eni FIM Superbike World Championship
Motorland Aragon, Spain
April 11, 2015
Superpole Qualifying One Results (top two advance to Qualifying Session Two, all on Pirelli tires):
1. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:51.215
2. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:51.367
3. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:51.404
4. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:51.481
5. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4), 1:52.526
6. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (EBR 1190 RX), 1:52.970
7. Christophe PONSSON, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.065
8. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.138
9. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:53.477
10. Santiago BARRAGÁN, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.830
Superpole Qualifying Two Results:
1. Leon HASLAM, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:49.664
2. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:49.697
3. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:49.863
4. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:50.053
5. Xavier FORES, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:50.449
6. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:50.670
7. Jordi TORRES, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:50.735
8. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:50.924
9. Nico TEROL, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:51.146
10. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), 1:51.243
11. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:51.510
12. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.016
Combined Qualifying Results:
1. Leon HASLAM, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:49.664
2. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:49.697
3. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:49.863
4. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:50.053
5. Xavier FORES, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:50.449
6. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), 1:50.670
7. Jordi TORRES, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:50.735
8. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:50.924
9. Nico TEROL, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:51.146
10. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), 1:51.243
11. Michael VD MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:51.510
12. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:52.016
13. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:51.404
14. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:51.481
15. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4), 1:52.526
16. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (EBR 1190 RX), 1:52.970
17. Christophe PONSSON, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.065
18. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.138
19. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:53.477
20. Santiago BARRAGÁN, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:53.830
21. Javier ALVIZ, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:55.223
22. Larry PEGRAM, USA (EBR 1190 RX), 1:55.858
23. Imre TOTH, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), 1:56.943
24. Gabor RIZMAYER, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), 1:57.141
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Haslam races to Aragon Tissot-Superpole
The Aprilia rider to be joined on the front row by fellow Britons Davies and Sykes.
Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) will start tomorrow’s two WorldSBK races of the third round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship from Pole Position. A lap time of 1.49.664s, the fastest of the weekend so far and the quickest ever for a superbike on the new MotorLand Aragon configuration, left the Englishman 0.033s ahead of his nearest rivals Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) who will join him on the front row. For Haslam this is his first Pole Position since Phillip Island in 2010 and only the second of his career.
Row two will see championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) aboard his Ninja ZX-10, Xavi Fores who continues his impressive debut weekend on the second of the Aruba.it Ducati Superbike Team) and Ayrton Badovini.
The third row was decided in the final seconds of the session, with Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) taking 7th. He will start alongside Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati).
Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) complete the top-12 in a grid that sees five manufacturers inside the top-10.
Earlier, Badovini and Lowes were the two riders to progress from Superpole 1 into the final 15-minute shoot-out, as reigning Champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) missed out on one of the top two places available, the pair qualifying 14th and 19th respectively.
WorldSBK MotorLand Aragon – Tissot-Superpole
1 – Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils 1’49.664
2 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team +0.033
3 – Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team +0.199
Leon Haslam #91 – Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
Tissot-Superpole – 1st
Twitter: @realleonhaslam
Facebook: 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.”
Chaz Davies #7 – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team
Tissot-Superpole – 2nd
Twitter: @chazdavies
Instagram: @chazdavies7
Facebook: chazdavies7
“In Superpole I was able to put together a good lap, not a great lap. Unfortunately I made a mistake in the first sector which I actually thought might have cost me the front row, so I was pleased to finish second, as a front row start is important. Compared to yesterday, things have gone better today, particularly this morning when I was able to complete race distance with good results. It looks like Rea and I have a similar pace from what I’ve seen so far but we’ll have to see tomorrow; the races won’t be easy, and we need to try and maintain a strong pace as long as possible.”
Jordi Torres #81 – Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils
Tissot-Superpole – 7th
Twitter: @jorditorres81
Instagram: @jorditorres81
“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 in the braking area and on corner entry to get closer to the front runners. In Superpole I used the qualifier for the second time and I definitely need to learn how to take the best out 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 touch with the leading pack in order to gain experience. The two races certainly won’t be easy!”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Davies second, Forés fifth in today’s Superpole at Motorland Aragón
Alcaniz (Spain), Saturday 11 April 2015 – The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team and its riders Chaz Davies and Javier Forés have closed the third Superpole of the 2015 World Superbike season at Motorland Aragón with positive results, obtaining second (Davies) and fifth (Forés) position on the grid for tomorrow’s races.
