Assen Superpole – World SBK
- From: 'the Wire' | Published: April 24th, 2010 - 10:21 am
Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two fourth round World Superbike championship races from pole position after setting the fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole shoot-out at Assen in Holland.
It marks the Northern Irishman’s maiden world championship pole start and was made in emphatic style as Rea was the only rider to dip under the 1’35s barrier at the recently revised 4.452km Assen circuit.
Rea will be joined on the front row for tomorrow’s two 22-lap races by Jakub Smrz, Troy Corser and fellow Briton, Leon Haslam, while his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, has work to do from the fourth row of the grid after qualifying 16th fastest.
Jonathan Rea – P1 1’34.944s
I’m so excited! It’s my first ever world championship pole position and Ronald [ten Kate] said to me before: “You’re not sweating here – you nee d to push harder and do one fast lap!” But it didn’t even feel fast; I just clipped all my apexes and with the grip of the qualifier I was able to open the throttle earlier and the lap time even surprised me. But my team are really pulling out all the stops at the moment. We had a test here last week and I’ve been staying here the last couple of weeks in my motor-home behind the workshop. But it’s down to business tomorrow and I think my CBR is good enough on race pace. There’ll be three or four out there who can go at the front so I’ll just put in 22 big ones and see where we end up after that.
Max Neukirchner – P16 1’36.581s
I’m very disappointed, of course, because we felt we were really making some progress here. I got held up behind Haga in Superpole 2 but didn’t have enough to get by and, of course, you only get one real good lap out of a qualifier so that was it . We didn’t really find anything more after qualifying this morning and I wasn’t able to go any faster this afternoon. The bike is much better than it was in Valencia but the fourth row is still not good enough. I’ll do my best to get some good starts in the two races tomorrow and try to make up some places in the early laps.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
Big thanks and congratulations to Jonathan for giving us a pole position at our home race. He’s in such a good rhythm with his race set-up and on race rubber but has struggled to put a single fast lap together. However, he pulled it out when it really mattered in Superpole 3. One thing for sure, though, is that there’s never an easy race in Superbike. We also live in two worlds with Max down in 16th. He has been moving forward all weekend until this afternoon when progress came to a full stop in free practice and Superpole, which is really a shame. He’ll have to dig deep tomorrow, but I still believe that top ten finishes are possible. I’d also like to congratulate the junior squad here for taking their Ten Kate Honda CBRs to pole position with Maxime Berger in Superstock 1000 and Florian Marino also winning in Superstock 600.
Throughout the weekend Troy Corser has been on the pace and today he stormed through Superpoles 1 and 2, taking third position in both, before going on to retain third in the final Superpole – his best ever result for BMW. Jonathan Rea (Honda) posted the fastest lap in Superpole 3 and took pole position – his first in World Superbikes – with Jakub Smrz (Ducati) second. Joining Troy on the front row of the grid is series leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki), but early season favourites Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) had disappointing Superpoles and will have to start from the third and fourth rows of the grid respectively.
Well it’s been a while since I’ve done post-Superpole TV interviews and the paddock show press conferences, but I’ve never doubted we’d get there with the BMW. The boys have done a lot of work recently and we made really good steps forward in the last round in Valencia and then the Mugello tests last week. I can really ride the bike now and it’s great to be up there on the front row and fighting for pole position at last.
The warmer conditions seem to be suiting our tires better at the moment, so I’m hoping that it is as warm, or warmer, tomorrow, because then tire life will not be so much of a problem. I normally make good starts, so I’m looking forward to my front row grid position and getting into turn one at the front or right in with the leaders. Assen is a fast track and tomorrow’s races are going to be tough for sure, but I feel comfortable on the bike and when that happens I can push harder and go for good results.
The Assen Superpole saw both Althea Racing riders secure places on the second row for tomorrow’s races. At the end of the third phase, Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne had registered the sixth and seventh fastest times which will allow them to be up fighting with the leading group.
Carlos Checa spent the practices preparing for the races but without losing sight of the importance of the grid position, fundamental in racing as close and competitive as this.
“We’re looking good with renard to race pace”, said Carlos. “We’ve concentrated on preparing for tomorrow. In Superpole we set the same time with both the qualifier and the race tire. Our grid position is not bad and tomorrow I will try to stick with the leading group and not let them get away early on. tire-wear will also be an important factor, hopefully my riding style will be an advantage in this respect.”
Satisfying results for Shane Byrne too, who’s back among the frontrunners, having set the seventh fastest time to secure a place on the second row next to Carlos.
