Ducati men dominate first qualifying at Brno

1. K. FUJIWARA JPN Kawasaki 2’02.817
2. E. LAVERTY IRL Honda 2’03.718
3. J. LASCORZ ESP Kawasaki 2’03.902
4. M. PIRRO ITA Honda 2’03.999
5. F. FORET FRA Kawasaki 2’04.144
6. D. SALOM ESP Triumph 2’04.157
7. K. SOFUOGLU TUR Honda 2’04.158
8. M. PRAIA POR Honda 2’04.181
9. R. HARMS DEN Honda 2’04.308
10. G. REA GBR Honda 2’04.410
11. C. DAVIES GBR Triumph 2’04.542
12. V. IANNUZZO ITA Triumph 2’04.549
13. M. LAGRIVE FRA Triumph 2’04.773
14. M. ROCCOLI ITA Honda 2’05.130
15. D. BUKOWSKI POL Honda 2’06.336
16. J. CERNY SVK Yamaha 2’06.620
17. A. LUNDH SWE Honda 2’06.811
18. D. DELL’OMO ITA Honda 2’06.828
19. B. CHESAUX SUI Honda 2’07.407
20. T. HOLUBEC CZE Honda 2’07.411
21. A. PALUMBO ITA Kawasaki 2’07.644
22. B. SKUBIC SLO Yamaha 2’09.526
23. I. TOTH HUN Honda 2’10.811
24. E. BLOKHIN RUS Yamaha 2’10.853

Elevated track temperatures did not stop the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio from dominating today’s Superbike action at the Czech circuit of Brno. Japanese rider Noriyuki went straight to the top of the timesheets in first qualifying this afternoon, holding this position until the close of play to secure provisional pole ahead of Sunday’s races, three tenths of a second ahead of Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow and half a second ahead of his team-mate Michel.

In the early afternoon’s first practice both Haga and Fabrizio immediately demonstrated their potential on the Czech track, a circuit that both factory riders list among their favourites. Mid-session, Noriyuki was the first rider to duck under 2m01, recording a string of consistently fast laps with a new tyre that propelled him to the top of the timesheets in the second half of the session. In the last ten minutes Michel went out on the same tyre that Nori had used earlier and was able to improve on his team-mate’s time, recording the fastest overall lap of the session; he was the only rider to lap in under 2m.00 and concluded the session comfortably, four tenths of a second ahead of Carlos Checa; Noriyuki closed this initial session in fifth position.

Two hours later on a still steaming track (58°C in temperature) first qualifying got underway with Noriyuki and Michel both setting impressive times just two laps into the session. The two Ducati Xerox riders, both very comfortable riding with the new Pirelli rear tyre (with which they obtained some strong results in the recent Imola tests), remained first and second in the classification for the first half of the session until Carlos Checa went two tenths quicker. With only five minutes of the session remaining, and on fresh tyres, both Fabrizio and Haga answered back, the Roman rider shaving six tenths of his previous best to record a 1m59.7 and the Japanese rider improving even more significantly on his time to set a 1m59.2, the fastest lap of the day.

Noriyuki Haga 1m59.2
“Feeling with my bike improved this afternoon, as we took another step with regard to the suspension and that helped, as did changing the tyre pressure. We still need to improve braking in certain sections of the track, and I’m not sure about tyres yet, because although the new one seems fairly consistent, I still want to try our “usual” tyre tomorrow and see how it works in these conditions. We’ve made a good start and will try to improve further in tomorrow’s sessions.”

Michel Fabrizio 1m59.7
“Everything’s going well for now and there are no real problems. The new rear tyre seems to be working well here, as it did when we tested it in Imola recently, and I was able to complete race distance on it, so that gives me confidence, though we still have the new front tyre to try tomorrow. I’m feeling fairly positive; I really like this track and hope to be able to do well tomorrow, to qualify at the front for Sunday’s races.”

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—  Yamaha Report

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland ended the first qualifying session at Brno today satisfied with a good base set up. Despite suffering earlier in the day with a severe lack of grip on the track, the afternoon’s qualifying saw both improve their times as they fine tuned the set up. Starting qualifying with a set up that didn’t suit the track so well, Crutchlow spent some time in the session waiting in the pit while it was changed. Despite the lack of track time he came out in the dying minutes to take second fastest on the board, less than three tenths off the lead.

