Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team
WSBK, Nürburgring, Germany, 31 August 2013
Tom Sykes and Loris Baz took their KRT Ninja ZX-10Rs to third and fourth grid placings respectively after a two part wet Superpole contest in the tenth round of the Championship at the Nürburgring.
Baz was third fastest in combined qualifying; Sykes was sixth, with all the sessions before Superpole held in dry conditions. When the rains arrived shortly before Superpole was about to start each KRT rider made it through Superpole one and into Superpole two; then each worked well to earn good starting places for Sunday’s two SBK races, even after the track had become fully wet and greasy in places.
Sykes had a small crash right at the end of Superpole two, as he touched the rear brake entering turn three, but he got away unscathed, with only a sharp impact on his left leg to deal with.
Both riders have been in the running for the top places in all the previous sessions this weekend, with Baz in particular finding a good pace in dry conditions after the long summer break after the Silverstone round. He also made the best of an imperfect early wet set-up after a quick change of machine set-up shortly before Superpole one began.
Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) just missed superpole qualifying by one place, while Federico Sandi (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) finished qualifying 19th on the grid.
Jeremy Guarnoni from the MRS Kawasaki Team was the top rider on a Ninja ZX-10R in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup class in Germany and he will be second on the grid for Sunday’s race. Leandro Mercado (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) was fourth ranked in combined qualifying.
Tom Sykes: “I am on the front row and happy with that because I felt very confident with the bike in both wet and dry conditions today. I hope the sun will come out tomorrow and we will have two strong races. The main thing today was to get on the front row and we did that. I had a crash into turn three at the end but I got away lightly. I hit my thigh and ankle on the tarmac and had a ‘dead leg’ for a while but I wear the best of protective clothing and it did its job. Our bike is working the best it has for a while in full wet conditions. In any conditions I am confident and the team has done a great job.”
Loris Baz: “Now, when I would like Superpole to be dry, it is wet! I am happy with all the work we have done over the weekend because we have been near the top always. I am looking forward to the race because we have a good pace and I think race day should be dry. A few times we went out in the wet we were struggling and had a lot of problems in those conditions, so fourth on the grid is more than OK. It is really good to start close to the front in the races especially as we have been in the first few riders all through practice. We tested a lot this winter and I have more experience on the bike so now I can push hard from the beginning of the sessions. We also have had a lot of races behind us now. It is also good sometimes not to ride too much, when you have the bike working the way you need it. It means you can come back to the races feeling fresh and ride at 100%.”
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