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Fabrizio on a roll in Donington qualifying
Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) confirmed himself to be one of the quickest men currently around as he powered his 1098 round the 4.023 km circuit in a time of 1 minute 30.775 seconds in Donington's first qualifying session. Lapping just four-tenths of a second off the record held by Troy Bayliss, the Italian was the only rider to dip under the 1'31" mark on a dry track after the initial rain showers. Next up, but four-tenths behind, was the first of the numerous British riders in the 31-strong field, Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), followed by Texan rookie Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike), a fraction slower. The final provisional front row grid slot went to the surprising Gregorio Lavilla (Guandalini Ducati), who knows Donington well after several seasons in BSB.
Fifth quickest time went to one of the race favourites, Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati), who also had a harmless crash in the session. Excluding Fabrizio, the top 17 riders are all separated by one second. So far points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) has failed to shine and he could only manage tenth, three places ahead of Max Biaggi with the first of the Aprilia RSV4 machines. It was a difficult day for the Misano race 2 winner Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), the Northern Ireland youngster ending up with a sore back after crashing in free practice and setting 15th quickest time. The two BMWs, once again showing encouraging signs in the wet conditions, found the dry pace more difficult and Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser could only finish 17th and 20th respectively. The latest arrival in World Superbike, Blake Young (Alstare Suzuki) was 28th on his debut, while John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) set a positive time despite still not being fully fit
Times: 1. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'30.775; 2. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.191; 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.294; 4. Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.401; 5. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'31.436; 6. Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.454; 7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'31.584; 8. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'31.705; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.736; 10. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'31.760; 11. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.838; 12. Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.890; 13. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'31.913; 14. Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.007; 15. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.103; 16. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.139
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FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) TAKES ANOTHER PROVISIONAL POLE, THIS TIME AT DONINGTON PARK
Donington Park (UK), Friday 26th June: just as he did a week ago at Misano, Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio was once again the fastest rider in first qualifying, this time at Donington Park.
Very mixed conditions throughout the day meant that the Ducati Xerox squad, Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, rode their Ducati 1198s both in the dry (in free practice) and in the wet.
In the early afternoon the Superbike riders took to the track for the first free practice session, in dry conditions. The British contingent immediately made its mark as was expected, with Camier, Haslam and Ellison all lapping very fast, but Italian Ducati Xerox man Michel Fabrizio held his own and gradually improved his times to close this initial session in fourth position. Team-mate Noriyuki was one of the fastest in the third sector of the track but was losing valuable tenths in the first and second splits, that meant he finished the hour-long session in eleventh place.
A rain shower arrived just a few minutes before the start of qualifying, forcing the teams to quickly change over to "wet" bikes. Having seen various riders, some of them unexpected, taking turns at the top of the timesheets in the wet, the track then quickly dried out mid-session. Both Ducati Xerox men were subsequently able to lower their lap times but, while Michel immediately found the way with his Ducati 1198 in the dry, his team-mate Noriyuki had more difficulty, again in the second split, lapping a second slower than the Italian. Fabrizio was the only rider to lap in under 1m31 today, taking provisional pole once again; Haga meanwhile closed today in tenth place.
Michel Fabrizio 1m30.7s
"It hasn't gone at all badly. In the practice I had a few problems with my right arm, maybe because it hadn't had time to recover from Misano, but it felt a lot better in qualifying. A few minutes before that session the rain came and it's clear that in the wet we're not yet where we should be. Thankfully the track dried out very fast and so in the last part of the session I was really able to push and record some fast laps. We know where we need to work if it turns out wet again tomorrow but for now I can say I'm satisfied with what we've accomplished today."
Noriyuki Haga 1m31.7s
"Today wasn't so easy for us. It's the first time I am riding the Ducati 1198 here and I feel I need more track time. We tried some different settings because I'm having trouble through the fast corners, especially in the second split, where it seems that I can't open the gas because the bike's not reacting as it should. We know where we need to improve and so I hope it's dry tomorrow to allow us to make the necessary progress."
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Superbike World Championship
Stiggy Racing Honda
Round 09, Donington
Friday, June 26th
Superbike QP1
Haslam takes second in first day of Donington qualifying
In the first day of qualifying at Donington, the Stiggy Racing Honda pairing of Leon Haslam and John Hopkins opened the Superbike free practice in a great way, by setting the third and seventh fastest time respectively.
Leon Haslam was found in the top regions of the sheets throughout the session and closed the first practice in a third fastest time of 1'31.209s. John Hopkins made his re-appearance with the team after sitting out the last race at Misano and set the seventh fastest time of the free practice session in 1'31.894s.
Haslam and Hopkins both managed to keep their lap times fast and consistent in the afternoon's first qualifying practice. Haslam squeezed out the day's second fastest time of 131.191s in the last minutes of the session and finds himself just 0.4s off the pace set by provisional pole sitter Michel Fabrizio, while Hopkins is found in 14th position with a best time of 1'32.007s.
