Today’s Superpole at Portimao saw what could completely change tomorrow’s title race outcome.
Points leader Noriyuki Haga qualified only 10th and did not make it into the final qualifying stint, while his rival Ben Spies not only took his 11th pole position of the season with a blistering lap of 1’42”412 but was also almost a second faster that the previous circuit record and more that 0.
584s faster than Shane Byrne on the private Ducati Sterilgarda who took second.
Michel Fabrizio on the factory Ducati took third, while Jonathan Rea was fourth and will close the front row.
The second row will see a battered Max Biaggi, who crashed in practice session, in fifth and Fonsi Nieto on another private Ducati whotook sixth followed by Leon Haslam and with Troy Corser closing the second row, but more than a second adrift from Nieto after a crash in the last superpole stint.
SuperPole Qualifying Results:1 Spies B.
(USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′42.
4122 Byrne S.
(GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′42.
9963 Fabrizio M.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′43.
0154 Rea J.
(GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.
1265 Haslam L.
(GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.
5236 Biaggi M.
(ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′43.
5267 Nieto F.
(ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′43.
5538 Corser T.
(AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.
719STEP 29 Smrz J.
(CZE) Ducati 1098R 1′43.
24010 Haga N.
(JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′43.
37711 Guintoli S.
(FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′43.
40612 Checa C.
(ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.
46113 Camier L.
(GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′43.
67114 Kagayama Y.
(JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′43.
71715 Tamada M.
(JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.
05016 Baiocco M.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′45.
439STEP 117 Lagrive M.
(FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′44.
45318 Parkes B.
(AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.
45819 Xaus R.
(ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.
48320 Scassa L.
(ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.
851The others21 Sykes T.
(GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′44.
97822 Salom D.
(ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′45.
15323 Iannuzzo V.
(ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′45.
51824 Kiyonari R.
(JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1′45.
67625 Checa D.
(ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′46.
00626 Resch R.
(AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′46.
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