World Superbike

Sykes Sets Scorching Pace In Laguna Seca Superpole

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Tom Sykes set the fastest ever World Superbike lap of Laguna Seca to secure pole position for tomorrow’s races in the United States. The world champion was simply untouchable on the qualifying tyre, lapping half a second faster than nearest challenger Sylvain Guintoli, and looks in good shape to further extend his points lead tomorrow.

Davide Giugliano was the first rider to sample the softer rubber and immediately destroyed Guintoli’s 2013 lap record but the Frenchman regained the honour as the faster ever rider in Monterey with a 1:22.339. In Sylvain’s own words though, his record was “destroyed” by Sykes who set a 1:21.811 a minute from the end of SP2.

The Yorkshireman admitted his Kawasaki ZX-10R wasn’t completely handling to his liking early in the weekend but feels much more confident about his race pace tomorrow.

“To take pole here is very exciting especially after we struggled a bit earlier this weekend and because some of our competitors have been very strong here. Slowly but surely we have got the bike working much better and I am a lot more confident for tomorrow. It is crucial to be on the front row so when I put a qualifying tyre in I had a little stab at getting the best lap. I had a little adventure in The Corkscrew but I came out of the other side and we made it happen for the lap time. I am happy because it is a great lap time and the guys have all worked hard to achieve it. It’s going to be close tomorrow because a number of people have good race pace but I am looking forward to it.”

Guintoli starts second tomorrow with Chaz Davies on the front row for the second weekend in succession after edging out his Ducati teammate Davide Giugliano. Marco Melandri lines up fifth ahead of Eugene Laverty while Leon Haslam leads the Honda challenge from seventh after a crash for Jonathan Rea which kept him back in tenth. Loris Baz escaped the opening Superpole session before qualifying eighth with Toni Elias edging past Rea onto the third row after his tumble.

 

2014 eni SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 9 – LAGUNA SECA
FREE PRACTICE & TISSOT SUPERPOLE RESULT
POS RIDER BIKE TEAM TIME SESSION
1  TOM SYKES KAWASAKI KAWASAKI RACING TEAM 1:21.811 SP2
2  SYLVAIN GUINTOLI APRILIA APRILIA RACING TEAM 1:22.339 SP2
3  CHAZ DAVIES DUCATI DUCATI SUPERBIKE TEAM 1:22.384 SP2
4  DAVIDE GIUGLIANO DUCATI DUCATI SUPERBIKE TEAM 1:22.422 SP2
5  MARCO MELANDRI APRILIA APRILIA RACING TEAM 1:22.704 SP2
6  EUGENE LAVERTY SUZUKI VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI 1:22.725 SP2
7  LEON HASLAM HONDA PATA HONDA WORLD SUPERBIKE 1:23.181 SP2
8  LORIS BAZ KAWASAKI KAWASAKI RACING TEAM 1:23.242 SP2
9  TONI ELIAS APRILIA RED DEVILS ROMA 1:23.358 SP2
10  JONATHAN REA HONDA PATA HONDA WORLD SUPERBIKE 1:23.501 SP2
11  ALEX LOWES SUZUKI VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI 1:23.562 SP2
12  NICCOLO CANEPA DUCATI ALTHEA RACING 1:23.924 SP2
13  SYLVAIN BARRIER BMW BMW MOTORRAD ITALIA SBK 1:23.840 SP1
14  CHRISTIAN IDDON BIMOTA TEAM ALSTARE 1:24.024 SP1
15  DAVID SALOM KAWASAKI KAWASAKI RACING TEAM 1:24.227 SP1
16  AYRTON BADOVINI BIMOTA TEAM ALSTARE 1:24.301 SP1
17  BRYAN STARING KAWASAKI IRON BRAIN KAWASAKI SBK 1:24.986 SP1
18  SHERIDAN MORAIS KAWASAKI IRON BRAIN KAWASAKI SBK 1:25.021 SP1
19  LEON CAMIER MV AGUSTA MV AGUSTA REPARTO CORSE 1:25.157 SP1
20  ALESSANDRO ANDREOZZI KAWASAKI TEAM PEDERCINI 1:25.383 SP1
21  JEREMY GUARNONI KAWASAKI MRS KAWASAKI 1:26.080 FP3
22  GEOFF MAY EBR TEAM HERO EBR 1:26.087 FP3
23  LARRY PEGRAM EBR FOREMOST INSURANCE EBR 1:26.302 FP3
24  GABOR RIZMAYER BMW BMW TEAM TOTH 1:26.506 FP3
25  AARON YATES EBR TEAM HERO EBR 1:26.999 FP3
26  CHRIS ULRICH HONDA GEICO MOTORCYCLE ROAD RAC. 1:27.169 FP3
27  PETER SEBESTYEN BMW BMW TEAM TOTH 1:27.226 FP2

 

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