BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Phillip Island - Qualifying Practice
Phillip Island – Free Practice & Qualifying Practice 1.
Friday, 25 February 2011.
Weather conditions: Sunny, warm.
Temperature: Air: 19 – 21 °C, Track: 42 – 45 °C
Number of riders participating: 22 from 14 teams
Fastest lap Free Practice: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:31.647 min
Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:31.577 min
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport started the 2011 season solidly: While Leon Haslam (GBR) and Troy Corser (AUS) suffered from severe grip issues in today’s free practice session, both BMW Motorrad Motorsport riders were able to secure provisional starting positions on the second and third rows during the first qualifying session. Both riders’ crews worked on the engine mapping as well as the chassis set-up between the sessions. Leon finished today’s qualifying in sixth, while Troy finished eleventh.
Leon Haslam:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:32.360 min (P4)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:32.082 min (P6)
“We are happy with how today went, and definitely made a step forward from the test. We found half a second in warmer conditions, which is not too bad. Carlos Checa is still the man to beat, but I am pretty close to the other guys, and that’s the main thing. We now have to fine-tune some smaller remaining issues, but we are pretty much on the race pace now. As usual, we are pushing as hard as we can for tomorrow and Sunday.”
Troy Corser:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:34.913 min (P22)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice: 1:32.699 min (P11)
“We have definitely made improvements with the bike. My bike’s set-up is now pretty much the same as Leon’s, and my lap times dropped down to the same as his in the morning. Obviously we have moved on, but still we are not where we want to be. Again, this afternoon, we tried some things but did not improve any further. After this morning’s session, we should be happy with the qualifying result. We will now look into the data and see where we can make further improvements.”
Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations):
“On Tuesday we saw we were heading in the right direction on Leon’s side, while it took us longer to make Troy’s bike quicker. He still had big problems during this morning’s session. We were better in the afternoon, but still both riders lack mechanical grip. Tomorrow’s weather forecast is not too good, so we are happy with our provisional starting positions.”
