BMW MOTORRAD ITALIA GOLDBET SBK TEAM - BRNO - SUPERPOLE

It's been a Superpole with mixed weather conditions and fortunes for the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet Superbike Team today at Brno. Michel Fabrizio obtained the eighth grid slot while Ayrton Badovini, who finished twelfth, is still not sure of being able to compete in the two races scheduled for tomorrow, as the rider was a victim of a crash through no fault of his own. Sylvain Barrier got pole position for the Superstock 1000 race and Lorenzo Baroni will will start from the second row, fifth place.

Superpole included several turns of events, one of which saw Ayrton Badovinicrashing out on turn 8 during the second session due to an oil leak from a bike that was ahead of him. The rider fortunately escaped uninjured despite the high-speed impact against the tyre barrier but he suffered a mild concussion from the accident and he had no recollection of how the impact happened.

The post-accident check-up has ruled out any injury, despite the pain in his left hand, right ankle and neck. Tomorrow morning at 8am Ayrton will pay another visit to the Medical Center and only then will he get a final decision on being "fit to race". If allowed to compete, he will start the races from twelfth, on the third row of the grid.

Michel Fabrizio got on track for what was the last 20 minute Superpole, a "wet" session as decided by the Race Director due to some raindrops that fell just before the restart. On the almost-dry track Michel set his fastest lap-time of 1'59.621 with a qualifying tyre on, which gave him eighth place on the grid and a second row start.

Sylvain Barrier once again took pole position, the fourth out of six rounds so far this season, at the end of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Qualifying 2, with a lap-time of 2'03.343.  Lorenzo Baroni will start in fifth place on the second row having put in a time of 2'04.100.

Serafino Foti, BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet Superbike Team Sporting Director, said:

"It was a tough day, especially due to the big shock we had after Ayrton's crash, an unavoidable one as Giugliano's bike leaked oil and Ayrton was right behind him. He took a big hit but fortunately he's alright. Tomorrow morning we'll know if he's able to race. Michel’s performance was quite a good one even though the wet last Superpole messed up our plans a bit. He'll start from the second row though and he's got a good race pace, as good as the one shown by Ayrton so far.

I'm happy for Sylvain's pole, which is where he should be given his pace. Lorenzo was able to climb up to fifth place but unfortunately he missed a first row start by just 31 thousands of a second."

Michel Fabrizio #84 - QP 6th (2'00.033 ) Superpole 8th (1'59.621 )

"The eighth place is not a bad one. It was important to start on the front two rows. I got a quite good lap with the qualifying tyre and I'm confident for tomorrow as my race pace is quite competitive. It'll be crucial to get two good starts in order to stay with the front runners in the first laps of the races."

Ayrton Badovini #86 - QP 11th (2'00.244 ) Superpole 12th (No time set)

"Unfortunately that's racing. It's a bit of a shame as I could have been fighting for a place in the front two rows but obviously I'm happy that I didn't get injured. If I am able to take part in the races I would start from twelfth on the grid and with the good race pace I've got I have the chance to fight for a good result."

Qualifying 1- Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’59.443 2- Davide Giugliano (Ducati) + 0.009 3- Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) + 0.102 6- Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) + 0.590 11- Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) + 0.801 15- Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) + 0.979

Superpole 1- Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’58.010 2- Carlos Checa (Ducati) + 0.460 3- Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) + 0.731 5- Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) + 0.875 7- Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) + 1.573 8- Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) + 1.611 12- Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) 

Superstock 1000 Qualifying 1- Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) 2’03.343 2- Jeremy Guarnoni (Kawasaki) + 0.401 3- Christoffer Bergman (Kawasaki) + 0.602 4- Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) + 0.726 5- Lorenzo Baroni (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team) + 0.757