36.510
12 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'36.682
13 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'36.916
14 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'36.978
15 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'36.994
16 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'37.209
17 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'37.266
18 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'37.300
19 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'37.361
20 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'38.558
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
The Misano Superpole was also the first time Pirelli did not use their one-lap qualifying tyre, which has now been abandoned in favour of a new soft compound that can last up to five or more laps. The results were extraordinary because all four riders on the front row of the grid went quicker than last year's mark set by Troy Corser in 1'35”993.
The second row of the grid sees Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) holding down fifth place, with points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and the Ten Kate Honda duo of Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari seventh and eighth. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was heading for a front row slot but failed to make the final run due to a technical problem and the Italian had to settle for ninth, ahead of Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) and Fonsi Nieto, the leading Suzuki Alstare runner.
The first BMW, that of Troy Corser, qualified on row 4, while after their encouraging form shown on Friday, the two Kawasakis of Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking slipped down to the fifth row.
The Misano Superpole was also the first time Pirelli did not use their one-lap qualifying tyre, which has now been abandoned in favour of a new soft compound that can last up to five or more laps. The results were extraordinary because all four riders on the front row of the grid went quicker than last year's mark set by Troy Corser in 1'35"993.
The second row of the grid sees Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) holding down fifth place, with points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and the Ten Kate Honda duo of Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari seventh and eighth. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was heading for a front row slot but failed to make the final run due to a technical problem and the Italian had to settle for ninth, ahead of Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) and Fonsi Nieto, the leading Suzuki Alstare runner. The first BMW, that of Troy Corser, qualified on row 4, while after their encouraging form shown on Friday, the two Kawasakis of Broc Parkes and Jamie Hacking slipped down to the fifth row.
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FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) TO LINE UP ON THE FRONT ROW FOR TOMORROW'S RACES AT HIS HOME TRACK OF MISANO
Misano Adriatico (Italy), Saturday 20th June: the crowds were witness to an exciting and super-fast Superpole today at the Misano World Circuit. The Ducati Xerox Team is satisfied with the results of its riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga who, on board their factory Ducati 1198 machines, will line up in fourth and sixth position respectively on tomorrow's grid. The Ducati 1198s of Smrz (Team Guandalini) and Byrne (Team Sterilgarda) will join those of the Ducati Xerox Team on the front two rows.
A short sharp rain shower coming on just fifteen minutes before the morning's second qualifying left the track very wet and meant that no-one could improve on the times set yesterday afternoon in first qualifying. Neither of the Ducati Xerox riders completed many laps but Michel Fabrizio was nevertheless the fastest rider on track once again and both him and Noriyuki are at least now comfortable with the track whether wet or dry tomorrow. Fabrizio thus qualified for Superpole in first place; Haga in eighth.
The track then dried out in time for the early afternoon free practice session and this, combined with cooler temperatures compared to yesterday, meant everyone on track reduced their times significantly. Although rain threatened throughout the subsequent Superpole, it remained dry and spectators were treated to three hotly-contested mini-Superpoles.
Both Noriyuki and Michel passed from the first to the second phase of Superpole without difficulty. The level of competition stepped up a gear in the second phase and various riders registered very fast laps, with the two Ducati Xerox men finishing the twelve minute session in seventh (Fabrizio) and eighth (Haga). In the third and final stage, four of the eight riders, Fabrizio included, beat the "best lap" record that Corser set last year, highlighting the level of competitiveness on show at Misano today. Michel and Noriyuki fought to the bitter end for the positions that count with Michel ultimately snatching a place on the front row, fourth, for tomorrow's races and Noriyuki concluding in sixth, thereby securing a second row position. A further two Ducati 1198s will line up on the front rows tomorrow, with Jakub Smrz (Team Guandalini) taking the first pole of his Superbike career in front of Shane "Shakey" Byrne of the Sterilgarda squad who will start in fifth with the same bike.
Michel Fabrizio 1m35.8s
"It's a shame that I made an error in the first split, losing a few tenths, because otherwise it would have been a much better time, putting me in second or third I think. Anyway I must say well done to Smrz who put together an extremely fast lap and I am very happy to have made it on to the front row. We can't predict what the weather will be like tomorrow but we've tried both the race tyres that we have available and I'm happy with both of them so we're feeling confident that we'll be competitive regardless of the conditions. I have a feeling that tomorrow I'll be fighting against Ben because today I've seen that we have more or less the same pace."
