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Jerez WSBK: Laverty snatches tight pole position from Sykes

Superpole three

Eugene Laverty 1’40.620

Tom Sykes 1’40.668

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Davide Giugliano 1’40.839

Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty will start the World Superbike races at Jerez from pole tomorrow. It is his second of his career and the Irish lad just had the edge to be at the sharp end during the final Superpole session and was able to go four one-thousandths of a second quicker than title challenger, Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes with a 1’40.620.

Huddersfield’s finest was denied yet another Tissot watch, but appeared content to have placed his machine on the front row alongside Laverty and Althea Racing’s Davide Giugliano. The Italian has been on fire all weekend, and was the fastest rider during the qualifying session’s Friday and today, but when it mattered he was pipped to the post by Laverty by two-tenths of a second, after his best lap of 1’40.839.

GoldBet BMW’s Marco Melandri topped the timesheet in Superpole one, but could not replicate his good form when it mattered and heads up row two, with Laverty’s team-mate, Sylvain Guintoli.

Red Devils Roma rider Toni Elias was on course to snatch a front row start, but while he was on a hot lap he crashed and in doing so scuppered any chances of pole for tomorrow. He fell back down the pecking order and will start on row two.

Fixi Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier just missed out on a second row start by five-tenths of a second, and will start from seventh on the grid. The tall Kent rider has put in some brave lap times, considering he is still recovering from a broken foot and he remains in a lot of pain.

Fores Xavi joins Camier on row three; the lad is riding under the Ducati Alstare colours, and replaces retiring Carlos Checa in the final round. Team Pedercini’s Mark Aitchison had his best start of the year, and after a 1’42.500 starts from ninth on the grid.

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Superpole two

Eugene Laverty 1’40.841

Toni Elias 1’40.979

Sylvain Guintoli 1’41.020

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Laverty was the rider who set the fastest time in the sunshine of Jerez in this afternoon’s Superpole two session. Former MotoGP stalwart, Elias was never far behind, one-tenth of a second to be precise and even though he was second quickest in the first Superpole outing he could still not go one better and snatch that provisional pole.

Guintoli did get as high as second on the timing screen, but was beaten to the punch by Elias. But the biggest shock of the session involved GoldBet BMW’s Chaz Davies. The Welsh rider was in the elimination places for the majority of the allocated lap time, and left it till his last lap to put in his best performance.

Unfortunately it was not enough and he could only go from eleventh to tenth and just missed out on progressing through to the final Superpole round. The Powys based rider was joined in the drop zone, by newly crowned Australian Superbike champ, Broc Parkes and Lorenzo Lanzi, and they all start the races tomorrow from the fourth row.

Aitchison made it through to his first Superpole three of the year, after he managed to out-pace Davies to clinch that all important ninth spot on the timesheets to be in contention of a pole or front row start for the races tomorrow.

ELIMINATED

Chaz Davies

Broc Parkes

Lorenzo Lanzi

Superpole one

Marco Melandri 1’41.408

Toni Elias 1’41.442

Davide Giugliano 1’41.495

Melandri was on the pace in the opening session after a convincingly fast lap of 1’41.408, to place his BMW on the provisional front row spot. Elias was second quickest followed by fellow Italian, Giugliano in third.

Aitchison put in an impressive fast lap to go from twelfth to fourth quickest, and was able to get the better of the British contingent of Sykes, Camier, Davies and Laverty. It was touch and go for Parkes and Lanzi in the opening Superpole outing, as they narrowly avoided falling into the final three elimination spots.

Ducati Alstare’s Ayrton Badovini, Pata Honda’s Michel Fabrizio and Team Pedercini rider Federico Sandi did not have that luxury and were never really able to progress into the top ten fastest times.

Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam failed to make it through to Superpole after clocking a time that only placed him seventeenth in qualifying. Kawasaki’s Loris Baz did come with the intention to ride this weekend, but was declared unfit and was unable to participate in the Superpole or races this weekend.

ELIMINATED

Ayrton Badovini

Federico Sandi

Michel Fabrizio

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