WITH A FABULOUS LAP LEON HASLAM RIDES HIS RSV4 RF TO THE FRONT OF THE PACK AT ARAGON
THIRD ROW FOR JORDI TORRES WHO IS KEEN TO CUT A FINE FIGURE FOR HIS HOME FANS
Alcaniz (Spain), 11 April 2015 – With a fabulous lap Leon Haslam rode his Aprilia RSV4 to the front of the pack on the starting grid. The Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils English rider achieved an impressive feat today.
After a cautious start (in the first timed session Haslam had the tenth best time), Leon and hi team consistently improved, taking the RSV4 RF into second position in the FP4 sessions that preceded Superpole. At that point Leon began the decisive session aware that he could be fast, but his performance with a qualifier tyre of 1’49.664 was extraordinary since it was almost two seconds faster than the times he put on the sheets in the FP4 sessions.
It was definitely a team result since work was done on various fronts, from the chassis to electronic control management, aiming at finding grip and speed in the various conditions without stressing the tyres too much in a race setting. For Leon Haslam this is the second pole in his Superbike career after the one he took at Phillip Island in 2010.
Leon Haslam: “When I saw the time on the dashboard I was really happy even though I didn’t know what place I had taken, especially because it wasn’t an entirely perfect lap. Being in front of everyone else is incredible when you consider that in the first session we were tenth! The team did a great job. We improved session after session and now the feeling is a lot better. There are various unknowns for tomorrow, not the least of which is the weather which may not be the best. We need to keep analysing the data to try and shave a few more tenths off of our pace. We are expecting two very heated races that will be decided over the long run.”
Jordi Torres also managed to improve his performance significantly compared to yesterday. The Spanish rider, determined to do well on his home track, is still not able to push his RSV4 RF to the limit, but he is showing continuous improvement, just like in the first two weekends of the season, which goes to show his commitment and steadfastness.
He finished Superpole with the seventh best time which earns him a spot on the third row after using the “specialist” Pirelli qualifier tyre for the second time.
Jordi Torres: “We improved a lot compared to yesterday. We still need to be a bit faster, but we have taken a decisive step forward. I need to be more aggressive on the braking sessions and going into turns to get close to the front runners. In Superpole I used the qualifier tyre for the second time and I definitely need to learn how to take better advantage of it. If we can manage to take another step forward in looking after the front tyre we’ll be able to improve even more. The goal for tomorrow is not to lose contact with the lead pack, continuing to watch them in order to gain experience. They certainly won’t be two easy races!”
