World SBK 2011 – Round Eight – Brno
Reigning champion Biaggi aces Brno Tissot-Superpole
Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) took his second Tissot-Superpole win of the year today by posting a lap of 1 minute 58.580 seconds, holding off the push of his fellow Italian Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike).
Third on the grid is championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati). The top four riders in the championship convened a meeting on the front row when Melandri’s team-mate Eugene Laverty went fourth.
Max Biaggi: “It’s been very tough for track conditions, different from last year, different tyres as well. It’s very good for us and I’m so happy for this result to get pole in front of all these people. Brno is a really great track, lots of long blind corners, a lot of exit space and it’s very wide and I have a much better feeling here than at other tracks, but tomorrow is another story, it’ll be a long, long race and hopefully the tyre will do a good job.”
Marco Melandri: “Brno has also been a good track for me in the past, and since Friday morning we’ve done a good job with the Yamaha, the bike’s been working well step by step. A second place for sure is a very good position. It’s going to be very tough for the tyres tomorrow, but very interesting and I’m happy with today.”
Carlos Checa: “I think we did a great job over all the weekend, at the end of qualifying we are third, which is positive. We know it’s going to be hard against Max and Marco because they have done fast laps. Anyway I did a good lap in Superpole, we knew at the start that this was not one of our favourite circuits, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Eugene Laverty: “This morning we tried something which didn’t work very well , so we had to take a step backwards. In the free practice session we made progress in the right direction and I topped the times for the first time this year, which I am quite pleased with. Superpole went smoothly. All I wanted was a front row for two good races tomorrow, it’s very important in order to be in a position to fight for a win. That’s what I’m aiming for, but I’d be happy with a podium!”
Home rider Jakub Smrz (Effenbert–Liberty Racing Ducati) will start from fifth position on the grid, one place up on Suzuki Alstare’s Michel Fabrizio. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) crashed in Superpole 1 but hurried back to the pits to ride his spare machine and he made it all the way to Superpole 3, and an eventual seventh place ranking. The last place on row two went to Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) who had to use his two qualifying rear tyres in the first two Superpole sessions, meaning he had no realistic chance of getting onto the front row in the final run.
Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK) heads the third row, from Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert-Liberty Racing) and the ever-improving Mark Aitchison (Pedercini Kawasaki). Maxime Berger headed a host of bigger names to take his Supersonic Racing Ducati to 12th on the grid.
– Superpole
1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1’58.580
2 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 1’58.801
3 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1’58.908
4 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 1’59.055
5 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1’59.541
6 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 1’59.908
7 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1’59.925
8 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 2’00.303
9 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 1’59.684
10 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 1’59.800
11 Mark Aitchison Kawasaki AUS 2’00.362
12 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 2’01.011
13 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 2’00.252
14 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 2’00.374
15 Lorenzo Lanzi BMW ITA 2’00.619
– Qualifying 1 & Qualifying 2
1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1’59.322 2’00.296
2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1’59.585 2’00.424
3 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 1’59.653 2’00.262
4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1’59.940 1’59.668
5 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 2’00.196 1’59.905
6 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 1’59.906 2’00.562
7 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 2’00.494 1’59.946
8 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 2’00.154 2’00.199
9 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 2’00.164 2’00.531
10 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 2’00.440 2’00.294
11 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 2’00.310 2’00.772
12 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 2’00.348 2’00.370
13 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 2’00.463 2’00.439
14 Matteo Baiocco Kawasaki ITA 2’00.970 2’00.466
15 Lorenzo Lanzi BMW ITA 2’00.580 2’01.583
World Supersport
Fabien Foret (Ten Kate Honda) took a Honda bike to pole position in Supersport for the second time this year following Sam Lowes’ exploit at Misano Adriatico. The Frenchman’s time of 2 minutes 03.548 seconds came right at the end of the session and it allows the former Brno winner and Supersport champion to launch a major push for the win tomorrow.
Foret was just a fraction ahead of the two Kawasaki Motocard.com riders Broc Parkes and David Salom, who are also looking particularly competitive, while Britain’s Gino Rea also consolidated his weekend progress with an excellent fourth place for the Step Racing Honda team.
Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) heads up the second row of the grid ahead of Parkalgar Honda’s Lowes, with Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Honda), points leader Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) and Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service Yamaha) the next qualifiers. The other top title contender Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) was unable to go any higher than twelfth.
Times:
1. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 2’03.548;
2. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’03.611;
3. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’03.681;
4. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2’03.909;
5. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’04.093;
6. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2’04.123;
7. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 2’04.610;
8. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 2’04.639;
Superstock 1000
Two Ducatis and two BMWs will make up the front row of the starting grid for the Superstock 1000 race. Pole position went to Italian Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati), who was just a fraction ahead of points leader Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati). German bikes took the remaining two positions, with Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team) in front of Markus Reiterberger (Garnier Alpha Racing Team).
Row 2 is an all-Italian affair, starting with Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing Ducati), followed by Niccolò Canepa (Lazio Motorsport Ducati), Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team) and Fabio Massei (Piellemoto BMW). Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki Lorenzini) was the first non-Ducati and non-BMW rider in ninth, while rookie Ferruccio Lamborghini (Ten Kate Junior Team) had a good session, qualifying in fourteenth.
Results:
1. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’03.617;
2. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’03.855;
3. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 2’04.006;
4. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 2’04.086;
5. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’04.355;
6. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’04.421;
7. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 2’04.480;
8. Massei F. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 2’04.638;
Superstock 600 – Race
Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) led throughout the entire 10-lap race by a large margin, but was almost caught by three chasing rivals in the final stages. The Italian managed to take the win however by a couple of tenths from Joshua Day (Revolution Racedays Kawasaki), Tomas Krajci (TK Racing Slovakia Yamaha) and Gauthier Duwelz (MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha), who finished in that order. Stefane Egea (ASPI Yamaha) finished in fifth place, just ahead of Assen winner Michael Van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Honda), while Riccardo Russo (Trasimeno Yamaha) was next up.
In the championship Lombardi now lies second, ten points behind Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), who crashed out. Third place in the table is in the hands of Jed Metcher (MTM-RT Motorsports Team Yamaha), who retired after a trip into the gravel.
Results:
1. Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 21’27.702 (151,051 kph);
2. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.280;
3. Krajci T. (SVK) Yamaha YZF R6 1.133;
4. Duwelz G. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 1.450;
5. Egea S. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 6.653;
6. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 6.797;
7. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.292;
8. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 10.117;
Points (after 5 of 10 rounds): 1. Lanusse 81; 2. Lombardi 71; Metcher 61; 4. Vd Mark, Day, Duwelz 51;
– Althea Ducati Report
At the end of an intense day of work at the Brno circuit, Carlos Checa and the Althea Racing team closed the eighth Superpole of the season in third position. It is worth noting that this is the seventh time in eight events that Carlos will line up on the front row of the Superbike grid.
On a very hot track (43˚C), the SBK riders were out on track for second qualifying this morning. Times did not improve from yesterday and no-one was able to better Carlos’ best time of yesterday afternoon. Seventh in this session, with a best lap of 2m00.2, Checa’s fastest time from the first qualifying session guaranteed that he qualified in first position for the afternoon’s Superpole.
During the early afternoon’s final practice session, the Althea Racing rider consolidated his performance, closing the session with the second overall fastest time on an increasingly hot track (51˚C). Perhaps due to the heat, the times of almost all the riders were slightly higher than those of the morning, though Carlos was able to record a best of 2m00.1.
Superpole 1: Carlos went out for the first Superpole phase on race rubber and just one fast lap was good enough to project him to second place on the timesheets, meaning he could return to the garage, having done more than enough to qualify for phase two.
Superpole 2: as in the first session, Althea’s flagbearer needed to make just one lap during this twelve minute session. He immediately recorded a 1m58.9 which remained the fastest lap of the mini-session overall; he thus closed this second phase in first position.
Superpole 3: Carlos completed two fast laps during this final phase, the first of which positioned him third in the final standings. Thanks to this time, Checa and the Althea Racing team will line up in third position on the grid for tomorrow’s all-important races.
