For those of you who missed today’s WSBK Superpole today from Phillip Island, we’ve go a small highlight video (with some beautiful sounds of the bikes) which includes Jakub Smrz (Effenbert-Liberty Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) binning their respective machines.
After the jump you can find what the riders had to say about the first Superpole of the season and videos from top three qualifying riders Carlos Checa, Max Biaggi and Sylvain Guintoli after the exciting session.
Carlos Checa – 1st“In the end it was a very hard-fought Superpole but we are of course happy to have closed in pole position.
We knew that it would be more difficult with qualifiers which usually bring riders’ times closer together.
To start from the front of the grid is obviously valuable but I’m aware that I also need to make a good start to the races.
Let’s say that I don’t trust anyone, in the sense that tomorrow will surely be a battle! We’ll see tomorrow how best to manage the situation but I think Biaggi will be my main rival.
I am however determined to bring home two great results.
”Max Biaggi – 2nd“Wow! Thirteen thousandths are nothing.
It means that even on this track which has never favoured us we have improved a lot compared to the last two years, coming close to the best.
I am truly happy with this result which is to the merit of the team’s hard work coming here and testing during the off season.
Those tests allowed us to better understand our problems, so we worked hard on the details, small adjustments which can make the difference.
The engineers were very good.
We are not the fastest, but one thing for sure is that for the races we’re competitive.
Tomorrow the weather conditions will be important, the temperature and the tyres we choose as a consequence.
Then, as always, we’ll be ready to give it our all.
”Sylvain Guintoli – 3rd“I am very happy with today’s result , for which I thank all members of the team who have worked a lot these days.
I really enjoy driving this bike, I’m satisfied riding it and I am convinced that by all means I’ll enjoy a lot this season.
It ‘a short time that I am riding mz Ducati , but our feeling is already good and will only improve during the season.
I am very confident for tomorrow’s race, have managed to find a good race pace and I will do everything to fight for the top spots in both racesLeon Haslam – 4th“This is a great result.
If someone had offered me a front row start two weeks ago I would have been over the moon, so for sure we are all really happy.
The team has pulled together and worked hard to overcome the issues we have had so far this weekend and the end result has come at the right time.
We have made good progress, but I still have a few areas I want to work on tomorrow before the races.
Still, as a team we are confident that we have the pace to do well in the races tomorrow.
”Eugene Laverty – 5th“So far so good! I’ve really been enjoying the weekend so far; everything seems to be running really smoothly.
We’re still working on our set up for race distance but for the faster laps in qualifying it seems to have worked well.
Superpole was a new experience for me, the qualifying tyres require quite a different style of riding so I think I’m yet to get the best out of them.
Bring on tomorrow, I’m ready and really excited about seeing what we can do, I just hope it doesn’t rain!”Jakub Smrz – 6th“We can consider ourselves happy, but it certainly could go a bit better .
Since yesterday we have concentrated on the setup of the bike for the race and to obtain consistent results.
I entered the Superpole 2 without pushing too much.
Unfortunately, during this session I made a little mistake that made me lose grip on the front , causing a crash, but fortunately I was able to return to the box in time to get on the second bike, with which, despite the problems we had, I have managed to qualify for the final round.
In Superpole 3 I think I achieved a good result because I did not have the qualify tyres available anymore due to the crash.
In any case, we have found the right setup for the race and I see tomorrow’ s race with optimism.
Sylvain deserves my congratulations because he showed that the Phillip Island circuit really suits his characteristics and I am confident that tomorrow we’ll both get some good races and good results.
”Troy Corser – 7th “We struggled at the start of the weekend with set-up but since then we have all worked really hard to make clear steps forward.
Leon and I were having the same issues but collectively we found a solution and we both showed clear signs of improvement.
In the last session I didn’t have a new qualifying tyre to go out on so I had to settle for a used one, but I cannot complain.
Our race pace looks pretty good on paper but a lot depends on the temperature around here.
On the whole I think we can all look forward to tomorrow.
”Marco Melandri – 8th“Yesterday was a bad day for me, today was better but still difficult! The Superpole event was new for me, so I’m happy to be on the second row at the end.
