Eugene Laverty fastest in first qualifying
The first qualifying session for the World Superbike Championship at Laguna Seca saw already a very close competition, as the top-14 riders were in only one second of each other at the chequered flag. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) easily got to grips with the American track to end up in first and third place respectively, while Niccolò Canepa (Team Ducati Alstare), who raced at Laguna in MotoGP, scored a sensational second place finish with just a 0.013 seconds gap from the leader.
Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet), after the second place achieved in free practice, was fourth, but still very close to the top time-wise, ahead of Toni Elias (Red Devils Aprilia), Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia), and other Championship contender Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team).
Wildcards Danny Eslick and Roger Hayden proved again to be on the pace onboard their Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzukis by finishing eighth and ninth, while leader in morning's free practice Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) completed the top-10.
The one-hour second qualifying session will take place today at 5:15 pm local time.
