Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri provided impressive performances in Assen for today’s Superpole sessions to secure first and second row grid starts respectively ahead of tomorrow’s two races. Both riders dominated the first heat putting in the fastest laps on a set of qualifying tyres to take them comfortably into round two in first and second position.

Eugene Laverty provided a nail-biting second session, battling to put in a series of fast laps before going through to the third and final heat of the day in seventh position, just over two tenths of a second behind first place. The final heat of this afternoon’s Superpole saw the talented young Irishman achieving his fastest lap on a softer race tyre to score his first front row start of his World Superbike career.

Teammate Marco Melandri was also on top form throughout the afternoon, finishing the first two heats in second and fourth place respectively. A less fortunate third round saw Melandri lose the front of his bike on turn eight of the track, seconds before completing the session. The Italian heads into tomorrow’s two races in eighth position on the second row of the grid, determined to get off to good a start.

Eugene Laverty - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 3rd, 1'35.580

“That was certainly an eventful Superpole today. We used our qualifying tyre early on in the session and then had to use a softer race tyre in the final round. I surprised myself with the lap time I achieved. I knew I could make it into the front row but it was a tough battle. We have to concentrate on making the bike more stable for tomorrow’s race in order to be able to put in consistently fast laps throughout the race. I’m aiming for a podium but a win would also be very nice indeed.”

Marco Melandri - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 8th, 1'37.036

“We experienced both ups and downs today. Unfortunately I crashed in the final heat and lost out on the opportunity to be on the front row. On the other hand we made progress on the bike set up in this morning’s qualifying and that’s a step in the right direction. It’ll be a difficult two races tomorrow, Assen isn’t an easy track and a good start off the grid is necessary. We’ll do our best and see what happens.”

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager

“I’m satisfied that both riders had a positive Superpole today. Our object was to secure first and second row grid positions and that’s what we did. Eugene had a fantastic third Superpole session on a soft tyre, getting his fastest lap time and proving his talent as a rider. It’s a pity that Marco fell in the final stages, he has made progress over the weekend and should have been on the front row. The lap times were so close today that it makes for a competitive day tomorrow. Tyre wear will be crucial so the right choice will make all the difference.”




Yamaha ParkinGo Team rider Luca Scassa set himself up for the best possible start to tomorrow's World Supersport race in Assen this afternoon. The Italian championship leader left it until the dying minutes of the second qualifying session to jump to the top, putting down a 1'38.008 lap aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6 with less than three minutes remaining of the heat. The team's hard work refining the set up from Friday's onwards saw Scassa have over a second off his first qualifying session time to ensure he starts tomorrow's race from the front of the grid.

Scassa's team mate Chaz Davies had a frustrating end to a good qualifying heat. The British rider had been consistently fast for the duration of the session, switching to a softer rear in the last few minutes. Unfortunately the combination of new extra grip from a fresh rear combined with a used front tyre caused him to lose the front, crashing out on a fast lap that on split times was a provisional second position on the grid. Despite this Davies has delivered fast consistent race pace throughout qualifying, recording the highest speed on the track with 263km/hr, a testament to his Yamaha R6 engine's performance. Davies will start tomorrow's race from the second row of the grid in sixth position.

Luca Scassa - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 1st, 1'38.008

"I'm feeling pretty good! Until this morning the bike was not perfect; we had some little and big things to check and change. Now I feel more confident, I can make the bike go where I want and how I want so it reacts really well to my movements. We still have to decide about which tyre we're going to use but we know that we can be fast and still safe so I can't wait for tomorrow."

Chaz Davies - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 5th, 1'39.007

"I'm pretty happy with the bike, everything is pretty good and it's working quite well, especially on used tyres. We tried some different tyre choices today, one of them didn't give me so much grip, then I went to a softer tyre for the last six minutes of qualifying and it was much better. Unfortunately that in combination with a used hard front tyre caused me to crash when I closed the gas, the front just tucked up and hit the ground. I think we would have been on the front row for sure but second row is ok, we have pretty good race pace and it’s not too difficult to pass round here."