I really like it, it’s like having three times qualifying so it’s pretty nice.
It was pretty tough initially as I’ve never tried the qualifying tyres before, so I had no time to get used to the way they feel.
I’m more confident for the races now so we will see what happens tomorrow.
”Michel Fabrizio – 9thIt would’ve been good to get into final Superpole and onto the second row of the grid at least, but I missed out by a very small margin.
But I am pretty happy with what we have achieved and all the hard work we have done.
For my first race weekend with the team, I think we have managed a lot better than a lot of people expected.
We tried many things today and got through all the work really well, ending with a good set-up on the bike.
Tom Sykes – 10th “We made good progress earlier today but in the hotter conditions in the afternoon we were not able to use the best of the softer race tyres and qualifying tyres, which bumped us down the final order a bit.
We are going to have to work on that, and try to find a good harmony in suspension and chassis in those conditions.
It was frustrating to go from third in combined qualifying to the third row, but it is one of those things, and tomorrow is another day.
It’s the only day that counts for real.
We need to have some points in the bag from these races and continue our strong development programme.
I was really pleased to be top three after combined qualifying, it shows our true potential.
”Jonathan Rea – 12thIt would probably be easier to tell you which bits don’t hurt but, on a positive note, we were able to confirm that our chosen tyre works in warmer conditions.
When I put my first qualifier in it was hooking up really well but I was getting stuck behind a slower rider on my fast lap and I went a little bit deep into the last turn and caught some bumps.
I lost the front and went down but got back to the box with enough time go out on the other bike.
To be honest, I missed my apex on turn one and that was the lap finished.
Tomorrow’s a new day and I’ll try to take some positives out of all this.
The bike’s feeling good and I haven’t done any further damage, which is a big bonus.
It’s the first round of the championship so we’ll just dig deep for a couple of decent points-scoring finishes tomorrow, see where we end up and put last few days behind us.
Joan Lascorz – 13th “We had different settings on the bike because the conditions changed and it proved difficult in Superpole.
I used a qualifying tyre but it made no real difference to the lap time.
We could do the same on the race tyres.
We will see how the races are tomorrow but I am quite tired now and will rest and recover before warm-up.
I am looking forward to the first races in this class and if we can find good settings for the conditions, I will be happy.
”Noriyuki Haga – 14thThe Superpole wasn’t that good.
When I stopped to change and to set the qualifiying tyre we got a problem that didn’t allow to go back on track with the same motorbike.
The tyre has been set on the second motorbike that were prepared with a different stability and with which I couldn’t improve my time and move to the Superpole following session.
The motorbike, anyway, got better compared to yesterday, most of all on a race-stability.
I’m certain I’ll be able to face the two rounds with good results.
”Ruben Xaus – 16thI’m suffering from the rear jumping around at the moment and I can’t seem to make the bigger tyre work that everyone else is using.
I’m using the smaller tyre but when we find a setting to get more grip it seems to make the bumps problem even worse.
We’ve tried to set up the bike completely differently to avo id the problem but then it goes to the front! I know that if we can eliminate this problem, I’ve got maybe six or seven tenths, which would certainly improve the position.
Everything else is great – the team is working well and on slower corners the bike feels fantastic and I can match the guys at the front.
It’s just at the faster corners, but there are four of those here, where you are a long time on the side of the tyre, which makes it very difficult.
Leon Camier – 17th“It’s frustrating not being able to ride, especially for the first race.
Quite simply my cough and general weariness hinder my concentration and consequently from focusing on what I’m doing.
At the moment the fever is not the biggest problem, but I feel very tired and even just walking I’m not able to breathe properly, so just imagine after 3-4 laps.
At this point I just hope I’m feeling better.
Unfortunately tomorrow I’ll start from way back and it will be truly difficult”.
Maxime Berger – 19th“I’m sorry for not being able to do what we wanted for my first Superpole in my career.
In qualifying this morning, after trying the new engine, we mounted softer tires, but unfortunately I could not grab one of the sixteen positions.
I feel disappointed, but also satisfied, my bike improved again and we collected a large amount of data that will be useful for the two races tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the day of my debut in World Superbike and certainly I give the best for me and my team, these days they gave me a huge help.
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