Team Alstare Suzuki rider Michel Fabrizio suffered some braking issues in both practice and first qualifying today at the final round of the World Superbike Championship at the Autodromo do Algarve circuit in Portugal – but is confident of improvements tomorrow.
The team tried a variety of ideas, but at the end of the day, the Italian was still unable to get his GSX-R1000 stopping and turning to his liking and didn’t feel confident to push any harder.
Newly-crowned World Champion Carlos Checa (Ducati) topped the standings with a lap of 1:43.579. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) finished second quickest ahead of Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Honda)
Michel Fabrizio – 17th, 1:45.243:
“Today was very frustrating. We tried many things, but could not get the bike to stop and turn properly. I had braking problems – both at fast and slow corners – and just didn’t feel confident enough to push any harder today.
“The track is definitely bumpier than last year and that hasn’t helped us either. For tomorrow we’re going to remove the whole braking system and try a different one. Hopefully that will solve the problem and I can get confident with the bike and push as hard as I want.”
Friday WSB Qualifying: 1 Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati) 1:43.579, 2 Eugene Laverty (GBR-Yamaha) 1:43.666, 3 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Ducati) 1:43.860, 4 Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:43.895, 5 Max Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:43.907, 6 Joan Lascorz (ESP-Kawasaki) 1:44.030. 17 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) 1:45.243.
