Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Eugene Laverty provided the Italian spectators in Monza with a sensational performance, securing himself a front row start, in second place on tomorrow’s grid. Laverty comfortably flew through all three Superpole heats, completing the first in fifth position and the second and third sessions in second place, making the most of his qualifiers in the final heats.

Marco Melandri was also on top form, completing Superpole two , less than a tenth of a second ahead of his Irish team-mate, topping the time sheets with an impressive 1’42.201. The Italian was less fortunate in the third and final heat, just missing out on a front row start ahead of tomorrow’s two races, completing Superpole three in fifth place. Unfortunately Melandri struggled on exiting the infamous Ascari chicane and was unable to put in his fastest time and earn himself the front row grid start that he was fighting for.

Both Yamaha World Superbike riders are heading to tomorrow’s race day determined to provide the spectators with skillful racing on the team’s home track in Monza. The YZF-R1 has been successful on the historic track in the past and results over the weekend so far prove it could well be a strong podium contender again.

Eugene Laverty - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 2nd, 1'42.393

“It’s been a great weekend so far. The team’s workshop is literally just down the road so it really means a lot to me to do well here in Monza. Hopefully we can have two good races tomorrow. I’ll definitely be fighting for the podium! I’ve been waiting for it for quite a while, so I’m planning on finally achieving that tomorrow. The R1 has always been strong here in Monza so I’m really looking forward the race. ”

Marco Melandri - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 5th, 1'42.714

“It was a relatively good day but we’re still having difficulty finding the right set-up . We seem to have a good rhythm for the race and that’s good but on a qualifying tyre the bike was a little agitated, so I struggled exiting the fast corner. We still have time to improve and I’m confident that we are making progress. Tomorrow is another day, so let’s see what happens.”

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager

“Firstly congratulations to Eugene, that was an amazing Qualifying session. He proved to be consistent on a race tyre and also put in a fantastic time on his flying Superpole lap. It’s very important that he has secured a front row start, so we are confident he can do well in tomorrow’s races. Eugene has demonstrated today that he is making constant progress. Unfortunately Marco has been struggling a bit all weekend. He has tested various set-ups, even during this afternoon’s free practice. During the final Superpole session he suffered a lack of stability on exiting the “Ascari”. The team have made progress over the weekend but there’s still a lot of work to do. We know Marco can do really well over a full race distance, even from the second row, so I’m not too concerned.”



Yamaha ParkinGO rider Chaz Davies got straight down to business in today’s second Qualifying session to take his maiden pole of the 2011 World Supersport Championship. Yet again, the Brit dominated the time sheets for the duration of the session, qualifying in first place more than two tenths of a second ahead of Lowes in second, once again showing how powerful the Yamaha R6 is. Davies takes pole position on the grid for tomorrow's race while fellow Yamaha ParkinGO rider sits just behind on the second row in sixth position.

Luca Scassa also put in a series of impressively fast laps this afternoon and was sitting just behind Davies, in second place for the majority of the second Qualifying session. Unfortunately closing in too tight on another rider just ahead, Scassa was unable to make a clear pass, causing him to crash. Despite this misfortune, the Italian completed the afternoon’s session in sixth place.


Chaz Davies - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 1st, 1'47.809

“I’m really pleased with the day. We tried out the tyres we were considering for the race and even though I got my fastest lap on them, I’m not sure it would be the right choice for the race. Towards the end of the session we tried a softer tyre which gave us better results. We made some small changes to the set up of the bike this morning and everything seems to be going pretty well. I just need to get my head down tomorrow and see what I can do. “

Luca Scassa - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 6th, 1'48.468

“What can I say. I’m disappointed with the session. I was doing pretty well, putting in some fast laps and trying to secure myself a front row start for tomorrow before I fell. I’ll start the race from the second row so I need to make sure I get a good start right off the grid. But I’m confident that I can be consistent and do well!"