Monza (Italy), Friday 6 May 2011 – Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) snatched the top slot in the first qualifying session from local hero and double 2010 race winner Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia), despite Biaggi setting a new all-time best top speed of 332.5 km/h this afternoon.
Haslam put in a superhuman effort on his last flying lap around Monza to take the provisional pole slot with a time of 1 minute 42.934 seconds. The gap between the two was just 0.019 seconds in favour of Haslam.
Third fastest time went to Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) who got the better of an impressive Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team), the 2010 Superstock 1000 champion entirely in tune with the Monza track on his privateer machine. Jonathan Rea followed up his strong morning form with fifth slot for Castrol Honda, while Noriyuki Haga did a good job for the PATA Racing Team Aprilia to get in front of Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team).
Championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) for the moment is still off the pace of the frontrunners and is languishing down in 14th place. Troy Corser, Haslam’s team-mate, took his BMW to eighth place, while a man in his rookie season, Maxime Berger, was fastest Ducati rider on show on day one, in ninth place for the Supersonic Racing Team, only 0.745 seconds away from leader Haslam.
Leon Camier rounded out the top ten on his Aprilia Alitalia vee-four. The top 13 riders were within the same second after the first qualifying session.
Times: 1. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’42.934; 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’42.953; 3. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.265; 4. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’43.276; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.321; 6. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.531; 7. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.588; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’43.640; 9. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.679; 10. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’43.730; 11. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’43.762; 12. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’43.850; 13. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.861; 14. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’44.071; 15. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’44.095; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’44.232; etc.
World Supersport
Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) dominated the first WSS qualifying session today, the Welshman getting the better of his Italian team-mate with a time of 1 minute 48.408 seconds. The two Yamaha men, who have had three out of three wins so far this year, headed up two Hondas CBR600RRs, the Step Racing version of Gino Rea and Florian Marino on the Hannspree Ten Kate machine.
Broc Parkes was next up for the Kawasaki Motocard.com team in fifth with Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service Racing Team Yamaha) rounding out the top six. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) was an impressive seventh despite still recovering from a broken collarbone suffered at Assen in the previous round.
Times: 1. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.408; 2. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’48.513; 3. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.613; 4. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.156; 5. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’49.218; 6. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’49.263; 7. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.462; 8. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’49.788; etc.
Superstock 1000
Lorenzo Zanetti followed up his win in last weekend’s Italian domestic championship counter with provisional pole position for the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team. The promising young Italian set a time of 1 minute 46.381 seconds to head his team-mate Sylvain Barrier and Danilo Petrucci of the Barni Racing Ducati team.
The long list of Italians in the top 15 continued with Michele Magnoni (Baru Racing Team BMW) in fourth, Marco Bussolotti (Pedercini Kawasaki) in fifth, Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing Ducati) in seventh and Fabio Massei (Piellemoto BMW) in eighth, with Aussie Bryan Staring (Pedercini Kawasaki) splitting them in sixth.
Times: 1. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.381; 2. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.588; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’46.875; 4. 119 Magnoni M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.972; 5. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’47.013; 6. Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’47.028; 7. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’47.193; 8. Massei F. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’47.425; etc.
Superstock 600
Frenchman Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France) took provisional pole in the Superstock 600 category, which has its race tomorrow at 6 pm. Lanusse was followed in the standings by five Italians: Giuliano Gregorini (RCGM Team), Dino Lombardi and Francesco Cocco (Martini Corse Yamaha), Riccardo Russo (Team Trasimeno Yamaha) and Christian Gamarino (GOELEVEN Kawasaki). The winner of the Assen opening round, Michael van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) at the moment lies down in 18th position.
Times: 1. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.859; 2. Gregorini G. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.983; 3. Lombardi D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.225; 4. Cocco F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.276; 5. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.470; 6. Gamarino C. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.493; 7. Calero Perez N. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1’52.719; 8. Day J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’52.774; etc.
Matt Davies was quickest in the first free practice session for the second round of the European Junior Cup, the Australian youngster finishing three-tenths of a second ahead of Spain’s Miguel Aranda, and South African Daniel Teixiera, all riders on identical Kawasaki Ninja 250R machines.
