BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Phillip Island - Qualifying Practice 1
Phillip Island – Free Practice & Qualifying Practice 1.
Friday, 24th February 2012.
Weather conditions: Sunny.
Temperature: Air: 25 – 27 °C, Track: 41 – 53 °C
Number of riders participating: 24/25 from 15 teams
Fastest lap Free Practice: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:31.973 min
Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: Jonathan Rea (Honda WSBK Team) 1:31.959 min
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Marco Melandri (ITA) will go into Sunday’s season opener of the 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship after setting a time that would put him on the provisional third row. Marco finished today’s qualifying practice at Phillip Island (AUS) in ninth position. His team mate, Leon Haslam (GBR), underwent surgery on his fractured tibia on Thursday morning. The operation went according to plan. After being declared fit in the morning to take part in Friday’s first free practice session by the circuit’s medical officer, the team management and team doctor, Dr. Vincenzo Tota, made a joint decision to let Leon complete two flying laps in qualifying practice later in the day. The circuit’s medical officer will review Leon again before a final decision is taken to let him ride on Saturday. BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team rider Michel Fabrizio (ITA) finished qualifying practice in tenth, and his team mate Ayrton Badovini (ITA) was 18th.
Marco Melandri:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:32.888 min (P11)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:32.553 min (P9)
“Today was difficult. We worked a lot on the bike, and improved it in some areas, but went in the wrong direction in some other areas. I still cannot carry good speed going into the corner. It seems we need time to get this fixed. Thanks to everyone for working so hard.”
Leon Haslam:
Fastest lap Free Practice: DNS/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:33.532 min (P21)
“The surgery went really well. A big “Thank You” to surgeon Dr. Blackney, to Dr. Vincenzo Tota, to the guys at the circuit and at Clinica Mobile for sorting me out. I only did two flying laps today to see how I felt on the bike. That was the objective, and we will now leave it until tomorrow. I did not want to do anything silly. Actually I was not pushing at all, but rather cruising around. If it is the case that I feel well enough and we believe we can be in the points then I would like to race.”
Andrea Dosoli (Head of Race Operations):
“We jointly decided to let Leon go out today in order to see if he can safely ride the bike. This test ride was not about performance at all. We did not want to take any risks, as Leon only underwent surgery on Thursday morning. He felt well on the bike. The circuit’s medical officer will review him again later. A decision as to whether he will ride tomorrow will be taken then. Marco worked on setting up his chassis and his engine brake during this morning. Although we have improved compared to Monday and Tuesday, it is not enough to be competitive at the moment. We are working hard to be there tomorrow.”
