Spies takes Superpole Number 11 at Portimao; Haga starts from Row 3
World Superbike Press Release
The final Superpole session of 2009 went the same way as ten others this season as Ben Spies made it 11 out of 14 for the Yamaha World Superbike team, an outright record for the series, at the Algarve Circuit in Portugal. The Texan's lap time of 1 minute 42.412 seconds was almost one second under last year's best lap set by Troy Bayliss.
Spies thus becomes the number 1 favourite for the race wins tomorrow, seeing as his chief rival for the title, points leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) will only start from row 3 of the grid with the tenth quickest time, after not making the cut in Superpole 2. Partial consolation for Ducati came from the performance by privateer Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Haga's team-mate Michel Fabrizio, who were in second and third place respectively. The front row was completed by Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda).
Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda) overhauled Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) at the end of the session to take an excellent fifth place, after the Italian had crashed out in the pre-Superpole free session. Fonsi Nieto (DFX Ducati) and Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad) will line up alongside on the second row, while WSB newcomer Sylvian Guintoli made an excellent debut with eleventh place on the Suzuki Alstare machine.
Ben Spies: "We've been working under the radar all weekend on a lot of different things. Superpole was good for us, we kept pushing as hard as we could. Unfortunately Nori is back on the third row but we need anything we can get for track position. But it's not just about me and Nori tomorrow, there are other guys, we'll just run our own race and give it everything we've got to try and win both these things."
Shane Byrne: "I'm delighted to be back on the front row, it seems like it's been forever. We actually used both of our qualifying tyres before the last section and then a 42.99 came up on my dash and I was so tired that I closed the throttle on the straight and I had one more lap to go! Hopefully we can have a good weekend here and see what happens for next year."
Michel Fabrizio: "It was very hot and difficult in qualifying today. For the race I think the bike is OK, but in qualifying it was not so good. My race pace is quite similar to Ben Spies's but I know he is very fast. Hopefully also Shane can get into the battle. It's very important for me to do a good race for Ducati tomorrow and for sure I'll try and give a hand to my team-mate."
Jonathan Rea: "Twelve months ago I made my Superbike debut here and I didn't like the track. I think I must be getting worse because I was third on the grid last year. But we've had a good weekend so far and I've got a really good feeling with the bike."
Times: 1. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'42.412; 2. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'42.996; 3. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'43.015; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.126; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.523; 6. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'43.526; 7. Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'43.553; 8. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'44.719; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'43.240; 10. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'43.377; 11. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'43.406; 12. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.461; 13. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'43.671 ; 14. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'43.717; 15. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'44.050; 16. Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'45.439
Watch the videos below...
SBK Portimao Pre-Race Show Part 1
SBK Portimao Pre-Race Show Part 2
SBK Portimao Pre-Race Show Part 3