Leon Haslam, 1'31.191s:
" I am pretty happy with my qualifying results today. It started off wet which was good to get a couple of wet laps in. It wasn't a full wet session so we didn't quite get the wet set-up sorted yet, but the dry set-up is good. We were doing well on an old tyre and able to go into the top three. Then we put a new tyre in towards the end and put the bike at second position. I am feeling really confident with what we have achieved so far. We still have a bit more to go and we'll have to concentrate on doing some race runs tomorrow."
John Hopkins, 1'32.007s:
"This morning it was all about losing up my hip and getting a good feeling with the bike again. I really enjoy riding the Donington track. The most important thing for me today was getting the feeling with the tyres and the bike again. I took it easy in the wet, but the lap times were still pretty good and pretty consistent. As soon as the track dried out, I stayed out and did over half a race distance. My last lap was my fastest lap, but I got hold up by Rea, otherwise I would have been even faster. But we are in the top 20 today and that's the most important thing. We know that we can run a consistent pace on used tyres, that is one step forward for us. We'll just have to see what the weather holds tomorrow.
Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
"It was a very good day here. Leon has gone as fast as we expected. He has found his way quickly and is not far off his ideal race setting. We still have a few things to improve and to test, but I am confident we can work on that tomorrow. I am very pleased with John's results. He has shown he is capable of being up there and is felling much better. The whole team is happy with this, John can finally show what he is capable of and push himself forward. We still have some things we will have to work on tomorrow, but right now it looks quite promising."
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WSBK'09 Round 9 | Donington Park, day 1
The outcome of the first qualifying session at Donington was partially influenced by the rain. Nevertheless, Shane Byrne managed to be equally fast on both dry and wet surface and set the fifth quickest time. The weather varied a lot, as it usually does in Britain and prevented the riders from finding a good setup, on which they had worked in the morning session. Today's session started under the rain which soon stopped falling. With the track drying off, the riders had to use dry tyres. However, Shane Byrne did four laps on wet surface but then returned to the pits. He decided to wait for the last few minutes to get back on the track and progressively improved his performance setting the fifth fastest time.
SHANE BYRNE | Ducati 1098R | 5th in 1'31.436 : "After doing well at Misano, I was fast on both dry and wet surface at my home track. Today I worked on two different bikes: one had last year's BSB setup, the other had the same setting we used in the last few rounds. I have to say that both have positive features and we'll try to use them on a single bike in order to have a high performing machine tomorrow. I'm a little bit disappointed I slipped down by the end of the session though. I crashed in the same place as last year, fortunately at low speed and without consequences".
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Yamaha get straight onto the pace in Donington
Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies got straight down to business at Donington today, with some rain falling in the second session. His track knowledge gained at last year's MotoGP clearly paid off as he ended the first free practice session of the day at the top of the time sheets ahead of British Superbike wildcard Leon Camier on the Airwaves Yamaha. The qualifying session saw Spies using old tyres from the morning's free practice while he worked on a good set up for the weekend. He finished the first qualifying session of the weekend in third, just half a second behind leader Fabrizio.
Team-mate Tom Sykes was clearly happy to be on a circuit he knows well and was regularly in the top five in the free practice session whilst setting up his Yamaha R1 for the Donington circuit for the first time, eventually finishing in eighth position. The afternoon's qualifying session saw him repeatedly in the top three however a change of set up in the last ten minutes to try different settings saw him drop to end the session in 11th.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (3rd, 1'31.294)
"today went well for us. We started out with a good first session. The second session started out wet, we tried a very different set up to the one we used in Misano and straight away we were quick, when the track was wet we were second quickest which was good. When it dried out we put on tyres that we had used in the first free practice session and put race distance on them. They were heat cycled and already had a lot of laps on them from this morning and we were still right there and running 1'31s easily so the bike's working really well. I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Tom Sykes
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (11th, 1'31.838)
"today we've made big steps, but I was a little bit annoyed that we made the top three in the qualifying session then with ten minutes to go I came in to make some changes which didn't work. By the time I was back out I didn't want to come back in so I put my head down and tried my best. I knew if I'd stayed with the setting from before I think we could have improved by at least 5/10ths plus. It's not where I wanted to be in first qualifying so I'll have to put my head down in qualifying tomorrow for a few laps just to put a good time in. overall I think things are progressing and I certainly think we'll be there at the end of the weekend."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"Pretty good for the first day. For sure the rain compromised it a bit, so we were unable to try some things we had planned but in the end we finished close to the front so we are still confident we can do another good result. Let's see what the weather brings tomorrow, both riders are confident and keen to get back on the track in the morning."
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Team Suzuki Alstare Brux news
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 9, Donington Park, GB,
Friday qualifying, 26th June
Circuit: 4.023 kms. Conditions: Dry (first session), damp/dry (qualifying) 21C.
YUKIO CAUTIOUS. BLAKE LEARNING.
