Nocco leads Qualifying 1
The first qualifying session for the Superstock 600 European Championship saw the San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki duo of Alessandro Nocco and Franco Morbidelli - race winner last time out at Portimao - leading the timesheets under the cloudy skies of Imola's Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. The two young Italian riders lapped in the low 1'54 seconds, to finish ahead of Christian Gamarino (Goeleven Kawasaki) and Tony Covena (Nito Racing Kawasaki).
The 21 year old Dutchman was setting to improve his lap-time towards the end of the 45-minute session, but a technical problem on his ZX-6R forced him to give up during his last attempt before the chequered flag. Home riders have been absolute protagonist this afternoon, as 5th place Nicola Morrentino (Team Trasimeno Yamaha) heads a 4-way "Made in Italy" pack, followed by Luca Salvadori (Pata by Martini Yamaha), wildcard Roberto Mercandelli (Rosso e Nero Yamaha) and Stefano Casalotti (VFT Racing Yamaha).
Championship leader Gauthier Duwelz (MTM-MVR Racing Yamaha) had a tough Qualifying 1 as the Belgian crashed unhurt at Turn 6, meaning he had to sit out for the last 10 minutes of the session, to eventually end up twelfth behind team mate Adrian Nestorovic.
