BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Silverstone - Friday
Silverstone – Free Practice & Qualifying Practice 1.
Friday, 29 July 2011.
Weather conditions: Overcast.
Temperature: Air: 19 °C, Track: 21 – 23 °C
Number of riders participating: 22 from 12 teams
Fastest lap Free Practice: John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) 2:06.667 min
Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 2:05.477 min
It was a productive Friday for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport at the ninth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship in Silverstone (GBR). After a two-day test at Lausitzring (GER) the team brought some new parts to the circuit. While factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) qualified provisionally tenth, his team mate Troy Corser (AUS) returned to the bike after missing the last round of the championship in Brno. He finished the first Qualifying Practice 18th.
The two riders from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team, James Toseland (GBR) and Ayrton Badovini (ITA), finished in 12th and 13th respectively.
Leon Haslam:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:07.100 min (P7)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 2:06.116 min (P10)
“I am pretty happy with today’s results. The bike has been stable all day, which is really positive. This helped us focussing on setting up the S 1000 RR for the circuit. I was second until five minutes before the end of the session. When everybody fitted the softer tyre I was the only one not to be quicker than before. However, I am not concerned – this is nothing we cannot solve for tomorrow, so I am really confident.
“Here in Silverstone my helmet has a special design which is dedicated to Sparks. Sparks funds research into serious conditions affecting the health of babies, children and mums-to-be. I have worked with them for a few years, and this helmet will be auctioned at the end of the season.”
Troy Corser:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 2:07.064 min (P6)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 2:06.890 min (P18)
“I am happy to be back on the bike after my crash at Aragon. I still feel some pain in my wrist, but only when I am braking. In general, I don’t think it affects my riding too much. The bike felt good and easy to ride this morning – the engine is much smoother which is good. We made some changes later, but it didn’t pay off. I think we still have some work to do to optimize the bike’s traction.”
Rainer Bäumel (Head of Race Operations):
“The field is quite close – the gap between the second and the 18th is only one second.We can be happy with today. Troy suffered from chattering, and we have to sort this out for tomorrow. Leon was second until the final outing. Unfortunately we changed the bike’s set up, and apparently we did not benefit from it. Nevertheless, we are optimistic for tomorrow.”