Noriyuki Haga 1m36.2s
"I'm still fairly happy with the way things are going. Tomorrow it's not supposed to rain, at least we hope not! In the morning we want to make some small changes that will hopefully improve the feeling I have with the front of the bike and then we'll be ready to race. For me it is not so important that I'm not on the front row, but having said that tomorrow I plan to start strong and try to stay there out front."
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WSBK'09 Round 8 | Misano Adriatico, day 2
Shakey Byrne took fifth place on the grid after two days of practice at Misano and will start tomorrow's races from row two. The English rider confirmed his good form as he quickly learned the Misano circuit, on which he made his debut.
The continuous weather changes did not allow the team to work as usual but they managed nonetheless to find a good race setup.
Tomorrow's objective will be to fight for the top 5, a result that will certainly please the Italian fans.
SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 5th in 1'36.224 : "I'm very happy with the work we've done in the last two days. We managed to be fast both with race setup and in the Superpole. I also scored my best practice result and this gives me confidence for tomorrow's races. I just hope the weather will not change so quickly as it did today. In fact, when I got on the track, the surface was still moist but later it did dry out. Tomorrow's warm up session is very important also as it should help us choose the right tyres and this could be decisive because the weather has changed a lot since yesterday".
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Jonathan Rea set the second fastest time in this afternoon's Superpole sessions to earn himself a place on the front row alongside pole setter Jakub Smrz for tomorrow's two 24-lap eighth round World Superbike championship races at Misano in Italy.
Having topped the time sheets in the preceding free practice and the first two Superpole sessions, Rea missed on out his maiden pole position by just one tenth of a second after running new suspension on his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR for the first time this weekend.
His team-mate, Carlos Checa, also found himself in the position of having to test new suspension whilst working on bike set-up for the 4.2km Misano circuit. However, the Spaniard also made it through to the final Superpole session to set the seventh fastest time for a second row start.
Jonathan Rea - P2, 1'35.609s
I can't thank the crew enough for working so hard this week. We got some new hardware to try at Magny-Cours and it's been a bit of a rush to get everything together. In the last couple of sessions we managed to find some times and that's given us a good starting position, which is what we needed and were aiming for. I want to thank the Ten Kate team for the belief they've had in me over the last few races - we're really moving forward now and it's a real buzz. We're not anywhere near the limit with the new suspension yet and there's still a lot more we can do. So I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and just hope it's dry to give all the fans some really good races.
Carlos Checa - P7, 1'36.537s
Well, I finished seventh in all the sessions except one, I think, so it was to be expected. But tomorrow we all hope for something a little higher! It's good that finally I got a good feeling and we were able to improve the bike some more. In Superpole 3 I had to use a race tyre because I used both qualifiers in the second Superpole. I didn't have the extra grip that might have improved the position but I went as fast on the race tyre anyway. The second row is not too bad - the bike is running very well on race tyres, we have the pace and we're ready for the fight tomorrow.
Ronald ten Kate - team manager
As anyone can understand, we chose a very difficult path for this weekend in Misano. But already, at this early stage, we can definitely say that we've made a step forward. A lot of credit has to go to Andreani Group for making our transition to Ohlins so smooth. For sure, we still have a long night ahead of us because we're still at the very early stages of machine set-up, but it's good to have both Hannspree riders in the front two rows and to have them in such good shape for tomorrow's races.
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In changeable weather conditions, Ryuichi Kiyonari set the eighth fastest time in today's Superpole sessions at Misano in Italy to secure a second row start for tomorrow's two eighth round World Superbike championship races.
The Japanese ace had been running near the top of the leaderboard in all earlier practice sessions but opted to use his two allotted Pirelli qualifiers in the second Superpole session to ensure progression to the final eight-rider shoot out. Going out on a race tyre early in the final session, Kiyonari crashed unhurt at turn one on his first flying lap.
As Jakub Smrz took his first WSBK pole position, Kiyonari brought his Honda Genuine Accessories-backed CBR1000RR Fireblade back to the pits for sufficient repairs to complete a further four laps, but was unable to improve his position.
Ryuichi Kiyonari - P8, 1'36.884s
Before the start of the first Superpole session, we changed the setting a little bit but, as soon as I went out I knew it was not right so came straight back in. It cost us a bit of time and put the time under a bit of pressure but I made it through to Superpole 2 - only just! In Superpole 2, I used both my qualifiers to make sure I went through and I had a good feeling when I had to go back on the race tyre in the final session. I am a lot more comfortable than last year, and the bike feels a lot better, so I hope for dry weather tomorrow and two good results.
