World Superbike 2013 – Round Seven – Imola
— Sykes takes Imola pole
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) has clocked another outstanding lap-time to grab his 6th consecutive Tissot-Superpole out of 7 held so far in 2013 – the 17th of his career – that brings the English rider up to 4th in the all-time pole position winners list, tied with former WSBK Champion Doug Polen. After seeing his time deleted as it was completed under (read more)
Tom Sykes: “That Tissot-Superpole win was down to a good call by my crew chief Marcel who said, after the red flag incident, we should use a fresh race tyre rather than the used qualifier I had wanted to go out on again. Doing that Superpole session on a race tyre has also given us good information for the races tomorrow. I am looking to put in strong results after my stupid mistake in Portimao and two strong finishes would put that memory to bed.”
Jonathan Rea: I’m delighted to be on the front row because that’s always the target for the weekend, as I said yesterday. I was feeling really strong in second qualifying and free practice earlier, making good set-up changes with the bike. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win, but I think we’ve got a race package that will allow us to challenge for that so I’ll hope for good starts and two good races tomorrow.
Tissot-Superpole times: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’45.981 average 167.668 kph; 2. Rea (Honda) 1’46.556; 3. Giugliano (Aprilia) 1’46.713; 4. Guintoli (Aprilia) 1’46.857; 5. Laverty (Aprilia) 1’46.931; 6. Camier (Suzuki) 1’47.165; 7. Melandri (BMW) 1’47.221; 8. Badovini (Ducati) 1’47.396; 9. Baz (Kawasaki) 1’47.597; 10. Davies (BMW); 11. Haslam (Honda); 12. Fabrizio (Aprilia); 13. Checa (Ducati); 14. Cluzel (Suzuki); 15. Neukirchner (Ducati); 16. Sandi (Kawasaki); 17. Iannuzzo (BMW); 18. Haga (BMW); 19. Lundh (Kawasaki).
World Supersport – Sam Lowes on pole over Sofuoglu and Leonov
Championship leader Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motosport Yamaha) has scored the 6th pole position of the season, the 11th in his World Supersport career, today at Imola. The rider from Lincoln was able to better his already competitive time to put half a second between himself and the other two front row starters for the race scheduled for tomorrow, Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) … (read more)
Results: 1. Lowes (Yamaha) 1’50.404 average 160.951 kph; 2. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’50.902; 3. Leonov (Yamaha) 1’50.912; 4. Russo (Kawasaki) 1’50.962; 5. Zanetti (Honda) 1’51.704; 6. Scassa (Kawasaki) 1’51.706; 7. Coghlan (Kawasaki) 1’51.715; 8. Antonelli (Kawasaki) 1’51.946; 9. Morais (Honda) 1’51.961; 10. Vd Mark (Honda) 1’52.083; etc.
Superstock 1000 – Barrier tops Q2 to get pole
Reigning Champion Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) has scored his 12th career pole position, 4th in 2013, ahead of Barni Racing Ducati duo of Niccolò Canepa and Eddi La Marra, after a… (read more)
Results: 1. Barrier (BMW) 1’49.900 average 161.689 kph; 2. Canepa (Ducati) 1’50.157; 3. La Marra (Ducati) 1’50.527; 4. Savadori (Kawasaki) 1’50.870; 5. Jezek (Ducati) 1’50.977; 6. Bussolotti (BMW) 1’51.572; 7. Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1’51.597; 8. Mercado (Kawasaki) 1’51.599; 9. Lussiana (Kawasaki) 1’51.963; 10. Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’52.208; etc.
Superstock 600 – Race – Nocco gets home victory
Alessandro Nocco (San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki) got a well deserved maiden win in the Superstock 600 European Championship today at Imola. The 16 year old from Gagliano del Capo … (read more)
Results: 1. Nocco (Kawasaki) 7 Laps/34.552 km in 13’24.074 average 154.696 kph; 2. Morbidelli (Kawasaki) 0.088; 3. Gamarino (Kawasaki) 0.245; 4. Coveña (Kawasaki) 1.246; 5. Morrentino (Yamaha) 2.401; 6. Salvadori (Yamaha) 8.920; 7. Mercandelli (Yamaha) 9.253; 8. Chesaux (Honda) 10.819; 9. Duwelz (Yamaha) 11.175; 10. Casalotti (Yamaha) 11.748; 11. Mamola (Yamaha) 12.163; 12. Vitali (Suzuki) 12.769; 13. Schmitter (Yamaha) 15.049; 14. Nestorovic (Yamaha) 15.179; 15. Spedale (Yamaha) 15.452; etc.
