World Superbike Magny-Cours Friday

The penultimate round of World Superbike held at Magny-Cours got underway today with Michel Fabrizio capturing the provisional pole position in the afternoon qualifying session. The Italian was followed by Honda’s Jonathan Rea and Fabrizio’s Xerox Ducati teammate, Noriyuki Haga in third.

Fabrizio once again showed he can dominate by posting the fastest lap time around the Magny-Cours circuit despite suffering some traction issues in the first section of the track. Fabrizio said after the final session on Friday, “Today I had no particular problems. We found a setting and a tire that I liked almost right away and I was able to make constant improvement throughout the day. I was losing a couple of tenths in the first split but I think it’s linked more to a characteristic of the four cylinder bikes than to the tires. Anyway we are very satisfied and hope it bodes well for the rest of the weekend.”

Hannspree Ten Kate rider, Rea, also seems to have made progress with his Honda, as he captured the provisional second beside Fabrizio.

As for the title duel between Haga and Ben Spies. Nitro Nori just edged ahead of his American rival in third-place, Spies in fourth. The top-four riders were separated by 0.169 and were the only riders to mark under the 1'39 time.

World Superbike Magny-Cours Friday Qualifying:
1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'38.770
2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'38.821
3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'38.877
4. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'38.939
5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.379
6. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'39.435
7. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.497
8. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'39.613
9. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'39.772
10. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'39.834
11. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.900
12. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'39.964
13. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.000
14. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'40.017
15. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'40.048

World Superbike Magny-Cours Friday Qualifying Riders Quotes:

Ben Spies - Yamaha:
"It was a good first session, I've worked out where the track is going and we've been making improvements to the settings over the day. I think we've found a good pace for race distance, but there are still a couple of things we can improve on for tomorrow. The track is still a bit slippery in parts, but I still think we can find some more speed for the next session and get up there. For the first day I'm happy."

Noriyuki Haga - Xerox Ducati:
“Well it didn’t go so badly. I am consistently losing a few tenths in the first split, but I hope that by finding more grip I can make up for the lack of top speed. We lost time during the first part of qualifying working with one particular tire that I wasn’t particulary comfortable with but then, towards the end of the session, we found a better solution and I was able to make some faster laps. The times are all very close but I think I’ll be able to improve on my fastest time tomorrow morning.”

Troy Corser - BMW:
"I’m pretty satisfied with today and it’s good that we didn’t have a recurrence of the brake problems we had last week. That’s something less we have to worry about and so we can concentrate on what we want to do here and what is required. The track has quite a few bumps and one of our jobs is getting the bike to manage the bumps as best we can. Also, we will make some adjustments to the wheelie control so that we can put the power on the deck, where it should be! The bike is making progress every time out and the good thing is that we know that there’s more to come.
Like every racer, I want the best possible result, but today it was more important to get the bike working well round this circuit and have it in the best possible condition for the races on Sunday."

Jonathan Rea – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 
"I’m really happy with this start to the weekend because the base setting we brought here from Imola was strong. The middle sector is where we’re having some problems, especially around the long left at turn 6. So, we’ll sit down tonight and see where we can improve things there. I’m happy to be at the top because my lap times have been consistently quick – it’s coming naturally and I’ve got into a good rhythm here. I also did two practice starts today, one of which was my best ever! So I hope that’s a good omen for the races."

Carlos Checa – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 
"After the problems we had at Imola, we need to understand where we were losing time. We’ve just made the normal steps with the bike today – some areas are good, some not so good. We’ve got a lot of things to talk about tonight so that we can find some more tenths tomorrow. As Imola showed us, it’s very easy to slip from the top five to something like 12th place because the competition is always so strong. So we need to keep finding something extra because I want to stay at the top tomorrow."

Yukio Kagayama - Alstare Suzuki:
"I am looking forward to working with our new suspension in Magny-Cours because already I have a better feeling with my bike. So far, we have managed to find a pretty good set-up for the front end, so now most of the work is on the rear end. If we can sort that out early in practice, then I feel sure we can do well in qualifying. Sometimes racing is a frustrating business, but I am positive that we can improve in Magny-Cours and then again in Portimao."

Karl Muggeridge - Alstare Suzuki:
"I am happy to deputise for Max and I will try and do as good a job as I can for Francis and the team. I agree with Yukio regarding the suspension - the front end is already good and it is the rear end that we have to work on. It’s always difficult testing something during a race weekend, but this is what we have to do, so it’s best just to get on with it. Hopefully we can find a good set-up early on in the weekend and then really go for it in qualifying, Superpole and in the races."

Max Neukirchner - Alstare Suzuki: 
"I am sorry to miss another race, but I understand that my back is not quite ready yet. Of course, it is very frustrating coming to a race track and not racing, but that’s how it is for now. I would like to wish all the best to Yukio and Karl and hope that they can get good results in Magny-Cours this weekend."



World Superbike Magny-Cours Friday Practice:
Jonathan Rea set the fastest lap during Friday practice at Round 13 of World Superbike at Magny-Cours. Behind Rea was fellow Brit Leon Haslam with title contenders Noriyuki Haga in third and Ben Spies in seventh.
 
Rea was the lone rider to dip under the 1’40 mark with a time of 1’39.984 with Haslam following in second aboard the Stiggy CBR1000RR.

Xerox Ducati’s Nitro Nori third-fastest result was four ahead of his lead championship rival, Spies. The young Texan has already confirmed he will leave World Superbike in 2010 to pursue his MotoGP career, now he only needs to worry about getting his R1 to pace ahead of Haga in the final rounds.

A surprising front runner was Spaniard Fonsi Nieto, who piloted his DFX Corse Ducati into a provisional Row 2 in fifth with Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio behind in sixth. The Emperor, Max Biaggi, brought his Aprilia in at the eighth-fastest time today with BMW’s Troy Corser in ninth. In 2008, Corser finished 6-3 at Magny-Cours riding then for the factory Yamaha squad.

Sterilgarda Ducati’s Shane Byrne, who in 2009 has finished atop of the podium once, finished in the top-ten today with Ten Kate Honda Racing rider, Ryuichi Kiyonari in 11th. Spies’ teammate, Tom Sykes, who has yet to taste the podium in 2009, finished in 12th followed by the highest placing Suzuki piloted by Yukio Kagayama in 13th. Kagayama finished Imola a disappointing 15-DNF due to traction issues.

Jakub Smrz finished in 14th with Suzuki’s Karl Muggeridge rounding out the top 15. Muggeridge continues to stand-in for Max Neukirchner after an accident at Monza in May.

Temporary Biaggi teammate and 2009 British Superbike Champion, Leon Camier, finished in 17th.

World Superbike Practice Times:
1. Rea J. Honda CBR1000RR 1'39.984
2. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.213
3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'40.222
4. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.243
5. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'40.279
6. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'40.369
7. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'40.392
8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'40.701
9. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'40.736
10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'40.802
11, Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'40.803
12. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'40.867
13. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'40.875
14. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'40.893
15. Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'41.022