News

Jakub Smrz (Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati) took provisional pole position in the first qualifying session at Imola right at the very end of the opening official session, displacing the potential Kawasaki 1-2 of Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and his team-mate Tom Sykes. Fourth on day one was the perennially competitive Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing). Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) had a strong first day and ended up fifth, his fellow Briton Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) sixth, and best BMW rider. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), defending his championship crown this year, was seventh in timed qualifying. The top ten riders were covered by a remarkable 0.410 seconds, the top 15 by only 0.813 seconds.