Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes posted his seventh Tissot Superpole of the season at the eni FIM Superbike World Championship in Turkey ahead of Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) and Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia).
The front row will be completed by Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team). The Irishman could not repeat the 1’54.9 set in Superpole 2, a time that would have helped him to finish in the top-3.
Tom Sykes: “I am happy because this is a circuit I had never been to before and I only got two practice sessions yesterday. I lost two sessions today to the weather so considering all this I am happy. I am fighting a bit of a cold but the changes we made to the bike set-up last night were positive.
“My crew chief Marcel and all the guys at Kawasaki do a great job and we went in the right direction. We were able to try the adjustments early in Superpole and it was clear to see we had a good direction. We just need to see if we can put this to good use tomorrow. It is funny how it goes because Sylvain Guintoli is right beside me on the grid tomorrow. It seems we have been fighting all season, in qualifying and races, so it looks like it is going the distance!”
The long and challenging 5.340km Istanbul Park circuit saw riders hampered by bad weather earlier in the day. However, the weather improved with the first Superpole being held in dry conditions.
Sykes was fastest in the first and last of three Superpole contests, taking a narrow but important advantage of 0.022 seconds over his main championship rival Sylvain Guintoli.
WSBK debutant Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) put up an impressive performance by ending up in fifth place – and only a 0.674 seconds gap from pole-sitter – ahead of French rookie Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki).
Cluzel also sat out most of the second free practice due to the wet conditions, but as the track dried in the later stages he was able to post a couple of fast laps that saw him finish second on the timesheets. In Superpole 1 Cluzel comfortably advanced to the next session with the seventh fastest time, a feat he equalled in Superpole 2. In the final Superpole he posted a time of 1’55.614 on his Pirelli qualifying tyre, which was good enough to see him just over 0.7 seconds behind pole-setter Tom Sykes.
Jules Cluzel:
“I am happy with Superpole, but a little bit disappointed because I think third or fourth was possible. I was not able to make the perfect lap, which was all my own fault. I tried some different stuff and sometimes it was working for me and sometimes not. We also tried some different traction and I was not really sure about it, so probably didn’t push hard enough. I think it was certainly possible to be fourth, but this would have changed nothing as it is still the second row and I’m happy to be there. I am looking forward to tomorrow and hope we’ll have a good feeling with the race tyre. Hopefully it will be dry for warm-up and we will try more laps with the race tyre to see how it performs.”
“It was good to see Leon out of hospital and back at the track, I hope he gets well quickly and is back on the bike soon – it is good to have him on the other side of the garage and I will miss him.”
It was not a particularly easy Saturday for the BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team of Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies. They will start tomorrow’s first ever Superbike races on Turkish soil from seventh and eighth on the third row respectively.
Marco Melandri: “I expected a better result because on race tyres we were quite fast, on a single flying lap as well, as we saw in Superpole 1. But we were not able to improve the time with the qualifying tyres because as soon as we put those on the bike became difficult to ride. I am looking forward to tomorrow in a positive way. The bike works better with race tyres, so this is an advantage.
“But tomorrow’s races will be quite unpredictable. We have two new types of tyres and it will be important to choose the right one. The races will be very long. I am not starting from a good position and I will have to attack. To be fast on this track you have to ride smoothly and this is my riding style, so overall I’m quite optimistic for tomorrow.”
Chaz Davies: “This afternoon we finally got some dry weather but unfortunately we did not seem to have a lot of luck. In the first Superpole, I struggled with the grip of the rear tyre. We made some changes and chose a different tyre in Superpole 2 and it was much better. But in Superpole 3 I immediately felt that there was an issue. There was a sensor failure in the shifting system and I had to use the clutch again. That did not allow me to push as I wanted to so unfortunately we are eighth on the grid. We definitely did not show our potential and I think we were capable of front row or maybe just the sharp end of the second row.
“Tomorrow will be quite interesting. I think a lot of people are in the dark a bit. I guess no one has done a full race distance so far. In addition, the circuit is changing every time you go out, so tomorrow there could be more grip but it could also be harder on the tyres. The main thing is to make a good start and then we will see.”
Fixi Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier was forced to withdraw following his huge crash and subsequent operation yesterday. He was released from hospital this morning after surgery to insert screws, pins and wires into seven fractures in his right foot. Camier returned to the circuit to be with the team and will return to Andorra soon to begin his recuperation.
World Superbike Qualifying Times Istanbul
1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 54.872s
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 1m 54.894s
3. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Aprilia RSV4 1m 55.073s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 1m 55.340s
5. Toni Elias ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 1m 55.546s
6. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 55.614s
7. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 1m 56.402s
8. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR HP4 1m 56.416s
9. Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR 1m 56.463s
10. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 57.001s
11. Federico Sandi ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 57.329s
12. Michel Fabrizio ITA Pata Honda CBR1000RR 1m 57.371s
13. Tolga Urpak TUR CMS Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 02.469s
14. Yunus Ercelik TUR Sampiyon 169 BMW S1000RR 2m 04.070s
15. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Grillini Dentalmatic BMW S1000RR 2m 39.610s
Did not progress to Superpole
16. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R No Time
Istanbul Park official WSBK lap records
Best lap: Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 54.872s (2013)
World Supersport
Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) delighted his home fans by securing the pole position after WSS Qualifying 2 at Intercity Istanbul Park. The Turk clocked in 1’58.380 seconds, showing an outstanding form onboard his ZX-6R. Sofuoglu dictated the pace this afternoon, while Championship leader Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) had to play catch-up, eventually finishing second with a 0.382 s gap from pole.
Rookie Christian Iddon (ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse) edged out Florian Marino (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki) from first row at the very last second, while Kev Coghlan (DMC-Lorenzini Kawasaki) was fifth ahead of David Salom (Intermoto Ponyexpres Kawasaki) and Pata Honda duo of Lorenzo Zanetti and Michael van der Mark.
Team Lorini Honda riders completed the top-10: Raffaele De Rosa was only 0.029 seconds faster than team mate Roberto Tamburini, who had a crash at Turn 8 in the early stages.
Australian, Damian Cudlin has joined PTR Honda for the 11th round World Supersport in Istanbul. He is an experienced Supersport racer who has recently raced in World Endurance. South African Mcfadden has results in 1000 Superstock racing and will stand in for David Linortner who suffered a car crash last month. Damian qualified in 25th place.
The session was red-flagged with less than four minutes to go, as Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) and Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing Yamaha) crashed unhurt at Turn 12. The Italian also lost control in the first part of Qualifying 2, at T8.
World Supersport – Qualifying Times
1. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R 1m 58.380s
2. Sam Lowes GBR Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 1m 58.762s
3. Christian Iddon GBR ParkinGO MV Agusta F3 1m 59.438s
4. Florian Marino FRA Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R 1m 59.595s
5. Kev Coghlan GBR DMC Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R 1m 59.655s
6. David Salom FRA Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R 1m 59.672s
7. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Honda CBR600RR 1m 59.785s
8. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA PATA Honda CBR600RR 1m 59.826s
9. Raffaele de Rosa ITA Lorini Honda CBR600RR 1m 59.842s
10. Roberto Tamburini ITA Lorini Honda CBR600RR 1m 59.871s
11. Fabien Foret FRA Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R 1m 59.970s
12. Vladimir Leonov RUS Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 2m 00.166s
13. Jack Kennedy IRL RivaMoto Honda CBR600RR 2m 00.179s
14. Roberto Rolfo ITA ParkinGO MV Agusta F3 2m 00.327s
15. Luca Scassa ITA Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R 2m 00.351s …etc
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