Carlos Checa: “I think we did a great job throughout the whole weekend. We didn’t have any particular expectations; we followed our normal work programme and are happy with the outcome. Qualifying went well and we finished third in Superpole. It will be a tough battle especially against Max and Marco tomorrow as you can see they have a strong pace but I believe we can stay with them at the front, this is the objective at least. Tomorrow’s races will have a lot to do with the tyres, the temperature and the general conditions, and we’ll see how we measure up against the others. But considering that this is not one of our favourite tracks, we are satisfied with today’s result.”
– Suzuki Report
Michel Fabrizio raced to his best Superpole result of the year aboard the Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 with sixth position and will start tomorrow’s pair of 20-lap races at the eighth round of the World Superbike Championship from the second row of the grid.
So far this season, the Italian has struggled in Superpole, but today he was fifth quickest in regular qualifying and his sixth in final Superpole was enough for a place on row two of the grid.
Max Biaggi (Aprilia) took his second Superpole of the season with Marco Melandri (Yamaha) second, series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) third and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) fourth.
Michel Fabrizio – 6th, 1:59.908: “I am happy to be on the first two rows of the grid, because it feels like a long time since I was there. It was very hard work out there today and I am very tired now because I was riding over my limit. But that’s what you have to do in Superpole and today my reward was the sixth quickest lap time.
“Our plan, as usual, was to get into Superpole 3 and we did that today by using our two qualifying tyres in Superpoles 1 and 2. That meant that I only had regular race rubber to use in Superpole 3 and so I wasn’t able to go any faster.
“Yesterday we had some problems with the rear end of the bike moving around on the brakes and today we solved the problem just by changing the tyre. I am happy with the set-up of my bike for the race and I am looking forward to getting two good starts and being right with the leaders from the beginning. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but I really don’t think any of us want that. It will make life difficult for all of us and I don’t think the fans would be too happy either. I hope it stays dry and I can fight for the podium in both races.”
– BMW Report
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport experienced a disappointing Saturday. Factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) will start the eighth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship in Brno (CZE) from the fourth row. Leon finished the Superpole qualifying in 13th, missing the second Superpole session only by 0,047 seconds . His team mate Troy Corser (AUS) is with the team at Brno but is not racing in order to give his fractured left forearm time to heal.
Ayrton Badovini (ITA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team will start with his BMW S 1000 RR from ninth. His team mate Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) qualified 15th.
Leon Haslam: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 2:00.164 min (P9) / Fastest lap FP: 2:00.949 min (P10) / Fastest lap Superpole 1: 2:00.252 min (P13)
“As soon as we have rear grip on the bike we come across a lot of issues. The bike gets better the older the tyre gets, but with a new grippy tyre the issues start. The engine still accelerates into the corners, which on this circuit is quite difficult. The rear grip with the bike was really good with the qualifying tyre. I made a mistake on that lap with the engine push. So less than a tenth again and we are out. Our race pace is quite good, and this circuit is a bit wider and flowing, so we just need another good start and then we will try to get the best result we can.”
Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations): “It was a disappointing day. This is our worst Superpole result for Brno, as we always started here from the first or second row. Leon reported some issues with the qualifying tyre. This tyre had more grip and we struggled getting into the corners. So he just was not able to ride faster. In the races we will now try to make the best out of our grid position.”
– Castrol Honda Report
Ruben Xaus and Alex Lowes both missed today’s final Superpole qualifying shootout for tomorrow’s two eighth round World Superbike championship races at Brno in the Czech Republic.
Xaus has cited lack of rear grip and rear-end chatter on his machine as his main barriers to gaining the additional half second or so in his lap time that would have seen him battling for a place in the top ten or better.
Alex Lowes, who is enjoying his first outing on the Castrol Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade at the 5.403km Brno circuit this weekend, continued to make progress today, particularly in adapting his riding to suit the machine’s performance.
The 20-year-old from Lincoln in the UK has been trying to alter his braking style to carry less speed into Brno’s corners. As a result, Lowes’s lap times have continued to fall throughout his first four sessions on the bike.
