What WSBK riders had to say after the 9th Superpole at Donington Park.
Ben Spies – 1st“It was a good Superpole session for us, we almost got caught out as I think I was the last one to leave the garage.
As soon as I came out of the pit lane I could see the drops start to come so I had to really attack the warm up lap.
I told myself to nail the first sector so I could relax a little bit in the back half in case it rained a bit more.
The first sector was brilliant, in the second and third rain drops were coming so I wanted to be careful not to touch any paint down.
It was good to get up there to the front as it’s a short start to turn one so it’s a good position for us.
The bike is working great on race tyres as well so I’m looking forward to what will be an exciting race.
”Max Biaggi – 2nd“It was a very exciting Superpole.
During the last lap, I noticed that the first drops of rain were beginning to fall and I startedoff immediately by trying to make the most of the track while it was still dry, and it went well.
This time the rain helped us out.
We had some rather good qualifying rounds, we’ve improved along the way, even if we aren’t asfast as we need to be yet.
We still have too much trouble at the slowest portion of the track.
I hope to have a great race tomorrow on this track, which I like a lot.
”Shane Byrne – 3rd “I’m really excited to start from the front row at Donington which is my home track.
I’m happy for my best practice result of the season.
I couldn’t have done it though without the crew who have done such a good job.
They managed to combine the best features of each of the two bikes I worked on yesterday.
I’m ready for any weather condition for tomorrow’s races.
I’ll try and use the warm up session to choose the tyres for race 1 and hopefully do well in both”.
Shinya Nakano – 4th“I’m very pleased.
This is my first first lane in this category.
When I saw the rain start to fall from the sky, I came out rightaway and tried my best to finish the lap.
Fortunately, it went well.
We’ve improved, but we’ve had quite a few problems on the wet track.
I know this track well, and I hope to have a good race.
”Michel Fabrizio – 5th“It was a pity it started to rain right at that moment, in the last part of the Superpole, but I did my best and starting from the second row shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
For tomorrow I’d say that we’re sorted with regard to the race tyre and as far as the qualifiers we used today are concerned it didn’t go badly.
I wanted to get under 1m30 and in the second Superpole I managed that, breaking the lap record in the process.
Tomorrow we have to see what the weather will do, and then based on the track temperature, we’ll decide which rear tyre we’ll use to try and get back on the podium again.
” Noriyuki Haga – 6th“We found a good solution today for the setting of my 1198 and I considerably improved my lap times.
We just need to decide on the race tyre.
The choice comes down to which rear, because there are two quite similar solutions, but we need to wait and see and decide tomorrow based on the track temperature.
I just hope that track conditions tomorrow are not damp but either totally dry or totally wet.
In the final Superpole this afternoon I could have pushed harder but to tell the truth I didn’t want to risk a crash; some of the guys made some fast laps but I preferred not to take risks and so will start tomorrow in sixth.
” Carlos Checa – 7th“As soon as the rain started to fall at the end of the final Superpole session, I rolled off a little, but also, when I hooked sixth gear down the back straight, the bike jumped back into fifth, so the lap would not have been better.
It’s a difficult track to come to with a new suspension package – especially since we have not enjoyed fully dry sessions.
We have made some improvements though, and we will try to fine tune things in the morning, but we won’t make such a big change I think.
Second row is not such a bad place to start and I did some consistent laps today, so I think quite a good pace is possible.
”Leon Haslam – 9th“I have been struggling a little bit this afternoon.
We tried a few things with the electronics, but we went the wrong way with it and ended up back to where it was initially.
I am pretty happy with my lap times, it is just a little bit unfortunate I didn’t make it through to the last superpole.
The times were all pretty close and just 0.
1s faster would have put me in third place.
I am ninth on the third row on the grid with some of the other British riders, and am looking forward to the start of the race and hopefully we can have a good one tomorrow.
”Tom Sykes – 10th“A bit of a shame, obviously I’m not impressed, on the qualifier I ran wide on lap one a little bit and didn’t make it happen.
It’s especially frustrating as looking at the times in Superpole three a front row start was definitely on the cards for me.
We messed up a bit in session two, really disappointing as race pace is up there and I wanted a good clean start for tomorrow.
We’re on row three so let’s see what happens.
I’m going to have to dig deep and make some passes.
