| QUALIFYING 1 REPORT | 02/10/2009 | | Yamaha riders Spies and Sykes settle in for the penultimate round at Magny Cours | | |  | Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies enjoyed a good start to the French Superbike weekend, ending his first qualifying session less than two tenths of a second off fastest rider Michel Fabrizio. It was the American rider's first experience of the Magny Cours circuit, however as normal it took very little time for him to get up to a decent race pace.
Team mate Tom Sykes finished the qualifying session in 15th position, just over a second off provisional pole. Sykes made improvements to his set up and speed over the session and with more to come tomorrow was confident of moving up the standings in advance of Sunday's race.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (4th, 1'38.939)
"It was a good first session, I've worked out where the track is going and we've been making improvements to the settings over the day. I think we've found a good pace for race distance, but there are still a couple of things we can improve on for tomorrow. The track is still a bit slippery in parts, but I still think we can find some more speed for the next session and get up there. For the first day I'm happy."
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| Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (15th, 1'40.048)
"I think we made some improvements in qualifying today, obviously we need more but we're heading in the right direction. I definitely think there's a bit more to come from myself and from the bike as well. We're struggling in a couple of corners, I think if we can sort that problem we will make a big difference. We've played with some tyres in that session as well so I think we know what race rubber we're going to need for Sunday. Tomorrow morning we'll continue to work on the settings, I certainly feel we can do more tomorrow."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
"It has been a good day for both riders today. Ben has never raced here so it's good to see he is still picking up circuits very quickly. To end the day less than two tenths of the fastest rider is not bad. Tom was improving his pace well during the session and I think there is more to come for both riders tomorrow."
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| | 2009 WSB France - Magny-Cours 02/10/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Michel Fabrizio | Ducati | ITA | 1'38.770 | | 2 | Jonathan Rea | Honda | GBR | 1'38.821 | | 3 | Noriyuki Haga | Ducati | JPN | 1'38.877 | | 4 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 1'38.939 | | 5 | Carlos Checa | Honda | ESP | 1'39.379 | | 6 | Troy Corser | BMW | AUS | 1'39.435 | | 7 | Yukio Kagayama | Suzuki | JPN | 1'39.497 | | 8 | Jakub Smrz | Ducati | CZE | 1'39.613 | | 9 | Fonsi Nieto | Ducati | ESP | 1'39.772 | | 10 | Max Biaggi | Aprilia | ITA | 1'39.834 | | 11 | Leon Haslam | Honda | GBR | 1'39.900 | | 12 | Karl Muggeridge | Suzuki | AUS | 1'39.964 | | 13 | Broc Parkes | Kawasaki | AUS | 1'40.000 | | 14 | David Salom | Kawasaki | ESP | 1'40.017 | | 15 | Tom Sykes | Yamaha | GBR | 1'40.048 | | 20 | David Checa | Yamaha | ESP | 1'40.554 |
| FREE PRACTICE REPORT | 02/10/2009 | | Foret flying at home race in France | | |  | Yamaha World Supersport rider Fabien Foret was on fantastic form today on his home circuit of Magny Cours. The first free practice session of the weekend saw Foret consistently in the top five for the session, ending it with third place on the timesheets. The Magny Cours circuit was lacking in grip and proving very slippery with no less than eight Supersport riders crashing out during the session.
Foret's team mate Cal Crutchlow was one of the eight to crash, losing the front end on a fast sweeping bend. Crutchlow was able to get back out on his second bike for the remainder of the session but struggled to find a set up that worked perfectly for him, ending the session in ninth.
Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (3rd, 1'42.604)
"I'm not a big fan of this racetrack and I took it easy today. I have a pretty good feeling with my front tyre, so I was just enjoying my bike and the lap times were coming. I was looking for a good race pace, I think I still have a half second to find. It's been a good start to the weekend."
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| Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (9th, 1'43.138)
"It's not been a great session for me today. I lost the front going into an off-camber right hander and crashed, I've got quite a sore shoulder now and I didn't feel that confident in the front end afterwards. We need to work more on our set up and gearing overnight and see what we can come up with in tomorrow's sessions."
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager
"the track feels a bit slippery out there today as you can see by the number of riders who crashed. Fabien is going well regardless, he's a second quicker than he was last year after his injury which is great. Both riders say the track is difficult to read, some parts slippery, some parts not. Cal found it difficult to feel the front end, as with other riders, and ended up crashing. Let's see what happens tomorrow, it's important he keeps his mind together and just enjoys racing again."
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| | 2009 WSS France - Magny-Cours 02/10/2009 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Kenan Sofuoglu | Honda | TUR | 1'41.885 |
| 2 | Joan Lascorz | Kawasaki | ESP | 1'41.903 |
| 3 | Fabien Foret | Yamaha | FRA | 1'42.604 |
| 4 | Andrew Pitt | Honda | AUS | 1'42.851 |
| 5 | Massimo Roccoli | Honda | ITA | 1'42.927 |
| 6 | Barry Veneman | Honda | NED | 1'42.931 |
| 7 | Eugene Laverty | Honda | GBR | 1'43.022 |
| 8 | Katsuaki Fujiwara | Kawasaki | JPN | 1'32.032 |
| 9 | Cal Crutchlow | Yamaha | GBR | 1'43.138 |
| 10 | Garry McCoy | Triumph | AUS | 1'43.228 |
| 11 | Matthieu Lagrive | Honda | FRA | 1'43.362 |
| 12 | Mark Aitchison | Honda | AUS | 1'43.369 |
| 13 | Michele Pirro | Yamaha | ITA | 1'43.452 |
| 14 | Chaz Davies | Triumph | GBR | 1'43.801 |
| 15 | Olivier Four | Honda | FRA | 1'44.200 |
| 20 | Dan Linfoot | Yamaha | GBR | 1'44.588 |
| 24 | Doni Tata Pradita | Yamaha | IDN | 1'45.020 |
| 28 | Fabrice Auger | Yamaha | FRA | 1'46.729 |
| 29 | Yannick Guerra | Yamaha | ESP | 1'46.935 |
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