Mar 13, 2009 - Rookie rider Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike) followed up his Australian race 2 victory with his second Superpole in as many attempts. Spies lapped the 5.380 km Losail desert circuit in a time of 1 minute 57.280 seconds, almost eight-tenths of a second quicker than Troy Corser's best mark from 2008. The starting-grid was similar to the opening round in Australia, but this time Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) placed second, a fraction of a second behind Spies, and ahead of Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) in third. The front row of the grid was completed by Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), who managed to move up to a fourth place slot following two below-par qualifying sessions.
Ben Spies - Yamaha - Superpole The most important thing is being on the front row with this many fast guys. I almost ruined my lap but we eventually got the job done. Race pace is looking promising, which is important but I feel sure it's going to be a hard race tomorrow. You still have to search for the speed and find the limit in Superpole, I don't know anything different, it's the only one I've done but it's working well for me so far.
Superpole Highlights
Jakub Smrz - Guandalini Ducati - 2nd We have made a really good weekend, now we still have the race to do, but we have a good set-up and for us the times are very positive. I was also working well in Superpole because there wasn't much traffic, I didn't catch anyone and I was able to do my best.
Max Biaggi - Aprilia Racing - 3rd I'm very happy again to be fighting for the pole position, I think we did a very good job today. We tried to find the best set-up on both bikes, and I'm going to chose the one that feels the most comfortable. I have already made my tyre choice and feel quite comfortable so thanks again to my squad, they are great guys.
Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox - 4th It was a much better Superpole for me than in Australia and I am very happy to be on the front row of the grid. We had a little problem today but managed to sort that and now I am sure that tomorrow we will go very well in the races.
Tom Sykes - Yamaha - 5th To be honest I was reasonably happy with the qualifying, I certainly felt like I could have been on the front row but made a small mistake so dropped to the second. I'm happy on the race tires and I think both myself and Ben have a consistent race pace so if we can get away cleanly tomorrow I think it'll show at the end of the race. Other than that I'm happier with where we're starting compared to Phillip Island and really looking forward to getting off the line quickly and racing with the front pack tomorrow.
Shane Byrne - Sterilgrada Ducati - 8th We're all set for the race, I just have to practice with the start regulations, but most of the work has already been done and I'm confident I can fight for the top positions. I didn't perform at my best in the Superpole, both because I'm not accustomed to this formula and because I'm not really comfortable with the qualyifing tyres which I had tested only in Portimao. I'm sure tomorrow's races will be hard-fought as usual. Nevertheless, I'm confident I can get in the leading pack from the beginning.
Carlos Checa - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda - 7th The final Superpole session with the last eight riders was not so good. We made some small changes to the bike and I made some mistakes, so, instead of a high 1'57s lap which I was aiming for, we ended up with a low '59. However, for tomorrow's races I'm confident in the package we have been working with. We'll hope that the tyres are working and giving the same feeling as we've had today. If that's the case, then I'm confident of two good races.
Michel Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox - 10th I unfortunately made a small error while making the fast lap in the second Superpole session. At the penultimate corner I was in the wrong gear, I should have been in second when I was instead in third and I know I lost a few tenths during that split as a result. Although I had time to make one further lap the tyre was already gone. I had at least hoped to get into the top eight but it was that mistake that cost me a place further forward on the grid. Anyway I will do my best tomorrow, as always, and hope that is enough.
Ryuichi Kiyonari - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda - 12th The lap times are very good on the race tyre and we've tried many different settings today, so I'm happy with what we have for the races. In the second Superpole session, I went as soon as pit-lane opened but pushed a little too hard as I tried to make a gap on someone behind me. So, I start again on the third row and, as long as I get a good start and a solid first lap, I'm confident of some good results.
Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki Alstare Brux - 14th The situation is not so nice, having to start from the fourth row of the grid, but I am a racer and I will give my 100% - as usual. We changed many things on the bike from yesterday, but I don't think there was much improvement, so we will have to make some more changes in the warm-up tomorrow. Today, I wanted the bike to steer better in the corners, but what we tried did not help much. Here in Qatar, the bike is completely different on race tyres compared to qualifying tyres and you can lap much faster on a qualifier. My Superpole lap does not reflect my potential so I am hoping the adjustments we make in the warm-up tomorrow will allow me to make a good fight in the races.
Ruben Xaus - BMW Motorrad - 15th Of course, it is disappointing to be on the fourth row of the grid, but I'm happy because I have improved my lap times so much since my first session here. It's not so easy developing a bike during the race weekend, but it's just something that we have to get used to doing and trying to do it as well as we can. The more we push the bike towards its limit, the more we find out things and the more we have to work out how to improve those things. In the afternoon, I had a lot chatter and couldn't push any harder, but I know that my lap time on race tyres is quite good. It's a shame that our first two races are so far from our workshops because I'm sure we could have solved some of the problems more quickly if we'd been able to do the work. But we cannot stop time, we just have to keep working hard. I know I am in the best team in the paddock and that gives me a lot of power. I want to be up the front - sooner rather than later - and I know it's going to take some time, but I am confident that we are going to get there, before too long.
Troy Corser - BMW Motorrad - 16th I'm not a fan of this new Superpole system and I think it must be quite hard for the fans to follow and understand. My lap in Superpole 1 would've put me on row three for sure and maybe row two, if luck had gone our way. In Superpole 1, I used a qualifying tyre for the first time this year and did a 1:58.950 quite easily. But for Superpole 2, that time gets wiped clean and you start all over again. We used the same tyre on the same bike for Superpole 2, but suddenly the bike was chattering and that made it impossible to go any quicker. It's a bit frustrating when that happens and now I know I have got a very hard job ahead. My bike is not so fast at the top end as most of my rivals, so it means that I am going to have to work harder in the turns trying to stay with them. This track has a long front straight and then a series of corners, so it is very easy to get held up and then not be able catch the front group. My plan is to get two good starts and see what happens in the race.
Jonathan Rea - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda - 17th I've been running near the top for the last two days, so I used a soft race tyre in the first Superpole session - one that I'd done a fast time on in the free practice just before. Unfortunately, it didn't work and although we thought we'd be safe, as it turned out, we weren't. It's going to be very hard from the fifth row tomorrow, but I'm really confident in the package the we've got and in my ability to do the lap times. Whereas I was a bit nervous on the front row in Australia, I'm quite pumped for tomorrow and I'll do my best to make it happen. There might be some fireworks on the first couple of laps, so stay tuned!
Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare Brux - 19th It has been a hard day, with many problems in different areas. Also I had a big crash and that didn't help. I was OK, but my bike wasn't and I am sorry because my mechanics had to work so hard and build another bike. I had to use my number two bike in Superpole because my other bike wasn't finished, and it didn't work the same way. We lost some time making some adjustments and by the time we put on the qualifying tyre, the flag had come out and it was too late. I am disappointed how the day went, but I am hoping that tomorrow will be much better.
