Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - World Superbike at TT Assen Day 2

Got to the track muy tarde today because I had to go all the way back to Germany to extend my car rental but still got here in time for the Superbike practices. We should be able to get a few words with Johnny Rea this evening if everything goes according to plan.

WSBK Free Practice 2

Kiyonari low-sided only about 2 minutes into free practice 2. It looked like he was really pushing hard from the moment he came out of the pits (he came out first). There were quite a few other crashers in this session including perennial gravel trap man Ruben Xaus, and championship leader Noriyuki Haga.

Johnny Rea jumped up to second place in his 14th lap out of 17 in the session. He was only able to do one lap at around that pace so it doesn't quite look like he has that kind of pace for the race. Of the Honda riders, Carlos Checa and Leon Haslam are looking like they've got the best chances.

In all honesty though, it looks like it may be a Ben Spies run away. He only did 7 laps in the session and just sat back in his pit garage with the look of a man who's got things under control.

WSBK Free Practice 2

1. Ben Spies - Yamaha Italia 1:38.75
2. Johnny Rea - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1:38.96
3. Regis Laconi - DFX Corse Ducati 1:39.05
4. Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox Team 1:39.09
5. Tom Sykes - Yamaha Italia 1:39.17
6. Leon Haslam - Stiggy Racing Honda 1:39.26
7. Jakub Smrz - Guandalini Racing by Grifo Ducati 1:39.50
8. Michel Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox Team 1:39.56
9. Carlos Checa - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1:39.59
10. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare Brux 1:39.63
11. Shakey Byrne - Sterilgarda Ducati 1:39.82
12. Ruben Xaus - BMW Motorrad Motorsport 1:39.95
13. Ryuichi Kiyonari - Ten Kate Honda Racing 1:40.05
14. Troy Corser - BMW Motorrad Motorsport 1:40.18
15. Max Biaggi - Aprilia Racing 1:40.19
16. Brendan Roberts - Yamaha France GMT94 Ipone 1:40.38
17. Karl Muggeridge - Celani Racing Suzuki 1:40.58
18. Shinya Nakano - Aprilia Racing 1:40.60
19. David Checa - Yamaha France GMT94 Ipone 1:40.61
20. Tommy Hill - Honda Althea Racing 1:40.76
21. Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki Alstare Brux 1:40.82
22. David Salom - Team Pedercini Kawasaki 1:40.83
23. M. Baiocco - PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki 1:41.15
24. V. Ianuzzo - Squada Corse Italia Honda 1:41.50
25. Makoto Tamada - Kawasaki World Superbike Team 1:41.54
26. Luca Scassa - Team Pedercini Kawasaki 1:41.59
27. Stuart Easton - Kawasaki World Superbike Team 1:42.00
28. Roland Resch - TKR Suzuki Switzerland 1:42.78

WSBK Superpole

Not much drama in Superpole to report. As expected, Ben Spies laid down the law and took pole position. Leon Haslam sort of snuck onto the front row, again finishing as the top Honda.

Both Kiyonari and Rea ran into technical difficulties in Superpole. Kiyo had crashed his number 1 bike in FP2 and had to switch to his B bike, which didn't quite give him the same confidence to push as hard as he wanted:

"The crash in free practice was at the worst time � just before the Superpole began. The data shows that I went into the final chicane a little too fast and used more brake than usual. The damage was too bad to repair in time for Superpole so I had to use the spare bike. Although the bike had nearly the same setting, my feeling was completely different and I had no confidence in the front. Then I made a mistake on my first flying lap in Superpole 2 and that was it."

Rea on the other hand had a sensor failure with his number 1 bike and he too had to switch to his spare. He reported the same confidence problem with his spare as Kiyo:

"In Superpole two, I had some electrical problem with the number one machine and my confidence was not so good on the spare bike. However, the set-up feels much stronger than it�s been for a while, so I�m really looking forward to the races. It�s going to be tough getting anything from where I�m starting, so I�ll need someone looking down and smiling on me tomorrow."

WSBK Superpole Times

1. Ben Spies - Yamaha Italia 1:38.626
2. Jakub Smrz - Guandalini Racing by Grifo Ducati 1:37.765
3. Leon Haslam - Stiggy Racing Honda 1:38.072
4. Noriyuki Haga - Ducati Xerox Team 1:38.202
5. Michel Fabrizio - Ducati Xerox Team 1:38.215
6. Max Neukirchner - Suzuki Alstare Brux 1:38.353
7. Carlos Checa - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1:38.640
8. Tom Sykes - Yamaha Italia 1:38.790
9. Yukio Kagayama - Suzuki Alstare Brux 1:38.288
10. Max Biaggi - Aprilia Racing 1:38.441
11. Johnny Rea - Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1:38.510
12. Regis Laconi - DFX Corse Ducati 1:38.521
13. Karl Muggeridge - Celani Racing Suzuki 1:38.802
14. Shakey Byrne - Sterilgarda Ducati 1:38.811
15. Troy Corser - BMW Motorrad Motorsport 1:38.906
16. Ryuichi Kiyonari - Ten Kate Honda Racing 1:39.079
17. Tommy Hill - Honda Althea Racing 1:39.387
18. Brendan Roberts - Guandalini Racing by Grifo Ducati 1:39.390
19. Shinya Nakano - Aprilia Racing 1:39.569
20. Ruben Xaus - BMW Motorrad Motorsport 1:39.643
21. David Checa - Yamaha France GMT94 Ipone 1:40.496
22. David Salom - Team Pedercini Kawasaki 1:40.572
23. Stuart Easton - Kawasaki World Superbike Team 1:40.608
24. V. Ianuzzo - Squadra Corse Italia Honda 1:41.014
25. Makoto Tamada - Kawasaki World Superbike Team 1:41.057
26. M. Baiocco - PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki 1:41.062
27. Luca Scassa - Team Pedercini Kawasaki 1:41.085
28. Roland Resch - TKR Suzuki Switzerland 1:41.978

Hey, you're awfully good at typing with one hand there...

BMW hired the most prolific crasher in the paddock to give their mechanics more experience putting the bike back together.

"Now that your leathers are broken in, go put a few more laps in"

Noriyuki Haga does the walk of shame back to his pit box