Motourage

Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland ended the first World Superbike qualifying session at Brno today satisfied with a good base setup. Despite suffering earlier in the day with a severe lack of grip on the track, the afternoon’s qualifying saw both improve their times as they fine tuned the set up. Starting qualifying with a setup that didn’t suit the track so well, Crutchlow spent some time in the session waiting in the pit while it was changed. Despite the lack of track time he came out in the dying minutes to take second fastest on the board, less than three tenths off the lead.

Teammate James Toseland was also looking comfortable in the session despite suffering from a chest infection. The first 20 minutes saw Toseland lapping comfortably and consistently inside the top four, only dropping to ninth towards the end and finishing just three tenths off fourth.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1’59.571)
“It wasn’t too bad today considering we all struggled for grip at the start of the sessions, it came a bit better later on. From my point of view we’ve got a lot of work to do chassis set up wise. We tried the set up we had in Imola but it didn’t work here, so we didn’t get many laps in the qualifying session as we were changing the bike. We’ve gone back to our old base set up and it seems to be working better here. We’re struggling for side grip a bit but the lap times towards the end of the fifteen laps I did weren’t so bad. We’ll see for tomorrow, and I hope Troy Corser is OK and back with us tomorrow.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 2’00.451)
“I’m not feeling very well at the moment, I’ve got a chest infection so it’s been a tough day today. Consistency wise I think we’re there and I’m quite pleased with the way the bike has been round the track today. I like the circuit a lot and we seem to be working pretty well. I just hope I’m feeling a bit better tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
“For the first day it was ok today. Pirelli bought some new tires that we tested in Imola to run here as well. For sure the bike set up for both riders is pretty much there now so the main job we have is to find the right race tire for both James and Cal. We also need to fix some small details as both riders have some things they want to improve. Overall we are quite satisfied.”

HANNspree Ten Kate Racing’s Jonathan Rea was second fastest in today’s opening qualifying session for round five of the 2010 World Superbike championship at Monza in Italy, just two tenths of a second behind provisional pole sitter, Cal Crutchlow.

Despite a dry opening free practice session earlier in the day, the revised 5.777km Monza circuit was damp following afternoon rain as Rea and his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, began this afternoon’s hour-long qualifying period.

After his double win at Assen two weeks ago, Rea concentrated on further developing the revised chassis settings on his Honda CBR1000RR while Neukirchner continued to adapt his riding style to suit the bike’s handling characteristics.

Jonathan Rea – P2, 1’44.789s
“I’m having a lot of fun here, actually! The bike is really good and that’s allowing me to enjoy the circuit. I’m especially pleased with the long run I did in this morning’s free practice. This afternoon’s session had mixed conditions and we’ve still got some work to do to get the final sector nailed. But luckily the Assen set-up is working well, although there’s still some fine-tuning to be done to get it right for Monza. We’ll study the data later and see what we can do to improve it for tomorrow.”

Max Neukirchner – P13, 1’46.402s
“Everything’s OK at the moment, but the first sector stayed quite wet during the qualifying session and I was stuck behind Xaus for a while. The other sectors seem to be not too bad and my riding style is still improving. It’s quite good through most of the corners, but in others I’m probably concentrating on the exit a bit too much. The team’s working really well, though, and the bike is pretty good too. I probably need to wake myself up a bit for tomorrow, so maybe I’ll take an extra coffee in the morning.”

Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager
“The changing conditions made today’s qualifying session very different from a normal Friday and we decided to go out early in the session to see how the intermediate front tire would behave. Towards the end we should have probably put in a new rear tire as well, but at least we now have an extra tire for tomorrow. Both riders are in a position to qualify for Superpole, so we’ll go through everything tonight, improve where we can for tomorrow’s sessions and look forward to the rest of the weekend.”

