If you expected an apology or a decent explanation about what happened today during the WSBK FP1 at Imola, you’re not going to get it.
The circuit organizers have down played the occurance and stated that a number of riders requested that the track be cleaned because they considered it to be too slippery.
The track was finally washed and dried after more than two hours of consultations and riders refusing to ride, but according to the official SBK website, several riders and team managers maintained that it was only necessary for the riders to stay out on the track to continue to lay down rubber.
We won’t get into the controversy, but when some of the most experienced riders in the world (Spies, Haga, Biaggi, Rea, Corser, Haslam, Byrnes and others) who’ve raced in all type of conditions say that a track is dangerous because it has no grip, you’ve got to believe them and respect their opinions because it’s their lives that are on the line not the promoters.
Free practice finally got underway at 17.
45 and saw Ducati Xerox’s Michel Fabrizio take the fastest time with a 1.
49.
895 and the only rider to get under the 1.
50 mark, followed Carlos Checa, with points leader Ben Spies third, and Jonathan Rea (who just renewed his contract with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was fourth.
Max Biaggi took fifth place, while 250 cc world champion Marco Simoncelli who is subbing for Shinya Nakano and his first outing at Imola was twelfth while Noriyuki Haga, who is trailing behind Spies in the standings was thirteenth.
Full times after the jump:1 84 Fabrizio M.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′49.
8952 7 Checa C.
(ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′50.
1253 19 Spies B.
(USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′50.
2134 65 Rea J.
(GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′50.
3085 3 Biaggi M.
(ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′50.
5156 71 Kagayama Y.
(JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′50.
5167 91 Haslam L.
(GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′50.
7168 67 Byrne S.
(GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′50.
8019 96 Smrz J.
(CZE) Ducati 1098R 1′50.
80610 11 Corser T.
(AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′50.
87611 14 Lagrive M.
(FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′51.
00312 58 Simoncelli M.
(ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′51.
09013 41 Haga N.
(JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′51.
11214 57 Lanzi L.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′51.
33315 31 Muggeridge K.
(AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′51.
52716 111 Xaus R.
(ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′51.
76917 100 Tamada M.
(JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′51.
89818 66 Sykes T.
(GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′51.
92219 23 Parkes B.
(AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′51.
95420 10 Nieto F.
(ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′52.
08621 9 Kiyonari R.
(JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1′52.
18322 15 Baiocco M.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′52.
44623 99 Scassa L.
(ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′52.
79224 124 Conforti L.
(ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′53.
38925 77 Iannuzzo V.
(ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′54.
10826 25 Salom D.
(ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′54.
25827 94 Checa D.
(ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′54.
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