It was a day of firsts for Leon Haslam, who suffered his first crash since joining the Alstare Suzuki team in October last year, but then rectified the situation by claiming his first ever pole position of his World Superbike career.
Leon Haslam has proved a shrewd pickup for the Alstare Suzuki squad based off his early 2010 performance.
Since switching from the Stiggy Honda squad to the factory backed Suzuki team for 2010, Haslam has been a sensation – running top-three in every single test he’s entered. Now on the eve of the opening race of the year no one is betting against the 26-year-old from securing at least one win tomorrow.
For every rider and team on the grid the big issue will be tire life. After a spectacular thunderstorm last night air and track temperatures have fallen dramatically which in turn has made lap times not only faster but more consistent for everyone.
In Superpole the track temperature was 34 degrees (93 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to 51 degrees (124 degrees Fahrenheit) yesterday but Haslam is confident whatever race day brings. He said: “The times are coming easily, but I know that it will be close tomorrow. With Phillip Island it’s not what you can do in the first five laps, it’s what you can do in the last five. Throughout last week’s test and this weekend the focus has been on race set-up. I’ve tested all the tires in all the conditions so now I hope we choose the right combination for the race.”
The 2010 Phillip Island Superpole top three (left to right): Ducati Xerox's Michel Fabrizio, Alstare Suzuki's Leon Haslam and Sterilgarda Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow.
Haslam’s confidence isn’t just wishful thinking, practically every other rider in the paddock has commented on his pace whatever the conditions. Haslam’s Alstare teammate, Sylvain Guintoli, was also impressive in Superpole and looks set to be a contender in the race after qualifying fifth. The 27-year-old Frenchman has gone about his work quietly since arriving in Australia, letting Haslam soak up the pressure and is well known for his racing rather than his qualifying, making him a wild card for the two races.
He said: “I followed Leon in the final Superpole and for sure he has big balls! I’m very happy with how the weekend is going. We are arriving step by step and like Leon everything we have done is towards the race – it’s not about setting one quick lap for me.”
The biggest losers of the day in terms of qualifying were the two title favorites Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi. For Haga starting from the third row is no problem, in 2009 he was three places further back and on the fourth row but still managed to leave Australia leading the championship with a win and second place in the two races.
Toseland managed to put his Yamaha on Row 2 for the opening races, but will be riding with an injured wrist.
It’s definitely a bigger issue for Max Biaggi who will start alongside Haga in 11th, but saying that Biaggi is a renowned fast starter and is never shy when it comes to making contact in the first corner (just ask Ben Spies – it was Biaggi that wrecked Spies’ first ever WSB race at Phillip Island when he pushed him wide in Turn 1). Like the majority of the grid, chatter is a big issue at Phillip Island and it is this that prevented Biaggi from qualifying higher up the grid.
The turnaround of the weekend so far has to go to the factory Sterilgarda Yamaha team of Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland. After a disastrous test last week both riders are in the top-eight with Crutchlow on the front row in third. Both men admit they are behind their rivals when it comes to set-up due to lost time in testing, but the two riders are some of the toughest on the grid and prepared to put it all on the line to succeed in Australia. Toseland claimed eighth-place despite suffering from a wrist injury sustained from a high-side in Friday qualifying. The double WSB champion had a total of 15 pain-killing injections today, meaning 150ml of pain killers have been injected into his wrist and he’s expecting to need even more tomorrow.
2010 World Superbike Phillip Island Superpole Results:
Noriyuki Haga will start from Row 3 at Phillip Island, a similar position did not hinder him during last year's race.
1. Leon Haslam (Suzuki) 1'31.229
2. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1'31.245
3. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1'31.642
4. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'31.671
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) 1'31.696
6. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1'31.757
7. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1'31.912
8. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1'32.019
9. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) 1'32.205
10. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) 1'32.229
11. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'32.293
12. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'32.398
13. Troy Corser (BMW) 1'32.430
14. Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) 1'32.561
15. Ruben Xaus (BMW) 1'32.842
16. Leon Camier (Aprilia) 1'32.895
17. Max Neukirchner (Honda) 1'32.782
18. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1'32.823
19. Andrew Pitt (BMW) 1'33.207
20. Roland Resch (BMW)
21. Joshua Brookes (Honda) 1'33.901
22. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Honda) 1'34.248
23. Matteo Baiocco (Kawasaki) 1'35.297
24. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 1'35.614
