Crutchlow: "I think we've done a good enough job today, we matched the time we did in the test which is good. We tried a different chassis spec today, if we can continue the improvement with that then hopefully we'll get better and better."
It was a warm, sunny day as the World Superbike paddock took to the
Misano circuit in the Republic of San Marino in preparation for Round 8 of the World Superbike season. The riders, who have had a three-week hiatus from racing to lick their wounds and heal their bodies, showed little signs of rust as the top 11 riders all lapped within one second of each other.
At the conclusion of the first qualifying session, it was Sterilgarda Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow who posted the fastest lap of the day at 1’36.288. Crutchlow was able to find a much better pace in qualifying than the morning free practice session, where he finished seventh. The Sterilgarda Yamaha rider is showing good speed at the San Marino circuit as he also topped the timesheets at the recent
two-day Misano test.
"I'm happy to be fastest at the end of the first day, I think we've made some good steps forward. The new corner is good, they've resurfaced it so it's got good grip and the track itself is a lot cleaner than it was earlier on in the day in the free practice session," said Crutchlow in Yamaha Racing's press release.
BMW Motorrad’s Troy Corser, who tested at both Mugello and Misano during the break, has kept his skills honed during the break and posted the second-fastest time of the session. Corser was the fastest rider in the morning’s free practice session and backed that up with the second-fastest qualifying time, .056-seconds off of Crutchlow’s pace.
Alstare Suzuki’s Leon Haslam was third-fastest in both the free practice and qualifying sessions. Haslam is locked in a fierce battle for the World Superbike Championship with Alitalia Aprilia’s Max Biaggi, who took the lead away Haslam after posting the double victory in the last round in the US at Miller Motorsports Park.
'Shakey' Shane Byrne almost won Race 1 at Misano last year and posted the seventh-fastest lap in today's qualifying session.
Xerox Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio enjoyed a good outing and posted the fourth-fastest time of the qualifying session. Fabrizio was also fast in the morning’s free practice, where he finished just off of Corser’s pace in second.
Privateer Carlos Checa lapped fifth-fastest on his Althea Ducati. Checa just edged out WSBK Championship points leader Max Biaggi, who put in the sixth-best effort with a time about a half-second off of Crutchlow’s timesheet-topping pace.
Biaggi was book-ended by the Althea Ducati team as Checa’s running mate, Shane Byrne, captured the seventh slot of the qualifying session. Byrne came close to winning the first race at Misano last year, but was edged out at the checkers by Ben Spies. Another Ducati privateer, Supersonic Racing’s Luca Scassa, had a strong outing, backing up his fifth-fastest free practice time with an eighth-best effort during qualifying.
Aprilia Alitalia’s Leon Camier muscled his way into the qualifying top ten with a ninth-fastest effort, bumping Sterilgarda Yamaha’s James Toseland down a notch into the tenth slot. Toseland ran well in the free practice session, posting the fourth-fastest time, but didn’t fare as well with his qualifying results.
2010 World Superbike Misano Qualifying
1. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1’36.288
2. Troy Corser (BMW) 1’36.344
3. Leon Haslam (Suzuki) 1’36.365
4. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1’36.549
5. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1’36.761
6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’36.793
7. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1’36.819
8. Luca Scassa (Ducati) 1’36.946
9. Leon Camier (Aprilia) 1’37.048
10. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1’37.124
11. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1’37.189
12. Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) 1’37.314
13. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) 1’37.420
14. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’37.444
15. Ruben Xaus (BMW) 1’37.461
16. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1’37.769
17. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) 1’37.947
18. Max Neukirchner (Honda) 1’38.068
19. Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) 1’38.800
20. Broc Parkes (Honda) 1’38.800
21. Matteo Baiocco (Kawasaki) 1’38.892
22. Roger Hayden (Kawasaki) 1’39.078
23. F. Sandi (Aprilia) 1’39.262
2010 World Supersport Misano Qualifying
Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty made a fast dash late in the qualifying session to top the World Supersport timesheets at Misano today. Laverty is in the midst of a fierce battle with points leader, Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan
Parkalgar Honda's Eugene Laverty made a late run to the top of the Misano World Supersport qualifying timesheets.
Sofuoglu, who finished the day with the fourth-fastest time.
Sofuoglu’s Ten Kate Honda teammate, Michel Pirro, would post the second-fastest results of the World Supersport qualifying session. Pirro, racing on his home circuit, took pole last year and is sure to be a podium contender this weekend.
Yamaha’s Italian wildcard rider, Roberto Tamburini, put up impressive results with the third-fastest time of the session at 1’39.869. The Bike Service Yamaha rider unfortunately crashed on the last lap was reportedly uninjured.
Intermoto Czech Honda rider Gino Rea rode to the fifth-fastest time. Rea is currently in seventh-place in the World Supersport Championship points race.
2010 World Supersport Misano Qualifying
1. Eugene Laverty (Honda) 1’39.437
2. Michel Pirro (Honda) 1’39.555
3. Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha) 1’39.869
4. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) 1’39.919
5. Gino Rea (Honda) 1’40.126
6. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1’40.126
7. Chaz Davies (Triumph) 1’40.243
8. David Salom (Triumph) 1’40.622
9. Massimo Roccoli (Honda) 1’40.770
10. Matthieu Lagrive (Triumph) 1’41.098
World Supersport Championship Points:
1. Keenan Sofuoglu - 142
2. Eugene Laverty - 136
3. Joan Lascorz - 128
4. Chaz Davies - 84
5. Michele Pirro - 58
6. David Salom - 58
7. Gino Rea - 54
8. Robbin Harms - 51
9. Katsuaki Fujiwara - 48
10. Matthieu Lagrive - 44
