Spies makes it five in a row in Monza

QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 09/05/2009 Spies makes it five in a row in Monza To the delight of The Yamaha World Superbike Team's home crowd rider Ben Spies effortlessly rode his R1 to take an incredible fifth consecutive Superpole of the year, again breaking the lap record in the process. Having spent the two qualifying sessions fine tuning his set up for race day, Spies took it relatively easy for the first two Superpole heats, ensuring he made it through to the final eight without using a qualifier tyre. As the final heat started, out came the new Pirelli qualifier tyre with its distinctive yellow stripe, and the lap time tumbled as Spies displayed what is now becoming almost expected, a scorching Superpole lap and a new lap record. Team-mate Tom Spies had a more frustrating Superpole experience, having started well on a qualifier in the first session he made it through safely to the second. The young British rider's flying lap saw him quick enough through the first two splits to go through to the final session, however he came up against another rider on a slow down lap halfway round the infamous Parabolica corner, losing nearly half a second in the process and sealing his fate outside the top ten for the final heat. Sykes will now start tomorrow's races from the third row of the grid. Ben Spies Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 1'44.073) "It's been really good here at Monza this weekend. The approach has been a bit different, we've kind of tried to sneak up on everyone and been working really hard on the race setup through the sessions. We've been working quietly away in the garage and I think the bike is going to be really good in the race. I really wanted to get this one for Yamaha on their home track so it was great to be able to take the Superpole for the team. It looks like it could be a bit of a dogfight tomorrow, hopefully we'll have some guys up there to mix it up and shake up the points a little bit." Tom Sykes Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (10th 1'45.383) "Qualifying was a fairly steady session, we tried a couple more things to cross some boxes, so it was constructive. We got some more information out of it which helped towards the Superpole. We did the first Superpole heat ok, the aim of the game was to get into the top sixteen and we did that. I was fairly confident for the second one, I knew I was on a good lap and everything felt really nice and smooth but coming into the last corner, Kiyonari was in front of me. He was going pretty slowly and then sat up and we nearly came together. I lost half a second there and didn't have time to get back and change tyres for another go. I'm very disappointed as I feel that our race pace for tomorrow is quite strong and we are having to start from row three. Hopefully we can get a good clean start and get through the first chicane and try and go with the leading bunch as I know we can stay with them." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "After the pole position we are quite confident that tomorrow we can run a good race. Here in Monza the two races will be really close at the start with a lot of riders in a tight pack for the first half but I think after that just a few riders will fight for the win. I think tomorrow we will see two very good races." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.073 (Ben Spies, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 09/05/2009 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 1'44.073 2 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'44.270 3 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 1'44.642 4 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'44.900 5 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 1'45.096 6 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'45.170 7 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'45.605 8 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'45.861 9 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1'45.166 10 Tom Sykes Yamaha GBR 1'45.383 11 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1'45.543 12 Regis Laconi Ducati FRA 1'45.663 13 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 1'46.638 14 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 1'46.571 15 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1'46.593 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Nat. QUAL I QUAL II 1 Michel Fabrizio ITA 1'45.447 1'44.974 2 Max Neukirchner GER 1'45.962 1'45.224 3 Jonathan Rea GBR 1'45.919 1'45.373 4 Noriyuki Haga JPN 1'45.790 1'45.448 5 Max Biaggi ITA 1'46.054 1'45.748 6 Ben Spies USA 1'46.013 1'45.755 7 Tom Sykes GBR 1'45.758 1'45.941 8 Leon Haslam GBR 1'46.208 1'45.919 9 Yukio Kagayama JPN 1'45.985 1'46.069 10 Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN 1'46.171 1'45.988 11 Regis Laconi FRA 1'47.078 1'46.103 12 Carlos Checa ESP 1'46.140 1'46.337 13 Shane Byrne GBR 1'46.164 1'46.690 14 Jakub Smrz CZE 1'46.363 1'46.264 15 Karl Muggeridge AUS 1'46.690 1'46.319 25 David Checa ESP 1'48.920 1'47.868 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 09/05/2009 Crutchlow and Foret claim the front row Cal Crutchlow made it an incredible fourth consecutive pole position start in a row today. The Yamaha World Supersport rider and the R6 continue to be a devastating combination on any circuit. Crutchlow was on the pace from the word go and never ventured far from the top spot for the duration of the session. In taking pole position he also broke the lap record of 1'49.868 set here last year by Broc Parkes on the Yamaha R6. Team-mate Fabien Foret was also on top form, having won here at Monza last year, the French rider set out today to show he means business and wants the podium again on race day. A fast, consistent qualifying session ensured Foret starts on the front row with his team-mate tomorrow, in 3rd position. Foret also came in under last year's lap record set by his previous team-mate Parkes. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (1st, 1'49.706) "It was a good enough session, I wasn't really happy with the time at the end because I could have gone a lot quicker. We had a few problems with the bike throughout the session. We did our fastest time on the 14th lap of the tyre and then went slower on a brand new tyre so it was a bit weird how that worked. Race pace is good though, I'm looking forward to the race, I think we can hopefully win it tomorrow and gain a bigger lead in the championship." Fabien Foret Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (3rd, 1'49.803) "We have a few things we're trying to improve a little bit but I'm actually pretty happy with the package now and tyre wise it's also not too bad so it's looking good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I've started in fifth a few times now with hardly any time between me and the front row so this time I wanted to make sure I could finish in the front. For me though what is important is to finish on the podium tomorrow." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "it was a good qualifying heat. Fabien had a good session, he was happy and fast which was great. Cal is pole again which is fantastic, he still had some difficulties to solve but nothing major. They are both capable of doing a good race tomorrow and it's brilliant to have them both on the front row, the first time this year." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.706 (Cal Crutchlow, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 09/05/2009

Qualifying 1

Pos.	Rider	Manu.	Nat.	Total Time
1	Cal Crutchlow	Yamaha	GBR	1'49.706
2	Joan Lascorz	Kawasaki	ESP	1'49.739
3	Fabien Foret	Yamaha	FRA	1'49.803
4	Eugene Laverty	Honda	GBR	1'50.006
5	Mark Aitchison	Honda	AUS	1'50.407
6	Kenan Sofuoglu	Honda	TUR	1'50.636
7	Andrew Pitt	Honda	AUS	1'50.733
8	Gianluca Nannelli	Triumph	ITA	1'50.798
9	Garry McCoy	Triumph	AUS	1'50.828
10	Katsuaki Fujiwara	Kawasaki	JPN	1'50.861
11	Matthieu Lagrive	Honda	FRA	1'50.907
12	Michele Pirro	Yamaha	ITA	1'51.281
13	Franco Battaini	Yamaha	ITA	1'51.429
14	Massimo Roccoli	Honda	ITA	1'51.517
15	Miguel Praia	Honda	POR	1'51.682
23	Doni Tata Pradita	Yamaha	IDN	1'53.025
27	Yannick Guerra	Yamaha	ESP	1'53.351
28	Jose Morillas	Yamaha	ESP	1'56.328

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