2010 World Superbike championship – round five
Monza, Italy (5.777kmkm) – first qualifying results:
1. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 1’44.577s
2. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’44.789s
3. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 1’45.134s
4. Troy Corser (AUS) BMW 1’45.234s
13. Max Neukirchner (GER) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’46.402s

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam endured mixed conditions on the opening day of qualifying at the Monza World Superbike Championship round in Italy, but ended fifth quickest and happy enough with his day’s work.

The track was hit by torrential rain yesterday, and although today dawned dry, it was not long before it began raining again. This afternoon’s qualifying session began with a damp track and the first half of the session saw many unfamiliar names at the top of the leader board. The track then began to dry out and by the end; there was virtually a dry line round the whole of the 5.777 kilometer circuit.

Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) posted the fastest lap with fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda) second. Third went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) third with Troy Corser (BMW) fourth.

Leon Haslam – 5th, 1:45.303:
“The morning was good and really all today was pretty good, though there were a few small problems in the afternoon session and some of it was a bit of a waste of time. We had some sort of strange clutch problem with both bikes for a while, so to get fifth was not so bad, especially considering the changing conditions. This afternoon’s qualifying started with a wet track and then it began to dry. By the end, there was almost a dry line round the whole track, but there were still some places where you had to keep a look out. The new chicane is a bit safer and it makes the track flow better, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the whole pack is charging into it in a race before we can say that it is a success. For me though, the track is now more enjoyable to ride, particularly when you are by yourself.  Slipstreaming round here is crucial and will be a big factor in the races. So far, I’ve not had a tow from anybody so I’m looking forward to that tomorrow. Come Race day though, I’d prefer to be a long way out in front and not have to worry about anybody drafting me. That’s my plan anyway.”

Sylvain Guintoli – 16th. 1:46.588:
“I’ve not been here before, so the new chicane means nothing to me. Today, my first job was to learn the track and that’s what I tried to do. The track is quite technical and there are a lot of high speeds and fast corners and so it’s important to be very accurate if you want to go fast. Conditions were changing a lot in this afternoon’s qualifying session and I think I was a bit too cautious in the first chicane and that’s where I lost a lot of time. If I had been more aggressive there, I would’ve been quite a bit further up the leader board for sure. I know that slipstreaming is going to very important here – especially in the races – but there are a lot of opportunities to do that round here. However, it’ll also be very easy to get done, so I’ll have to watch out for that.”

Friday WSB qualifying: 1 Cal Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha) 1:44.577, 2 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:44.789, 3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:45.134, 4 Troy Corser (AUS-BMW) 1:45.234, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 1:45.303, 6 Ruben Xaus (ESP-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:45.542. 16 Sylvain Guintoli (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 1:46.588.

2010 World Superbike Championship

Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy

Crutchlow takes provisional pole at Monza

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow made an impressive start to the Monza race weekend, fastest in both the first free practice session and then the first qualifying session of the weekend that followed. Team mate James Toseland made a slower start, finishing fifth in the free practice and then taking ninth in the first qualifying as he and the team tested a number of set up options.

The afternoon’s qualifying was complicated by weather, rain before the session meant the superbike riders had to contend with an initially wet but drying track, gradually changing from intermediate to slick tires as the session went on. The nature of the Monza circuit with its tree lined track meant some areas including chicanes remained greasy and damp throughout.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1’43.758)
“It was nice to top the time sheets in both sessions today. We’re still looking for better grip a bit on the bike and also need to improve when pushing going into the corners, I think we can work on that. We tried a couple of things today which is good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s great that it’s the team’s home race and we’ll have lots of fans here and Yamaha guests so it’s nice to be on top today for them.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1’46.019)
“It was one of those sessions today where it starts wet then just dries up continually over the heat. We were trying a few different suspension settings over the session but obviously the track was never fully dry, a couple of corners were still quite damp at the end and really quite greasy. With the trees around here in the park it doesn’t dry out too well. All in all we’ve tried some interesting things, and were pretty quick in the free practice, coming in fifth in the dry. We’ve got some work to do tonight, some big things to improve on which is encouraging so I’m optimistic that the changes we’re going to make later which were too long to do today will bring the next step. Fingers crossed again for the weather tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“A good start for us today. The weather gave us some trouble but in the end we finished the day in good shape. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry to finalize the set up and tire choice ahead of Superpole and Sunday’s races.”

