Michel Fabrizio sets the Friday qualifying pace in Phillip Island

Phillip Island (Australia), Friday 22 February 2013 – A close battled Qualifying 1 put an end to the first World Superbike day of 2013. The session was held under the clear skies of Phillip Island, with perfect temperatures and average winds blowing inland. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), after being the fastest rider of Free Practice 1, topped once again the timesheets thanks to a 1’31.317 lap-time, ahead of works Aprilia rider Eugene Laverty.

Michel Fabrizio: “We are working very well. I’m not fully satisfied yet because we still need to find the perfect set up for the race distance. Hopefully we’ll get it sorted tomorrow, and we’ll be ready for Sunday. Conditions were a bit more difficult during the afternoon compared to the morning, due primarily to the wind that made changing direction harder. Last Monday I was hit by a seagull on my arm while I was on the straight and I am still feeling the pain. I can say though, that we’re on the right direction. We’re planning on doing some small adjustments for tomorrow and these will hopefully make us improve further.”

Eugene Laverty: “This morning we weren't extremely fast, but in the afternoon we made some changes on my RSV4 to adapt it to the conditions and we took a big step forward. My single lap is good, but the key is to maintain consistency for the entire race. There are a lot of riders who don't stand out in the single lap but they've got an excellent race pace, and we're also doing well in that department. I don't have any particular problems and even when I'm lapping fast I'm careful not to wear the tyres quickly so that helps me to be consistent”.

The session was characterized by very competitive and balanced performances on track, considering the top-13 riders within a second and the five brands in the first seven positions. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) showed good form by finishing third, followed by Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), his team mate Chaz Davies, Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) and 2012 runner-up Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Carlos Checa (Ducati Team Alstare) was on track this afternoon despite the spectacular crash he had in Free Practice 1 at Turn 5. The Spaniard ended the session in 12th position - after completing only 7 laps – ahead of Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing Ducati).

WSBK