During the third and final timed practice session, which took place this morning, Davies continued to make progress, recording an impressive 1’50.934 in the opening phase and projecting himself to the top of the timesheets as a result. His lap was to remain the overall fastest of the combined sessions, meaning that the Welshman qualified in first place for the afternoon’s Superpole 2. A modification made to his Panigale R prior to his final exit on track allowed Forés to improve on his best of yesterday by almost a second. The Spaniard recorded a fastest time of 1’51.293, only three tenths from Chaz, to secure overall third position. He too therefore qualified directly without any difficulty for the second Superpole.
Superpole 2: Having completed a first lap on the race tyre, Chaz was already lying first, Javier fourth. Then, returning to the track just a few moments later with the qualifier, Davies was able to set an extremely fast 1’49.697. Thanks to this time, which he achieved despite making a couple of small mistakes through the first sector, the Welshman closed today’s Superpole in final second position, missing out on the pole by just 0.033 of a second. Forés, using the qualifying tyre for the first time this season, also put together a good lap, recording a time of 1’50.449 thanks to which he scored overall fifth position. The Spanish rider will therefore line up on row two of the grid, in fifth place, for tomorrow’s two 18-lap races.
Quotes after the day’s sessions:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 2th (1’49.697)
“In Superpole I was able to put together a good lap, not a great lap. Unfortunately I made a mistake in the first sector which I actually thought might have cost me the front row, so I was pleased to finish second, as a front row start is important. Compared to yesterday, things have gone better today, particularly this morning when I was able to complete race distance with good results. It looks like Rea and I have a similar pace from what I’ve seen so far but we’ll have to see tomorrow; the races won’t be easy, and we need to try and keep the grip in the rear tyre for as long as possible…”
Javier Forés (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #112) – 5th (1’50.449)
“I don’t think I made the most of the qualifying tyre but in the end, as a first approach, I can only be pleased with a second row start. Then as far as pace is concerned, I think we’re in a fairly good place. In the free practice I tried to make as many consecutive laps as possible on the same tyre and results were not bad – we’re lapping with similar times to the frontrunners I think. I know it will be very difficult tomorrow, but the aim remains to finish the races inside the top seven or eighth – we’ll see, but I’ll be doing my best…”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Sykes Takes Front Row Start With Rea One Place Behind
Tom Sykes rode his Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R to his first front row start of the 2015 season by finishing Superpole in third place at Motorland Aragon, with his team-mate Jonathan Rea just one place and one row behind.
Sykes declared that his fast lap using a qualifying rear tyre was not quite ideal as he had to adopt a degree of caution after pushing the front earlier during his best lap, because much more rear grip is available from the qualifying tyre. He set a 1’49.863 on his way to his front row start.
Rea, who has been consistently fast all weekend, was fourth, losing his 100% perfect record of pole starts in what has been a remarkable start to his season with Kawasaki. His best in Superpole was a 1’50.053. The championship leader is still in a good position to take on the two 18-lap races on Sunday and will make a final set-up call after morning warm-up.
The 5.077km Motorland circuit has proved to be fast and exciting in its new WSB layout, with the long final corner playing its part already for Sykes. He had to use a touch of caution as he completed his best lap of the weekend.
The circuit conditions have varied from providing a cool track surface in the morning sessions to warmer asphalt in the afternoons, but the weather conditions have been kind in general with all sessions conducted in the dry.
Tom Sykes: “I am happy to be on the front row because it was second row in the previous round, so that is a little bit better today. We are improving, so I am happy for that. As soon as we put the qualifying tyre in I had too many warnings early in the lap and when I came into the last sector there was a fast corner to finish. I did not want to go in there too hot. Those warnings earlier on did put me off a bit and so it was not a perfect lap. But I am happy enough to get on the front row. Starting from there also gives us a cleaner track ahead for the two races. We started the weekend in a good position and we are now in a better position. Everybody always tries to improve so we will have a look at the situation later and try to improve our set-up even more.”
Jonathan Rea: “Superpole went OK and I felt that my lap was good but not good enough for the front row. We have been working really hard all weekend on our tyre option and trying to maximise our race set-up. I’m quite happy with our progress and we will work in warm-up to try and further improve my feeling. Tomorrow I hope to make a good start and to be in the front group to see how the race unfolds. For me the most important thing is to be fast in the last laps when the tyre performance drops.”
David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) qualified for Superpole 2 and then finished12th, earning a front row start at his home round.
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
SUPERBIKE: APRILIA IN POLE POSITION IN SPAIN
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!”
