Biaggi on pole in Germany

Added on Saturday, September 4th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Max Biaggi started his World Superbike Championship weekend at the Nurburgring, launching to a Superpole win ahead of the German race.

In a bid to continue his strong form, Biaggi will hope to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings tomorrow, as he heads the field.

Carlos Checa will join the Italian on the front row of the grid, while original third place man James Toseland received a penalty, which dropped him down the field. After leaving the pitlane too early for Superpole three, Toseland was handed a penalty, which demoted him to eighth place on the grid for race one tomorrow.

With Toseland’s misfortune benefiting those originally behind him, Sylvain Guintoli was promoted to a strong third position start, whilst Jonathan Rea was awarded a fourth place start. Fellow Brit Leon Haslam will be hoping to enhance his championship charge with a fifth place start, with Noriyuki Haga alongside in sixth place.

With four spots up for grabs in the top ten, seventh went the way of Tom Sykes, with a demoted Toseland eighth, Michel Fabrizio ninth and Cal Crutchlow tenth.

Despite being a prominent name in the WSB Champonship, tomorrow’s Superpole victory is only the second of Biaggi’s WSB career. Commenting on his achievement, Biaggi told the official WSB website: “After my crash I had a pain in my back and my left arm but nothing broken, just a big crash. We did a lot of work in set-up on the bike and our race pace is not so bad. For the race tyres, we are not so bad and after a few laps there should be even better grip. I am happy for me and my team, and all my sponsors.”

Qualifying Positions, WSB, Nurburgring:

Pos Rider Nat Team Time

1    Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’54.595
2    Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’54.621
3    Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’54.934
4   Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.138
5    Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’55.161
6    Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’55.276
7    Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’55.378
8   Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.909
9    Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.264
10 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’55.295
11  Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.375
12  Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.524
13 Smrz J. (CZE) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.577
14 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.599
15 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.735
16 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’55.908
17 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’56.457
18 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’57.613
19  Lowry I. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’57.669
20  Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’56.825
21 Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’58.812
22 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’59.875