Team Alstare Suzuki’s Michel Fabrizio will start tomorrow’s World Superbike Championship ninth round at Silverstone in the UK from the second row of the grid – after finally qualifying through to Superpole 1.
The Italian GSX-R1000-mounted rider finished with the seventh-quickest time in Superpole 3 and will start tomorrow’s pair of 18-lap races in a good position.
Wild Card entry John Hopkins on the Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki won Superpole with a lap of 2:04.041, just two-10ths-of-a-second ahead of Eugene Laverty (Yamaha). Third was Leon Camier (Aprilia) with series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) filling the final front-row grid position.
Michel Fabrizio – 7th, 2:05.997:
“I am a bit disappointed that I didn’t get on to the front row of the grid. I used a qualifying tyre in Superpole 1 to make sure of getting into Superpole 2 and then my second and final Qualifier to get into Superpole 3. That meant that I had no qualifier to use in Superpole 3, so we decided to use one of the used-Qualifiers hoping that it would be good enough for a front-row place. We tried this idea in Superpole 1 and found that it was better than using race rubber, so that’s what we did. But it wasn’t anywhere as good as a fresh Qualifier and didn’t have the same level of grip, so I couldn’t lap fast enough to get that elusive front-row grid slot. Once again, it will be Row Two, but I know that my race-pace is good and if I can get a good start then I will be up with the leaders: That’s my plan.”
Final Qualifying and Superpole: 1 John Hopkins (USA-Suzuki) 2:04.041, 2 Eugene Laverty (GBR-Yamaha) 2:04.068, 3 Leon Camier (GBR-Aprilia) 2:04.303, 4 Carlos Checa (ESP-Ducati) 2:04.362, 5 Sylvain Guintoli (RSA-Ducati) 2:05.456, 6 Marco Melandri (ITA-Yamaha) 2:05.639, 7 Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Alstare Suzuki) 2:05 639.
