Portimao WSB: Corser on pole, Brits on the pace

Troy Corser made the most of the drying track conditions in the final minutes of the opening qualifying session to set provisional pole position for Sunday’s two WSB races.

The Australian, riding the Yamaha Italia R1 for the final time this weekend before joining BMW timed his switch to an Intermediate rear tyre perfectly. The additional grip allowed him to leapfrog Leon Haslam with an impressive 1m 55.791 second lap.

Haslam backed up his strong free practice performance to secure second position with Ducati men Michel Fabrizio and Ruben Xaus rounding out the provisional front row.

HM Plant Honda rider Cal Crutchlow mistimed his move to Intermediates and after some frantic tyre swapping only managed one flying lap, but still set the fifth fastest time.

Chris Walker continued his impressive learning curve of the Parkalgar circuit to secure sixth spot onboard his VentAxia VK Honda.

Jonathan Rea sat at the top of the time sheets mid way through the session but a technical problem that caused the rear wheel to lock up on down shifts forced him out of the session during the final minutes.

Despite not being on track when the conditions improved, Rea still held third spot with less than three minutes to go, but at the chequered flag dropped to seventh.

1 11 T. CORSER AUS Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Yamaha YZF-R1 1’55.791
2 91 L. HASLAM GBR HM Plant Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’57.214
3 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098 F08 1’57.440
4 111 R. XAUS ESP Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati 1098 RS 08 1’58.115
5 35 C. CRUTCHLOW GBR HM Plant Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’58.327
6 9 C. WALKER GBR Ventaxia VK Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’58.557
7 65 J. REA GBR Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Jr. Honda CBR1000RR 1’59.356
8 7 C. CHECA ESP Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1’59.676
9 55 R. LACONI FRA Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’59.939
10 21 T. BAYLISS AUS Ducati Xerox Team Ducati 1098 F08 2’00.012
11 41 N. HAGA JPN Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Yamaha YZF-R1 2’00.152
12 10 F. NIETO ESP Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 2’00.194
13 76 M. NEUKIRCHNER GER Team Alstare Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 2’00.263
14 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati 1098 RS 08 2’00.288
15 96 J. SMRZ CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098 RS 08 2’00.362
16 86 A. BADOVINI ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’00.643
17 34 Y. KAGAYAMA JPN Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 2’01.154
18 23 R. KIYONARI JPN Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Honda CBR1000RR 2’01.332
19 36 G. LAVILLA ESP Ventaxia VK Honda Honda CBR1000RR 2’01.750
20 31 K. MUGGERIDGE AUS D.F. Racing Honda CBR1000RR 2’01.923
21 94 D. CHECA ESP Yamaha France Ipone GMT 94 Yamaha YZF-R1 2’02.086
22 88 S. AOYAMA JPN Alto Evolution Honda Superbike Honda CBR1000RR 2’03.695
23 194 S. GIMBERT FRA Yamaha France Ipone GMT 94 Yamaha YZF-R1 2’04.094
24 73 C. ZAISER AUT Grillini PBR Team Yamaha YZF-R1 2’04.278
25 18 T. BRIDEWELL GBR Team NB Suzuki GSX-R1000 K8 2’04.298
26 44 R. ROLFO ITA Hannspree Honda Althea Honda CBR1000RR 2’04.410
27 38 S. NAKATOMI JPN YZF Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 2’04.570
28 14 L. CARREIRA POR Benimoto Suzuki Cetelem Suzuki GSX-R1000 K8 2’05.322
29 99 L. SCASSA ITA D.F. Racing Honda CBR1000RR 2’05.846
30 100 M.TAMADA JPN Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’06.495
31 13 V. IANNUZZO ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’09.040