Ducati privateers again outshine factory effort in Salt Lake Superpole

Day Two

Althea Ducati rider Carlos Checa dominated the final Superpole session with a fabulous new track best lap of 1’47.081, beating Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) by 0.333 seconds and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) by 0.567 seconds, in a session that was red-flagged for a time and then re-started.

Jakub Smrz (Pata B&G Ducati) was fourth, one place ahead of championship leader, Leon Haslam (Alstare Suzuki). Smrz was one of a few top riders to crash today, as track temperatures and the levels of competition heated up.

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) was happy in sixth place, with Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) overcoming the effects of a huge crash that brought out the red flags to go seventh, one place up on Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia).

Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) was just out of the final Superpole qualifying session, ninth fastest and top BMW rider after Troy Corser fell in Superpole two and finished 15th.

The second factory Ducati of Michel Fabrizio was tenth fastest, ahead of Checa’s team-mate, Shane Byrne.

Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) went 12th in his first qualifying experience at Miller. Impressive Ducati privateer Luca Scassa was 13th on his Supersonic Racing team 1098, ahead of struggling James Toseland, from the Yamaha Sterilgarda team.

The official Kawasaki Racing Team duo of Chris Vermeulen and Tom Sykes missed out on Superpole 2, with Sykes having a crunching high-side crash in Superpole 1. Local rider Roger Lee Hayden (Pedercini Kawasaki) went 20th.

Rider Comments:
Carlos Checa: “I know this track and I really like this track. And we made a good job. I always have some success here; always feel well. Even now with the Ducati we have had fantastic performance. I didn’t expect to get this lap time and to get the Superpole win. We know the Aprilia has a lot of speed. With a lot of grip even this makes it more difficult. But finally, this lap time was fantastic.”

Max Biaggi: “I think we have been in a good pace since yesterday and we have found a way to work better with one bike than the other, in chassis and set-up of the suspension. Today we have found a good way in Superpole and we will start from the front row, which is important.”

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Cal Crutchlow: “It has not been too bad but the pace was so fast. Carlos and Max have been fast all weekend. All credit to Carlos, what a fantastic lap. I could not get anywhere near that and yet I have been going well in Superpole lately. We should have two close races tomorrow and we have a good chance of being in the top five, because we have good race pace.”

World Supersport

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took his tenth career pole position today to gain the psychological advantage over Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) before raceday tomorrow. Kenan’s pole time was a remarkable 1’51.281, another new track best.

Third in the ranking is the third place rider in the championship, Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Motocard.com) who has his team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara for company on the front row.

A late fast lap from David Salom (ParkinGo BE-1 Triumph) put him one place above his fellow Triumph rider Chaz Davies, with Michele Pirro (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) seventh. Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) rounded out the top eight places and the second row of the grid.

—  Ducati Report

In warm but windy conditions Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio participated in a closely fought Superpole session this afternoon at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City. Haga and his squad were very satisfied with the sixth place finish, while Fabrizio closed today’s Superpole in tenth position.

Earlier in the day, the Superbike riders were out on track for the second qualifying session and both Michel and Noriyuki made some consistently fast laps, before improving on their best times set yesterday in the final minutes of the session. By the end of a very competitive 45-minute session, both Ducati Xerox riders had qualified easily for the afternoon’s Superpole, Michel in sixth position and Noriyuki in thirteenth.

Superpole 1: In the first of the three mini-sessions, the Ducati Xerox riders both went out on race rubber and at the end of the fourteen-minute phase, Nori lay in tenth and Michel in thirteenth place, both riders therefore passing safely to the second stage.

Superpole 2: both Fabrizio and Haga chose to use qualifiers for the second session and registered, in a first exit, the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively. When the times of other riders began to drop, the Ducati Xerox men returned to the track, both taking advantage of the second “Q” available to them, to close in eighth (Nori) and tenth (Michel) position. Michel’s Superpole thus ended here; he will lie up on the third row of tomorrow’s grid.
Superpole 3: Noriyuki continued to ride with the qualifier used in the previous session. When Jonathan Rea crashed mid-session, a red flag stopped proceedings for a couple of minutes. Noriyuki and his team took this opportunity to substitute the used “Q” with a race tyre and in his last exit of the afternoon, the Japanese rider improved once more on his best time, to conclude today’s Superpole with the sixth fastest time and assuring himself of a place on the second row of tomorrow’ grid.

Noriyuki Haga
“I am of course very happy to have qualified on the second row for tomorrow’s races. It seems we have found a solution to one of the problems I was having, I have a better level of feeling and I have been able to turn the bike as I want to. Tomorrow morning we’ll make a few more small changes to see if we can further improve there but I’m feeling quite confident, let’s cross our fingers that tomorrow conditions allow us to make two great races.”

