The final round of World Superbike is underway at the Autodromo International do Algarve and Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea has earned the provisional pole for Sunday's race. Ducati privateer Jakub Smrz finished with the second-quickest time while title contender Ben Spies grabbed third aboard his Yamaha R1.
Jonathan Rea (65) grabbed the provisional pole for Sunday during Friday's session at Portimao.
Rea, who currently sits fifth in the championship race, will look to repeat Friday's success and keep the pole for Sunday. The Irishman had mixed results at Magny-Cours with a DNF in Race 1 and a podium finish in Race 2, which was his sixth rostrum finish in 2009. Despite grabbing the provisional front row, Rea isn't celebrating yet.
"We’re not getting ahead of ourselves and know that we need to go out and attack tomorrow, just like we did today. This is quite a technical track and I felt like I really gelled with it for the first time during that session," he said.
Surprising front-runner Smrz, who grabbed second on the timesheets, is looking to add another finish on the steps to his list of achievements. The German's best 2009 finish-to-date was third-place in Race 2 at Assen.
Vying for a double podium victory this Sunday is American Spies. The Texan is looking to win the championship for himself and Yamaha before his move to MotoGP next year. Spies said, "We do go well on the Portimao circuit, so I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to challenge Nori for the wins. There will be a few fast guys up there as always so it should be an exciting race day.”
Fellow Honda pilot Carlos Checa, who finished fourth on today's timesheets, was also upbeat about his progress during Friday's sessions.
"Here, we are again on the pace, even though there are still some areas we need to work on. Today, I tested both bikes and the two tire options and, although the setting’s were quite different, the lap times were similar. We will try to push for tomorrow and make some longer runs on the tires, but I think we are already nearly ready."
Veteran Shane Byrne missed fourth by just 0.002-seconds behind Checa. The Brit is trailing Spies' teammate, Tom Sykes, by 10 points for seventh in the point standings heading into the final round.
In 2008, Fonsi Nieto finished a solid fifth at the Portimao circuit aboard his Suzuki, but he is still searching for a podium finish on the Ducati 1098R. The Spaniard grabbed sixth with fellow Ducati rider, Michel Fabrizio, in seventh. The Roman Emperor, Max Biaggi, completed the session in eighth on the Aprilia.
Championship points leader Noriyuki Haga finished in ninth. Nitro Nori, who is ever so close to winning his first World Superbike title, has to remain focused on Sunday's races.
"The lap times today were faster than those recorded during testing earlier this year. In general we haven’t had any real problems but we are working to find the optimal setting and we’ll continue this work tomorrow. I would like to find more grip but apart from that I am pretty confident, I know we are fast and that we can be very competitive here,” Haga said.
Rounding out the top-ten is Leon Haslam on his Stiggy Racing Honda CBR1000RR. The Brit has four podium finishes in 2009 and will look to add one more by the end of Sunday.
World Superbike Friday Results:
1. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1'43.786
2. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1'43.866
3. Ben Spies (Yamaha) 1'43.870
4. Carlos Checa (Honda) 1'43.945
5. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1'43.947
6. Fonsi Nieto (Ducati) 1'44.005
7. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1'44.154
8. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'44.210
9. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) 1'44.254
10. Leon Haslam (Honda) 1'44.324
11. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1'44.674
12. Ruben Xaus (BMW) 1'44.822
13. Troy Corser (BMW) 1'44.830
14. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) 1'44.963
15. Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) 1'44.977
World Superbike Rider's Quotes:
Carlos Checa - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda:
“Last year’s races at Portimao were quite eventful but good for me, with a podium in the first race. It was looking good also for race two but I got caught in another rider’s crash and had to go off the track. Portimao is one of the best circuits on the calendar – really good fun and very special – so I hope to finish the season with some good results, as a farewell gift for the team. I’d like to thank them for a very enjoyable two years and for the opportunity to join the World Superbike championship. It’s a shame we were not able to fight for the title this season as we hoped, but I will try to make sure we finish with a good race.”
Michel Fabrizio - Xerox Ducati:
“For now I’d say we have things under control. Today we worked mainly with the hard tyres to improve feeling on the track surface. I don’t yet have total faith in the front of the bike and the asphalt was not in the best condition, which meant I couldn’t really push as hard as I wanted to. Tomorrow we’ll make some more changes, testing some different tyres and hopefully I’ll be able to improve significantly on my time.”
Leon Haslam - Stiggy Racing Honda:
“I want to go out of the season on a high with the Stiggy Team to say thank you to them for the opportunity I have had this year. We got on the podium a few times on a privateer machine and we will be going for that again in the final rounds. I rode a Honda at Portimao last year, and got a podium, so that experience should help us this weekend.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari - Ten Kate Honda:
“I have been recovering in Japan, after breaking my collarbone again at the last round in Magny-Cours. It was a shame because I felt that we were beginning to find some improvement and a better feeling on the bike. It has been a difficult season and, at times, I have had some problems finding the right setting, but I want to try my best to finish the season with some good results. I struggled a little bit at Portimao last year, but I think that was because it was a new circuit for me. I like the layout very much and we went back for testing in January, although the weather was not so good. I hope my shoulder will be OK this weekend so that I can do my best for the team.”
