PARKALGAR HONDA racer Eugene Laverty took provisional pole position and Miguel Praia is right behind him on the grid at the head of the second row in fifth after the first qualifying session for the 10th round of the World Supersport Championship at Silverstone in the UK.
Wild card Parkalgar Honda racer for this round Christian Iddon is 26th on his debut to World Championship racing. There is another practice and qualifying session tomorrow before the race takes place at 1330 local time on Sunday, August 1st.
Eugene: “This morning was OK but I wasn’t getting the feedback I wanted from my Parkalgar Honda so this afternoon we worked on that and made improvements. After that we concentrated on finding more rear grip; around here there are some corners where the bike was spinning up a lot and we want to get it hooking up and driving more. The rest of the field has caught up with us faster than we would have liked but that’s racing. There are four more races to go and I am not even thinking of this as a home round – just four races to go to challenge for the Championship and to do our best.”
Miguel: “I expected to be in the top five today after our test here as it is a long track and difficult to learn so we had a small advantage. I crashed right at the end when I was going for a fastest lap and this is disappointing as I felt good - I lost the front but I am OK and unhurt. After today the other riders have now learnt the track and tomorrow I will have to work hard to maintain my pace and want to compete for the second row.”
Christian: “I had a bit of a moment when I ran on to the astro turf and it went sideways but apart from that I am just trying to learn my way around the track and am aiming to knock one-second per lap per session from my times. The Parkalgar Honda is absolutely mint but there is a lot to learn here and I think I am still riding with a Superbike style and need to let the bike flow more. I’m enjoying it, riding against the best in the world, these lads are as good as they get.”
Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Excellent efforts by Eugene and Miguel to head up the first and second rows at our second home round at Silverstone in the UK. Both riders are looking very good and have more to come. Christian is learning quickly and making progress – we will help him concentrate on his riding, lines and how to get the most from the bike this evening and expect him to go faster tomorrow. It has been a good day for the Parkalgar Honda team.”
First Qualification
1 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 2′09.826
2 4 Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2′09.916
3 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2′09.987
4 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 2′10.069
5 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 2′10.438
6 44 Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 2′10.689
7 25 Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 2′10.761
8 99 Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2′10.915
9 37 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2′11.195
10 17 McConnell B. (AUS) Yamaha YZF R6 2′11.339
26 21 Iddon C. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 2′15.172.
