Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio qualified seventh in Superpole for tomorrow’s World Superbike Championship fourth round at Monza in Italy and will start both 18-lap races from the second row of the grid.
It had been his goal to qualify on the first two rows and he will now be in a good position to challenge the leaders right from the start of the races.
Max Biaggi (Aprilia) took Superpole with a lap of 1:41.745, more than a second faster than the lap record. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) was second with Jonathan Rea (Honda) third and Troy Corser (BMW) fourth.
Michel Fabrizio – 7th, 1:42.954:
“My target for Superpole was to finish with a place on the first two rows of the grid and I achieved that, so I am pretty happy. It is so important to be on the first two rows of the grid here because, although the front straight is quite long, the first chicane is very tight and it’s better not to get held up going into it. If that happens, it is difficult to make up the ground again and challenge the leaders.
“I went back to the forks and suspension I knew and I’m sure that was the right choice for me today. I was able to push hard and not worry about trying to understand anything new. I used my two qualifying tyres in Superpole 1 and 2 so did not have any super sticky rubber in Superpole 3. If I had a qualifier in Superpole 3, then maybe I could’ve finished on the front row of the grid. But, as I said, I am pretty happy with my result today and I am looking forward to tomorrow because I know that I will be able to challenge the leaders right from the start. It’s going to be two tough races and I’m sure that slipstreaming will play an important part. I don’t think anybody will clear off, so the last lap is going to be a tactical battle, a big fight; and a lot of fun!”
Final Qualifying & Superpole: 1 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:41.745, 2 Eugene Laverty (GBR-Yamaha) 1:42.393, 3 Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:42.614, 4 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW) 1:42.688, 5 Marco Melandri (ITA-Yamaha) 1:42.714, 6 Leon Haslam (GBR-BMW) 1:42.723, 7 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) 1:42.954.
