Crutchlow races ahead in early session
 
Local hero Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) set a blistering 2'05.664 second lap at Silverstone to head the first qualifying session at his home track, with no fewer than five of his compatriots inside the top ten places. The 5.902km Silverstone circuit is new to almost all of the 25 Superbike riders on show, making Crutchlow's advantage of 0.342 seconds over the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda of Jonathan Rea an impressive first day result.
 
BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser was third quickest, with British rider Leon Camier fourth on his Aprilia Alitalia vee-four. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) made it five different bikes in the top five places with one qualifying session to go, and James Toseland (Crutchlow's Yamaha Sterilgarda team-mate) secured sixth place. 
 
Championship leader Max Biaggi, Camier's team-mate, was a steady seventh, one place ahead of his main championship threat, Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare). Privateer Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) was 0.811 seconds away from Crutchlow, in ninth, with the top ten rounded out by Tom Sykes on his official Kawasaki Racing Team four-cylinder machine.
 
Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Corse Ducati) was a happy 11th, as he was one place up on the official machine of Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox). Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) was 13th, the Team Pata B&G Aprilia of Jakub Smrz 14th, and 15th was a rider returning from injury, Luca Scassa (Supersonic Ducati). 
 
The wildcard HM Plant Honda duo of Josh Brookes and Ryuichi Kiyonari, both old friends of WSBK, were only 21st and 22nd on day one, with Tommy Bridewell (TYCO Racing Honda) 24th.
 
Times: 1. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2'05.664; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'06.006; 3. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2'06.052; 4. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'06.064; 5.Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'06.088; 6. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2'06.238; 7. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'06.315; 8. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2'06.464; 9. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 2'06.475; 10. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'06.596; etc.

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A STEEP LEARNING CURVE FOR THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM AT NEW-LOOK SILVERSTONE TODAY

Silverstone (UK), Friday 30th July : the Superbike action got under way today at the new-look Silverstone track and Ducati Xerox riders Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga had to learn fast, closing first qualifying in fifth and twelfth position respectively.

After some major restructuring work over recent months, the Silverstone track presented  a fresh challenge today as very few of the Superbike riders had seen the track in its new configuration. Riders therefore concentrated, particularly in the first free practice session, on getting to grips with the  long and tricky circuit, before turning their attention to optimizing machine set-up during first qualifying.

Both Ducati Xerox riders made continuous and steady improvement during the first practice session, concentrating on the "hard" rear tyres, but, perhaps inevitably, it was the British contingent who were quickest off the mark, all seven of them closing the first session  in the top nine, ahead of Noriyuki in tenth and Michel in thirteenth.

Exchanging the rear for a softer compound at the start of first qualifying seemed to make a significant difference to lap times with an improvement of a second and a half for both Haga and Fabrizio. They remained in the top five for the best part of the session, during which various modifications were made to the set-up of the Ducati 1198 machines, with riders also trying different tyre configurations. A final fast lap for Michel saw him close first qualifying in fifth position but with the same lap time (2m06.0) as Rea, Corser and Camier, respectively second, third and fourth. Noriyuki, losing valuable tenths in the first split mainly due to problems with grip, eventually closed day one in twelfth place.

Michel Fabrizio 
"I really like the new configuration of the track. I liked the previous long version that we raced on years back, in 2003 I think, but once they shortened it I could never get the results. Now it's been lengthened once more I'm enjoying it, it's only a pity that they removed the little bridge that was the best point as far as I'm concerned. We've made a good start today but we're all very close, second to fifth position all with the same lap time! I think we can improve further tomorrow, if the weather permits that is."

Noriyuki Haga  
"To tell the truth I preferred the old layout; particularly the final section. What surprised me is that some of the new sections are more or less blind corners which made today a little difficult. It was also hard to time exactly when to open the throttle through the corners but I hope that, with the time available tomorrow, we'll be able to resolve a few things and improve. The bike doesn't seem bad and the tyres have given me pretty good feeling."

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ten Kate Honda

Jonathan Rea finished second fastest in today's opening qualifying session for Sunday's two tenth round World Superbike championship races at Silverstone in the UK. The 23-year-old had topped the earlier free practice session but had to cede provisional pole position to fellow Brit, Cal Crutchlow.

After taking a win and a second place last time out at Brno in the Czech Republic, Rea's good form continued into last weekend's prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour race, where he finished on the podium, and the Northern Irishman relished Silverstone's new 5.902km layout in today's two sessions.
His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Max Neukirchner, also liked the new circuit, although, like many other riders, its bumps caused him some issues. The German rider finished 18th fastest today, after crashing unhurt at turn one towards the end of the qualifying session.

