PBM Kawasaki's Tom Sykes was denied top spot in the opening World Superbike free practice session at Magny-Cours this morning by just over a tenth of a second by champion-elect Carlos Checa as the BMW pair of Troy Corser and Leon Haslam gave chase.
Sykes found his pace late to leap into second with six minutes to go and then he and Checa upped their pace lap after lap. The Spaniard just edged out the Huddersfield man with a 1'39.013 compared to Sykes' 1'39.182, set just as the chequered flag came out.
Corser, meanwhile, was at the top of the sheets with five minutes left and had himself knocked team-mate Haslam from first place. The veteran Aussie is 0.228 off Checa's pace with the Derbyshire man one one-hundreth further back on a 1'39.252.
Serial qualifier Jakub Smrz hauled his Liberty Ducati into fifth with a few minutes left to rub which displaced Alstare Suzuki's Michel Fabrizio. The Italian had been lying second but late laps and crash at turn seven saw him slip down the order.
Eugene Laverty is the leading Yamaha rider in seventh place, just edging out Noriyuki Haga. The second PBM Kawasaki of Joan Lascorz, third at the halfway point but still only seventh tenths off the pace. Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli rounded out the top ten.
Castrol Honda's Jonathan Rea is 11th, just ahead of Ayrton Badovini, while Leon Camier pulled himself from 17th to 13th right at the end of the session. Marco Melandri is in a world of doo-doo down in 15th while Ruben Xaus crashed out the out-lap right at the start, necessitating a red-flag. He has hurt his neck but is otherwise ok.