However, starting from 17th and 21st places on the grid respectively will leave both Xaus and Lowes plenty to do in tomorrow’s two 18-lap Brno races.
Ruben Xaus – 17th, 2m00.681s – It’s been a very tough weekend for me so far and we have not been able to dial out the chatter problem I’ve had. Also, with the higher track temperatures today, the grip level fell and we have been looking for the right balance today. It didn’t come unfortunately and that will mean two difficult races tomorrow but I think temperatures will be lower tomorrow which might help a little bit.
Alex Lowes – 21st, 2m01.724s – I definitely made some improvements on the braking side today and you can see from the data that, in some places, I’m braking twice as hard as yesterday. It’s difficult to make such a major change to my riding and I’ve been concentrating so hard that sometimes it’s affected other parts of my riding! But I’m loving it and learning all the time about the bike and about how I can improve how I ride it. I’ve knocked about three seconds off my lap time since yesterday and I’m going to shave some more off tomorrow and try to have two mega races. I can’t wait for the lights to go off now!
Ronald ten Kate – team manager – This is definitely not where we want to be on the grid, but Alex is learning to adapt to the CBR. He has made some improvements today and I’m sure there will be more progress tomorrow that will allow him to enjoy the races. It’s not an easy job and the standard in this championship is very high but, as long as he continues to improve in each session, it will continue be a solid experience for him.
– Yamaha Report
Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty delivered impressive performances in sweltering sunshine in Brno today to secure two front row positions on tomorrow’s starting grid.
Melandri kept his cool on the hot track to comfortably complete Superpole one in first place on a race tyre while team-mate Laverty, qualified for the second session in ninth place. Both riders switched to qualifiers for the Second Superpole to complete the heat with Laverty in second place and Melandri in fourth before being bumped down a position in the dying seconds and consequently finishing up third and sixth. The final heat saw the Yamaha World superbike riders immediately produce a flying lap to secure two front row positions on the starting grid of the historical Brno Automotodrom. Melandri will start tomorrow’s two races from second place, while Laverty is in fourth. The Italian also registered the top speed in all three Superpole sessions today, reaching an impressive high of 295.9 Km/h on his Yamaha R1 machine.
This morning’s second qualifying session saw Melandri completing a series of laps, focusing on tyre wear ahead of tomorrow’s races with the hope the threatened rain storms hold off. Team-mate Laverty tried some new changes to his bike’s chassis set-up. Failing to improve on yesterday’s performance, the Irishman returned to the original base set-up and completed the afternoon’s free Practice session topping the time sheets for the first time in his World Superbike rookie year.
Melandri Melandri / Yamaha World Superbike Team – 2nd, 1’58.580
“It was a good day for me, my Yamaha worked very well. My team has done a great job, working hard and step by step making improvements, so thanks a lot to them! We knew the qualifying would be difficult so I’m really happy with my second place. It’s not pole position but that’s not important for me. The main thing is to be on the front row. The weather conditions tomorrow will make it interesting. We are expecting rain so anything can happen. But also if it’s hot like today the race will be difficult too, as it won’t be easy to keep the pace.”
Eugene Laverty / Yamaha World Superbike Team – 4th, 1’59.055
“This morning we tried something which didn’t work very well, so we had to take a step backwards. In the free practice session we made progress in the right direction and I topped the times for the first time this year, which I am quite pleased with. Superpole went smoothly. All I wanted was a front row for two good races tomorrow so that’s what I’m hoping for. A good starting place on the grid is very important in order to be in a position to fight for a win. That’s what I’m aiming for, but I’d be happy with a podium!”
Andrea Dosoli – Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“A front row start for both riders shows how the teams have worked hard and Marco and Eugene are both very competitive. They were fast on the qualifiers but also on the race tyres and this is important. Marco improved the chassis set up and the gearbox this morning while Eugene made progress on the front end. The times he put in during the free practice prove how strong he can be tomorrow. We expect very different weather conditions tomorrow so it will be difficult for everyone to choose the suitable tyres. I am confident that we can be strong no matter what the weather is like.”