We cover breaking motorcycle racing news from around the world. This coverage includes MotoGP, World Superbike (WSBK), AMA American Superbike (SBK), AMA Daytona SportBike, Supersport, AMA Supercross, AMA Motocross and other interesting motorcycle racing news. When is comes to racing results, we never publish race results or class standings in our headlines or urls. This gives our visitors a chance to decide whether they want to wait to first see the TV broadcast or not. Please click through to see the results when you are ready!
Michel Fabrizio Speaks… (1st, 1m47.7s)
"I am extremely happy to take my first Superpole, and happier still to do it here at Imola on the Ducati. I really wanted it and, after Ben took it from me by a thousandth of a second back at Kyalami, this time I just took it from him. I was quite surprised because I thought they’d cut my time but then I saw the screen and saw my name in first place! Tomorrow will nevertheless be very tough because Ben and Johnny obviously have a good race pace and so I’m expecting some close racing between the guys on the front row."
Ben Spies Speaks… (2nd, 1’47.778)
"Qualifying was ok for us today, we tried some different tyres to yesterday and brought the times down a bit. The track definitely has more grip on it now so it’s getting better and better for Sunday. It was a good Superpole session although I kind of blew it on the last section of my last flying lap and it cost us. We’re on the front row and that’s where we need to be so I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. It’s going to be a tough couple of races with a lot of guys up there so we’re going to be banging around and having some fun which is what it’s all about."
Jonathan Rea Speaks… (3rd, 1’47.834s)
"I didn’t really use the qualifier to its best effect in the first couple of laps and I wanted to go out and try again but fell short a little bit. The pace out there was fast today and, when I wanted to have another go, there just wasn’t enough tyre left. But we’ve got a good race setup for tomorrow and the guys have done a marvellous job. We’ve had so many new things to try and every week the package gets better and better. So, a big thanks to them, well done to Michel and Ben and I’m sure the racing will be pretty good tomorrow."
Noriyuki Haga Speaks… (4th, 1m47.8s)
"We’ve gone well today and there are just a couple of small problems, suspension-wise, but we know the direction to take so it should all be fixed before the races. I just feel that I missed out by not participating in the tests but, anyway, a place on the front row is very positive and I feel I did a good job today. I’m going to get my shoulder looked at this evening so that I’m in a position to give 200% tomorrow."
Max Biaggi Speaks… (6th, 1:48:556)
"They were some decent trials;" declared Biaggi, "where I gave it my all and we achieved the maximum possible. During yesterday’s warm-ups and the qualifying round this morning, I tried the bike with the new material that was available and we still weren’t able to achieve what we had hoped to, so for the warm-ups prior to the Superpole, we decided to go back and use a configuration that was more similar to the one used during the recent races and we achieved good results on a layout that wasn’t ideal for the features of our RSV4. Tomorrow will be another very difficult race, but I’ll give it my all because I want to put on a good show for my many fans."
Marco Simoncelli Speaks… (8th, 1:49:568)
"I can’t help but be satisfied with the results I achieved," said Simoncelli, "even if I complicated things a great deal with the slip at the end of the warm-ups, forcing me to use the second bike, which I had less of a feeling with, for the Superpole. This Superpole system is crazy! Unlike the 250cc where you try to get the time during the final laps, here you have to start from the beginning each time. In any case, I had a lot of fun and I managed to qualify for the final stage of the Superpole, which leaves me optimistic about tomorrow. The two races are still another new experience, it will be quite difficult, given the level of my adversaries and I’ll have to keep on improvising like I’ve done these past few days."
Leon Haslam Speaks… (10th, 1’48.992s)
"I messed up on the first split on my first flying lap in that second Superpole. I got the next lap in and felt pretty good but messed up just a little bit in the last split. I missed out on a top eight by less than a tenth so it was a little disappointing we didn’t get to the last Superpole. We still have things to improve on so we can get a little more consistent. I know we can do the same pace as everyone else does on race tyres, so I am pretty happy with that."
Carlos Checa Speaks… (13th, 1’49.168s)
"I was in top ten, top five in all the practices but on my first pit exit on the qualifying tyre I made a few mistakes. When we put the second qualifier on we had some problems with the electronics cutting the power and I couldn’t find that last 0.5s that would have carried us forward. We’ll try something more in warm-up tomorrow but I need two good starts in the race because that’s another story to qualifying. It’s not an easy place to pass here, but if we can improve the pace a little, I think we can do something."
Ryuichi Kiyonari Speaks… (14th, 1’49.340s)
‘It’s a shame that we could not make the best of the improved feeling we had today. The bike has been improving ever since the warm-up at Nurburgring and the improvement continued today in every area. However, I had the same feeling on new race tyres as I did on old ones, and no change on the qualifying tyres, so I was unable to improve my lap time. We need to try and find something extra tomorrow morning in warm-up but, at the moment, the race pace feels OK. I will try my best for two good results, but it will be very difficult tomorrow."
Anthony West Speaks… (15th, 1’53.553s)
"It was a hard day today and I’m obviously a bit disappointed as we didn’t find the settings to make me feel comfortable on the bike. Thats what we’ve been up against all year now and its pretty frustrating. Yesterday was not too bad, and today we succeeded to improve the bike compare to when we were here last testing but laptimes were pretty much the same. A 15th place is far from good but I´ll try to make it up in the race to bring home some good results for myself the crew and Stiggy as I think we all need it at the moment."
Tom Sykes Speaks… (16th, 1’49.681)
"Qualifying really didn’t go to plan for me today. I have a big problem with the rear tyre. I’m struggling to keep the back steady to get the power on. I need to have a talk with the boys in the garage tonight and see if we can find a solution for warm up tomorrow morning. I’m still very sore from yesterday so it wasn’t that fun on the bike but we tried as hard as possible."
