FIRST ROW FOR LEON HASLAM IN THE ASSEN SUPERPOLE AND BEST TIME IN RACE CONFIGURATION
EIGHTH FOR JORDI TORRES, LOOKING FOR THE EXPERIENCE HE NEEDS TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE QUALIFIER TYRE
POLE FOR LORENZO SAVADORI IN THE SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP
Assen (Holland), 18 April 2015 – The Dutch Saturday for Team Aprilia Racing – Red Devils started off well with Leon Haslam’s first place time in the third practice session held this morning. The English rider was fast despite the low temperatures, demonstrating that the path the mechanics have been following on the RSV4 RF throughout the weekend with the entire team is the right one.
His race pace is also good, although Leon still wants to improve on following the ideal line for several consecutive laps. This is an idea where Haslam has a clear idea, since he has already identified the sectors where he needs to make changes in order to have a uniform feeling throughout the track on his Aprilia.
In Superpole, as demonstration of the speed the English-Italian duo has reached, Haslam was the quickest on a race tyre. Back in the garage with the qualifier tyre mounted Leon pushed to the limit, putting the third best time on the sheets in the end, which earns him a spot on the front row for the races tomorrow.
Leon Haslam: “As for the flying lap on a race tyre we are quite fast as we demonstrated even in Superpole, but in terms of consistency we still have some work to do in order to be able to easily repeat our performance. We are definitely making progress. Ironically, the qualifier tyre doesn’t help us so in the end third place was a pleasant surprise. Just like at Aragon we are expecting a difficult mission, but considering how close we were able to get in Race 2 I think we will be able to do well here tomorrow.”
Spanish rookie Jordi Torres is still lacking the right experience to be able to take full advantage of the particular rear Pirelli qualifier tyre (exclusive to Superbike) on his RSV4. The eighth best time he took in Superpole does not fully satisfy Jordi, who on the other hand is very positive about the improvement he demonstrated today. The fourth best time in FP3 and fifth in FP4 are encouraging in view of tomorrow’s races, especially if Jordi and his team can manage to shave off a few more tenths.
Jordi Torres: “Yesterday we improved quite a bit, but today we took a definite step forward. I’m still lacking a few tenths on my race pace and here at Assen a good feeling with the front end is important, so there is still room for improvement in that area. In Superpole I was lacking experience. I still am unable to take 100% advantage of the soft tyre. I really need to change my style because with so much grip the bike reacts differently. After the first lap where I was trying to figure out how to use the qualifier tyre I tried to push hard in order to get another fast time on the boards, but I didn’t have any more grip toward the end. Anyway what counts are the races tomorrow.”
Lorenzo Savadori, who rides the Team Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia RSV4 RF on Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, will start in front of the rest tomorrow after taking pole position in the qualifiers.
ASSEN – WSBK SUPERPOLE
- Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’34.789
- Rea (Kawasaki) 1’34.920
- Haslam (Aprilia) 1’35.336
- Davies (Ducati) 1’35.425
- VD Mark (Honda) 1’35.619
- Lowes (Suzuki) 1’35.722
- Fores (Ducati) 1’35.786
- Torres (Aprilia) 1’35.855
- Guintoli (Honda) 1’36.118
- Mercado (Ducati) 1’36.394
