The first wet Superpole of the 2010 World Superbike Championship proved to be a disaster for most of the competing riders. The three heats saw a number of riders either crash out in the wet or run on at corners as they struggled to cope with the incredibly slippery Imola track surface.

Cal Crutchlow started the first heat well, clocking an impressive 2’09.2 to take the fastest slot, one of only two riders dropping under 2’11. He was unfortunately caught out in the second heat due to lack of heat in his full wet tyres, highsiding on a right hander which caught out several riders in the session. Having rejoined on his second bike with five minutes remaining Crutchlow was on track for a front row start when unfortunately he ran wide and lost time, relegating himself to the third row for tomorrow’s two races. Team mate James Toseland struggled to find a fast pace in the wet in the first heat, dropping out of the top 16 in the last few seconds of the heat. He will start from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (12th, 2’11.271)
“I’m a little bit sore after the crash but I’m not too worried about tomorrow’s races. I think I know why I crashed; I had a cold tyre on the right hand side from not going fast enough on the out lap. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s races and we’ll see how we get on.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (17th, 2’13.823)
“It’s fair to say that rain has spoiled play today here at Imola, not just for me but for Cal also, so as a team we are very disappointed. We’ve had good top speed all weekend and good race pace and I was really looking forward to Superpole to see what we could do. I’m starting from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow but there have been other unlucky guys out there as well.”