PARKALGAR HONDA World Supersport ace Eugene Laverty suffered an early crash in qualifying for the third round of the Championship in Spain but got back out on his spare CBR600RR to take 13th on the grid behind pole-sitter Cal Crutchlow on a Yamaha.
Unhurt in the crash, Irishman Eugene lost 15-minutes of the 45-minute session and was baulked by slower riders during his final laps. Portuguese Parkalgar Honda racer Miguel Praia is recovering from flu and was late coming into the pits for a tyre change so had to settle for 19th. The race starts at 1325CET on Sunday 5th April and can be watched live on www.worldsbk.com.
Eugene
“We took the chassis direction change from yesterday a step too far and that combined with the rising temperature led to me losing the front on the double right-hander. We had taken too much weight off the front. We took a step back on my spare bike and it was great; I was held up on my fast lap losing half a second behind traffic, otherwise we would have been on the second row. It was one of those sessions and I’d be much more frustrated if we honestly didn’t have the pace, but we do and I’ll have to be aggressive and come through the field to the front.”
Miguel
“I am feeling a little better today but certainly not 100 per cent because of my cold. I hope for tomorrow I will have full energy for the race. I made longer runs on track and bike improvements today. I was concentrating on finding another rider to tow me round and lift my pace and towards the end I came across Foret. I thought following him was more beneficial than coming in to the pits and stayed out two laps longer than I should. When I came in the team didn’t have time to change my front and if we had then I might have gone better. I am not concerned with my qualifying position; I think I have the pace for the top 10 in the race. This is not my favourite track but I will be fighting for the points.”
Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager
“Eugene crashed on his first run with his number one bike. He then had to use his number two bike for the remainder of the session and even then on his last run was on for fifth place when he got caught behind slower traffic. We are disappointed with 13th on the grid but his pace is better than that. It will be difficult to win from here but the top five and the podium remain very possible. The good news is his Parkalgar Honda race bike is not badly damaged and will be fixed in time for the race. Miguel lost a bit in his last qualifying attempt because we didn’t have time to fit a new front tyre. The top 10 will be a challenge but realistically he can score points.”
Qualifying Times
1 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1′35.865
2 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′36.033
3 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′36.664
4 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′36.754
5 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′36.812
6 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′36.910
7 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1′36.918
8 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1′37.013
9 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′37.063
10 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1′37.188
13 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′37.403
19 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1′37.984.
