WSBK Nurburgring: Carlos Checa leads in the drying conditions

Today’s first free practice at Nurburgring for the World Superbike riders started on damp track and several riders didn’t hit the tarmac until the halfway mark when the German circuit started to dry out completely, and it was points leader Carlos Checa who closed out on top of the time charts with a best lap of 1.

57.
296 pipping Kawasaki Racing Team’s Joan Lascorz by just 0.
078s on his last flying lap.
Jakub Smrz led most of the one hour session and he finished third and would have probably been closer to the top if a crash in the final minutes of the practice session didn’t leave him four tenths of a second adrift.

Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) took fourth, followed by Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia), Sylvain Guintoli and Castrol Honda returnee Jonathan Rea was 6th after missing three rounds due to injury.
Marco Melandri on his first time at Nurburgring was eighth with Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes closing out the top ten.
Makoto Tamada who is replacing injured Ruben Xaus in Castrol Honda was 19th and three seconds off pace, while both Pedercini riders, Roberto Rolfo and Mark Aitchison suffered from technical problems on their Kawasaki’s.

Superbike Nurburgring FP1 results:01- Carlos Checa – Althea Racing – Ducati 1198 – 1’57.
29602- Joan Lascorz – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 0.
07803- Jakub Smrz – Team Effenbert Liberty Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 0.
40404- Michel Fabrizio – Team Suzuki Alstare – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 0.
63105- Leon Camier – Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 0.
89806- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Effenbert Liberty Racing – Ducati 1198 – + 1.
01007- Jonathan Rea – Castrol Honda – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 1.
02308- Marco Melandri – Yamaha World Superbike Team – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 1.
03609- Leon Haslam – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – + 1.
07210- Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 1.
12311- Max Biaggi – Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 1.
15612- Eugene Laverty – Yamaha World Superbike Team – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 1.
23313- James Toseland – BMW Motorrad Italia – BMW S1000RR – + 1.
23414- Noriyuki Haga – Pata Racing Team Aprilia – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 1.
54815- Ayrton Badovini – BMW Motorrad Italia – BMW S1000RR – + 1.
55816- Troy Corser – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – + 1.
66917- Maxime Berger – Supersonic Racing Team – Ducati 1198 – + 1.
97318- Roberto Rolfo – Team Pedercini – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 2.
42619- Makoto Tamada – Castrol Honda – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 3.
05920- Mark Aitchison – Team Pedercini – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 4.
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