Kyalami WSB: Brits up the pace, but Fabrizio stays top

Italian Michel Fabrizio continued to set the pace in Kyalami today and sits at the front of the provisional grid onboard his factor Xerox Ducati 1198.

Fabrizio racked up 24 laps on his way to provisional pole edging out Sterilgarda Yamaha man Cal Crutchlow in the process.

Crutchlow was satisfied with his days work and is now visibly more comfortable on the powerful R1 even at an undulating and bumpy track like Kyalami.

He said: “I was still doing 1.39’s on an old tyre at the end of the session and feel that I would have done a 1.37 easily when I put in a new tyre, but I got held up on my fast lap and had to pass two riders.”

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea secured the third fastest time along with setting consistent lap times on worn tyres, but admitted he still has work to do on his race set-up.

Troy Corser turned around his day with an impressive performance in qualifying after struggling in free Practice. The BMW rider secured a podium last time out in Monza finished fourth 0.419s behind provisional pole.

Championship leader Leon Haslam, looked comfortable onboard his Alstare Suzuki in sixth , significantly ahead of his closest title rival Max Biaggi who slipped from third to eighth over the two sessions.

Shane Byrne was ninth onboard his Althea Ducati with Tom Sykes 11th and Leon Camier 12th.

James Toseland was down in 15th spot 1.179s and looked to be feeling the side effects of his dramatic Monza crash, but remains adamant he can improve tomorrow. 

1 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1’38.477 24 155,220 251,6
2 35 C. CRUTCHLOW GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 1’38.529 0.052 0.052 22 155,138 253,3
3 65 J. REA GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.687 0.210 0.158 26 154,890 250,4
4 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1’38.896 0.419 0.209 25 154,562 251,0
5 91 L. HASLAM GBR Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’38.951 0.474 0.055 27 154,476 250,4
6 7 C. CHECA ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1’38.954 0.477 0.003 24 154,472 242,0
7 96 J. SMRZ CZE Team PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 1’39.027 0.550 0.073 20 154,358 244,2
8 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’39.094 0.617 0.067 26 154,254 253,9
9 67 S. BYRNE GBR Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1’39.281 0.804 0.187 23 153,963 245,3
10 99 L. SCASSA ITA Supersonic Racing Team Ducati 1098R 1’39.288 0.811 0.007 19 153,952 243,6
11 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’39.336 0.859 0.048 24 153,878 248,7
12 2 L. CAMIER GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’39.621 1.144 0.285 28 153,438 246,4
13 41 N. HAGA JPN Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098R 1’39.630 1.153 0.009 21 153,424 247,6
14 111 R. XAUS ESP BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR 1’39.642 1.165 0.012 21 153,405 248,1
15 52 J. TOSELAND GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda Team Yamaha YZF R1 1’39.656 1.179 0.014 24 153,384 251,6
16 32 S. MORAIS RSA EmTek Racing Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’39.798 1.321 0.142 21 153,165 247,6
17 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’39.834 1.357 0.036 23 153,110 249,8
18 76 M. NEUKIRCHNER GER HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’40.024 1.547 0.190 25 152,819 247,0
19 77 C. VERMEULEN AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’40.646 2.169 0.622 22 151,875 248,7
20 95 R. HAYDEN USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’41.054 2.577 0.408 23 151,262 240,4
21 23 B. PARKES AUS ECHO CRS Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’41.216 2.739 0.162 19 151,020 245,3
22 15 M. BAIOCCO ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’42.172 3.695 0.956 26 149,607 242,0