Carlos Checa took top honors in the Superpole session at Miller Motorsports Park aboard the Althea Ducati.
Carlos Checa nabbed pole position at Miller Motorsports Park, the Althea Ducati rider snaring a Superpole victory on the final lap. Joining the Spaniard on the front row for tomorrow's SBK doubleheader will be Effenbert-Liberty Ducati's Jakub Smrz and factory Yamaha teammates Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty.
The opening Superpole session saw the fastest rider in the previous free practice and qualifying sessions, Leon Camier, high-side and trash his RSV4. The former British Superbike champ was able to return to the pits, however, and set out on his second bike – managing to sneak into the Superpole 2 with the 12th-fastest time.
Troy Corser was out front in SP1 for a time, with Biaggi eventually taking the top position. The Castrol Honda duo and Suzuki riders Sylvain Guintoli and Josh Waters didn't fare well - the four rider knocked out of the session. Leon Haslam, who'd impressed in the earlier wet sessions on Sunday, made the cut into the second Superpole.
Dad gets his boy ready to play out in the rain. Haslam did well in the morning wet sessions at Miller. In Superpole his plans were foiled, however, with a track runoff into the muck.
BMW Motorrad's Troy Corser had the front row in his sites, but the former champ missed by a couple tenths in sixth.
Haslam saw his hopes for a front row start spoiled in Superpole 2, however, when mid-session his BMW S1000RR ran off-track, muddying the bike in a minor spill. Fellow Brit, Camier, couldn't improve in the second session, relegated to a third-row start with his SP2 knock out. PATA Aprilia's Noriyuki Haga and Kawasaki's Tom Sykes also failed to make the cut.
In the final Superpole session Checa led the way early. The points leader quietly snuck through the previous two sessions without drawing too much attention, but hammered down in the final laps. Smrz claimed the top position heading into the final lap, but Checa slipped by in the end with his 1’58.315 lap. Much like Checa, the Yamaha's made it to the last session and made it count with front row positions.
One rider not destined for a front row start was Biaggi, who ran off-track and eventually tipped over in the trackside muck. Corser and suprising Superpole performers Sylvain Guintoli (Alstare Suzuki) and Ayrton Badovini (BMW Italia) round out Row 2 for Monday's races.
Said Checa after nabbing pole position: “I really like this track, but the bike doesn’t so much! We had some problems that we solved and I hope for tomorrow everything is going to be fine. We’ve been working quite well in the dry, and finally when it was getting dry I was able to get more grip and that’s the main reason I was able to fight for the pole. It’s a nice surprise!”
Smrz, who impressed during qualifying/practice at Miller last year, said of the near Superpole victory: “Carlos is good today so he deserves pole position. I think we made a really good job today, the bike was better in the wet, there were no problems to be fast. Hopefully it will be the same in the dry and I hope to fight for the best possible position.”
“For sure I didn’t expect to be on the front row today," said Melandri, who faces the Utah circuit for the first time this year. "On a good wet we are pretty well set up and also the dry, so I had a bit of luck to have the Superpole with difficult conditions, because I could push a bit more. But for sure it’s going to be tough to make all the race like that with the tire.”
Maybe the dark horse on Monday, rain or shine, Eugene Laverty has a front-row position to rocket down into Turn 1.
“It was very difficult with the wet conditions and we had to do a lot of work," said the Monza double winner. "But both Marco and I brought the Yamaha up in the wet. I’m confident for tomorrow in both conditions that we’re in good contention for a podium finish.”
Rea and the Castrol Honda squad coudn't find a wet weather setup for Superpole, getting a fourth-row start as result.
The weather forecasts predict a 50% chance of showers with temperatures in the 50s for tomorrow's pair of SBK races.
2011 World Superbike Superpole Results:
1. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'58.315
2. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1'58.390
3. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) 1'58.609
4. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) 1'58.860
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) 1'59.069
6. Troy Corser (BMW) 1'59.262
7. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'59.736
8. Ayrton Badovini (BMW) 1'59.827
9. Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) 2'00.303
10. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 2'00.477
11. Leon Camier (Aprilia) 2'00.643
12. Leon Haslam (BMW) 2'01.127
13. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 2'03.232
14. Ruben Xaus (Honda) 2'03.382
15. Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki) 2'03.397
16. Josh Waters (Suzuki) 2'04.156