Standings: 1. Duwelz 84; 2. Morbidelli 74; 3. Coveña 65; 4. Chesaux 64; 5. Nocco 50; 6. Gamarino 47; 7. Morrentino 44; 8. Salvadori 37; 9. Nestorovic 33; 10. Mulhauser 32; 11. Casalotti 25; 12. Tessels 19; 13. Vitali 19; 14. Tuuli 17; 15. Schmitter 17; etc.
European Junior Cup – Third pole in 2013 for Raymond
Guillaume Raymond (Activebike) has scored his 3rd Pata European Junior Cup, powered by Honda pole position today at Imola. The young Frenchman climbed to the top of the timesheets at his very (read more)
Results: 1. Raymond (Honda) 2’14.571 average 132.046 kph; 2. Flitcroft (Honda) 2’14.807; 3. Lewis (Honda) 2’14.925; 4. Fernandez (Honda) 2’15.123; 5. Orellana (Honda) 2’15.240; 6. Manfredi (Honda) 2’15.428; 7. Bodis (Honda) 2’15.634; 8. Soomer (Honda) 2’15.740; 9. Zanella (Honda) 2’15.806; 10. Anne (Honda) 2’15.879; etc.
— Fixi Crescent Suzuki Report
FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier will start tomorrow’s seventh round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship at Imola from the second row of the grid after qualifying in sixth place this afternoon.
Camier qualified for this afternoon’s Superpole after recording the ninth-fastest time in the two qualifying sessions. He made his way comfortably through the first part of Superpole with the seventh-quickest lap and followed that up in the next session – using his first qualifying tyre – to post the fourth-best time. In Superpole 3, Camier set his fastest time at the start of the session with his second qualifier, before it was red-flagged due to a massive crash by Loris Baz. When it was re-started Camier tried to improve his time with a used qualifying tyre, but was unable to better his earlier lap.
Camier will start tomorrow’s two races from sixth on the grid onboard his Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R, which will give him a good chance of being with the lead group right from the start.
Jules Cluzel had a disappointing Superpole, as he was eliminated in the first session after he posted the 14th-quickest lap. He had improved on his time from yesterday during this morning’s second qualifying session and finished in 13th place. Cluzel was confident of a good Superpole, but just couldn’t make the tyre work for him around the 4,936m Imola circuit and will now have push hard from the start to move through the pack tomorrow.
This afternoon’s Superpole was held in warm and sunny conditions with track temperatures hitting 51°C. Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes took pole position as he posted a new track best time to seal his sixth successive Superpole victory of the season.
The FIXI Crescent Suzuki pair will take to the track at 12.00hrs local time (11.00hrs BST) for the first of tomorrow’s two 21-lap races, with the second event scheduled for 15.30hrs local time (14.30hrs BST).
Leon Camier: “I’m pretty happy with qualifying to be honest, but I still feel that I could have got a better lap-time out of the bike, because the qualifiers I used in Superpole 2 and 3 were both very different laps and if had strung the two together it would have been a step quicker. My last lap certainly could have been better, but it is good to be somewhere near the front and to have a semi-decent place to start from tomorrow. I think we’ve done a good job on race tyres and so we’re quite happy with how the weekend has gone so far and now we just need to see how the races go tomorrow.”
Jules Cluzel: “I am disappointed with today as I was hoping to have a good Superpole because it seems that when I use a qualifier the bike appears to work very well, but today it just didn’t feel right. On the first exit I tried to improve on my times from yesterday and this morning, but my lap-time was not as good as it was from a tyre that had done 22-laps, so something must have been wrong. When we used the qualifier it felt like I had less grip than a race tyre and the bike was moving about a lot. At the end I was only 14th and didn’t go through to Superpole 2, so I was very frustrated by this. I am still learning and we have two races tomorrow, so I am happy about that because it gives me 42-laps and a chance to improve.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Leon and his crew have been working hard all weekend to improve the pace of the GSX-R and today’s qualifying result – putting the bike on the second row – is very positive and we have high hopes for a decent showing during the races. The engine performance – greatly assisted by Yoshimura – has improved a lot this season and at some circuits, Imola being one of them, we now have an opposite problem to the one in 2012, in that getting the power down smoothly without it spinning or wheelying is the biggest challenge and we are working hard to achieve the best solution. Leon’s always a consistent and strong racer, so let’s hope he can get a good start and challenge with the fastest guys tomorrow.
“Jules is at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of the qualifying result today. It really didn’t work out for him and he has been struggling to find a rhythm all weekend. Free Practice was probably our best session with him, so we will go back to something as close as we can to that setting and hope that Jules can do what he has all season long and that is to positively surprise us in the races and show what a fighter he is!”
