| QUALIFYING 1 REPORT | 23/10/2009 | | Spies gets down to business in the Portuguese Sunshine | | | Championship title contender Ben Spies got straight down to business today under a clear blue sky and brilliant Portuguese sunshine, spending both the free practice session and following first qualifying session re acquainting himself with the Portimao circuit. Spies spent the sessions working through different tyre options and race settings, looking for the optimum set up ahead of tomorrow's second qualifying and following Superpole sessions. He showed a consistent pace throughout qualifying, before putting the hammer down as the final seconds ticked away to finish third in the standings, less than one tenth of a second off fastest man Rea.
Team mate Tom Sykes had a less enjoyable day. The British rider showed true courage to work hard through both sessions despite suffering constant shoulder pain resulting from his collision with Carlos Checa in the second race at Magny Cours.
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| Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (3rd, 1'43.870)
"we had a good day today, we worked a lot on the race set up and evaluated a couple of different tyres. The package feels good and the bike feels good on the track, all we can do is keep trying to make it better and better and keep working on my riding and see what happens. The track is still a little green but it's getting better."
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| Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (18th, 1'45.239)
"it's definitely not going to plan today. I'm upset for myself and for the team, I had very big expectations of this weekend especially as in the test I was running as fast as the front guys. I'm struggling a lot with the shoulder, it's worse than I expected. I'm finding it hard but trying not to let the boys down so I'm going to the clinic tonight to see what the boyto s can come up with. I hope we can get stronger over the next couple of days."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"Ben is quite satisfied, he says the bike still needs some improvements in a couple of corners but he's feeling confident. We are still working to find the right race tyre. Unfortunately Tom is in a lot of pain, I know how he feels because I had the same problem many years ago. We hope he can get some more help from the Clinica Mobile and will be able to improve tomorrow."
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| | 2009 WSB Portugal - Portimão 23/10/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Jonathan Rea | Honda | GBR | 1'43.786 | | 2 | Jakub Smrz | Ducati | CZE | 1'43.866 | | 3 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 1'43.870 | | 4 | Carlos Checa | Honda | ESP | 1'43.945 | | 5 | Shane Byrne | Ducati | GBR | 1'43.947 | | 6 | Fonsi Nieto | Ducati | ESP | 1'44.005 | | 7 | Michel Fabrizio | Ducati | ITA | 1'44.154 | | 8 | Max Biaggi | Aprilia | ITA | 1'44.210 | | 9 | Noriyuki Haga | Ducati | JPN | 1'44.254 | | 10 | Leon Haslam | Honda | GBR | 1'44.324 | | 11 | Yukio Kagayama | Suzuki | JPN | 1'44.674 | | 12 | Ruben Xaus | BMW | ESP | 1'44.822 | | 13 | Troy Corser | BMW | AUS | 1'44.830 | | 14 | Broc Parkes | Kawasaki | AUS | 1'44.963 | | 15 | Makoto Tamada | Kawasaki | JPN | 1'44.977 | | 18 | Tom Sykes | Yamaha | GBR | 1'45.239 | | 25 | David Checa | Yamaha | ESP | 1'46.775 |
| FREE PRACTICE REPORT | 23/10/2009 | | Crutchlow gets straight onto the pace on day one | | | Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow got straight onto the pace today at the Portimao circuit. Starting with very clear intentions to perform at the top, he spent the first day's free practice session testing out tyres and bike set up, and was typically consistently fast. Crutchlow spent the majority of the session as the fastest rider, only dropping to second at the end behind Kenan Sofuoglu.
Team mate Fabien Foret also enjoyed a good first session on the track. The French rider was firmly inside the top six for the majority of the free practice, dropping to seventh at the end, less than two tenths of a second behind Gary McCoy in sixth.
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| Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd, 1'45.652)
"it wasn't a bad session, today, definitely good enough for the first one of the weekend. We've shown we've got the pace to win the race; we just need to be careful this weekend. There are a lot of guys up there who are going pretty fast. We're going to keep on our toes and keep doing what we're doing and look forward to the race."
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| Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (7th, 1'46.473)
"A good first day for me. We had a new front tyre I tried at the end which was interesting but I didn't go to its full potential for an amazing lap time, I was focusing on being consistent and trying to get the rhythm of the pace for the race. I'm happy, even with seventh. For me it's not a big deal, it's more important to be happy with the bike and set up which I am so it should be ok tomorrow."
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
"we are pleased with the first session. Cal was consistently fast which was good. At the end Sofuoglu came a bit faster but it's not a big worry as we know we can be faster and the bike feels really good. The track doesn't feel great for the riders but tomorrow there should be more rubber on there. Fabien felt really happy with his front end set up which is really important for him so I'm a happy man at this moment, let's see what tomorrow brings."
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| | 2009 WSS Portugal - Portimão 23/10/2009 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Kenan Sofuoglu | Honda | TUR | 1'45.355 |
| 2 | Cal Crutchlow | Yamaha | GBR | 1'45.652 |
| 3 | Eugene Laverty | Honda | GBR | 1'45.727 |
| 4 | Mark Aitchison | Honda | AUS | 1'45.863 |
| 5 | Joan Lascorz | Kawasaki | ESP | 1'46.069 |
| 6 | Garry McCoy | Triumph | AUS | 1'46.464 |
| 7 | Fabien Foret | Yamaha | FRA | 1'46.473 |
| 8 | Miguel Praia | Honda | POR | 1'46.597 |
| 9 | Massimo Roccoli | Honda | ITA | 1'46.686 |
| 10 | Andrew Pitt | Honda | AUS | 1'46.894 |
| 11 | Barry Veneman | Honda | NED | 1'46.979 |
| 12 | Michele Pirro | Yamaha | ITA | 1'47.085 |
| 13 | Katsuaki Fujiwara | Kawasaki | JPN | 1'47.148 |
| 14 | Chaz Davies | Triumph | GBR | 1'47.433 |
| 15 | Michael Laverty | Honda | GBR | 1'47.712 |
| 17 | Kev Coghlan | Yamaha | GBR | 1'48.432 |
| 19 | Yannick Guerra | Yamaha | ESP | 1'49.562 |
| 20 | Doni Tata Pradita | Yamaha | IDN | 1'49.812 |
| 26 | Marcin Walkowiak | Yamaha | POL | 1'52.355 |
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