Aprilia’s Marco Melandri left it till the last minutes of the third timed World Superbike free practice session and th last one that counts before qualifying at Aragon, to cement himself as the quickest rider out on the Spanish circuit, and the diminutive Italian was not going to let the Kawasaki of Tom Sykes get in his way.
At one point it looked like the current champion would top the timesheets after his best lap of 1’57.932, but Melandri snatched the spoils by going three tenths of a second fastest with the best lap of the weekend – a 1’57.686. With three minutes remaining of the session Sykes made his move, to go top, but that lasted all of two seconds.
But Ducati's Chaz Davies was never too far off the pace of the leading bikes, and in the final moments of the outing was third quickest with 1’57.936, and that is how it stayed as the chequered flag came out, with Baz and Giugliano rounding off the top five.
At the 30 minute mark no other rider was coming close to the time clocked by Rea in the second free practice yesterday afternoon, even though the Kawasaki’s of Sykes and Baz were trying hard to better their times out on the cool track. Sykes managed a 1’58.325, but was still two tenths off Rea’s best lap.
But slap bang on the fifteen minute mark, Baz lapped a 1’57.977 pushing Rea down to third, as Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli decided to join the party and lapped a 1’58.149 to place him second fastest. But at the end of the 45 minutes of lappery Guintoli feel down to sixth, and Rea ended the morning seventh fastest, after failing in improve on his best lap from yesterday of 1’58.180.
Althea Ducati’s Nico Canepa was once again the leading Evo machine, and was caught in a scrap for that last remaining tenth spot to go automatically into Superpole two with Voltcom Suzuki’s Alex Lowes, where the place for tenth changed throughout the course of the session.
But Lowes then put in a 1’58.376 pushing him into eighth, but that pulled his team-mate Eugene Laverty down to tenth, and the Irishman just held on to that top ten spot, with Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam sandwiched in-between the two Suzuki’s in ninth. Canepa ended the morning eleventh fastest.
BMW Motorrad’s Leon Camier and Alstare’s Christian Iddon - both on Evo spec bikes, failed to make it into the top ten meaning they will have to battle it out in Superpole one, as they ended the session in fifteenth and seventeenth respectively.
Entrants for Superpole two:
Melandri
Sykes
Davies
Baz
Giugliano
Guintoli
Rea
Lowes
Haslam
Laverty
.