More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:
Determined eighth for Lowes and Voltcom Crescent Suzuki in Aragon Superpole
Alex Lowes dug deep to claim eighth position for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki in today’s World Superbike Superpole at Motorland Aragon in Spain.
A difficult day had seen both Lowes and Randy de Puniet out of the top ten for the morning’s final free practice, qualifying them for the opening Superpole 1 this afternoon. The British racer pushed hard for the first 15 minute session, a spectacular last lap progressing him into Superpole 2. Fresh determination, and qualifying rubber, resulted in a renewed push from Lowes to get the best from his Yoshimura-powered machine and despite the worry of end of session traffic, his 1’50.924 secured him eighth position, lining him up on row three for Sunday’s battles.
Continuing to struggle with the settings of his GSX-R’s new electronics package, de Puniet failed to tame his Suzuki Superbike for the Spanish qualifying. A high-side in the final free practice and a throttle connection issue in the following session left him little time to recover his pace and confidence. A mistake on the Frenchman’s last timed lap in Superpole saw him conclude the day with 19th position, and a row 7 start for tomorrow’s races.
Aprilia’s Leon Haslam claimed his second career pole to date with a 1’49.664 as the top three riders became the only ones to break the 1’50 barrier.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s WSBK race action begins at 10:30hrs local time tomorrow (09:30BST) with race two on track at the Motorland Aragon Circuit at13:10hrs (12:10BST).
Alex Lowes:
“Today was difficult but we stayed calm. We’re working hard and we’re improving every time we go out so we’ve just got to keep working as we are. I did the best I could with what I had and I will try to do a better job tomorrow. Thanks to the Crescent team as they are all working so hard to get us to where we know we can be – I really feel we have more potential in the long run with this system.”
Randy de Puniet:
“It was a very difficult day because this morning we struggled again with the electronics. I had a high-side but I am fine, which is a good point. This afternoon, we continued to have an issue with the engine brake and traction control connection, so we lost the final free practice session and most of the Superpole because of this. I made a mistake, running wide on my qualifying tyre, and thought I had one more lap to recover but when I crossed the line I saw the chequered flag. When nothing is going well it is a nightmare, but I really hope to do well and have a better feeling tomorrow, get a good start and to score points.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The challenges of introducing a complete new electronics system on the bike as an independent team – bearing in mind that we only have our in-house team to research, design, develop and test – has obviously been a big challenge and today, if anything, became more difficult compared to yesterday. For that reason the team has not been able to make a single chassis setting change so we have done none of the normal work that you would expect over the course of the two days, it’s been a matter of focussing solely on trying to make the bike rideable and predictable for Alex and Randy. With that in mind, for Alex to qualify eighth, just over one second from the fastest rider on such a long track, is nothing short of a miracle and for me is an even better performance than his front row in Thailand at the last round. Having achieved that kind of lap time the data is now better for the engineers to try and take the next step and if we can have two solid races and score some reasonable points tomorrow we can then look forward to further development and taking full advantage of the additional capacity of the new system.
“Randy has faced the same difficulties as Alex but has found it more difficult to adapt and continue to push. For him, following the Phillip Island injury he needed a good solid event to rebuild confidence and unfortunately the timing of the electronics change couldn’t have been worse on his side, but we all know how fast he is and we’ll pull together and try to give him the best opportunity we can to demonstrate his ability.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:
Fourth row start for Michael van der Mark at Aragon
Michael van der Mark will start tomorrow’s third-round World Superbike championship races from the fourth row of the grid after qualifying in 11th position today at Aragon in Spain.
The Dutch rider had a positive start in the morning’s free practice runs and the team will take the data from all sessions to continue to work on obtaining the right setting for the 5.077km Aragon circuit.
Meanwhile Sylvain Guintoli will start the two 18-lap races a row behind his teammate in 14th position after missing out on Superpole this afternoon. It has been a difficult two days for Guintoli and his crew as they continue to seek the optimum setting for the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP.
Michael van der Mark – P11, 1m51.510s
I had a good feeling this morning, we improved a little bit and I thought we could go a lot faster in Superpole but it didn’t work out. I think the race pace is ok, but we have to come from quite far back on the grid and I am a little disappointed with that, but tomorrow is a new day.
Sylvain Guintoli – P14, 1m51.481s
We struggled a little bit today and couldn’t get qualifying pace, with the race tyre it felt good but I wasn’t able to improve my times. It will be hard work tomorrow for the races, we are trying everything and the crew is working hard to make improvements. We have to keep our heads down and try our best during the races.
