Checa snatches pole position at Miller

Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) continued his domination at Miller Motorsports Park, snatching pole position back from Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) in the last lap of the wet, cold and closely contested Superpole.

Yamaha World Superbike team mates Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty complete the front row, starting from third and fourth respectively. Melandri scraped through into SP2 before upping his pace to take third, while Laverty rode consistently to secure his place in the front row of the grid.

Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) will start the first of tomorrow’s races in Salt Lake City from fifth, ahead of Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), Aprilia Alitalia rider Max Biaggi and Ayrtin Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK), who completes the second row. Biaggi rode an inconsistent Superpole, culminating in the Italian running wide in the last lap of SP3 and dropping his Aprilia at low speed.

Kawasaki Racing rider Tom Sykes will start from tenth place, behind Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia). Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) suffered a big highside on cold tyres in SP1 but was able to return to the track on his spare bike to qualify in eleventh place, ahead of Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) who crashed out in the second Superpole session.

Fellow Brit Jonathan Rea will start from thirteenth on the grid, whilst James Toseland qualified in eighteenth place.  

1. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’58.315
2. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’58.390
3. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1’58.609
4. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1’58.860
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’59.069
6. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.262
7. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’59.736
8. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1’59.827
9. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2’00.303
10. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2’00.477
11. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2’00.643
12. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 2’01.127
13. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 2’03.232
14. Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 2’03.382
15. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2’03.397
16. Joshua Waters (Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2’04.156
17. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’50.195
18. James Toseland (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1’50.306
19. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’50.646
20. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1’50.717
21. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’51.586