Report on Day one Round Two of the World Endurance Championship at Albacete, Spain, May 20 Folch Endurance Fast but Unlucky on First Day in Albacete In the opening free practice session American Kenny Noyes put up the third fastest time among World Endurance Championship entries at Albacete, Spain, in preparation for the Spanish round of the 8 Hours of Albacete, but a big crash by one of his team mates meant that the team was unable take part in the first qualifying session and will have to qualify tomorrow on the morning of race day. Noyes’ time of 1’35.2 was achieved quite easily on and without trying to turn a quick time on the Folch R1. Team mate Dani Ribalta also ran times in the 1’35s. Both Kenny and Dani said that the bike was working well at the front but with a tendency to break loose at the rear. Third man out for the Folch team, Salvador Cabana, then high-sided at high speed on his second lap. He was uninjured but the front forks were destroyed as were the triple clamps. The frame will also have to be changed and the work could not be completed in time for the first official qualifying session on Friday evening. With Folch Endurance sidelined and mechanics working to ready the R1 for tomorrow’s final qualifying session, today’s fastest qualifier was Frenchman Vincent Philippe with a time of 1’33.548 for the Castrol Suzuki team, ahead of Damian Cudlin (Yamaha Phase One). Folch´s second bike was taken to eighth in qualifying by Alex Hervás in a time of 1’36.899. Noyes said, “We can’t afford to make any mistakes tomorrow. I think we have a bike and team capable of winning. Both Dani and I have lapped in the 33´s here and Salvador can run around that level. The bike just needed a little adjustment at the rear to keep the shock from going hard too fast when the rear gets traction back after spinning up. It was frustrating to have to watch qualifying and night practice, but I guess we just saved about five hours of wear and tear on the engine. This will be a sprint race”¦eight hours is a sprint”¦and I think we can run 33’s and 34s and maybe qualify in the low 33s, but it really doesn’t matter if we start first or not. The track is lighted like a first division soccer field, and there’s a full moon, so it will be like daytime at night.” Final qualifying starts at 9:30 Spanish time on Saturday morning (3:30 AM Eastern Time on Sunday). The race starts at 6:00 PM on Saturday and ends at 2:00 AM Sunday (8:00 PM Eastern time Sunday). Top Ten Qualifiers 8 Horas Nocturnas de Albacete 1. Suzuki Castrol Team-France (GSX-R1000) Philippe 1´33.548 2. Yamaha Phase One Endurance-Great Britain (Yamaha YZF R1) Cudlin 1’34.128 3. Yamaha Austria-Austria (Yamaha YZF R1) Giabanni 1’34.153 4. Shell Endurance Academy-Great Britain (Yamaha YZF R1) Rohtlaan 1’35.988 5. Bollinger Team Switzerland-Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX10-R) Muff 1’36.128 6. No Limits & RT Motor Team-Italy (Suzuki GSX-R1000) Ruozzi 1´36.142 7. Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se-Switzerland (Suzuki GSX-R1000) Young 1’36.435 8. Folch Endurance Yamaha Team 2-Spain (Yamaha YZF R1) Hervás 1’36.899 9. Yamaha X-One-Italy (Yamaha YZF R1) Tessari 1’36.945 10. Ducati Spring Team-Italy (Ducati 999) Colombo 1’37.157 More, from a press release issued by FGSport: Suzuki Castrol Provisional Pole Position Yamaha Phase One and Yamaha Austria Close In Suzuki Castrol rider Vincent Philippe has taken provisional pole position for tomorrow’s Albacete 8 Horas Nocturnas round of the FIM World Endurance Championship. However, both Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Yamaha Austria are close behind the usually dominant French rider. Philippe’s best time for Suzuki Castrol was 1:33.548, set on qualifying tyres during the first of this afternoon’s group sessions. Both Cudlin for Phase One (1/34.128) and Giabbani for Yamaha Austria (1:34.153) rode in the third groups session, when the track temperature was higher, grip was reduced, and lap times were slower. Suzuki’s Philippe expects to improve his times tomorrow: “There is more to come, for sure; we will go faster tomorrow. We have some new chassis parts that we are still adjusting, and the weather will be cooler.” The Yamaha Shell Endurance Academy junior team were 4th, just ahead of Assen podium finishers Bolliger Kawasaki and Italian Suzuki team No Limits. Aussie Paul Young has joined the Swedish Fagersjo-el.se squad for this race, lifting them to 7th and ahead of local wildcard team Folch Endurance. Two more Italian teams round out the top ten, with Yamaha X-One ninth and Ducati Spring Team no.10 in tenth place. Final qualifying takes place tomorrow morning when temperatures will be lower, but the race will start at six in the evening, when track conditions will be similar to those we have just experienced. Provisional Qualifying Positions 1st 2 – Suzuki Castrol Team FRA Suzuki GSX-R1000 V. Philippe 1:33.548 2nd 3 – Yamaha Phase One Endurance GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 D.Cudlin 1:34.128 3rd 7 – Yamaha Austria 7 AUT Yamaha YZF-R1 G. Giabanni 1:34.153 4th 6 Shell Endurance Academy GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 M.Rohtlaann 1:35.988 5th 8 – Bolliger Team Switzerland SUI Kawasaki ZX10R P. Muff 1:36.128 6th 44 No Limits & RT Motor Team ITA Suzuki GSX-R1000 R.Ruozi 1:36.142 7th 12 Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se SWE Suzuki GSX-R1000 P Young 1:36.435 8th 24 Yamaha Folch Endurance (2) SPA Yamaha YZF-R1 A.Hervas 1:36.899 9th 4 Yamaha X-One ITA Yamaha YZF-R1 P.Tessari 1:36.945 10th 10 Ducati Spring Team ITA Ducati 999 M.Colombo 1:37.157