At one point in the qualifying session Cal Crutchlow was setting a pace that was a full second ahead of the competition.
Despite the new Silverstone circuit being the longest circuit on the World Superbike calendar with a lap time of 2m 05s, the top-11 men after first qualifying were separated by less than one second. The battle for second-place was the most intense with Jonathan Rea (Hannsepree Ten Kate Honda), troy Corser (BMW Motorrad), Leon Camier (Alitalia Aprilia) and Michel Fabrizio (Xerox Ducati separated by just 1/10th. Ultimate honors for the day went to Sterilgarda Yamaha R1 rider Cal Crutchlow who was at one stage a full second faster than his closet rival. By the end of the session his lead was cut down but still ahead by a commanding 0.341seconds at the end of Day 1.
Crutchlow has made a habit out of setting fast laps since switching from World Supersport to WSB, but has yet to win a race so far in 2010. The 24-year-old has four fastest laps and four poles to his credit, but has struggled to maintain his undisputable quick pace in the race.
“It’s a good time, but it was on a new tire and when we have grip the bike works well. The problem I have is that in the seven-lap run I did I dropped a second.”
Championship leader Max Biaggi had a difficult start to his session but climbed up to seventh by the end of qualifying.
Crutchlow’s teammate James Toseland enjoyed a positive opening day – one that he described as his ‘best’ Friday for a long time. The Yamaha man went from last place to fourth at Brno three weeks ago and appears to have made a return to the level of form that saw him secure four podiums earlier in the season.
He said: “It’s a good start and the base setting of the bike is not too bad. During the year we’ve gone around the houses trying to improve the package, but after the last race in Brno we realized that it was about as good as it gets so we’ve stuck with it for this weekend. There are a few bumps in awkward places like where you turn in but so far the bike is working as I expected it to.”
Championship contender Leon Haslam was also satisfied with his day’s performance despite finishing in eight-place 0.8s off Crutchlow’s provisional pole time. Haslam was desperate to bounce back from his bitterly disappointing Brno weekend where he secured eighth and tenth – his worst performance s of the season. The 27-year-old struggled with the new generation softer Pirelli tires used at Brno, and was happy that Pirelli did not bring the tire to the Silverstone race.
“We’ve got the old tires again here and the bike is straight away working how it was earlier in the year. We’ve gone back to the base setting we had in Kyalami and Miller and although Silverstone is a unique set-up it feels good. We also
Jonathan Rea won a tense battle for the second-best time ahead of Troy Corser, Leon Camier and Michel Fabrizio.
back-to-backed the old and the new front forks, and I preferred the feeling from the old stuff. The track is fast and flowing and it’s been a positive start.”
Aprilia man Max Biaggi started his day languishing at the back of the field, but with each lap he increased his speed as he learnt the track, ending the hour-long qualifying session in seventh. While there was plenty of action on track, there were also a lot of talks and contract negotiations for the 2011 season going on behind closed doors . Although nothing appears to be signed the rumors of riders moving from team to team is rife with BMW currently holding all the cards.
In World Supersport Parkalgar Honda men Eugene Laverty and Miguel Praia made the most of their two days of testing at their home circuit to secure first- and fifth-places respectively. Fast Brit Gino Rea claimed an impressive second with championship contenders Joan Lascorz and Kenan Sofuoglu rounding out the provisional front row.