— BMW Motorrad Goldbet Report
It was a busy Saturday for the BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team at its home race in Imola (ITA). Factory rider Marco Melandri (ITA) will start the seventh round of the 2013 FIM Superbike World Championship from the third row. In today’s Superpole, Marco finished seventh on his BMW S 1000 RR after he had crashed at the end of the free practice session at noon. His team-mate Chaz Davies (GBR) only narrowly missed the deciding Superpole 3 session and qualified tenth on the fourth row.
Marco’s crew repaired his bike in time to compete in this afternoon’s Superpole qualifiying. In the first part of the session, both Marco and Chaz began with a few laps on race tyres before changing to the first qualifying tyre with three minutes to go. Marco recorded the second fastest time of the session and Chaz was eleventh to proceed to Superpole 2. In this second part, both used the second qualifying tyre for their first outings. While Marco was sixth fastest and returned to the garage as his progression to Superpole 3 was not in danger, Chaz was ninth fastest and went out again on a race tyre. He improved his time but missed qualification for Superpole 3 by only a tenth of a second. The deciding Superpole 3 had to be red flagged after a few minutes due to track contamination following a crash. It took a quarter of an hour to clean up before the final five and a half minutes of the session could be completed. Marco, who was on a race tyre, set the seventh fastest time.
In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Sylvain Barrier from the BMW Motorrad GoldBet STK Team secured pole-position for tomorrow’s race. The Frenchman, who is leading the overall ranking, set a new best lap of 1:49.900 on his new BMW HP4 in today’s second and final qualifying practice. His team-mate Greg Gildenhuys (RSA) qualified 17th. He is still affected by the pain of his broken left heel.
Marco Melandri: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:47.658 min (P5) / Fastest lap FP: 1:47.872 min (P6) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:47.221 min (P7)
“It was a difficult day. In the free practice I crashed but it was a simple slide. Our guys fixed the bike quickly and I did not hurt myself. During the Superpole qualifying we struggled with the qualifying tyre and unfortunately it was not so good also with the race tyre. Our race pace is not as fast as the front guys, though we are only missing a little bit. For the races we need to make a step forward and try to find a solution. Tomorrow the start will be crucial because it is difficult to overtake on this track. Anyway, I want to try to fight for the front positions.”
Chaz Davies: Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:48.197 min (P10) / Fastest lap FP: 1:48.680 min (P12) / Fastest lap Superpole 2: 1:47.736 min (P10)
“The bike improved quite a lot today. I am happier with it than I was yesterday but everybody else has also improved so we need to make another step for tomorrow. In today’s Superpole I did my best lap with a race tyre as I found that the qualifying tyre was loading the rear too much on the gas and I could not turn the bike very well. It is good to know that I can do a decent lap time with the race tyre but I still believe that lap time isn’t enough. We need to further improve our pace for tomorrow and then I think it won’t be too bad because at the moment the bike is feeling the best it has been all weekend. We are getting there; we just need a good warm-up tomorrow morning and a good start in both races.”
Serafino Foti (Sport Director BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team):
“It was a very complicated day. We are not satisfied with the results. We still lack something to close the gap to the front. We must find a solution to put our riders in the position to have a good race. Marco has a decent lap time; it is not great, but I’m confident for the races. Chaz has struggled more, even though his feeling with the bike is better than yesterday. I hope we can find a solution for both. Tomorrow the races will be very hard for everyone. The track is very demanding for the riders. It will be important to have a good start to avoid the front riders pulling away. In any case, the races will be open to any result until the end.
In the Superstock class, every time we are on a new track we need some time to find the right setting for our new electronic damping system of our HP4. Our team did a very good job and enabled Sylvain to claim his fourth pole-position of the season. Tomorrow it will be a battle of three for the victory: Sylvain and the two riders from Ducati. Greg unfortunately did not improve from yesterday. We need to understand the reason. Anyway, we are looking forward to a good race tomorrow.”
Andrea Dosoli (Technical Director BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team):
“It was not an easy day. We did not achieve the grid positions we were hoping for. With Chaz, we made a step forward regarding the setting of the electronics and the chassis but he still is not 100 percent confident with the bike. We will try some different solutions in the warm-up and or confident we can improve. With Marco, we started well on Friday but today with the warmer temperatures and more rubber on the track we could not further improve with the front end feeling limiting us. So also for Marco the warm-up is important as a final preparation for the races. We hope that both riders will have a good start, then a lot is possible on this track.”
— Pata Honda Report
Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two seventh-round World Superbike championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the second fastest time in Superpole this afternoon at Imola in Italy.
