Submitted by Jared Earle on
Twenty five minutes of qualifying would determine the grid for the first race this afternoon. Scott Redding was quickest in all three sessions, wet or dry, and is favourite to take pole on his debut Superpole. Leon Camier didn't take part and would sit the remainder of the weekend out.
Jonathan Rea waited in his garage as everyone else headed out on their regular tyres. Loris Baz was the first to set a lap time, but Alex Lowes was quickest after the first lap, with a 1'30.212 and a top speed of 322kmh. Jonathan Rea nipped out as other riders started returning to the pits, and set a 1'30.025 to take the top spot with eighteen minutes remaining. Rea headed Alex Lowes, Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark into the tea break, with the top fifteen riders within a second of Rea's quick lap.
After Xavi Fores's fairing exploded down the start/finish straight, dumping fancy carbon fairing on a fast bit of the track, the red flags came out with fourteen minutes left. No geese were involved.
After the track was cleared, Alvaro Bautista crashed out at turn nine on his Honda, running wide into the turn and watching his bike tumble in the gravel. With only nine minutes left, his session was over. Two minutes later, riders started heading out on their yellow-stickered qualifying tyres, with Scott Redding and Tom Sykes out first.
Tom Sykes set a 1'29.230 while Scott Redding lost time catching a bunch of Kawasakis on his fast lap. Leon Haslam was second quickest only to be knocked to third by Jonathan Rea and fourth my Scott Redding, getting second quickest on the second lap from his fast tyre.
Tom Sykes took pole position with a new outright lap record, ahead of Scott Redding and Jonathan Rea with a second row made up of Toprak Razgatlioglu, Leon Haslam and Michael van der Mark. All five manufacturers had top five positions. Tom Sykes cemented his reputation as the top qualifying rider setting a record of an unprecedented fifty pole positions.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | Speed |
| 1 | 66 | T. SYKES | BMW S1000 RR | 1'29.230 | 309,5 | |
| 2 | 45 | S. REDDING | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1'29.569 | 0.339 | 314,9 |
| 3 | 1 | J. REA | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'29.598 | 0.368 | 315,8 |
| 4 | 54 | T. RAZGATLIOGLU | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'29.769 | 0.539 | 314,0 |
| 5 | 91 | L. HASLAM | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1'29.859 | 0.629 | 317,6 |
| 6 | 60 | M. VAN DER MARK | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'29.863 | 0.633 | 316,7 |
| 7 | 76 | L. BAZ | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'29.970 | 0.740 | 301,7 |
| 8 | 22 | A. LOWES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'30.043 | 0.813 | 322,4 |
| 9 | 11 | S. CORTESE | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'30.072 | 0.842 | 309,5 |
| 10 | 12 | X. FORES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'30.222 | 0.992 | 309,5 |
| 11 | 77 | M. SCHEIB | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'30.349 | 1.119 | 313,0 |
| 12 | 64 | F. CARICASULO | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'30.369 | 1.139 | 314,0 |
| 13 | 50 | E. LAVERTY | BMW S1000 RR | 1'30.369 | 1.139 | 310,3 |
| 14 | 21 | M. RINALDI | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1'30.793 | 1.563 | 315,8 |
| 15 | 19 | A. BAUTISTA | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1'30.963 | 1.733 | 321,4 |
| 16 | 7 | C. DAVIES | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1'30.966 | 1.736 | 318,6 |
| 17 | 31 | G. GERLOFF | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'31.227 | 1.997 | 311,2 |
| 18 | 13 | T. TAKAHASHI | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1'33.879 | 4.649 | 303,4 |
Comments
Congratulations old
Congratulations old Tom! Great result for Tom Sykes and BMW. So good to see Tom & BMW doing the business after a long development period.
Three different bikes on the front row. First five bikes all from different manufacturers! Far out.
Wow! Interesting.
Wow! Interesting.
If you are like me you may not know where this new Scheib rider came from.
"The first Chilean to race in WorldSBK, Maximilian Scheib is an exciting addition to the series for 2020. The 24-year-old took his first steps on off-road bikes, before turning to road racing as a young teenager, competing across South America. Still a teenager, Scheib crossed the pond to compete in the FIM CEV European Superbike Championship, finishing his second season – 2016 – in second place.
That same year, Scheib made his first appearances in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, competing as a wildcard. In his first race he finished 9th; in the second, Scheib won outright. His success earned him a full-time ride in the series, with eight podiums (one of them a race win) picked up over the next two years onboard an Aprilia. The Chilean rider made history at the end of the 2018 season, joining the WorldSBK MV Agusta team for the final two rounds of the year and picking up points in his first race.
After becoming Spanish Superbike champion in 2019, Scheib becomes a full-time WorldSBK rider with the Orelac Racing VerdNatura team, at the age of 24."
REDDING - I am a believer, he looks poised to do the business. BMW looks a fantastic whole usable package. The Honda has a ton on offer and a few promising riders. Sorry to hear that Camier won't be one for the first few rounds w his shoulder problems. Still two Honda riders looking great.
Good season on tap.
Awesome Race !
Wow that was a good start to our new season!