Italian Max Biaggi was the fastest rider during Brno's Friday practice sessions aboard the Aprilia RSV4.
Max Biaggi set the pace as World Superbike racing got underway at the Czech Brno circuit. Following Mad Max was Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio, with title contenders Ben Spies fourth and the injured Noriyuki Haga 15th.
Biaggi, aboard the
Aprilia RSV4, was the lone rider to dip under the 2-minute lap barrier. Xerox Ducati’s Fabrizio, who has done well at Brno in the past, was within a tenth of his Italian compatriot. Honda’s Carlos Checa was third-fastest on the day, with SBK rookie sensation Ben Spies the fourth-fastest rider – the Texan competing at Brno for the first time in his career.
Leading the provisional second row is DFX Ducati privateer Lorenzo Lanzi, the former factory rider more than capable of surprising the SBK paddock. Also notable in the Row 2 pack are both the factory
BMWs, with Troy Corser sixth-fastest and Ruben Xaus eighth. In between was the second Aprilia, as Shinya Nakano lapped within a second of his front-running teammate.
Noriyuki Haga is fighting through the pain at Brno, still suffering from his Donington Park crash.
’s Broc Parkes is ninth-fastest, followed by the fastest
Suzuki rider, Yukio Kagayama. Ducati privateer Shakey Byrne was 11th-fastest with American John Hopkins registering 12th aboard the Stiggy Honda.
One of the most notable placings is Haga, down in 15th. Nitro Nori is still hurting from injuries sustained in a crash at Donington Park the previous round, which includes a broken scapula that is giving Haga the most trouble as he gets back into the groove at Brno.
“I have been gritting my teeth today to be honest. It’s the first time I’ve fractured my scapula and I hope to never do it again. It’s very painful, mainly when braking and so I’m losing time through every corner as it’s hard work changing direction. Having said that, this is without any painkillers so maybe I’ll think about taking some for the races. There are no real problems with the bike, just with the rider. Tomorrow we’ll see what we can do to modify the bike in order to facilitate braking.”
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike:
“It was a good session for us today. We weren’t out there to go stupid and try and get the fastest lap, I’ve been concentrating on learning the circuit and working on finding the best tires for Sunday. I think we’ve found the ones we want, the pace seems to be really good on them so I’m happy and the bike set up is pretty much there. We tried to fit as much as possible into today’s session in the dry in case the rain comes tomorrow and I think we achieved quite a lot. Let’s see what the weather brings us tomorrow.”
1. Max Biaggi (
Aprilia RSV4 Factory) 1'59.982;
2. Michel Fabrizio (
Ducati 1098R) 2'00.066;
3. Carlos Checa (
Honda CBR1000RR) 2'00.205;
4. Ben Spies (
Yamaha R1) 2'00.558;
5. Lorenzo Lanzi (
Ducati 1098R) 2'00.581;
6. Troy Corser (
BMW S1000RR) 2'00.603;
7. Shinya Nakano (Aprilia RSV4 Factory) 2'00.648;
8. Ruben Xaus (BMW S1000RR) 2'00.731;
9. Broc Parkes (
Kawasaki ZX-10R) 2'00.887;
10. Yukio Kagayama (
Suzuki GSX-R1000) 2'00.958;
11. Shane Byrne (Ducati 1098R) 2'01.017;
12. John Hopkins (
Honda CBR1000RR) 2'01.021;
13. Jonathan Rea (Honda CBR1000RR) 2'01.023;
14. Jakub Smrz (Ducati 1098R) 2'01.031;
15. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati 1098R) 2'01.062;
16. Tom Sykes (
Yamaha R1) 2'01.070
Spies will have the opportunity to close the 14-point gap on Haga during Sunday's doubleheader.
