For the first time of 2013 World Superbike, BMW Motorrad GoldBet’s Chaz Davies was the top rider in a qualifying practice.
The Welshman, who learned with teammate Marco Melandri that BMW is pulling factory efforts out of the series at the conclusion of 2013 World SBK, completed the feat at Nurburgring Friday. Davies posted a 1:55.034 at the 16-turn German circuit.
Davies’ provisional pole arrived during his final lap. The S1000RR pilot edged out Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes by a mere 0.017 of a second.
Another rider to produce his quickest time during the end of the session was Red Devils Roma Aprilia’s Michel Fabrizio. The Italian went from sevent to third to finish just over a tenth of a second behind Davies.
Fourth went to FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier, who was trailed closely by Pata Honda World Superbike’s Jonathan Rea, making for five different manufacturers in the top five.
Aprilia Racing Team’s Sylvain Guintoli, the RSV4 rider who leads Sykes by 13 points after nine of 14 rounds, finished sixth, 0.575 of a second behind Davies. Guintoli was followed by Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz, who won the second Silverstone race four weeks ago.
The first 11 riders were all within a second of Davies, with the eighth through 11th riders being: Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike), Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team), Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet), and Jules Cluzel (Fixi Crescent Suzuki).
The top Ducati rider was Ayrton Badovini aboard the Alstare 1199 Panigale R. His teammate, the 2011 World SBK Champion Carlos Checa, crashed hard at turn 8 early in the session, and wasn’t able to produce a single quick lap.
The riders will be back at Nurburgring Saturday for another round of practice ahead of Superpole.
2013 Nurburgring World Superbike Qualifying 1 Results:
1. Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.034
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.051
3. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.142
4. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’55.342
5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.434
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.609
7. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.648
8. Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.683
9. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.691
10. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.705
11. Jules Cluzel (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’55.990
12. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’56.157
13. Markus Reiterberger (Vanzon-Remeha-BMW) BMW S1000 RR 1’56.362
14. Ayrton Badovini (Team Ducati Alstare) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1’56.389
15. Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing) Ducati 1199 Panigale 1’56.552
16. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’57.285
17. Matej Smrz (Yamaha Motor Deutschland) Yamaha YZF R1 1’57.310
18. Federico Sandi (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’57.939
19. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Grillini Dentalmatic SBK) BMW S1000 RR 1’58.837