Nürburgring (Germany), Saturday 3 September 2011 – Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) set a new Nürburgring best lap of 1 minute 54.144 seconds early in the final Tissot-Superpole session to claim his fifth top starting position this year. Behind, Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team), Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) completed the front row, with Biaggi particularly impressive as he was riding with an broken bone in his injured left foot.
Carlos Checa: “It is a great day. I think we were able to interpret the bike well and from yesterday we made some changes and the result is the way it is. Even from the first qualifying to the second one we made one step in front. I am quite satisfied and I think we have brought the bike and the tyres to a great limit. Not perfect, because that is always difficult to say that it is perfect, but close.”
Eugene Laverty: “I am confident riding here and it is my first time here in Superbike. I am really enjoying the R1 and I was expecting the bike to be more difficult around at this circuit, but it is riding quite well and we can see Marco is there as well. I think we can be strong tomorrow but we must hope for dry weather, as there are rumours of rain which may upset things a little. The most important thing is that we are starting from the front row.”
Max Biaggi: “My position on the grid is actually not bad at all. I’m worried however about how many laps I can last in the race, my injured foot is very painful and the situation got worse lap after lap. Now I have difficulty in changing gear and that doesn’t make me very optimistic. Now we will just have to wait until tomorrow morning”.
Marco Melandri: “I am very happy to be on the front row because it is my first time on this track and it is pretty difficult. I was worried because I saw many difficult corners and bumps, so I was wondering about the weather too. My Yamaha was working well and the team made a good job so I could find a better line, lap-by-lap. I was hoping to be faster in Superpole three but in the second lap I did not get the chance to improve a lot.”
Proven winner at this track Noriyuki Haga (Pata Racing Aprilia) was fifth while Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) once more showed good pre-race pace to claim sixth place on the grid. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) squeezed out Sylvain Guintoli (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) for seventh.
Comeback rider Jonathan Rea scored ninth in Superpole on his Castrol Honda, just missing the final session but heading up row three of the grid. Mark Aitchison (Pedercini Team Kawasaki) secured a start in Superpole two and posted 11th place, one behind Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati rider Jakub Smrz. The final rider after Superpole two was Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare), in 12th.
Leon Camier, Biaggi’s team-mate, fought his way to 13th, one place up on Ducati privateer Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team). Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) rounded out the top 16 riders who made it into Tissot-Superpole.
Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’54.144; 2. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.512; 3. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’54.743; 4. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.818; 5. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.113; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.223; 7. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.237; 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.249; 9. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.321; 10. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’55.598; 11. Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.625; 12. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’56.177; 3. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.633; 14. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.811; 15. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’56.101; 16. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’56.162; etc.
World Supersport
Just under a tenth of a second separated points leader Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) from poleman Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who will start from the front slot for the second time this season. The Frenchman set a time of 1 minute 59.298 seconds, which was more than one second slower than Cal Crutchlow’s 2010 best lap.
The front row is completed by two fellow Brits Gino Rea (Step Racing Team Honda) and Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda). Row 2 contains two Italians, with Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) ahead of Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO), together with James Ellison (Bodganka PTR Honda) and David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com).
Times: 1. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.258; 2. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’59.334; 3. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.738; 4. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.771; 5. Ellison J. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’59.785; 6. Roccoli M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’59.905; 7. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’59.929; 8. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’00.250; etc.
Superstock 1000
Two Ducatis and two BMWs once again make up the front row of the grid for the Superstock 1000 race tomorrow morning, with the quickest time going to Althea Racing man Davide Giugliano. The Italian set a 1 minute 58.763 seconds lap to head off the challenge of Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock), Silverstone winner Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) and Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock).
The talented young German Markus Reiterberger (Garnier Alpha Racing Team BMW) continued his learning curve with fifth slot on the grid, followed by three more Italians: Lorenzo Baroni (Althea Racing Ducati), Andrea Antonelli (Lorini Honda) and Niccolò Canepa (Lazio MotorSport Ducati).
Times: 1. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’58.763; 2. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.259; 3. Petrucci D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’59.268; 4. Zanetti L. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.812; 5. Reiterberger M. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.933; 6. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’00.219; 7. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2’00.424; 8.Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2’00.448; etc.
Superstock 600 – Race
The win in the seventh round of the European Superstock 600 Championship went to Dutchman Michael Van der Mark (Ten Kate Junior Team Honda) who became the first rider this year to double up at the top. Australian Jed Metcher finished second for the MTM-RT Motorsports Yamaha team and team-mate Gauthier Duwelz of Belgium third. Denmark’s Alex Schacht (Schacht Racing Honda) was next up, while the top Italian at the flag was Daniele Beretta (Trasimeno Yamaha), who finished fifth.
Metcher now moves into the lead of the championship with 101 points, while Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), who retired, stays on the 94 mark. Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) is third equal on points with Joshua Day (Revolution Racedays Kawasaki), who crashed out.
Results: 1. Vd Mark M. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 20’40.709 (149,054 kph); 2. Metcher J. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 3.136; 3. Duwelz G. (BEL) Yamaha YZF R6 3.569; 4. Schacht A. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 5.581; 5. Beretta D. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 8.515; 6. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 9.092; 7. Russo R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 12.358; 8. Elliott J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 16.065; etc.
Points (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Metcher 101; 2. Lanusse 94; 3. Day 77; 4. Lombardi 77; 5. Vd Mark 76; 6. Duwelz 67; 7. Russo 63; 8. Egea 39; etc.