The qualifying session was ok, we definitely have a fast race pace, if we can get away clean we are in with a good chance tomorrow.
”John Hopkins – 11th“I have a little bit of pain in my left hip, but it is a lot better than last week in Misano.
I would like to say that we have changed a lot to the bike, but we haven’t changed anything from the second we went out on Friday.
It says a lot about the crew that we have found a good set-up for the machine.
There are a couple of things we need to work on now I am starting to push a little harder.
This is the best I could do today.
I gave it my all and I am pretty happy to be in tenth position.
It will be a long race, but I am normally a good starter and am looking forward to having a bit of a fight tomorrow.
”Jonathan Rea – 12th“Sector three was my problem this afternoon.
Last week, the circuit flowed and we never really got to the bottom of the stroke, but here we are struggling with the rear coming round on corner entry and I’m having to wait longer than I’d like to get on the throttle.
As a consequence, I’m having to over-ride the bike and in that last sector I’m really on the limit and sometimes over it.
That’s going to be difficult to maintain for 23 laps tomorrow.
We found a little something today, so all is not lost – although we’re leaving it a little late to find the full solution.
The third row is not what I expected here but, with a couple of good starts tomorrow, we can hopefully fight near the front.
”Troy Corser – 15th“We had some new stuff to try today and the first signs are encouraging.
It was a bit more easy to use the throttle and a bit of an improvement in set-up.
Everything feels a bit more fluid and, although there’s still a lot of work to do, I am looking forward to further progress.
This series is the hardest and most competitive it has ever been and there are so many strong teams out there all fighting for positions.
Considering the level of competition this year, I think we’re doing pretty well at this stage of our development.
”Ruben Xaus – 16th“I am going two seconds or so a lap faster than last year and that makes me happy.
The new parts have had an impact on me straightaway and I think we can improve the bike quite a bit as we carry on the good work.
This series is tough for sure, and it’s interesting to realise that today’s lap times are so much faster than last year.
I had a bit of a problem with the brakes on one of my bikes today, otherwise I think I could’ve pushed harder in Superpole.
But the important thing is that we are all working hard.
Today has given us all something to work towards because we can see the possibilities better.
”Yukio Kagayama – 18th“Although we had improved the bike a little from the morning to the afternoon, it was only a small step forward and not enough for me.
Today my biggest problem was no grip.
Even when I tried a different tyre,with a different construction, the feeling was not good and it felt unsafe.
So we went back to a softer tyre, but there was no improvement.
In the end, we an out of time and when I did try a qualifying tyre I had the same problem, even though normally the grip level is better.
There was also a bit of a problem with the traction control, so we will have to sit down with the data, work out what was happening today and then see what we can do to improve tomorrow.
I am so far down the grid that it will be hard to see the lights, but I never give up and will fight for every place I can.
”Ryuichi Kiyonari – 20th“To be honest, I’m not really sure what the problem is.
I’m lacking confidence in the package at the moment and maybe I’m just trying too hard to think about a solution.
I know very well what potential the Honda CBR1000RR has so maybe I have to learn to ride around the problems I am having.
We have changed many things to find a better feeling and I hope for a dry warm-up tomorrow to find something new.
”Broc Parkes – 22nd“It’s been a really challenging weekend so far; the bike has been difficult to turn into corners here, and that has slowed us up.
We have tried a few things on the bike but we still have that issue, for some reason.
It’s the first time this year we have been out of Superpole, and of course all the other teams are also stepping their game up.
”Jamie Hacking – 25th“At the moment the bike does not turn in that well and doesn’t give you that much confidence in the front.
This track is brilliant, the way it is all put together is very neat, but when you are fighting something it doesn’t make for a good lap.
The cambers here make things a little more difficult as well.
I am sure we can try something new tomorrow in warm-up.
”Blake Young – 28th“Well that was another tough day, but I am enjoying the whole experience and getting the most out of it, thanks to the team.
They are helping me a lot and there is so much to understand about this bike, the tyres and the track.
I want to go faster and I would like to go faster.
Every time I go out, I see the lines other riders are taking and I want to be able to lap like them.
The team changed the bike for me today and the alterations they made suited me more.
I just wish I could have more time and more laps, but the good news is that there is no pressure on me from the team, so I can go out and enjoy the races tomorrow.
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