Rain wrecks Imola Superpole chances for Crutchlow and Toseland

QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 25/09/2010 Rain wrecks Imola Superpole chances for Crutchlow and Toseland The first wet Superpole of the 2010 World Superbike Championship proved to be a disaster for most of the competing riders. The three heats saw a number of riders either crash out in the wet or run on at corners as they struggled to cope with the incredibly slippery Imola track surface. Cal Crutchlow started the first heat well, clocking an impressive 2'09.2 to take the fastest slot, one of only two riders dropping under 2'11. He was unfortunately caught out in the second heat due to lack of heat in his full wet tyres, highsiding on a right hander which caught out several riders in the session. Having rejoined on his second bike with five minutes remaining Crutchlow was on track for a front row start when unfortunately he ran wide and lost time, relegating himself to the third row for tomorrow's two races. Team mate James Toseland struggled to find a fast pace in the wet in the first heat, dropping out of the top 16 in the last few seconds of the heat. He will start from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (12th, 2'11.271) "I'm a little bit sore after the crash but I'm not too worried about tomorrow's races. I think I know why I crashed; I had a cold tyre on the right hand side from not going fast enough on the out lap. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's races and we'll see how we get on." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (17th, 2'13.823) "It's fair to say that rain has spoiled play today here at Imola, not just for me but for Cal also, so as a team we are very disappointed. We've had good top speed all weekend and good race pace and I was really looking forward to Superpole to see what we could do. I'm starting from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow but there have been other unlucky guys out there as well." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda Word Superbike Team Manager "Today was one of the most difficult Saturday's of the year; the rain has seriously compromised our qualifying practices and grid positions. For sure, the race will be hard for both riders and they will have to put in a lot of effort, especially at the beginning to try to catch the lead group. Having said that, both riders have good race pace and top speed so if they can achieve a good start they can challenge for the top five." Circuit Length: 4959 Weather: Wet Lap Record: 1'50.266 (Alex Barros, 01/01/2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'47.735 (Michel Fabrizio, 27/09/2009) Last Years Winner: Michel Fabrizio 2010 WSB Italy - Imola 25/09/2010 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 2'07.341 2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 2'07.392 3 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 2'08.273 4 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 2'08.427 5 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 2'08.490 6 Troy Corser BMW AUS 2'09.842 7 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 2'09.924 8 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 2'10.482 9 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 2'11.117 10 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 2'11.130 11 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 2'11.150 12 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 2'11.271 13 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 2'11.395 14 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 2'11.558 15 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 2'11.601 17 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 2'13.823 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Nat. Qaul I Qual II 1 Carlos Checa ESP 1'48.178 1'48.178 2 Jonathan Rea GBR 1'48.558 1'48.558 3 Leon Haslam GBR 1'48.621 1'48.621 4 Noriyuki Haga JPN 1'48.660 1'48.660 5 Michel Fabrizio ITA 1'48.667 1'48.667 6 Shane Byrne GBR 1'48.752 1'48.752 7 Cal Crutchlow GBR 1'48.813 1'48.813 8 Troy Corser AUS 1'48.851 1'48.851 9 Tom Sykes GBR 1'48.970 1'48.970 10 Ruben Xaus ESP 1'49.224 1'49.224 11 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA 1'49.275 1'49.275 12 James Toseland GBR 1'49.528 1'49.528 13 Sylvain Guintoli FRA 1'49.560 1'49.560 14 Max Biaggi ITA 1'49.613 1'49.613 15 Max Neukirchner GER 1'49.622 1'49.622 Yamaha Racing Communications Barentszplein 4B / 1013 NJ Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 E. office@yrc.nl W. www.yamaha-racing.com © Copyright Yamaha 2010 | Unsubscribe