World Superbike 2008 - Round Nine - Brno (Czech Republic)

World Superbike 2008 - Round Nine - Brno (Czech Republic)

Day 2 Report - HRC

Kiyonari shines in Superpole qualifying

Ryuichi Kiyonari was the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Superbike team’s highlight of the day and set a blistering performance in the Superpole Qualifying this afternoon. He impressively worked his way forward after concluding the morning’s second qualifying session in sixteenth place.
In what was easily his best qualifying performance to date, Kiyonari was the first man to start the one-lap race against the clock and pushed hard on his Honda CBR1000RR to set the time to be beaten at 1'59.318. It took seven riders before the time was crushed, firstly by Michel Fabrizio, then followed by Troy Corser and eventual pole-sitter Troy Bayliss. It was Max Biaggi who robbed Kiyonari of his first ever WSB front row start. A satisfied Kiyonari will now start tomorrow’s race from fifth place on the grid, his best position so far this season.

Carlos Checa took a total reversal of fortune. After concluding the morning’s second qualifying practice in ninth position he didn’t succeed to improve in his Superpole lap and was eventually sent back to a fourth row start.

Kenan Sofuoglu finished the second qualifying practice in a disappointing twenty-sixth position and did not qualify for Superpole.

Carlos Checa, 1'59.587;
”Today has been a poor day of qualifying for me. We are not far off the pace and have been able to stay consistent but I couldn’t set that single fast lap. My Superpole lap was far from good, I experienced a lot of rear chatter and lost valuable time. I will need a good start tomorrow and work towards a good position in the first laps and start the race from that point. It is a handicap having to start from the fourth row on the grid and not a position to win the race.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari, 1'59.318;
”I am very happy with my Superpole lap. I qualified sixteenth and made my way up to fifth place on the grid. That’s a big jump as I’m normally not strong in the one lap attack. My feeling with the machine and the tyres was good today on my best lap. We tried a different setting today and the feeling was improving throughout the sessions. The pace is good but still not fast enough. I’ll try and make a good start tomorrow and then find the connection with the fast group and work from there. I’ll need to push hard in the first laps for a good result.”

Kenan Sofuoglu, 2'01.302 (QP2);
”It was quite a disappointing session for me today as we were expecting an improvement but it just didn’t work. I tried to watch other riders on their laps but just can’t seem to adapt to riding the big Superbike. The team have worked very hard but it hasn’t paid off so far and we are now past the mid-season mark. I hope we can make some improvement tomorrow to give some motivation to everybody in the team. Like every Saturday night I’m hoping for a better result on Sunday.”

Pitt starts Brno Supersport race from front row

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Andrew Pitt secured a front row start in the second day of qualifying in Brno. Pitt set the fastest time in his first lap of the afternoon’s official practice and looked likely to claim his third pole of the season.

He focused for the remainder of the session on finding the right tyres and didn’t manage to further improve his fastest time of 2’03.590 – 0.387s behind pole sitter Broc Parkes.

Pitt, who is looking for a continuation of his winning streak, will start Sunday’s race from fourth place on the grid.

Jonathan Rea has adapted himself quickly to the new track and topped the time sheets in the morning’s free practice session. In the official practice Rea maintained his pace and secured a second row start in a best time of 2’03.934, the seventh fastest qualifying time.
Both riders are confident with their race pace and set-up and aim to convert their starting positions into a top finish for the team.

Andrew Pitt, 2'03.590;
”I am pretty happy to be on the front row. We probably had pole there for a while and luckily we stayed on the front row. We wanted to come through on the tyre choice and stayed out there and didn’t come back in to put new tyres in again."

"We found the best combination with the tyres and Johnny and I are in a good position to be really strong in the race. I’m looking forward to racing tomorrow."

Jonathan Rea, 2'03.934;
“For me the qualifying sessions today were ok. I looked at the race pace of the other riders and we are right in the ball park. I put some race laps together in the session and concentrated on the race set-up. We have a good set-up for tomorrow and I’m confident with my tyre choice. I am really looking forward to the race, we have the pace to do well and I’m really confident. I just hope from row two I can make a good start and be there from lap one and challenge the fight for a race.”

Front row for Brookes at Brno

Joshua continued to show his strength in Brno today, in the second and final qualifying session, by claiming third place for tomorrows grid. The Australian started the weekend by dominating the first free practice session on Friday, followed by a provisional second place in the afternoon. Despite a crash early in the qualifying session, team mate Robbin managed to improve his lap time and finished the session in 14th place.

Joshua - 3rd, 2.03.562
We tried some different settings both in the morning and at the start of the afternoon qualifying, but it didn't work out the way we hoped for. Therefore we basically went back to the settings we had yesterday. I think I can manage to stay consistently fast and ride at the front, but I would like to have a bit more confidence in the bike. We are still trying to solve the front end issues because I would like to be more comfortable with the front end going into some corners. I'm happy to start from the front row and confident of a good race result tomorrow.

Robbin - 14th, 2.04.676
I have been happy with my bike and the settings all weekend and have just been making small adjustments here and there to improve my feeling with the bike. At the start of qualifying, I tried a new front tyre and on my first flying lap I lost the front going into the last corner. It is a bit of a strange place and way to crash, but I'm ok so that's good. I rode the rest of the session on my number 2 bike and although it was ok, the engine didn't feel as strong as my number 1 bike. I managed to improve my lap time, but not enough to put me very high up the grid. I'm disappointed to start from 14th place on the grid after such a good weekend - apart from the crash. I have started from the fourth row before and managed a top result, so I am willing to push really hard right from the start, even though it will mean taking quite a few risks.