In a continuing demonstration of the his intent to make the World Superbike Superpole final qualifying session his own personal property, Tom Sykes once again topped all comers to grab pole position for tomorrow’s races at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal. Sykes’ ability to make the most of the Kawasaki’s speed over a single lap was on display yet again as the Brit smashed the previous lap record set in 2010 by Jonathan Rea by nearly three-tenths of a second to take his eighth pole position by a similar margin over Althea Racing Ducati’s Carlos Checa and Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty. WSBK title contender Marco Melandri fills out the front row on his factory BMW, with championship leader Max Biaggi heading the second row on his Aprilia.
“Obviously I am really happy to get an eighth Superpole this year and when we used a qualifying tire it improved our bike again,” said Sykes of his dominating performance at Portimao on Saturday. “I am happy starting from where I am on the grid and if we can get a good clean start, and do our thing, we could have a good day. We had some small issues in Nürburgring, totally unexpected, so if we do not have them come back then we should be OK. I am very fortunate and very happy that I have got these guys working for me because they believe in me 100%. Like I have always said to them, when the settings on the bike are at a good level I can ride the bike, and do what I need to do. When I crossed the line I was actually frustrated a little because I made a small mistake in one section and lost at least a tenth, something like that. So when I crossed the line maybe 80% of me was angry with myself, but the rest of me was relaxed because I had set a good lap time and front row was going to be good enough. I enjoy qualifying, and it is enjoyable just to be yourself on the bike, out on track doing your own thing. There is a lot of pressure and you have to concentrate but ultimately I enjoy it.”
“Of course we cannot predict what will happen in the races,” admitted Checa after qualifying some 0.365 seconds behind Sykes in Superpole at Portimao. “Today I didn’t expect this second place for example; I’m really happy but it was a little bit of a surprise. Once we put the qualifying tire in, I found that the bike was a lot more stable and I was able to make the fast lap. For tomorrow I don’t think our pace is bad but many riders will be fast and fighting hard up front. The race is long though, and so I hope to be able to do enough to be up there with them, battling it out to the end.”
Canadian superbike rider (and former AMA superbike competitor) Brett McCormick rode well at Portimao in just his fourth race back after suffering a horrific crash at the Assen World Superbike event back in April that resulted in fractures to his C5 and C6 vertebrae. McCormick qualified for Superpole on his Team Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati, and just missed the Superpole 2 cut by 0.002 seconds to eventually qualify in 13th position. American John Hopkins was busy getting acclimated to the Portimao circuit in his first visit, and looked to be in with a chance to qualify for Superpole, but a technical problem with his machine in the final five minutes of the first session meant he would end up qualifying in 19th position for tomorrow’s races.
World Superbike Portimao Superpole qualifying results:
1. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki 1:41.415
2. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati 1:41.780
3. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Aprilia 1:41.789
4. Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW 1:42.015
5. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1:42.140
6. Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW 1:42.271
7. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda 1:42.717
8. Chaz Davies (GBR) Aprilia 1:43.459
9. Leon Camier (GBR) Suzuki
10. Davide Giugliano (ITA) Ducati
11. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati
12. Loris Baz (FRA) Kawasaki
13. Brett McCormick (CAN) Ducati
14. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW
15. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) BMW
16. David Salom (SPA) Kawasaki
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda
18. Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) Ducati
19. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki
20. Alexander Lundh (SWE) Kawasaki
21. Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati
22. Matteo Baiocco (ITA) Ducati
23. Norino Brignola (ITA) BMW