Rea, 26, who was fastest in both second qualifying and free practice earlier today, had set a sizzling time of 1m46.556s in Superpole 3 before red flags halted the session after another rider crashed. The Northern Irishman had one Pirelli qualifier in reserve but he was unable to improve his time as British rider Tom Sykes took pole position.
Leon Haslam, Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate, qualified for Superpole in spite of his ongoing rehabilitation from his double leg-break at Assen in April. The 30-year-old Brit progressed to Superpole 2 to set the eleventh-fastest time and a third row start.
The first of tomorrow’s two 21-lap races around the challenging and historic 4.936km Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is scheduled to go at 12.00 local time, with race two starting at 15.30.
Jonathan Rea – P2, 1m46.556s
I’m delighted to be on the front row because that’s always the target for the weekend, as I said yesterday. I was feeling really strong in second qualifying and free practice earlier, making good set-up changes with the bike. I’m really enjoying riding the bike and I’m happy with our set-up for two 21-lap races tomorrow. It’s never easy but I feel more comfortable with the bike here and I think we’ve put ourselves in a position to be able to challenge at the front. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win, but I think we’ve got a race package that will allow us to challenge for that so I’ll hope for good starts and two good races tomorrow.
Leon Haslam – P11, 1m48.096s
I’m feeling OK but I’m frustrated that I’m still struggling to change direction, and Imola is one of the worst tracks for that with about five chicanes per lap. It’s hard work but we’re making progress. We’ve had a few issues over the weekend but we’re making the right steps with the bike and it’s working OK now. It’s doing everything I want it to do but I can’t weight the pegs the way I want and that’s my biggest issue. My leg is getting stronger every day but it’s something I need to keep working and pushing to build the strength back up. We’ll just have to see how things go tomorrow.
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
Leon got to the third row and had a better day than yesterday. But he’s clearly lacking some pace so we will have to see what we can improve for him tomorrow. Jonathan is on the front row and that’s really good. His race pace is looking especially strong and we are quite excited because we think he can fight for victory here in Imola.
— Aprilia Racing Report
The Aprilia Racing Team tacked a demanding Superpole today at Imola in preparation for the World SBK races tomorrow.
The end result was a double second row, both for Sylvain Guintoli (fourth best time) and for Eugene Laverty (fifth best) which does not entirely satisfy the riders, but leaves plenty of opportunity for them tomorrow.
The two Aprilia Racing standard bearers are key players in the championship. Guintoli leads the standings with 213 points and Laverty (who has already won 4 races) is in third place with 174, positions which place Aprilia in the lead for the Manufacturer Championship. Both riders’ ambitions for the championship mean that they will have to be in it to win for the two races tomorrow, but they will also have to reckon with rivals who proved themselves to be fierce competition today, not the least of which is Tom Sykes, evermore the Superpole specialist and author of the best time today once again.
The Aprilia riders can take consolation in the good race pace they demonstrated today even in the late morning free practice sessions, as well as the perfect condition of the Aprilia RSV4, a bike which makes perfect balance and adaptability to any track its best weapons. Once again today, thanks in part to Davide Giugliano’s third place for Team Althea Aprilia, three RSV4s are on rows one and two of the starting grid.
Sylvain Guintoli: “This was definitely a better day than yesterday. We world a lot on the setup for my RSV4, changing quite a few parameters and it seems to work better now. I ruined my Superpole time with a small mistake in the last sector. I could have been on the front row, but what counts is that now I’m having fun riding and if we are able to shave a few more tenths off our times tomorrow during the warm-up session I’ll be able to set my sights on two good races”.
Eugene Laverty: “It’s been since Silverstone last year that I haven’t started from the front row, but it had to happen sooner or later. We’ve actually been struggling all weekend and we still need to improve in order to make a play for it with Rea and Sykes. We have definitely improved throughout the sessions but I still don’t have the bike that I’d like for the races tomorrow. I did the time that earned me fifth place with race tyres, so that means that if I push to the limit and take some risks I’ll be able to shave almost a second off my pace. Unfortunately you can’t do that for more than two laps”.
— Matt Davies Report
Matt Davies suffered his second crash in two days at the iconic Imola circuit earlier today as a tumble in the final qualifying session ended any chances he had of improving his grid position ahead of tomorrow’s 4th round of the World Supersport championship.
With the ‘one bike’ rule enforced in 2013, the experienced PTR Honda team had their work cut out to fix the damage and get the talented young Aussie back on track. In the end time ran out meaning Matt will begin from the 10th row in 28th position.
Despite the crashes Matt is unhurt and will be able to take his place on the grid for the 19 lap race which is scheduled to take place tomorrow at 1330 local time.
