SBK quotes from Portmao day 1 test

The 2010 World Superbike pre-season opened today with day 1 testing at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve near Portimao in Portugal. Leon Haslam set the pace with Cal Crutchlow and Jonanthan Rea just tenths behind. However, Jonanthan Rea had a crash near the end of the session that left the Irishman with a cut finger and bruised hands. Rea sat out all but the last 45 minutes of the afternoon’s session.

Crutchlow ended the day ahead of his newly arrived from MotoGP teammate James Toseland. Max Biaggi was the fastest man on an Italian brand, finishing 4th on the day riding the Aprilia RSV4.

Cal Crutchlow Speaks…

"It wasn’t so bad for the first day. We’re still trying to get comfortable on the bike as we progress but we’re getting there. I’m working away at it and I think the times were good enough. To still be working out our settings and have good times near the top of the board is very satisfying."

James Toseland Speaks…

"I think I ended up in fifth at the end of the day but only about half a second separates me from first. I’m pretty pleased, we’ve been trying a lot out on the bike and it’s been a really productive day. We’ve tested a lot of things and eliminated a few. I’m hoping the weather holds for out tomorrow but rain is forecast. Having said that, I’ve not ridden this bike in the rain yet so I’m happy for it to rain tomorrow and then be dry on Sunday so we’re testing in all conditions."

Noriyuki Haga Speaks…


"We have made a positive start today and I’m definitely feeling better than I did the last time I was here! We have made various modifications to suspension and mapping settings throughout the day and we will continue to work on those areas tomorrow. Rain is forecast for tomorrow I think so we will see how that affects things. I’m getting on very well with my "new look" team and feel very much at ease; it’s very easy to communicate with Luca, my race engineer. So I am feeling fairly confident and hope we can move forward over the weekend."

Michel Fabrizio Speaks…


"It’s a shame I don’t feel totally in shape today but there’s nothing we can do about it. I did my best throughout this morning and managed to make some improvement, but I just felt more and more sick during the afternoon, this is a particularly undulating track which doesn’t help matters. Anyway the Clinica Mobile are helping me, and I hope to be in better shape tomorrow in order to have two much more productive days tomorrow and Sunday."

Jonathan Rea Speaks…

"I wanted to end the day well," said Rea, "and continue testing a rear shock. We used the same type of tyre all day and did my best time after about ten laps. This morning it was on my first lap, so we learned a lot."

Max Neukircher Speaks…

"I’m never happy at the end of the first day," Neukirchner said. "It always takes me a while to get the feeling back – it was the same at our last test in Valencia. Today we tried some different things at the rear and did a lot of laps. We’ve got two more days here, so we’ll continue tomorrow and get that feeling again."

2010 World SBK Portmao Test (Official Day One Times)

1. Leon Haslam (GBR) Suzuki 1’42.778s
2. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 1’42.960s
3. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’43.033s
4. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1’43.364s
5. James Toseland (GBR) 1’43.378s
6. Shane Byrne (GBR) 1’43.569


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