Team mate James Toseland was also looking comfortable in the session despite suffering from a chest infection. The first 20 minutes saw Toseland lapping comfortably and consistently inside the top four, only dropping to ninth towards the end and finishing just three tenths off fourth.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1’59.571)
“it wasn’t too bad today considering we all struggled for grip at the start of the sessions, it came a bit better later on. From my point of view we’ve got a lot of work to do chassis set up wise. We tried the set up we had in Imola but it didn’t work here, so we didn’t get many laps in the qualifying session as we were changing the bike. We’ve gone back to our old base set up and it seems to be working better here. We’re struggling for side grip a bit but the lap times towards the end of the fifteen laps I did weren’t so bad. We’ll see for tomorrow, and I hope Troy Corser is ok and back with us tomorrow.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 2’00.451)
“I’m not feeling very well at the moment, I’ve got a chest infection so it’s been a tough day today. Consistency wise I think we’re there and I’m quite pleased with the way the bike has been round the track today. I like the circuit a lot and we seem to be working pretty well. I just hope I’m feeling a bit better tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
“for the first day it was ok today. Pirelli bought some new tyres that we tested in Imola to run here as well. For sure the bike set up for both riders is pretty much there now so the main job we have is to find the right race tyre for both James and Cal. We also need to fix some small details as both riders have some things they want to improve. Overall we are quite satisfied.”

—  BMW Report

Shock and relief – Team BMW Motorrad experienced both during the first day of the FIM Superbike World Championship weekend in Brno. While both riders, Ruben Xaus (ESP) and Troy Corser (AUS), started the weekend well, Troy crashed heavily on his final lap of Qualifying Practice 1. Initial medical reports confirm he has no serious injuries. He was taken to the hospital in Brno for further precautionary checks.

Ruben Xaus: Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:00.417 min (3rd ) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 2:00.273 min (6th)
“More than anything else I hope Troy is okay, and I hope he can ride tomorrow. Apart from that, I feel quite confident. The bike is working very well. We had a successful test in Imola, and we did not change the set-up very much. Physically, I am still struggling a little bit with my injured calf, but I am a lot better than I was in Imola. I can now do more than just a couple of laps in a row. Now I need to rest to be well-prepared for tomorrow.”

Troy Corser: Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:00.580 min (4th ) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 2:00.508 min (12th)

Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager): “Most important is the news that Troy is not badly injured. We all feel sorry for him, and we hope that he will be okay as soon as possible. This is the only thing we are concerned about. He was flown to Brno by the helicopter for further precautionary checks.”

—  Suzuki Report

The first day of practice and qualifying for Sunday’s World Superbike ninth round at Brno in the Czech Republic turned out a difficult one for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli.

Similar problems to the ones they had on day one at Misano and a lack of grip caused Guintoli to end the day 15th fastest, with Haslam two places back in 17th. But, just like Misano, the track’s grip is improving as more sessions take place and the team has identified today’s problems and will make changes to the settings tomorrow and will hopefully be back in contention again.

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) was fastest in qualifying with a lap of 1:59.277, with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) second. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) was third quickest, with Carlos Checa (Ducati) fourth.

Sylvain Guintoli – 15th, 2:00.739:
“I love this track, so it’s disappointing to only be 15th at the end of the day. But the problem is that we couldn’t get any grip out of the track today. The morning was bad, but it did get a bit better this afternoon and I have a feeling that it is going to get better and better over the weekend. We had this problem at Misano and it was frustrating, but we did improve then and I think we’ll improve more and more tomorrow and the next day. We definitely need more side-grip and hopefully we’ll get that as the track improves. The situation is not desperate, but it was pretty frustrating today. I feel that our base setting is good, so all we have to do is to make the tyres work for us.”

Leon Haslam- 17th, 2:01.003
“It was not an easy day for us, but the bottom line is that we think we have identified what happened and know what we can do to the bike to improve it. We had a big problem with grip today and although it was better in the afternoon, if you got off line, the track still felt pretty slippery. Like Misano, I sort of think that our problems today are a combination of new tyres, some problems sorting which way to go with the anti-braking system and the lack of track grip. We’ve had a long, hard look at the telemetry and we know what we’re going to do with the bike tomorrow, so that’s a good and positive way to end the day.

