WSB Monza: Crutchlow on top again in first qualifying

Cal Crutchlow fired his Sterilgarda Yamaha to provisional pole position for the fifth round of the World Superbike Championship at Monza. After heavy rain before the start of the session riders were forced to use wets or intermediate tyres to begin with, but as the track dried slicks were fitted and the lap times tumbled.

With only the first chicane still wet at the end of the session, Crutchlow got to within one second of his free practice lap time set in dry conditions.

He said: “We’re still struggling for grip, but we’ve ended up topping both sessions so it’s not too bad. There are changes we need to make to the bike like the gearing. I started the session on intermediates and then went out on slicks from the morning. The last seven laps were on a new set of slicks.”

Jonathan Rea backed up his free practice performance to secure second place onboard his Hannspree Ten Kate Honda. Rea used just two sets of tyres all day and made just one minor height change during both sessions.

Michel Fabrizio secured third position despite being 11KPH slower than Corser’s BMW through the speed trap. Corser continued his strong run of form to claim fourth ahead of championship leader Leon Haslam riding the Alstare Suzuki.

James Toseland remained up beat at the potential of his Sterilgarda Yamaha despite finishing in ninth with Tom Sykes holding station in 11th and Shane Byrne in 18th. 

1 35 C. CRUTCHLOW GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 1’44.577 19 198,870 318,3

2 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’44.789 0.212 0.212 17 198,467 319,4

3 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1’45.134 0.557 0.345 20 197,816 309,2

4 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1’45.234 0.657 0.100 17 197,628 320,4

5 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’45.303 0.726 0.069 18 197,499 317,3

6 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1’45.542 0.965 0.239 23 197,051 309,2

7 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’45.592 1.015 0.050 22 196,958 313,2

8 96 J. SMRZ CZE Team PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 1’45.603 1.026 0.011 16 196,938 314,2

9 52 J. TOSELAND GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 1’46.019 1.442 0.416 23 196,165 318,3

10 99 L. SCASSA ITA Supersonic Racing Team Ducati 1098R 1’46.111 1.534 0.092 17 195,995 311,2

11 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’46.170 1.593 0.059 20 195,886 312,2

12 2 L. CAMIER GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’46.216 1.639 0.046 17 195,801 319,4

13 76 M. NEUKIRCHNER GER HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.402 1.825 0.186 16 195,459 313,2

14 57 L. LANZI ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1’46.413 1.836 0.011 15 195,439 311,2

15 41 N. HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1’46.451 1.874 0.038 19 195,369 312,2

16 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’46.588 2.011 0.137 23 195,118 310,2

17 7 C. CHECA ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1’46.756 2.179 0.168 15 194,811 305,3

18 67 S. BYRNE GBR Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1’47.466 2.889 0.710 14 193,524 304,4

19 71 D. SAKAI JPN Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’47.922 3.345 0.456 11 192,706 307,3

20 15 M. BAIOCCO ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’48.041 3.464 0.119 20 192,494 304,4

21 77 C. VERMEULEN AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’48.191 3.614 0.150 19 192,227 312,2

22 23 B. PARKES AUS ECHO CRS Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’48.254 3.677 0.063 17 192,115 301,5

23 95 R. HAYDEN USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’49.217 4.640 0.963 19 190,421 303,4

24 31 V. IANNUZZO ITA S.C.I. Honda Garvie Image Honda CBR1000RR 1’49.958