The inaugural season of the FIM Sportbike World Championship is back in action after the summer break, and David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) was once again fastest of the bunch on Friday to take pole position from the Tissot Superpole session at the Acerbis French Round. Behind him, Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) took second place, for the third time this season, and his teammate Xavi Artigas took P3 to round out what will be Saturday’s front row in Race 1 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.
SALVADOR LOCKS DOWN POLE
Salvador left it until late to snag P1, continuing his Friday dominance in this first season of WorldSPB. He has only missed the front row once, back at Assen, where today’s P2 finisher, Veneman, took pole. The Dutch rider will be pleased to be back on the front row for the first time since Most. Artigas will be similarly pleased with his Superpole session showing as the Spaniard is back on the front row for the first time since Round 2 at Assen.
TORRES FINDING TOP TEN CONSISTENCY
Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) landed on the second row for the second time this season, taking back-to-back top ten placements in Superpole sessions for the first time this season with his 1’46.035s, good for P4. Fenton Seabright (PHR Performance Triumph) was firing on all cylinders early on, sitting atop the order for the first half of the session. His time later fell to fourth, but it was still a strong start for the Brit in P5. Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) sat in P2 with 10 minutes to go; minutes later, however, he crashed in Turn 8. He and his 1’46.235s time fell down to P6, landing the #50 a second-place start despite the spill.
FUERTES FIRES HIMSELF UP TO P7
Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) was less than a tenth behind the Australian, setting a 1’46.326s time good for P7. Right behind him, his teammate Pepe Osuna snagged P8, good for his best Superpole result of the season. Just 0.12s behind the Spaniard, Italian rider Elia Bartolini (CM Triumph Factory Racing) set a 1’46.492s time to snag P9, a mere seven thousandths ahead of his compatriot Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2), who narrowly continues his streak of having landed his Aprilia RS 660 Factory into the top ten of every Superpole session this season.
IERACI TAKES A TUMBLE
Currently sitting in P6 and P7 in the Riders’ Championship, Thompson and Bruno Ieraci (CM Triumph Factory Racing) both saw gravel at Turn 8; the latter was taken to the medical centre where he was ruled fit to continue this weekend.
The top six from the WorldSPB Tissot Superpole session: full results here!
- David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) 1’45.549s
2. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.240s
3. Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) +0.472s
4. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) +0.486s
5. Fenton Seabright (PHR Performance Triumph) +0.494s
6. Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) +0.686s
The action continues in France all weekend! Tune in on Saturday as WorldSPB ride in their Race 1 at 13:00 (Local time UTC +1) with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 70% off!