The most-senior member of the Spanish Armada struck first today on his home turf as Repsol Honda’s #1 rider Dani Pedrosa scored an unexpected pole in the Jerez sunshine. Tech 3′s Ben Spies was the highest-placing rookie, putting himself in the 8th position, .019 behind teammate Colin Edwards. The rest of the rookie field are grouped in 12th position or lower, with last year’s 250 champion Hiroshi Aoyama at that position.

MotoGP Gran Premio bwin de España starting positions.

Yamaha riders step up their pace in Portimao

The hard work of the Yamaha Sterilgarda Team following the opening round last month in Phillip Island was clearly seen in today’s first Superbike sessions at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. Both James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow made the most of the ongoing set up developments to put in highly competitive times, improving on their Phillip Island performances.

The first free practice session of the day gave the riders the opportunity to test out new electronic settings on their R1s. As the session progressed the improvements were clear as Toseland moved steadily up the times, taking the top spot with a 1’44.3 as the clock hit zero. Team mate Crutchlow was just over half a second behind in ninth having tested out some different tires to Toseland during the session.

The first qualifying session of the weekend saw both riders take turns at the top of the time sheet finding ever more speed as the grip levels increased. Intelligent tire choices and a more effective electronics package saw both delivering consistently fast, competitive laps with the potential for more improvement in tomorrow’s second session and subsequent Superpole. The session drew to a close with Toseland in fifth, less than three tenths off provisional pole and team mate Crutchlow less than one tenth of a second behind in sixth.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (5th, 1’43.735)
“We’ve made some really good progress with our testing last week in Misano, we’ve gone in the direction we wanted to with the engine and electronics. We had a lot to try today, and we’ve gone in a really positive direction for the race set up with tire life and things like that. We’ve got a little bit more to do but I’m really pleased with the work Frankie and the team have done since Australia to here so a massive thank you to the team and hopefully we can keep it going in the top five now.”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (6th, 1’43.769)
“I’m a lot happier today. We have definitely made improvements from Australia and we’ve also come back to a track with lots of grip. As the grip levels of the track improved over the sessions so have we. We still need to work on our bike to improve on really slippery track conditions and optimize our settings and performance. Tire life is looking better, and there was no chatter here so that’s that problem cured. We intend to keep working on our electronics and progress even further tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“It seems that the work we’ve done since Australia is working well. To see where both riders are is very encouraging. This gives us real satisfaction. I think we’ve worked very well with our tire choice and we’re pretty happy with how they are working. Tomorrow we’ll work again on the set up to see which will tires we’ll choose for the distance. For today we are satisfied.”

Circuit Length: 4692
Weather: Sunny
Fastest Lap Ever: 1’42.412 (Ben Spies, 25/10/2009)
Last Year’s Winner: Michel Fabrizio

Rossi makes front row as Lorenzo battles to fourth on the Island

Valentino Rossi will start his Phillip Island assault from second on the grid tomorrow, after sealing his twelfth front-row start of the season in Australia this afternoon. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who was still feeling under the weather following yesterday’s upset stomach, missed out on the front row by just 0.001 seconds, the first time he has been out of the top three this season.

This morning’s practice was interrupted by rain, which allowed the riders a quick chance to check their wet-weather settings in case of more rain tomorrow. By the afternoon the weather had cleared up and qualifying was run in the dry, albeit with grey skies and a cold wind. Rossi spent most of the hour-long session a few tenths off Casey Stoner in second but a late setting update gave him the extra pace to challenge the Australian and he duly moved to the top of the time sheets with nine minutes to go. Stoner hit back five minutes later however and set a best time that knocked Rossi off pole by 0.050 seconds.