Neukirchner had just put in a new rear Pirelli fo r a faster lap but the crash ended his session. His Honda CRB1000RR righted itself, however, and went head on into a track-side barrier, causing extensive damage.

Jonathan Rea - P2 2'06.006s

I really enjoyed riding the circuit today - it's like it fills me full of happy pills because it's all new and fresh! The bike is working OK straight away and I got up to a good rhythm pretty much from the off and qualifying was good. We've still got some more work to do tomorrow but I'm looking forward to making improvements. The bumps are bumps and they're same for everybody and we spent this afternoon working more on the gearing and trying to get the right compromise for that. But it's always fun when you come to a new circuit - the layout's really nice, but it's just that the bumps and the surface isn't great.

Max Neukirchner – ; P18 2'07.325s

I think I like the circuit but there are a lot of bumps so it's not easy to get the right chassis set-up so I think you must live with a not perfect setting. Of course the crash was bad for me - I put in a new rear but the front was already 17 laps old. The bike carried on for maybe 200 metres more and hit the wall, so the front end looks not so good. I'm sorry for my guys who have a lot more work to do now.

Ronald ten Kate - team manager

I think that, for all the World Superbike riders, today was more about learning the track rather than setting up a bike for it. From tomorrow we can really start to make some changes to the bike to improve it. Johnny was quick from the box today and his Suzuka 8 Hour experience definitely didn't slow him down at all. Max was on a decent pace as well and just when we put the new tyre in for him to set a fast lap time he had a sm all crash with big damage, which was a pity. But we'll be back for more tomorrow.

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Silverstone, July 30th 2010 - Day one of official practice on the British circuit of Silverstone was a positive one for the Althea Racing team with the two riders closing in ninth and thirteenth position.

Carlos Checa completed twenty laps in qualifying and, having got to grips with the layout, was able to push, finishing the session, as he did the free practice, inside the top ten.

"We've got a good idea of the track now", declared Carlos, "but I'm still having trouble in T1. I'm going wrong in the first section and am not able to ride smoothly. We need to be faster through that section too. Having said that, I think we can fight for the positions that count. The track is great and I'm enjoying it; it's very technical and safe, they've done a good job. With the sun it would be fantastic."

Shane Byrne also likes the new-look circuit but, having recorded the sixth fastest time in free practice, he dropped back a little in qualifying.

"I like the track", said Shane. "There are however two points that I'm finding difficult and I hope the changes I've made with my technicians can help us there. I've tried the tyres and have identified my preferred front tyre. Tomorrow we'll continue to work on the set-up."

The Superbike programme continues tomorrow, Saturday, with second qualifying at 10.45 and the second free practice at 13.50. Superpole gets underway at 15.00. On Sunday, after the morning's warm- up at 9.20, Race 1 begins at 12.00 and race 2 at 15.30; both are 18 laps in length, or 106.236 km.

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World leader Max Biaggi and team mate Leon Camier get off on the right foot at Silverstone, on the hunt for the best setup on some very bumpy asphalt.

Silverstone, 30 July 2010 - In spite of the grey skies, the Superbike débuts on dry asphalt on the renovated Silverstone track. Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team concentrates, as they always do on Friday, on finding the best solutions to tackle the pole tomorrow and the two Sunday races. In any case, the clock sends positive messages with seventh place for world leader Max Biaggi and fourth place for Englishman Leon Camier, who found the right pace straight away on his home track.

A promising result even with the bumpy asphalt which doesn't do any favours for an RSV4 rider. Both riders identified the areas which need working on and they will concentrate on these tomorrow after the usual briefing with the Aprilia Racing technicians: the great amount of work which was done is confirmed by the number of laps the riders got in - more than any of the other competitors.

Max Biaggi is confident about this English weekend: "We still need to fix a few things, especially in the turns on the rougher asphalt, but it's not bad at all. Without looking too much at the clock we punched out a good time, quite close to those ahead of us. The English riders are giving 110%, they are breathing in their home air, but I'll try to... bring honour to the Italian flag even here!

All joking aside, we have some ideas on the setup which need to be perfected hand in hand with the experience we gain on this new track. Concentration and determination will do the rest."

"We started off as we had hoped - stated Leon Camier - without making drastic changes to the base setup of my RSV4, just some small tweaks to adapt it to the conditions. I'd say that with the setting we're on target, now I just need to improve my trajectories especially on some sections. The final tenths which need to be shaved off are there, in my knowledge of the track and the lines. Here, at home, I really want to do well for my supporters and my Team."

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