Pieter Breddels
It’s been a difficult day, Michael was 11th and Sylvain missed out on Superpole in 14th place. There is a gap with the competition at the moment, but we have got a lot of data to go through and put some changes in place ready for warm-up tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing:
Althea Racing Aragon Superpole
Aragon (Spain), 11 April 2015
Saturday’s qualifying has concluded at Motorland Aragon. Team Althea Racing’s Superbike riders will start tomorrow’s races with Nico Terol on the third row, in ninth place, and Matteo Baiocco in thirteenth position on the grid.
During this morning’s qualifying session at Motorland de Aragon, the squad worked hard to find the right set-up solution in order to be prepared for Sunday’s races and gain entry to the Superpole. Nico earned direct access to Superpole 2 with the seventh fastest time, but unfortunately due to an error during his out lap he was unable to fight for the front row during the Superpole itself, meaning that he will line up in ninth place on tomorrow’s race grid. The Spaniard nevertheless intends to make up for lost ground and fight to bring home two strong results in front of his home crowd and numerous fans. Matteo missed out on a place in Superpole 2 by just 37 thousandths of a second, having made two laps with the qualifying tyre in the first Superpole. He will therefore start in thirteenth position tomorrow. The Italian rider is making constant progress and is determined to complete two strong races.
A positive start for the Superstock 1000 team, that will start tomorrow’s race with Raffaele de Rosa on row two, having achieved a fantastic fourth position, first of the Ducatis. Luca Salvadori will line up in seventeenth place, having been held in the box for a long while as a result of a small technical problem that took his mechanics and engineers most of the sessions to fix. He was nevertheless able to complete one solid lap in a time of 1’54.707 which prevented him from starting tomorrow’s race even further back.
Genesio Bevilacqua: “I was curious to see the initial performance of all of the Superstock frontrunners in such a tough championship. I consider it to be the most competitive championship we’ve seen in recent years, considering the riders who make up the entry list and the factory teams involved. We in Team Althea want to do well and have selected two key riders from whom we expect a great deal. Today has been quite a positive day as far as qualifying was concerned. We have De Rosa on the second row but with a really good pace. It’s a pity that Salvadori had a few problems meaning he could only complete one lap. I’m pleased with both of them because they appreciate the bike, the team is working well and we’ll reserve final judgement until tomorrow.”
Raffaele De Rosa: “I’m really pleased with my qualifying result but also aware that I could have done more. I believe that the bike and I have greater potential than we have shown today. Material for our bike arrived at the last minute and we didn’t have enough time to carry out certain tests that our rivals were able to complete. All of this only serves to increase the trust that me and the team have, having already shown my potential which I believe to be great.”
Luca Salvadori: “I’m sorry because we had a technical problem during qualifying which caused us to lose a lot of time. The boys did a great job and were able to sort the bike just before the session’s end and, by making only one lap, I was able to obtain eighth position on tomorrow’s grid. So I think my chances are good for the race.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hero EBR:
Round Three – Motorland Aragon, Spain 10-12th April 2015
Qualifying and Superpole – 11th April
Conditions: Dry, sunny
Team Hero EBR rider Niccolò Canepa qualified well inside the requirements to enter Superpole 1 at the Motorland Aragon circuit and ended up 16th on the grid. His team-mate Larry Pegram went 22nd on the grid after regular qualifying.
Canepa, who was 17th in the combined times improved one place in Superpole and will now start the two 18-lap WSB races from the front of the 6th row.
After missing track time on day one rider/team manager Pegram made significant improvements on the second day at Motorland missing out on entering Superpole 1 by just two places.
Having never seen the circuit before this weekend Pegram is still learning the finer nuances of the long 5.077km circuit and he understands he still has potential to improve before raceday on Sunday.
Larry Pegram
“For me it was a big improvement today and we took over two seconds off from Friday. Every lap I am getting faster so we just needed the session that we missed yesterday. Today was good, we improved, but we have a lot more room to go quicker. I am not at the limit and I just wished we could have gone faster, earlier. There are a couple of sectors around here where the corners are blind and that is where I am losing a bit of time. I followed Nick for a lap and it helped me a ton in getting comfortable with the track.”
Niccolò Canepa
“Today was good especially as after my crash yesterday. I was not really OK; not riding well. Today we worked a little bit better and we improved the bike using the qualifying tyre compared to the race tyre. It got better all day and I am quite satisfied because although it has not been an easy weekend we are all doing our best. I hope to have good pace for the races tomorrow because we want it.”