Lorenzo felt much better today but he was still not at 100%, having been unable to eat much since yesterday’s illness. The 22-year-old was still struggling for rear grip but he was able to improve his time in the later stages and looked like he would make it onto the front row before a late charge from Dani Pedrosa edged him off by just one thousandth of a second. He will now have to mount his challenge from the head of the second row tomorrow, something of a novelty for him having qualified in the first three at all fourteen previous rounds this year.

Tomorrow’s race will start at 1600 local-time tomorrow, which is 0700 CET.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2^nd; Time: 1’30.391; Laps: 30
“We are on the front row which is the most important thing and I think we can definitely have a good race tomorrow. We have a few things to check in the morning, depending on the weather, including the final tire choice – of course we hope for it to be dry. I have a good setting and with the last modification we made I was able to make another step and we were quite fast. The pole position was possible today but unfortunately I made a mistake in the last section on my flying lap and Stoner was able to go a little bit faster than me. We have an advantage on Lorenzo, which is important for the championship points, and I hope that I will be able to fight with Stoner for the win.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 4^th; Time: 1’31.071; Laps: 31
“I’m a bit disappointed to lose my 100% front-row qualifying record by such a tiny amount, but today we just didn’t quite have enough pace. We still don’t have enough grip on the rear and the tyre is spinning too much, which makes it difficult to be fast enough. Tomorrow I will try to adapt my riding style instead in order to try to make it onto the podium. I feel better than yesterday but I’m still not at 100%; I feel quite weak still because I haven’t been able to eat much. I will have to try before tomorrow in order to have enough strength for the race. I don’t feel any pressure, I will just go out and do my best.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“So far all the sessions have gone well for us. We’ve got a good starting position for tomorrow and we’re in good shape for the race. As far as our strategy goes, of course we will have one eye on Lorenzo and the championship but also one eye on Stoner and the chance to win the race if possible! The only issue is the late time of the race, because at 4pm it could be quite a lot colder and therefore this might throw up some surprises.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“It’s a real pity to miss out on the front row by just one millisecond after we have been so consistent all season! We still have rear grip issues at the moment, the team have done a good job to improve it over the sessions but we still have some work to do. The warm-up will be very important for us tomorrow in order to try to solve the problem and put us in a position to be able to challenge in the fight for the race and the championship tomorrow.”

Edwards and Toseland aim high in Australia

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Colin Edwards finished tantalizingly close to recording his first front row grid position of the season today in typically mixed and unpredictable conditions at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit.

Edwards finished just 0.026s away from a place on the front row of the grid, the Texan working closely with his crew on improving stability and agility with his YZR-M1 machine to cope with Phillip Island’s fast and flowing sections.

Edwards posted a best time of 1.31.096 and the 35-year-old is confident of a strong showing in tomorrow’s race to bolster his bid for fifth place in the world championship standings.

Working hard with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew to find a compromise between front-end stability and rear traction, James Toseland posted a best time of 1.31.722 that left the British rider in 12th position. Proving once again just how close the level of competition is in MotoGP, Toseland was only 0.7s away from a top three placing.

The 28-year-old though is confident with further overnight set-up tweaks that he can launch an attack on a second successive top six finish at Phillip Island and strengthen his challenge for a top seven championship finish.

All eyes will be on the weather ahead of tomorrow’s 27-lap race after today’s rapidly changing conditions. A large Australian crowd witnessed blue skies, strong winds, heavy cloud cover and rain today, though forecasts predict dry conditions for tomorrow’s race.