Michel Fabrizio
“I’m disappointed as I hoped to qualify on the front rows and it won’t be at all easy to start from the third. I was losing valuable time in the final split and didn’t manage to put together that extra fast lap that was needed. However we’ve found good race pace over these two days and, if I can make a good start, I’m confident I can make two good races; I really like this track and would like to do well here.”

—  Althea Ducati

Carlos Checa had a great session today and awarded the Althea Racing team with their first Superpole. The Spanish rider demonstrated his incredible pace in each of the sessions, on both race and qualifying tyres and in the final phase he put together an extremely fast lap which secured him the pole for tomorrow’s races. It is worth noting that Carlos also significantly improved on his previous lap record set in 2008.

“In the qualifying session we did a good job”, stated Carlos, “and then Superpole went extremely well: I was braking as late as possible, exiting corners at top speed and I finished with a time that I didn’t expect, so I’m extremely satisfied. I’m just as happy with the work that I’ve carried out with my team in preparation for the races.”

Shane Byrne on the other hand is less satisfied. Having been fast in all of the practice sessions, uncertainty at a certain point during the decisive Superpole phase prevented him from doing better. “We made an error of judgment in the last lap”, said Shane, “and this meant we didn’t reach the final
Superpole session. It’s a pity because the bike is ok and I’m really satisfied with the work my team has done.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of the Althea Racing team declared: “Carlos has given us all a great day, having worked in perfect harmony with his team. This Superpole has once again demonstrated the strength of our project. A pity for Shane who is both fast and determined. I am certain that tomorrow we will see satisfying performances from both of our riders.”

—  Yamaha Report

Crutchlow scores a front row start for Salt Lake City Race day

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow kept his cool in the Utah sunshine today to score a front row start on the grid for tomorrow’s two World Superbike races at the Miller Motorsports circuit in Salt Lake City. Crutchlow switched to a qualifier tyre for the second heat, securing a place in the third by finishing sixth. The second qualifying tyre was used to good effect in the third heat, taking him under the 1’48 second mark to secure third on the grid with a 1’47.648.

Team mate James Toseland passed comfortably through the first Superpole heat however was unable to pass through the second. The British rider had been using a set up which had worked perfectly for a slower speed whilst learning the circuit but needed to be modified to cope with the higher speed and extra grip offered by the qualifier tyres in Superpole. He starts tomorrow’s races from 14th on the grid.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (3rd, 1’47.648)
“Today hasn’t been too bad, the pace is so fast out there for everybody. Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi have been fast all weekend, all credit to Carlos what a fantastic Superpole lap, not even I could get near it and I’ve been pretty good in Superpole this year! I’m looking forward to the races tomorrow, I think we’ve got a good chance of being top five and we’ve got good race pace.”
James Toseland

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (14th, 1’48.640)
“We went out on the standard bike set up at the beginning of the weekend at a slower pace learning the track, going from 1’51 second laps then down into the 1’50’s. We then switched to a new set up which seemed to work at those speeds, but as we got down into the 1’48’s it made it a lot harsher over the bumps on the track, unfortunately it was too late to change this before Superpole. So tomorrow morning we’ll go back to a set up we know works well, it’s just a shame as it’s cost us a good grid position. Hopefully tomorrow morning we’ll be able to get back down to some good lap times and get more comfortable again. In the race I’m going to need a good start and then I’m just going to get stuck in.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“The first row for Cal is great and a good starting point for the races. It’s a little bit different on James’s side having to start from the fourth row, for sure the race will be tougher for him. We will work tonight to make sure we understand what isn’t right in the set up, I’m confident we will have a good solution tomorrow morning to give him the set up he needs to fight in the races.”

—  BMW Report

Mixed emotions for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport after the Superpole Qualifying at Miller Motorsport Park close to Salt Lake City (USA): Although neither of the BMW, riders Ruben Xaus (ESP) and Troy Corser (AUS), made it into the final session, both riders’ lap times on race tyres were not too bad. In the end, Ruben missed Superpole 3 by only the blink of an eye and finished ninth. Troy crashed on his flying lap in the second Superpole session, but luckily returned to the garage unhurt. He will start tomorrow’s races from 15th.

Ruben Xaus: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:49.477 min / Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:49.580 min /
Fastest lap Superpole 2: 1:48.141 min
“On the one hand I am disappointed because I missed the final Superpole session by just two hundredths of a second, while on the other hand I am really happy: If someone had told me yesterday I would start ninth, I would not have believed it. We were looking for a good position on the grid. Now I am hoping for good starts tomorrow. I am optimistic for tomorrow as I believe our pace on race tyres is good.”

