Saturday at Monza the talk was all about Max Biaggi and his Aprilia RSV4.
The 334.
8 km/h record breaking highest top speed during free practice 2, the record breaking lap of 1’41.
745 during Superpole, and it seems that everything is already done and decided and the Roman Emperor will once again easily rule this Italian round.
Due to their injuries, James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen have decided not to compete on Sunday.
Here’s what some of the riders said about today’s Superpole session:Max Biaggi – 1st“A great day, without a doubt, but the problem is that we still haven’t won anything.
So we had better keep our feet on the ground.
It’s always nice to start from the front row and that rewards the work that we did yesterday and today, even making some sacrificing for pure performance.
We found a good general balance and that is how we were able to put the qualifying tyre to good use.
This is to the credit of all the guys on the team.
We are an all Italian company – we have the three colours of the Italian flag on our bike and we cannot be indifferent about this race – it is an important weekend for us.
We still have the problem of tyre wear which obviously suffer with these averages, and the races here are always extremely heated: Yamaha and BMW have always done well – just look at the last SBK rounds on this circuit – and they will be worthy adversaries.
We have certainly prepared as best we can, but the races haven’t been run yet.
” Eugene Laverty – 2nd “It’s been a great weekend so far.
The team’s workshop is literally just down the road so it really means a lot to me to do well here in Monza.
Hopefully we can have two good races tomorrow.
I’ll definitely be fighting for the podium! I’ve been waiting for it for quite a while, so I’m planning on finally achieving that tomorrow.
The R1 has always been strong here in Monza so I’m really looking forward the race.
”Jonathan Rea – 3rd“To be honest, I’m very happy and savouring the moment to be on the front row here because we’ve had a bit of an up and down weekend so far.
We’ve been working really, really hard for tomorrow’s races and the tyre choice is critical again here with the temperature going up and down.
The front row is really important to get away with the front group, which will be quite a group I think.
A big ambition of mine is to stand on the podium here at Monza – it would be really special, so I’ll be trying my hardest to achieve that tomorrow.
”Troy Corser – 4th“I am quite happy with today’s result.
I tried to push in Superpole 2 and made a small mistake at La Roggia – I hit the kerbs and lost some time.
In Superpole 3 I was a little bit more cautious, and I braked a little sooner.
As a result, again I lost a few tenths.
The BMW S 1000 RR still does not like to be pushed too much.
Nevertheless, I am happy enough as I made it onto the front row for the first time this season.
I now hope for a good start and to get through the first chicane without any issues.
On the race tyre I have quite a consistently good pace.
I think wherever we are after the start, we can also be at the end of the race.
I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race.
”Marco Melandri – 5th“It was a relatively good day but we’re still having difficulty finding the right set-up .
We seem to have a good rhythm for the race and that’s good but on a qualifying tyre the bike was a little agitated, so I struggled exiting the fast corner.
We still have time to improve and I’m confident that we are making progress.
Tomorrow is another day, so let’s see what happens.
”Leon Haslam – 6th“I made a slight mistake in Superpole 1, which meant I went for the qualifying tyre to ensure I posted a quick time, so that’s why my lap time in SP1 was my fastest of the three sessions.
In Superpole two I used the second and final set of qualifiers, but again I caught some riders in the wrong place on the track and my lap time wasn’t as quick.
Still I made it through to Superpole 3.
There I was forced to do the whole session on a race tyre, but I still managed sixth place.
With regard to tomorrow I am feeling pretty confident, our race pace is good so I am really looking forward to getting out there.
”Michel Fabrizio – 7th“My target for Superpole was to finish with a place on the first two rows of the grid and I achieved that, so I am pretty happy.
It is so important to be on the first two rows of the grid here because, although the front straight is quite long, the first chicane is very tight and it’s better not to get held up going into it.
If that happens, it is difficult to make up the ground again and challenge the leaders.
I went back to the forks and suspension I knew and I’m sure that was the right choice for me today.
I was able to push hard and not worry about trying to understand anything new.
I used my two qualifying tyres in Superpole 1 and 2 so did not have any super sticky rubber in Superpole 3.
If I had a qualifier in Superpole 3, then maybe I could’ve finished on the front row of the grid.
But, as I said, I am pretty happy with my result today and I am looking forward to tomorrow because I know that I will be able to challenge the leaders right from the start.
It’s going to be two tough races and I’m sure that slipstreaming will play an important part.
I don’t think anybody will clear off, so the last lap is going to be a tactical battle, a big fight; and a lot of fun!”Noriyuki Haga – 8thThis morning’s crash was spectacular but luckily I just feel some pain at my elbow that didn’t prevent me from hitting back the track, even though it still ache during course-changings.
I managed the Superpole to gain a placement among the first two rows, a basic condition trying to run at my best the two manches.
Tomorrow I’ll test another solution, to decide then the right setting to fight the races with.
