Michel Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox - 1st, 1’38.103
“Everything has gone well so far. After the win and second place at Monza I’ve arrived here ready for action. We were fast right from the beginning of this morning’s practice and this made it easier to improve further during the qualifying. We’ll see tomorrow but I’m sure that to remain ahead I need to go a few tenths faster than I have today. I’m aware that I’m 21 points off second place in the championship and knowing this only spurs me on further!”
Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio topped the time sheets in both the morning free practice session as well as this afternoon’s first qualifying at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa. Following his maiden victory in Monza, the Italian powered to a new official best time of 1’38.103, which was four-tenths faster than the second-place time set by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea. 24-year-old Fabrizio also dominated the pre-season testing session at Kyalami last December. In the last few minutes of qualifying Yamaha’s Ben Spies clocked the third quickest lap (1'38.600), while Stiggy Racing Honda’s Leon Haslam filled the final spot on the provisional front row with 1'38.865.
The provisional second row was led by Aprilia’s Shinya Nakano, followed by Championship points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), then Guandalini Ducati’s Jakub Smrz, and concluded by Yamaha’s Tom Sykes. The injury that Haga sustained to his right bicep after a bird struck him in Monza did not cause him any particular problems, but did prevent him from performing at his maximum level.
Max Biaggi and Ruben Xaus filled the last two spots in the top ten, riding the new KTM RSV4 and BMW S1000RR respectively. South African Superbike rider Sheridan Morais, who replaces Kawasaki’s injured Makoto Tamada, was briefly running in a remarkable third place before ending the session in twelfth. The first day of qualifying was a difficult one for Team Suzuki Alstare Brux riders Yukio Kagayama and Fonsi Nieto, the latter standing in for injured Max Neukirchner. Yukio Kagayama finished 15th as he struggled to adjust to the bumpy South African circuit, while Fonsi Nieto ended 22nd after spending the day becoming acquainted with the new Suzuki GSX-R1000 K9.
Ben Spies - Yamaha World Superbike - 3rd, 1’38.600
“We’ve been going through the motions today, working things out with the bike as we’ve struggled with a couple of points. We haven’t really gone crazy but been steady, and will make some more changes now so we can get ready to turn it up tomorrow
Regis Laconi (Ducati DFX) crashed after Turn 11 on the first lap of Friday morning’s free practice session. The Frenchman suffered severe trauma to his cervical vertebrae despite not hitting any obstacles during the crash. The 34 year-old veteran rider was transported by helicopter to the Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg, where he was placed in intensive-care and is expected to undergo an operation by a neurological specialist soon.
World Superbike Friday Qualifying Times:
1. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) - 1'38.103
2. Johnathan Rea (Honda) - 1'38.506
3. Ben Spies (Yamaha) - 1'38.600
4. Leon Haslam (Honda) - 1'38.865
5. Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) - 1'38.998
6. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) - 1'39.055
7. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) - 1'39.230
8. Tom Sykes (Yamaha) - 1'39.258
9. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) - 1'39.284
10. Ruben Xaus (BMW) - 1'39.357
11. Carlos Checa (Honda) - 1'39.370
12. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki) - 1'39.388
Other World Superbike Kyalami Rider Quotes
Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox - 6th, 1’39.055
"Physically, I’ve not had too many problems and my arm already feels better this afternoon compared to this morning but it’s getting tired easily and I haven’t been able to put together many consecutive laps. The bike isn’t copying the uneven track surface and this puts more strain on my arm. Anyway, today the bike has felt similar to how it did during winter testing which is a good thing but tomorrow we need to try a different setting to improve on times and get us to the front of the pack.”
“We’ve been working out a couple of changes for tomorrow; we’re going to change the geometry of the bike to help around the circuit, which should make me quicker. I’m looking forward to being stronger on the circuit and faster as a result. We tried some good tires today and found a good race pace. I’m looking to be the fastest though so with the changes for tomorrow we should be in for big improvements.”
Ruben Xaus - BMW - 10th, 1’39.357
“Considering that this is our debut year, to finish in the top ten on day one is very good, especially when you see how close the lap times are. I’m happy because I have gone 2.7 seconds faster today then when we tested here in December. I think I have also adapted to the bike better now and, as far as I am concerned, everything is improving. And, good news, because finally I didn’t have a ‘black Friday!”
Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki Alstare Brux - 15th, 1’39.475:
"We started with the set-up we used when we tested here last December, but my bike didn't work as well. The track feels bumpier to me and that meant I could not push as hard as I wanted. We improved the bike in the afternoon, but many other riders went faster, so I ended 15th. My main problem today was the bumps, but the rear tire was also spinning in a couple of corners, so tomorrow we will try some suspension changes to see if we can make any improvements."
Fonsi Nieto - Suzuki Alstare Brux - 22nd, 1’40.544
"New track, new bike and a lot to learn today for me. Fortunately I know the team very well and they have helped me a lot. I am very happy to be back in World Superbikes and I feel as if I have never been away because this team is so good. The K9 bike is very different to last year's bike, but I hope to learn everything fast and keep on improving. I don't particularly like this track because for me it is very bumpy and dangerous in some places."
Steve Martin - BMW - 24th, 1’42.015
"Generally I am quite happy with how the day has gone and there have been no problems. I managed to feel what’s going on with the tires and try different set-ups. I haven’t raced in World Superbikes for four years, so there are no expectations on me. Since the first time I tested the bike (in spring last year) it has come on in leaps and bounds and it is still getting better. All we’re really missing is time on the bike to try different things and improve it. It’s always hard to do that at the racetrack, especially when you consider how competitive the championship is this year."