Troy Corser: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:48.318 min / Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:49.311 min /
Fastest lap Superpole 2: 1:48.706 min
“I have reason to be happy. I can do good lap times on the race tyre and the bike settings feel quite good. Unfortunately the qualifying tyre was not easy to ride on. I had chattering on the out lap, and when I approached turn 1 on my flying lap I braked, as usual, but when I released the brake I fell off the bike. I tried not to damage the bike too much, and I am happy not to be hurt. I hope I can take advantage of the long straight before turn 1 when starting tomorrow’s races.”

Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager):
“We have improved a lot today. Both riders did good lap times on the race tyre, but the result of the Superpole is a bit unlucky: Ruben missed the final Superpole session only by two hundredths of a second. Troy obviously compromised a possible starting position from one of the two front rows with a crash. However, in the morning he showed he is quick. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s races.”

—  Suzuki Report

TBC

—  Ten Kate

Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two seventh round World Superbike championship races at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA from the second row after setting the seventh fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole qualifying.

The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland suffered a cruel highside in the third Superpole outing and was unable to improve his time further. Rea sustained tyre burns to his neck and chest but expects to be fit enough to compete in tomorrow’s two 21-lap races at the 4.907km circuit near Salt Lake City.

Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, will start from the fourth row of the grid after getting through to Superpole two. The German was eliminate with the 16th fastest time and is looking for further improvements from his CBR1000RR in tomorrow’s warm-up.

Tomorrow’s event marks only the second time in World Superbike championship history that races have taken place on a Monday – the last time was at Donington Park in the UK in 1994. Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the USA, a public holiday in honour of the country’s military.

Jonathan Rea – P7
I was getting massive chatter from the rear when we put the qualifier in, so we changed the bike a little bit for Superpole 3. I went out on a slightly used qualifier but the rear just chattered its way round to a highside and I went over the bars. The tyre had the last word on my neck and chest, too, which is a little sore but I’ll be OK for tomorrow. I guess the second row is not too bad and we’re fairly confident that the race set up will be good right the way through the 21 laps. As long as I can get away well at the start, I’ll be hoping to have something to say about the finish.

Max Neukirchner – P16
The team has been working very well today but we can’t seem to lose the chatter at the rear and the qualifying tyre seemed to just make it worse. We have improved the braking and corner entry but it’s still not enough, so we will try to follow the same path as today in tomorrow’s warm-up to find a little bit extra for the race. We still have a lot of work to do to get up to a good race pace, but I will try my best tomorrow.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
I believe we are again ready to race, but the Kyalami story has repeated itself here, because there we couldn’t really get in a single fast lap. The chatter that we experienced from the qualifying tyres here has certainly set new standards for our data system. Jonathan took a nasty hit but we know he’s a tough guy and tomorrow is Monday, which we hope, like most Sundays, will be his fun day. With Max we still have some work in progress. After a disastrous round in Kyalami we’re no longer in the dark and I believe we’ve found the right direction to follow.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu will start tomorrow’s seventh round World Superpsort championship race from pole position after setting the fastest qualifying time at Miller Motorsports Park in the USA this afternoon.

The Turkish ace took his tenth World Supersport pole position with a new best lap for 600cc machines at the 4.907km circuit near Salt Lake City, pipping his championship rival Eugene Laverty into second place by less than one tenth of a second.

The other main 2010 championship protagonist, Joan Lascorz, will also start from the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s 18-lap race after setting the third fastest time, with Sofuoglu’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Michele Pirro, in seventh place on the second row.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P1
I have to admit that pole position was quite a surprise for me today! We had quite a lot of problems yesterday, especially with engine braking, but my team made some good changes to the clutch today, which made things much better. My goal was really only to start from the front row, because the main aim is to win tomorrow’s race. So, I have to say a big thank you to the team for working so hard today to give me a great bike to ride – now we can focus on winning again.

Michele Pirro – P7
The bike was much better today and I had a good feeling. The front was stronger and more stable under braking and corner entry was good, too. I couldn’t put in a good enough lap time to get on the front row but I’ll will try my best for a good race tomorrow. I think our race pace is OK, but the three fast guys are in front of me. I will try to get a good start and see what happens after that.

Ronald ten Kate – team-manager
Big compliments to Kenan and his crew for a job very well done today. We certainly had some things to work through after yesterday and that’s happened in today’s sessions when Kenan has been very fast, setting a new fastest lap here at Miller in the process. Michele has worked well with his team as well, and he is in a good position to fight at the front in tomorrow’s race.a