I’m sure will be a battle because it’s a really fast circuit where the values are pretty balanced.
”Ayrton Badovini – 9th“I’m happy but not satisfied.
I was hoping to be stronger in practice because the grip has increased significantly but failed to lower the times.
What makes me happy is knowing that the pitch is good with race tyres, and tomorrow I hope to be with the leaders at the end of the first lap.
I thank the guys that have worked hard over the weekend, and now I will do my best because I want to leave Monza even happier and satisfied with our performance.
I’m glad that James is back here with us and I am sorry that his wrist is sore.
I think it’s a good decision to rest for this race and get back in shape for Miller.
”Leon Camier – 10th“I can’t explain how annoyed I am.
I was looking good to go 6th fastest and then had a moment in turn seven.
The rear came round on me, highsided and then pushed me wide.
I messed up basically, and with such a competitive field, one mistake and you’re out.
We’ve had a tough weekend with problems here and there, and I’ve not exactly helped the situation today.
I’ll have to pick myself up and concentrate on doing a good job tomorrow.
We know we’ve got good race pace and that we can challenge to make up places, I’ve just not made it easy for myself!”Carlos Checa – 11th“It’s not easy here for us.
We know that we are lacking some speed but tomorrow I think that if I can improve through the first sector we can defend ourselves well.
Of course it wouldn’t be very realistic to think we can reach the podium but I am confident that we can stay with the front group and we’ll try to take the best possible results.
It’s hard to say how we’ll finish but I’ll do my best as always and we’ll see.
”Joan Lascorz – 13th“On race tyres were good but on the qualifying tyre we could not go so fast.
The bike seems to run wide when we have more grip from the rear tyre.
We should have a good race set-up for Sunday and we were fast at some stages this weekend.
We need two good starts and then we can make up some places in the chicanes.
”Tom Sykes – 14th“On used race tyres we can set good lap times and we are looking very strong in those conditions.
But for whatever reason we have struggled to set the best lap times on fresh tyres.
That got even worse when we used qualifying tyres.
I am feeling confident over race distance to get a decent result for the bike and the team, but we will have to see how it goes on Sunday.
We maybe need to go back to the drawing board to work it out a bit.
We will come out swinging tomorrow and we can still make a good day of it.
We just need to get all our ideas together tonight.
”Maxime Berger – 16th “I’m happy to do my second Superpole of the season, but I feel sorry for not being able to take advantage of the Superpole to gain a good position on the grid for tomorrow’s races.
Unfortunately, I was unable to immediately take advantage of the softer tire and after a few laps my bike suffered a small technical problem and I had to return to the box to use my bike number two.
The bike number two is fine, but has a slightly different structure than the number one bike and in the little time that was left I was not able to improve my time and to enter the second Superpole session.
For tomorrow, I think it’s important to start well and give my best to try to get a good result.
”Ruben Xaus – 17thOf course, it’s been a disappointing day and there’s not really much I can say.
I feel OK on the bike but we tested a few things today to achieve a good basic set-up and went in the wrong direction.
We’re all in it together and, as a team, we are all working very hard an d we must take the bad times together like we take the good times.
We still had some brake problems today, but also some traction issues.
We weren’t so far away yesterday and maybe we should have spent more time to get into a rhythm with that before trying so hard to improve it some more.
Anyway, we’ll see if we can find something in warm-up tomorrow and, of course, I will be trying my best in both the races.
Roberto Rolfo – 18th“I’m satisfied with the work I have done today together with my technicians but of course I’m not satisfied with my result because I missed the Superpole and tomorrow I’ll start from the fifth row of the grid.
This morning I was able to improve on my best lap time by half a second by using both my bikes and trying different settings.
In the last few minutes of the session, after the long pause, I preferred not to change the tyres and tried to push very hard to improve my lap time.
My bike is working better than yesterday and my pace is not so bad.
Tomorrow’s races will be very difficult for me starting from the fifth row, but I’ll try my best to take a good result.
”Mark Aitchison – 20th“Today we have finished our practices and qualifying in preparation for our races tomorrow.
My team worked hard during the night to help improve the bike setup and we have found a direction that I think is good for consistency.
In the race this is what I will be aiming for, a consistent lap time where I can maintain my pace and improve my position.
We have some small changes to make overnight but I’m confident we can show good pace in the races”.
Chris Vermeulen (will not start)“My elbow is the only problem, even though the rest of me is a bit sore after my Friday fall.
They say the gash in my elbow needs about six stitches in it and the elbow has swollen up a lot inside.
I have been having it drained of fluid a couple of times a day.
They say there is nothing majorly wrong with my elbow and it was only a problem because it got stuck under the bike when I crashed.
I have been advised not to ride this weekend but the good thing is that my knee feels a lot better and we were reasonably quick after only a few laps.
”