Ronald ten Kate - team manager
Kiyo has shown really good pace all weekend but, unfortunately, the crash in Superpole stopped his charge forward. Second row is good enough for him, though, because we know that he can usually gain a few places in the race. As long as it's either wet or dry tomorrow, he has pace enough for a good result.
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CAME GROUP RACES WITH SUPERBIKE
The Group is sponsoring the Superbike World Championship
and the famous champion Max Biaggi
The Came Group, the leading international automation, active-safety and automated access control company is sponsoring the Superbike World Championship 2009.
Today, during the presentation of the Misano Adriatico Superbike round, the Came Group announced its sponsorship of the Superbike World Championship. Superbike is one of the most electrifying and exciting displays of modern motorcycle racing. The Championship, where high cylinder capacity motorcycles which derive from standard road-going models compete, attracts an extremely high number of fans and is now a major sporting entertainment event. The decision to sponsor Superbike as a TOP sponsor is part of the development and international promotion strategy of the Group and its brands: year on year the sporting event has seen an increase in interest from the public, in fact in 2008 it reached 1 million spectators across the world.
The Came Group's strategic decision to participate in one of the most important international motorcycle events is accompanied by the Group's decision to also sponsor the internationally famous champion Max Biaggi, who will take to the track in Superbike with Aprilia and is currently ranking fifth in the riders' championship with 126 points.
"We are proud to sponsor an important sporting event such as Superbike 2009 and a champion of exceptional talent such as Max Biaggi" - commented Paolo Menuzzo, President of the Came Group - "The world of motorcycle racing has always been an example of perfect fusion between sound sporting competition by the riders on the track and high technical competence of the racing teams which assure safety on the circuit. Ensuring safety and teamwork are the guidelines which reflect the spirit of the Came Group. "
"We are delighted to welcome the Came Group onboard as Top Sponsor of the Superbike World Championship" declared Paolo Flammini, Infront Motor Sports CEO. "They are one of the world leaders in the automated access control sector and to have them amongst our sponsor portfolio, as well as being a personal sponsor of one of our top riders, Max Biaggi, adds considerable prestige to our championship. Superbike and Came share similar values of safety, innovation and teamwork and we are very proud that they have decided to associate their name with us.
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Superbike World Championship
Stiggy Racing Honda
Round 08, Misano
Saturday, June 20
QP 2 + Superpole
Haslam claims third row start at Misano
The blistering heat that dominated the opening day of qualifying at Misano, took a turn for the unexpected as wet conditions hovered over the track in the second series of qualifying today.
Having qualified safely for Superpole by posting the ninth fastest time in yesterday's qualifying, Leon Haslam choose to remain in the garage for most of the session, and only ventured out on the wet track in the ultimate minutes to post the 11th fastest time on the board at the damp 4.226km long track. Haslam pushed himself through the first Superpole session, but lost his seventh fastest time in the second shootout after he had to give in three places and finished a final tenth place.
On the other side of the garage teammate John Hopkins had to skip the second qualifying as he struggled to fight the pain of his serious injuries. The American was left out of the Superpole following his 26th place in yesterday's qualifying, and choose to remain in the garage to nurse his injuries in order to be fit for tomorrow's race.
Leon Haslam, P10, 1'36.510s:
" I am a little disappointed. I only had one clear lap behind another rider in the second Superpole, but then was held up by other riders as I tried for another lap. I thought I was sitting safe in seventh position, but obviously, it was not enough and I lost out on the last Superpole by less than a tenth of a second. We have a few issues we need to resolve just for the race set up, but all in all we have a good direction for tomorrow. If I have a good start in the race I can be there at the front."
John Hopkins, P26:
" After yesterday's session I am feeling really sore. I got some painkillers before the session, but I think I just pushed it a bit too much. I am breaking away the scar tissue at the moment. It is just better for me to take it easy today and concentrate on tomorrow. I will be doing the warm up and then see what we can do for the race. This weekend for me is important to get the strength in my leg back up and to get ready for the next race at Donington. "
Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
" It is hard to say I am satisfied. I think we can do a lot better and need to improve our Superpole strategy. This is where we lose all the time. It is hard to keep up coming from tenth position and we can't keep doing that while we could easily be riding top five. We have to change the strategy and work from there. It is very important to qualify well on the grid, sometimes it can make a whole race. Unfortunately, John had to miss out on today's sessions as he is still in too much pain after his first sessions yesterday. I hope that he feels better tomorrow and ride the race. We will have to see how he feels in the warm up session."
