BMW The Ultimate Riding Machine

Weather conditions: Sunny in the morning, rain in the afternoon.

Temperature: Air: 21 – 24 °C, Track: 26 – 31 °C

Number of riders participating: 23 from 13 teams

Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:35.609 min

Fastest lap Superpole 3: Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 1:55.197 min

Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport had a pretty satisfying Superpole session at Misano (ITA). Works riders, Leon Haslam (GBR) and Troy Corser (AUS) will both start the sixth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship from the second row. Leon finished the wet Superpole session in fifth. Troy, who is still suffering from heavy bruising after the highsider he had yesterday, qualified sixth. After all the Practice and Qualifying sessions had been dry, heavy rain showers started just minutes before the deciding Superpole session. Many riders crashed in the opening minutes on the greasy track.

Leon Haslam:

Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:36.377 min (P6) / Fastest lap FP: 1:36.588 min (P8) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:56.034 min (P5)

“I am relatively happy with the overall result today. It was tough out there with a lot of riders crashing and making mistakes. I must admit I struggled through Superpole 1 and Superpole 2, but the team worked hard and we made some positive changes, which meant I was able to set good times in Superpole 3. In the final session I was following Carlos Checa - in places I was faster and in others he was faster. On the last flying lap I went into turn four and sadly crashed out. We ended up fifth on the grid. It would have been nice to be on the front row but we should be happy with our result. We have a few issues that seem to be affecting us in both wet and dry conditions, but hopefully we can sort them for the races tomorrow.”

Troy Corser:

Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:36.656 min (P13) / Fastest lap FP: 1:36.433 min (P6) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:56.285 min (P6)

“This morning I did not feel too bad on the bike, as the swelling had gone down and my lap times were quite good. Then I had a small slide and fell on my hip again. It became inflamed again and I struggled all day with it. Changing direction was difficult, especially in the wet, where you have to get off the bike a bit more so as not to lose the front. So I just tried to avoid another crash and to fall on my hip again. Also we did not have fantastic rear grip in the wet, so I had a couple of little slides. Because of this I played it safe. But I think my hip should be alright tomorrow. For the races I would prefer it to be dry, because then you don’t have to worry too much about crashing. In the wet it is so slippery out there. I am just happy I made it to Superpole 3 and finished sixth, as that was better than I expected. If we can get a good start tomorrow we can make it to the front, and our lap times are not too bad.”

Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations):

“On the whole, this session was absolutely positive. It was a real strong effort by Troy. With the rain it is always a kind of lottery. There was absolutely no grip out there. We did a good job qualifying on the second row with Leon and Troy. For the races we expect dry conditions. And from the second row a lot is possible.“