“We’ve been mainly preparing for tomorrow”, said Shane, “and the times registered demonstrate that we can fight for good results. It will be important to make a good start so as to not lose contact with those starting on the front row. Overall I’m very happy with the work that we’ve carried out in these sessions.”
Genesio Bevilacqua, team owner, declared, “This is the first track where we haven’t tested beforehand and the first job was to understand the new chicane. The qualifying was difficult and demanding for everyone and we’re happy with the work completed. Shane has returned to a good level and Carlos has proved himself to be a top rider.”
Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland made it through the first Superpole heat this afternoon to secure ninth and tenth place on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s two World Superbike races at the Assen TT circuit. Both riders had spent the previous qualifying sessions working on their set ups for the afternoon’s Superpole heats and had headed in to the Superbike shootout with confidence. They both made it through the first heat comfortably on race tires, then switched to qualifiers midway through the second session. Crutchlow struggled to improve on his time in the second session leaving him just outside the top eight at the end. Team mate Toseland was on form and had nearly completed a hot lap which would have taken him through to the final eight when a violent wheelie three corners from the end at high speed disrupted his time.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1’36.027)
“I struggled with my qualifier tire in the second Superpole heat, and couldn’t make it through to the third. Both James and I are still working on some stability issues which could be seen on track as well. We need to work hard in tomorrow morning’s session to see what we can change in the set up to make another step forward. We’re all working really hard, and on the positive side the electronics issues we’ve had in the past are now working very well for us.”
James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1’36.061)
“Frustrated is the word! It was a real surprise for the bike to do that in a place where I’ve never had that before, it kicked up and wheelied at over 180mph in fifth gear, it was a bit touch and go there but luckily I was able to save it. The lap was good up to that point, I only had two corners left to go and would have been through to the top eight and the third session. We’ve had so much work to do to get where we are, the team has done a great job trying to get the bike to work here. Tenth on the grid is not ideal and we’re not sure about tire life, depending on temperature tomorrow we might not be able to use the softer race tire, everyone is waiting to see how warm it will be. I’m not too worried about race pace, it’s all about what happens in those first few laps. The new fast section has effectively deleted a passing place so I’ll have to get off the line well and see how we go.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“We still have one practice session left tomorrow morning, for sure we will never give up so we will spend the session working hard to make more improvements ahead of the two races. We will definitely find something to help us. James was very unlucky on his hot lap in the second Superpole session, it was good he managed to save it safely. He’s got a good race pace so needs a good start tomorrow and we will see what he can do. Cal has shown this weekend that he also has a competitive pace, especially on worn tires so we are confident both riders can perform tomorrow.”
Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga will line up on the second and fourth row respectively for tomorrow’s Superbike races at the TT Circuit in Assen, Michel having qualified in eighth position, Noriyuki in fifteenth.
In morning qualifying, the lap times began to fall in the latter stages of the 45-minute session. Both Michel and Noriyuki were losing valuable tenths through the third split, which prevented them from putting together very fast laps, but both riders nevertheless improved on yesterday’s performances, with Nori taking eight tenths of a second off his best time, and Michel half a second. They thus concluded the second qualifying session in sixth and ninth position, easily qualifying for the afternoon’s Superpole.
Superpole 1. Both riders made a first exit on the race tire but, with so many riders putting together such fast laps, Michel and Nori both decided to exit again, this time on a qualifier, to ensure safe passage to the second phase.
Superpole 2. Noting that the level of grip between the race tire and qualifier were similar, both riders replicated the first session,going out first on one then the other. Michel was able to make an extremely fast lap on the race tire, faster than the lap he made later in the session on a qualifier. That first lap time meant that he finished the second phase in eighth place. Noriyuki unfortunately was not able to put together a clean lap, despite his best efforts, and he concluded with the fifteenth fastest time.
Superpole 3. Michel, having already made use of the two available qualifiers, went back out on race rubber but couldn’t get below 1m36, thus closing in eighth place, securing a place on the second row for tomorrow’s races.
Michel Fabrizio
“Second row for tomorrow is not too bad after quite a difficult weekend. I thought that times would drop with the qualifiers but in the end I made my best laps on the race tire. I’m happy with that, because the laps finally came together, and it gives me confidence for tomorrow’s races. It’s a breath of air after the last two difficult rounds. Tomorrow will of course be tough once again and I guess they’ll be some close racing but I’ll do my best to stick with the leaders.”
Noriyuki Haga
“I’m disappointed with today’s Superpole result. I was really pushing but the competition has the advantage here and I wasn’t able to put together consistently fast laps. I don’t quite understand what the problem is but I hope to make strong starts in tomorrow’s races and will do everything possible to take away as many points as I can.”
