Kawasaki WSBK - Portimao

[MadKaw]

Equal Best Performance Sees Lascorz Into The Superpole Top Seven
WSBK, Portimao, Portugal, 15 October 2011
Joan Lascorz scored a strong second row starting position at the final round of the year with his fellow official Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes working his way to the third row, in 10th place. Lascorz has found the business of qualifying and superpole not always straightforward in his rookie WSBK season but positive developments in his machine set-up, particularly under braking, allowed him to exploit more of capabilities of his Ninja ZX-10R in pre-race trim. His superpole performance made him the fastest Kawasaki rider on show before raceday.

Starting from row two will be a nearly new experience for Joan, so he will be all out to stay with the leading riders in the early laps and make use of what is normally his strongest pace in the middle and at the end of races.

Sykes had the opposite experience of Lascorz in Superpole and qualifying, starting strong but not finding the set-up improvements to allow him to compete for spot on the front two rows. His third row start is not ideal but Sykes is determined to find a better way in the two 22-lap races scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki Pedercini Team) made it into Superpole but a crash in the first session held him back and he could not make any more progress, ending up 16th.

Regular Ninja ZX-10R Roberto Rolfo (Kawasaki Pedercini Team) missed the final race of the year after suffering an injury in a cycling accident at home after the previous round, and was replaced at Portimao by Spanish rider Santiago Barragan. He qualified 22nd.

Joan Lascorz: “We made good improvements in braking and turning-in and I am happy with the bike so I made some good lap times. We did a lot of work with the engine braking and it has paid off. We have had some good pace in races this year but started too far from the front, so now I am going to start from the second row hopefully more things will be possible. I think we will have to concentrate our efforts around one tyre choice for tomorrow. The circuit is a bit bumpier than I remember, but that is the same for everyone.”

Tom Sykes: “We used a race tyre in superpole one and made it through to superpole two, but obviously I am not happy where we are with the bike settings this weekend. We started off strongly in the first session but I do not feel we have made massive progress since then. We need to make a plan for tomorrow because I feel we can be at the sharp end but we are not quite there at the moment. I am struggling with turning the bike off the brakes, which at this track you need to do a few times. Ultimately we know what we want to do and we will try to achieve it for the races tomorrow.”

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Salom And Parkes Earn A Superb 1-2 In Qualifying
WSS, Portimao, Portugal, 15 October 2011
Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com duo David Salom and Broc Parkes qualified ahead of all their many rivals in Portugal, setting up an epic fight as they each now try to take second in the final standings. For Salom qualifying in Portugal has gone well, with his machine well suited to the elevation changes and hot temperatures experienced during some welcome unseasonably hot weather for October. Salom and Parkes pushed each other on, with only new 2011 champion Chaz Davies able to stay close behind them.

Parkes made improvements as the weekend went on and nearly nailed a pole lap himself and he declared himself happy to be able to start the final round from the first row.

Sunday’s 20-lap Supersport race offers many opportunities to the lead Kawasaki duo, as they are currently tied on points in third and fourth place overall and each have their own designs on going for overall second before Sunday night.

In a strong show of prowess by the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R in general, Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki rider Massimo Roccoli posted fifth place in qualifying. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Roccoli’s Lorenzini by Leoni team-mate, was 15th on the grid.

David Salom: “A very good performance from our team today and we enjoyed a great starting position. For me pole is very important for tomorrow as this is the last race of the year. I think these kinds of practice lap times will not be possible in the race, but I think we can keep a good pace. Broc, Chaz and other riders are also very fast, and it is all very close. Tomorrow there will be a big fight in the race for the second place in the championship.”

Broc Parkes: “Qualifying went all right even though we have not had the best pace all weekend. We made a lot more time up today in the morning and in the afternoon we really arrived. The bike feels quite good but maybe my qualifying lap wasn’t the best one. That said I am happy to be where I am on the grid for the race tomorrow. We’re on the front row, so we cannot complain. Congratulations to David and I think we gave each other a good 'race' in qualifying, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”