Imola WSB: Sykes takes pole with fastest ever superbike lap

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Yorkshireman Tom Sykes will start tomorrow’s WSB races from pole position at the Italian track of Imola after setting the fastest ever lap of the circuit on two wheels with a 1:46.748.

It’s the second round in a row Sykes has put his Kawasaki on pole position and he said: “In superpole three with a combination of small changes and a big amount of effort from myself we were able to put in a good lap.

“Tomorrow we have a good race pace and I’m feeling quite confident, so hopefully we can covert pole position in to a good result.”

Effenbert Liberty Ducati rider Sylvain Guintoli will start the race from second on the grid ahead of world champion Carlos Checa, who finished superpole one on top. Brit Leon Haslam completes the front row in fourth.

Championship leader Max Biaggi heads the second row onboard his factory Aprilia, ahead of Marco Melandri, Jonathan Rea and Joan Lascorz. Rea was unabe to improve on seventh position after a huge high-side onboard his factory Honda.

Aprilia rider Eugene Laverty failed to make it to superpole three, setting the 11th fastest time. Brit Leon Camier will start from 15th on the grid.

1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’46.748
2. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’47.221
3. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’47.423
4. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’47.458
5. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’47.611
6. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’47.642
7. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1’47.643
8. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’47.740
9. Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1’48.108
10. Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1’48.137
11. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’48.299
12. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’47.893
13. Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’48.267
14. Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1’48.382
15. Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’48.415
16. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.631
17. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’48.857
18. Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1’48.904
19. John Hopkins (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’49.790
20. David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’49.854
21. Mark Aitchison (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1’50.009
22. Brett McCormick (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1’50.266
23. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.670
24. Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’50.999
25. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Team Pro Ride Real Game Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1’52.993

Liam Marsden

By Liam Marsden

Former MCN Web Producer