Jakub Smrz sure likes Miller Motorsports Park.
The Liberty Racing rider posted this morning’s best time in the wet and went on to the top the chart in the first qualifying practice which was luckily dry and even if it was windy, lap times dropped and the gap between the riders was much tighter.
Smrz posted his usual do-or-die final flying laps and setting the marker at 1.
49.
842 and pipping by just 0.
070s multiple MMP winner Carlos Checa after the reigning World champion had led most of the practice.
Marco Melandri on his factory BMW was third and less than a tenth from Checa, while Max Biaggi climbed up to 4th from 20th, after a technical problem on his RSV4 during the first free practice allowed him to do only four laps.
Althea’s Davide Giugliano took fifth, followed by another Ducati rider but with Effenbert branding, Sylvain Guintoli.
Jonathan Rea and Eugene Laverty were 7th and 8th respectively.
Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes suffered a crash at turn 13 with ten minutes left, that ruled him for the remaining part of the session but his previous lap times put him safely into 9th with Fixi Suzuki’s Leon Camier right on his tail in 10th.
Chaz Davies on his ParkinGO MTC Aprilia was 11th after being in the top ten for the first part of the session, and he finished ahead of small bevy of BMW riders, Leon Haslam, Michel Fabrizio and Ayrton Badovini.
Pedercini’s David Salom who had to sit out the Donington Park due to micro fractures to his shoulder was 15th.
This time last place went to wild card rider Shane Turpin and he was more than five seconds from Smrz.
WSBK QP1 Results:1.
Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) Ducati 1098R 1′49.
8422.
Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′49.
9123.
Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1′50.
0384.
Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′50.
0915.
Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′50.
2806.
Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′50.
3127.
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1′50.
3588.
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′50.
4289.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′50.
43310.
Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′50.
52011.
Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′50.
56112.
Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1′50.
73013.
Michel Fabrizio (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1′50.
87714.
Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet) BMW S1000 RR 1′51.
04215.
David Salom (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′51.
05516.
Maxime Berger (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1′51.
07017.
John Hopkins (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′51.
51218.
Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) Ducati 1098R 1′51.
59019.
Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′52.
00220.
Jake Holden (Grillini Progea Superbike Team) BMW S1000 RR 1′52.
10821.
Leandro Mercado (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1′52.
28822.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) Honda CBR1000RR 1′52.
39023.
Lorenzo Zanetti (PATA Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1′52.
95324.
Shane Turpin (Boulder Motor Sports) Ducati 1098R 1′54.
994
