2011 World Superbike - Imola Photo Gallery

Leon Camier is riding solo for the Aprilia Alitalia team this weekend at Imola after teammate Max Biaggi dropped out due to his injured ankle.

Leon Camier: "I must say that we didn't do too badly where pace is concerned, but I wasn't able to improve with the new tire. The back end also went out on me during the first lap, so I lost a bit of confidence. On a positive note I'm maintaining good times on the worn tire, so all that's left now is to work on the fast lap in order to move up in the rankings and especially to have a good Superpole."

Irishman Jonathan Rea grabbed the fastest lap with new ride-by-wire technology in his CBR1000RR.

Yamaha ParkinGO's Luca Scassa dominated Supersport qualifying at his home circuit ahead of Kawasaki's Broc Parkes.

Michel Fabrizio: "This morning I was not so happy, but this afternoon everything went a lot better and we made quite a good improvement. I had some problems with the gearshift on the downshifts today, but that will be resolved for tomorrow. The track has been mostly resurfaced since we were here last time and now it is much better to ride. There are less bumps and the grip has definitely improved."

Leon Haslam: "I am really happy with the lap times. We did not use the soft tire in qualifying and basically worked on race simulation. Our consistency is probably one of the best out there. I would say that this was one of the best starts we have had to a race weekend, so we are going to keep on pushing for tomorrow. Then it will all be about qualifying and choosing the right race tire for Sunday."

Leon Haslam (GBR) finished the first Qualifying practice at Imola on his BMW S1000RR in third place.

Joan Lascorz - Imola World Superbike qualifying 2011

Eugene Laverty: "That was the toughest Friday I’ve had so far, by a long shot. We struggled with the new surface a lot. The morning wasn’t so bad but with more bikes lapping the track as the day went on, creating more rubber on the surface, the grip got worse and that’s causing us to struggle with our rear setting."

Marco Melandri made some minor adjustments to the suspension and the electronics, allowing him to shoot up to fourth place in the timesheets mid-session, a position he maintained until the final stages before dropping to fifth.

Jonathan Rea: "After the first day here, it’s nice to see P1 on the board again and it gives the guys something to smile about. We’ll not be resting tonight because there’s a long list of things to work through, but hopefully we can keep improving tomorrow."

Tom Sykes - Imola World Superbike Qualifying 2011

Ruben Xaus: "It’s been busy with the new electronics today and we’ve been using the full package, so there has been a lot of work to do. I think we’re quite satisfied but it’s still hard to get the feeling back after we’ve made some changes to the bike. We are struggling a little in the two sectors with chicanes, where the power delivery is a little strange."

If Carlos Checa can add 26 more points to his lead over Melandri this weekend the Spaniard will claim the 2011 WSB title.

Leon Camier - 2011 World Superbike Imola Superpole

Leon Camier came through the first Superpole session by a hair, but in the second (where the top 12 riders compete) he lost his seventh place time in the last few seconds.

Michel Fabrizio: "I am frustrated with my Superpole. All weekend I have been in the top-five in the standings and I was feeling very positive about Superpole. My pace on race rubber has been consistently-fast and I was happy because my bike set-up was good. But, as soon as we put qualifying tires on the bike, it behaved differently."

Michel Fabrizio: "It's been a disappointing end to the day and now I am once again facing the prospect of having to make two great starts if I am to have any chance of good results."

2011 World Superbike Imola Superpole podium (from left to right): Jonathan Rea, Carlos Checa and Noriyuki Haga.

Eugene Laverty: "It was a much better day today than yesterday which is obvious from my position. Initially I wasn’t sure where I’d be today but I was confident it would go much better after our lengthy de-brief last night, where I understood the direction we needed to go in to make the difference. I am fortunate to be in a team with such good experience."

Marco Melandri: "We struggled from chattering in the second session and after half a lap the tire lacked performance and I wasn’t able to improve my times. It’s a pity as we have a good race pace but now we’ll have to push hard to get in front on a track where it’s not easy to overtake."

Jonathan Rea earned his first win since returning from injury but lost the double victory in Race 2 after suffering a mechanical.

Leon Camier - 2011 World Superbike Imola

Aprilia's Leon Camier made up for a poor start in the first race with a podium finish in the final contest at Imola.

Honda's Fabien Foret took a major victory in Italy after championship leader Chaz Davies couldn't finish the race.

Carlos Checa won the final race at Imola but will have to wait to receive the championship crown.

Leon Camier - 2011 World Superbike Imola

2011 World Superbike - Imola Photo Gallery

See photos from Round 11 of the 2011 World Superbike Series at the Imola circuit in Italy.