PARKALGAR HONDA’S Eugene Laverty qualified in a superb second place for round nine of the World Supersport Championship at Donington Park in the UK.
His team-mate Miguel Praia completed the dry qualifying session in 13th position, his best qualifying this year. Laverty was pleased to get a dry session under his belt as it allowed him to try out the changes his team had made to his Parkalgar Honda. He grabbed pole position towards the end only to have Cal Crutchlow, his main title rival, out pace him on the very final lap.
The race takes place at 1325 on Sunday, June 28th at Donington Park in the UK.
Eugene: “That was a good session. Second place is ok but there is still more work to be done to my Parkalgar Honda. We are not quite there yet so I hope we get a dry warm-up tomorrow to try out the changes. The lap times are fast and we are on the limit. I thought good race pace would be high 32s but now I’d say we need low 32s. I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow I hope it stays dry as when it is wet it is a bit of a lottery round here.”
Miguel: “At the end of the session I was happy as we have improved a lot on time from last year. I know I can do the same lap time many times so I can be consistent for the race. I need to work on my start as that was my problem at Misano. If I can start well I can fight for the top eight.”
Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Team Manager: “Cal just got us at the end. It is great to see the top two in the Championship so close. Tomorrow we are going all out for the win at home. Miguel put in his best qualifying this year to take 13th so he is on for another top ten finish. It has been a good day for Parkalgar Honda.”
Qualifying
1. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1:31.701
2. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1:32.222
3. Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1:32.481
4. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1:32.818
5. Mark Aitchison (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1:32.846
6. Garry McCoy (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1:32.879
7. Massimo Roccoli (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1:33.062
8. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1:33.120
9. Anthony West (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1:33.143
10. Fabien Foret (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1:33.182
13. Miguel Praia (POR) Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1:33.455