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Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport news
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 8, Misano, Italy
Final qualifying, Saturday 20th June
Conditions: Overcast, rain showers 21C.
TROY FASTEST IN THE WET.
After yesterday's scorchingly hot temperatures, today dawned overcast and dull and when final qualifying began rain showers had soaked the track. Despite little or no information about a wet set-up, Troy and Ruben got into the damp groove superbly and, at the end of the final qualifying session, Troy topped the standings, with Ruben seventh quickest.
But by the time Superpole qualifying started, conditions were once again dry, though the clouds were still casting deep shadows over the 4.226 kilometre circuit. Superpole 1 went well for Troy and he easily qualified for Superpole 2, but a clutch problem prevented him from lapping quickly enough to get into Superpole 3 and any chance of getting on the first two rows of the grid were gone. Ruben ended Superpole with the 18th fastest lap and will start from fifth row of the grid behind Troy on row four. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole, with a time of 1:35.435, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth.
Troy - 15th, 1:36.994
If it hadn't been for the clutch problem, I think I could have got into Superpole 3 and that would have meant a start on the first two rows of the grid. It's just unfortunate that the problem happened because we were so close to getting our best Superpole result so far, but that's racing. But the good news is that I'm pretty happy with how the bike is working and how it's handling the bumps here. I think we've got reasonably good set-ups for both dry and wet races, though I guess most of us would prefer it to be dry tomorrow.
Ruben - 18th, 1:37.300
Normal practice and qualifying has been good and the bike is working better here than it was in USA and it shows we are making progress. The only thing that let us down today was Superpole and we are just not experienced enough with the qualifying tyres to find really good set-ups for this particular situation. On race tyres, I am happy and I think we are pretty close to the pace. It is a shame that we were not able to test qualifying tyres in the winter tests because that would have given us some experience about what to do during a race weekend, but that's the way it is. My grid place is a bit of a nightmare and I need to get a couple of good starts and not get held up in the early part of the race if I am to get good results.
Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director)
Considering the difficult conditions in regular qualifying this morning, Troy did fantastically well to top of the standings, with Ruben in the top seven. It shows that, despite a lack of wet weather information, we were able to be on the pace in these conditions. Troy was unlucky with his clutch problem in Superpole. We suffered once again from a lack of experience with qualifying tyres, as it seems that our bike needs a very different set-up to when it is on regular race rubber. We were so close to the first two rows of the grid today, but I am sure that it will not be long before we manage it.
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Team Suzuki Alstare news
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 8, Misano, Italy
Final qualifying, Saturday 20th June
Conditions: Overcast, rain showers 21C.
YUKIO AND FONSI ON THE THIRD ROW.
Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto endured a day of changing conditions and have qualified on the third row of the grid for tomorrow's pair of 24-lap races at Misano. Final qualifying was blighted by rain showers, but the afternoon untimed session and Superpole took place in the dry. Fonsi Nieto continued his understanding of the GSX-R1000 K9, by finishing eleventh fastest in Superpole, with Yukio ending 13th despite his injured foot.
Smrz (Ducati) took Superpole, with a time of 1:35.435, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth.
Fonsi - 11th, 1:36.510
After a long time off the bike, I am getting more and more comfortable every time I go out and feel that I am also improving mu understanding of it. I am happy to be 11th, but not happy because I lost two or three tenths of a second in the last split and maybe I could've qualified on the second row. I am also happy to be 11th at this stage because the championship is much more competitive than last year. All in all, I don't think I'm doing so badly. The bike has good balance and I am hoping for dry conditions tomorrow as this place is very slippery in the wet.
Yukio - 13th, 1:36.916
Today the conditions were very mixed and we had to adjust the bike a lot to overcome over-steering on the wet track this morning. I was losing the rear a lot and it was not easy to ride the bike. My first qualifying tyre worked OK for two laps, but my second one was finished after one lap and I don't know why. I am not happy with my grid place, but I want to thank my team for giving me a good, new chassis setting and I am sure that my feeling with the bike will improve next time out. (superbikeplanet.com)
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