Castrol Honda's Jonathan Rea has set the fastest time in this morning's opening World Superbike free practice at Monza but was chased hard by the BMW pairing of wily veteran Troy Corser and Ayrton Badovini right at the end of the hour.
Rea was the first man to break the 1'44 barrier with his 1'43.712 set with only 12 minutes remaining while Corser set about matching it on the works S1000RR while Badovini, on the satellite version, followed him round. Max Biaggi managed fourth place, four-tenths in arrears but with a whopping 205mph top speed.
Alstare Suzuki's Michel Fabrizio set the early pace before crashing while Corser set the first meaningful times, 1'45.017 was bettered by a 1'44.748 before championship leader Carlos Checa got in on the action with a 1'44.264 which stood until Rea grabbed the lead late on.
PBM Kawasaki's Tom Sykes staked his claim early on with a 1'44.668 and then a 1'44.379 to take second before slipping down the order. On the half hour, Leon Camier and Eugene Laverty stormed to fourth and fifth respectively with a near-identical time before Fabrizio muscled his way into a theoretical front-row position.
With 11 minutes remaining, Yamaha's Marco Melandri bagged third place with a 1'44.315 before Corser towed his satellite team-mate round for second and third. Biaggi put in a 1'44.203 to claim fourth with five minutes remaining.
Corser once again hauled Badovini round to ensure they kept second and third, both cracking the 1'44 barrier while Camier bagged fifth with a 1'44.221 until Melandri went 0.013s faster. On his last lap, Corser made sure he kept second spot with a 1'43.675.
Laverty remained in seventh with Fabrizio eighth, Checa ninth and Leon Haslam tenth. Sykes slipped to 12th while crocked James Toseland got the better of Fabrizio Lai to not be last in 21st.
Chris Vermuelen was taken to the medical centre after a crash in the second chicane. He has had three stitiches in his elbow but will ride this afternoon.
Monza top speeds
1 1 BIAGGI Max Aprilia RSV4 Factory 205mph 330,2kph
2 2 CAMIER Leon Aprilia RSV4 Factory 205mph 330,2kph
3 33 MELANDRI Marco Yamaha YZF R1 204mph 328,0kph
4 11 CORSER Troy BMW S1000RR 202mph 324,7kph
5 4 REA Jonathan Honda CBR1000RR 202mph 324,7kph
6 58 LAVERTY Eugene Yamaha YZF R1 201mph 323,6kph
7 41 HAGA Noriyuki Aprilia RSV4 Factory 201mph 323,6kph
8 17 LASCORZ Joan Kawasaki ZX-10R 200mph 322,6kph
9 91 HASLAM Leon BMW S1000 RR 200mph 322,6kph
10 66 SYKES Tom Kawasaki ZX-10R 200mph 322,6kph