Colin Edwards – Position: 5^th; Time: 1’31.096; Laps: 27
“I can’t remember how long I’ve been racing at this track but it is always a different experience and today was no exception. It’s no secret that Yamaha had to make the bike much shorter this year to maximize the performance of the Bridgestone tires, and it hasn’t been easy to make the set-up work this weekend. With the track flowing like it does you need a stable bike for the fast sections but some agility for turning. But it seems with the shorter wheelbase bike here, a tiny change completely transforms the feeling. My guys have worked unbelievably hard to make me more comfortable and we found something that almost got me on the front row for the first time this year. On this track you’ve really got to take some risks to get a fast time, but you can’t do that without having the bike right. At the end I had a setting where the risk was reduced a lot and I could push much harder without feeling like I was right on the limit. I feel we’ve got a good package for the race. I’ve got three races to take nine points out of (Andrea) Dovizioso for fifth in the championship and he’s a few places behind me on the grid. I’ll just hope the weather smiles on us so I can get my head down and put up a strong fight.”

James Toseland – Position: 12^th; Time: 1’31.722; Laps: 30
“Once again today we saw just how close the competition is in MotoGP and how small the difference is between having a really strong grid position or being down the order. Another two or three tenths and I would have been in the top six and feeling much better after all the hard work we put in today. But today wasn’t easy because I was looking for more rear grip. But changing the set-up to give me more rear grip, we sacrificed too much of the front-end feeling. And when you don’t have front feeling on the fastest track on the calendar with some really flat-out sections, you can’t ride with the confidence you need. We made some changes to bring back my confidence with the front, but that just created wheelspin and a lack of rear grip again in some parts of the track. We just need to find a compromise but I’m not a million miles away. I’m confident with a good start that battling for a top six is certainly within reach. I’ve still got plenty to fight for in these last three races, so as usual I’ll be giving it my maximum for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.”

Circuit Length: 4445
Temp: 17
Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1’30.332 (Marco Melandri, 01/01/2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1’28.665 (Casey Stoner, 05/10/2008)
Last Year’s Winner: Casey Stoner

Lorenzo takes fifth pole of season, and Rossi makes it a one-two for Fiat Yamaha

Jorge Lorenzo took his first pole position since Laguna Seca back in June at Estoril this afternoon, the Mallorcan sealing his fifth pole of the season with a strong performance ahead of tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi meanwhile took his eleventh front row of the season and will start tomorrow’s race from second, with Casey Stoner taking the final front-row slot.

Having topped both practice sessions this weekend, Lorenzo was the clear favourite for pole this afternoon and the 22-year-old looked smooth and comfortable out on track as he made a few last-minute setting changes before the fight for grid spots. With twenty minutes remaining he took the lead and didn’t surrender it for the rest of the session, improving his time several times and never looking in much danger from his rivals.

Rossi had a few problems yesterday but was in better shape today, having improved the balance of his M1 in the hard braking zones. His penultimate lap was good enough to put him second although he was unable to quite match his team-mate’s pace on the softer Bridgestone tyre today. The championship leader is planning a few overnight improvements in order to ensure he is at the maximum for the race.

Tomorrow’s 28-lap race gets underway at the slightly earlier time than usual of 1300 local time, which is 1400 CET.

Jorge Lorenzo's last pole was at Laguna Seca in June

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1st, Time: 1’36.214, Laps: 29
“It’s been quite a few races since I’ve had a pole! I was getting a bit worried because doing one fast lap has always been one of my strong points but lately we haven’t been able to be quite competitive enough with the soft tyre. This weekend however everything is working really well and the setting with both tyres is great, so I was able to go out and do some very fast laps. Tomorrow is another day and we know that everyone will be strong, so we will just try and push to the limit and see what happens.”

Valentino Rossi leads his teammate, Lorenzo, by 30 points going into this weekend's race

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd, Time: 1’36.474, Laps: 28
“We improved the setting a lot this afternoon from yesterday and managed to fix a lot of the problems we had in the braking, so today was not so bad. We still need more traction on the exits from the slow corners however and we are also losing some time in the tight hairpin. We are not so far but we need to study the data and find a way to improve things a bit more for the race. It will be quite a strong fight tomorrow I think and 28 laps in this heat is going to be hard, but we will be ready.”

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