—  Ten Kate

Jonathan Rea set the eighth fastest time in today’s opening qualifying session at Brno in the Czech Republic this afternoon in preparation for the two ninth round World Superbike championship races which take place on Sunday.

Rea lapped the 5.403km circuit with a best time of 2m00.442s putting the 23-year-old just three tenths from a provisional front row start. Noriyuki Haga set the fastest time, with Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, 14th quickest today.

After a disappointing set of results last time out at Misano in Italy, a test at Imola last week improved Rea’s connection with his Honda CBR1000RR and the Northern Irishman was 11th fastest in today’s opening free practice session at Brno.

His crew made several positive improvements to his chassis settings today, while improving the throttle connection and allowing Rea to improve both his time and provisional grid position in this afternoon’s first qualifier.

Neukirchner improved his own free practice lap time by almost two seconds this afternoon, despite track temperatures increasing to 58°C. The German and his crew have worked on clutch settings today and on improving the bike’s turning.

Jonathan Rea – P8
I think today has been just about the most positive day since…, well, I’m not sure I can remember! We made a lot of progress during today’s two sessions when I’ve been coming in with a fairly clear head and given good feedback to the guys who have worked really well in improving the bike. We normally only make progress like this after a session or during the evening! We started this morning’s practice with a few teething issues and we’ve just made a series of good improvements right through the day, to the point where we have a pretty good base with which to start tomorrow. We’ll focus on getting a good Superpole package together and then worry about the races when they come on Sunday. I’ve really enjoyed riding today – Brno is a good, flowing circuit and I felt pretty controlled and smooth all day, and didn’t even have to push really hard for the times.

Max Neukirchner – P14
We’ve done a lot of work today but I concentrated more on the clutch and I tried two different solutions to compare. I think we’ve found the one that works best to minimise the bike backing into the corners. The other problem we’ve had today is trying to get the bike to turn faster. Because it’s slow, it means that I’m always later getting back on the throttle and that is costing me time. We’ll check the data to see which is the best solution but my feeling is that the front probably needs to come down a little. The chatter is much less of a problem here compared to Misano or even at the Imola test. That is probably the nature of the Brno circuit which is much more flowing, so I hope we can continue to improve in the morning.

— Althea Ducati

The first sessions of the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship got under way today at the Czech circuit of Brno. Included in the line up were the two Althea Racing riders, on board the Italian team’s Ducati 1198 machines.

In the afternoon’s qualifying session, Carlos Checa stopped the clock on 2m00.153 which awarded him with provisional fourth position. A great result obtained in spite of a crash towards the middle of the session. “I lost the front, probably going over a pothole, and I couldn’t keep from falling”, said the Spanish rider, third in the overall standings. “It was a pity because I’d built up a good rhythm. When I went back on track, with the second bike and new tyres, I immediately built up good pace again. We’ve worked hard on the fork and on the general rideability, and have found a great set-up. This is the first time that I’m riding a Ducati here and I must say that, for day one, I’m pretty satisfied.”

Team-mate Shane Byrne closed the session just three tenths of a second from Carlos. Riding for the team captained by Genesio Bevilacqua, the English rider gritted his teeth, despite having suffered a deep cut to his left hand during the recent Imola tests, and managed to score a promising thirteenth position with a best time of 2m00.534. “I’m not 100% but I was still able to set a time just three tenths from those on the front row”, said “Shakey”.

“We have a good general set-up but we still have a lot of work to do tomorrow, in order to make the most of the different things we’ve tried today. I want to find the best possible feeling to heighten my chances of running a good race. My hand? It’s not so much the pain that’s bothering me but more the sensation of not having full control.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing was also satisfied, declaring, “With Carlos we made a short race simulation, with great results. We tried many components, concentrating on finding the right set-up and tomorrow morning we’ll concentrate on times. For Shane, on the other hand, this is a test of bravery. His hand is not in perfect condition but he’s a fighter and we will try to take as many points as possible with a view to the overall standings.”