2013 Silverstone World Superbike Superpole Result: Rain Removes Records

Superpole at Silverstone started dry and bright but, with a few clouds in the sky, it looked like it would be a race against the weather. What it was was one of the most unusual Superpole sessions we have been witness to.

The first thirteen minutes of Superpole were opened by Loris Baz setting the pace with a 2’04.912 that even Tom Sykes couldn’t beat on his first attempt. Marco Melandri, before recording a lap, suffered from a mechanical breakdown, relegating him to fifteenth place while his teamate Chaz Davies briefly took the fastest time from Tom Sykes until Jules Cluzel finally closed the session with a 2’04.498. Ayrton Badovini and Michel Fabrizio joined Marco Melandri on the last row.

Results after Superpole One:

Superpole two is when the faster riders slip a qualifying tyre on for the first time and Loris Baz showed the difference the one-shot tyres make by registering a 2’04.063 on his first flying lap. Davide Giugliano, sitting in ninth place, trying to secure his place in the last session, lost the front and looked to damage his foot with a bad bounce. As Jules Cluzel couldn’t best his time, Giugliano was assured of a place in the last session, but his injury and damage to the bike looked likely to rule him out.

Results after Superpole Two:

The last session was conducted under the threat of looming clouds. While Loris Baz smashed the qualifying record with a 2'03.742 with Tom Sykes recording a 2'03.362 to take it off him, red flags were waved, invalidating the session. Tom Sykes, having performed one of the most incredible laps Silverstone has seen from a Superbike, was predictably annoyed that his lap was taken from him and the record books.

The third session would be replaced with a 20-minute wet session that started dry, but very quickly, the rain showed up. Loris Baz recorded a 2’05.105 to set the pace before it got too bad whileTom Sykes was unable to record a lap as he nearly crashed on his first flying lap while Sylvain Guintoli’s bike broke down, and he was also unable to record a lap. With Davide Giugliano injured and without a bike, it looked like Sykes would start from the third row.

Then, with three minutes of the wet session left, half of the field went out and had one last stab at qualifying. Eugene Laverty blinked last and took the first pole position of his Superbike career ahead of Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea. Loris Baz and Tom Sykes had to settle for the second row after an exciting couple of minutes.

Results after Superpole 3: