Donington park today saw a frustrating and challenging Superpole session for the Yamaha World Superbike riders, Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty. Bitterly cold weather conditions and a track temperature of over 19 degrees less than yesterday’s first Qualifying session saw all 16 riders on the track struggle to complete the Superpole in ideal times.

Melandri completed the first heat of Superpole in fifth position, just over three tenths of a second from pole. The second heat saw Melandri put in a series of impressive times on his YZF – R1, unfortunately he was obstructed on his flying lap by another rider and subsequently ended the session in ninth position overall, just missing out on his chance to participate in the third and final heat. As a result he starts tomorrow’s two World Superbike races on the third row of the grid in ninth position.

Team mate Laverty was victim of a cold track losing the front end of his bike on turn three of his out lap. The Superbike Rookie luckily walked away unhurt and managed to get back out with five minutes to go and push back up from 16th to 12th position. Unfortunately he missed out on the opportunity to partake in the second heat of Superpole by just one place after being bumped to 13th in the dying seconds.

Marco Melandri, Yamaha World Superbike Team 9th, 1'28.803

“I’m disappointed to be starting on third row of the grid tomorrow, but that’s what happens in Superpole. I’m just sorry that it was another rider’s fault. Biaggi showed his true professionalism today, he cut in front of me even though he clearly had seen me and that’s not how a World Champion should be riding. I’m going out there tomorrow even more determined than ever and I believe our race pace is good. “

Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team 13th, 1'29.312

“It wasn’t an ideal Superpole today, Phillip Island went problem free and we finished fifth there so we were hoping to do much better here. We saw how cruel Superpole can be sometimes, we are starting from 13th on the grid tomorrow, however I’m confident I can get through the pack. Marco is just ahead of me on third row and he’s strong on the first lap so I’ve got to tuck in behind him and slice through together. Whatever set up we choose I feel confident I can ride the track to its maximum.”

Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager - Andrea Dosoli

“It’s definitely not the starting positions we were hoping for after the impressive times we had in free practice and qualifying practice. Unfortunately Eugene lost the front end and had a significant crash and lost some valuable time, luckily he was unhurt. He wasn’t confident to go back out on the qualifier so he used the race tyre and that didn’t provide a fast enough lap to get him through to Superpole two. I believe if Marco and Eugene can get off the grid well then they can definitely provide a good race. The weather conditions are extreme and after the sunshine yesterday we are back to the typical British weather for this time of year. It’s due to be cold again tomorrow and maybe we should try to avoid racing in the future in such cold conditions.”



Despite the cold weather conditions in Donington Park today the two Yamaha ParkinGO World Supersport riders, Luca Scassa and Chaz Davies completed today’s qualifying session in first and second position, respectively.

After dominating yesterday’s qualifying session, Scassa proceeded to put in a serious of impressive laps on a much colder track to secure pole position ahead of tomorrow’s World Supersport race. Scassa brought home his first victory of the 2011 Championship in Phillip Island and is now heading into the second race of the season with the intention of providing a replica performance.

Team mate Chaz Davies was also on form finishing this morning’s first practice session in fourth and then making further set up improvements ahead of the afternoon’s final World Supersport qualifying session. Davies was clearly at home on the 2009 Championship winning YZF-R6 making full use of the improved settings to top the time sheets in the second session. His combined times means he heads to tomorrow’s race on the front row of the grid, just behind his team mate in second position.

Luca Scassa, Yamaha ParkinGO Team 1st, 1'31.232

“Today was very important, we worked a lot on our race pace. We didn’t use the softer tyres to get a good time in, instead working on preparation for tomorrow’s race. Chaz also attempted to get pole position and he almost succeeded! Yesterday the track had much better grip than today, I think Chaz did a great job to get in such good laps and he’s definitely in with a good chance tomorrow. I think we have the best race pace, so we’ll see what happens. I can’t wait till the lights go green. “

Chaz Davies, Yamaha ParkinGO Team 2nd, 1'31.250

“We made some great improvements this afternoon. We didn’t get the times I hoped for this morning so I discussed it with the team and decided on a new set up in order to be able to muscle the bike around easier. They worked hard and we got what we were looking for. Considering the cold conditions, being just behind Luca in second place ahead of tomorrow’s race is very good so I’m happy.”


World Superbike Combined Qualifying Results

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 1min 28.794s
2. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 1min 28.841s
3. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 1min 29.194s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 1min 29.379s
5. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1min 29.397s
6. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 1min 29.438s
7. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 29.472s
8. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 29.476s
9. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R 1min 29.580s
10. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R 1min 29.588s
11. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 1min 29.612s
12. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 1min 29.613s
13. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1min 29.637s
14. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 1min 29.782s
15. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 1min 29.843s
16. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1min 30.008s
17. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR 1min 30.169s
18. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 30.680s
19. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 31.117s
20. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R 1min 31.485s


World Superbike Superpole Results

1. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 1min 28.099s
2. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 28.365s
3. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R 1min 28.556s
4. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1min 28.561s
5. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 1min 28.673s
6. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 1min 28.702s
7. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 1min 28.737s
8. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 1min 39.514s
9. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 1min 28.803s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 28.836s
11. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 1min 29.135s
12. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1min 29.422s
13. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 1min 29.312s
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1min 29.879s
15. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R 1min 30.002s
16. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.076s


World Supersport Qualifying Results

1. Luca Scassa ITA ParkinGO Yamaha YZF-R6 1min 31.232s
2. Chaz Davies GBR ParkinGO Yamaha YZF-R6 1min 31.250s
3. Sam Lowes GBR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 31.368s
4. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki Motocard.com ZX-6R 1min 31.645s
5. David Salom ESP Kawasaki Motocard.com ZX-6R 1min 31.963s
6. Gino Rea GBR Step Racing Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.080s
7. Robbin Harms DEN Harms Benjan Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.136s
8. James Ellison GBR Bogdanka PTR Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.153s
9. Florian Marino FRA Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.210s
10. Massimo Roccoli ITA Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R 1min 32.338s
11. Vladimir Ivanov UKR Step Racing Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.694s
12. Fabien Foret FRA Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.707s
13. Roberto Tamburini ITA Bike Service Yamaha YZF-R6 1min 32.917s
14. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R 1min 32.935s
15. Alexander Lundh SWE Cresto Guide Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.187s
16. Danilo Dell'Omo ITA Suriano Triumph Daytona 675 1min 33.527s
17. Ondrej Jezek CZE SMS Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.528s
18. Ronan Quarmby RSA Suriano Triumph Daytona 675 1min 33.587s
19. Pawel Szkopek POL Bogdanka PTR Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.658s
20. Miguel Praia POR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.711s
21. Jack Kennedy IRL Colin Appleyard/Macadam Yamaha YZF-R6 1min 33.836s
22. Robert Muresan ROM PTR Romania Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.906s
23. Balazs Nemeth HUN Team Hungary Toth Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.192
24. Bastien Chesaux SUI Moto-Academy Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.316s
25. Mitchell Pirotta AUS Kuja Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.574s
26. Imre Toth HUN Team Hungary Toth Honda CBR600RR 1min 35.183s
27. Marko Jerman SLO MD Jerman Triumph Daytona 675 1min 35.829s
28. Luca Marconi ITA Bike Service Yamaha YZF-R6 1min 36.846s