The first qualifying session at Donington this afternoon was blighted by a rain shower at the beginning, but later on the track dried out and conditions improved. Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama took things steadily as he tried to find a good set-up for the different conditions. In the end, he finished 16th quickest, but is confident of significant improvement tomorrow. His team mate this weekend is the 21-year old American Blake Young, who is riding the Suzuki Alstare Brux GSX-R1000 K9 for the very first time. Although Blake rides a GSX-R1000 in the USA AMA Superbike Championship, the different regulations mean that the bikes are very different in specification and character. Blake has to understand the bike whilst also learning Donington's 4.023 kilometre circuit, and all this on unfamiliar tyres.
When the track did dry out, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) took provisional pole, with Leon Haslam (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) fourth.
Yukio - 16th, 1:32.139
I am not happy with my position, but I did find a good feeling with the bike and we know which direction to take tomorrow, so that is very positive. I did not have much grip in the first session today, but it was much better in qualifying. My foot is getting better and better and I did not have much big pain today. When the conditions are half and half, it is always difficult, so I took things steadily in the damp. Tomorrow we will try and improve the rear grip, maybe by changing the rear suspension and the bike's geometry.
Blake - 28th, 1:34.529
There is a lot for me to learn in a very short time, but I am really enjoying myself here. This bike is completely different to the Suzuki I ride in the States and has a lot more electronics on it. The wheels are a different size (16.5), the tyres are different and I also have to figure out which way round the track goes at the same time! I just need time on the bike and it is important for me to put in as many laps as possible so I can get used to it and go faster.
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Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport news
2009 Superbike World Championship
Round 9, Donington Park, GB,
Friday qualifying, 26th June
Circuit: 4.023 kms. Conditions: Dry, then damp 21C.
TOUGH START FOR RUBEN AND TROY.
Ruben and Troy finished 17th and 20th in a tough qualifying at Donington today, but the lap times are close and a fraction of a second less would've placed Ruben in the top ten. The untimed first session took place in the dry, but the second (timed) session started with a damp track, causing many riders to wait and see if conditions improved. The track did dry out and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) took provisional pole, with Leon Haslam (Honda) second, Ben Spies (Yamaha) third and Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) fourth.
Ruben - 17th, 1:32.186
Before we weren't able to go fast in the wet, but today I was leading the standings for quite a long time. Then, when the track dried I was overtaken, but the lap times are close and I am happy because I went one second a lap faster here today than I did last year. At the moment, I can get down to quite a good lap time without too much of a problem, but when I want to faster, it is hard to do so. Troy, I and the team are working our hardest and we just need to find that next step up to be more competitive. I am convinced that this bike has potential and it will be great once we can show it.
Troy - 20th, 1:32.476
You cannot just ride this bike, you have to think it and work at it. I can get to a point fairly easily, but then it is a struggle to go just that bit faster. It's not a new problem, but it's just something that we have to work on and improve if we want to be challenging more easily for the top ten. It's kind of frustrating, because we are not that far off and if we can just make that small leap, we'll be able to fight for the top ten again.
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Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea continued their familiarisation with new Ohlins suspension at Donington Park today as they prepared for Sunday's two ninth-round World Superbike championship races.
As Michel Fabrizio took provisional pole position, Checa was ninth fastest today as changeable weather conditions put any extended dry track time at a premium. Once again, times were close, and the Spaniard finished today's opening qualifying session just three tenths of a second off a provisional front row start.
Fresh from winning the last World Superbike race at Misano in Italy, Rea opened today's free practice with an awkward crash at the slow Melbourne hairpin. The 22-year-old lost valuable track time and, with rain dominating this afternoon's qualifying session, could only qualify in provisional 15th place.
Carlos Checa - P9, 1'31.736s
It was not really very good today but, this afternoon, when the track began to dry a little, we made some improvements from this morning. Of course, we are still finding many new areas to improve the Ohlins suspension but we are not quite in a good position for this circuit. We are losing time in the first two sections, where it is quite difficult to hold a line at high speed. It's also difficult to control the power coming out of the slower corners, where there is not enough rear grip. I believe we can make some more steps forward tomorrow, however, to get closer to a better lap time.
Jonathan Rea - P15, 1'32.103s
It's been a really tough day, actually. Because of the crash in this morning's session, we were left with not a lot of track time and we realised pretty quickly that the settings from Misano certainly had not translated well to Donington. Then the second session started wet, which put us back a bit, although it started to dry with 25 minutes left. We made a big change this afternoon which just did not work, so at least we know which way we're NOT going tomorrow!
Ronald ten Kate - team manager
We were realistic coming here and, as we are all aware, finding the correct settings for the new suspension will be quite hard for the first couple of races until we have a lot more data. In the wet and intermediate conditions, everything was working quite well but, in the dry, it is quite clear that we still have some way to go. We just hope for a lot more dry track time tomorrow to progress with finding the right setting.
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