Spies’ outstanding qualifying record in his rookie year remained unrivalled during Superpole around the Portuguese circuit, the Yamaha rider concluding his ‘Saturday commitments’ with an 11th pole position in 14 races.
One of his most dominant pole positions too, proving half a second quicker than closest rival Shane Byrne, it was somewhat unexpected too following a start to the weekend in which he slipped ‘under the radar’
“We’ve been working under the radar all weekend on a lot of different things,” he said. “Superpole was good for us, because we kept pushing as hard as we could.
Most importantly for Spies, key rival Haga will start down in tenth place after being unable to progress beyond Q2, the Japanese rider facing a tough task now to challenge Spies for victory.
Nonetheless, while Spies was somewhat disappointed that he potentially won’t be going head-to-head with Haga, he adds that other riders are more than capable getting in amongst the victory challenge.
“Unfortunately Nori is back on the third row, but we need anything we can get for track position,” he added. “But it’s not just about me and Nori tomorrow, there are other guys, we’ll just run our own race and give it everything we’ve got to try and win both these things.”
Spies will take the 2009 World Superbike title if he wins both races at Portimao, regardless of where Haga finishes.
Superpole Results
1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1′42.412
2 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1′42.996
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′43.015
4 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.126
5 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.523
6 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′43.526
7 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′43.553
8 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.719
9 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1′43.240
10 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′43.377
11 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′43.406
12 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1′43.461
13 22 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′43.671
14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′43.717
15 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.050
16 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′45.439
17 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′44.453
18 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.458
19 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′44.483
20 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′44.851
21 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′44.978
22 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′45.153
23 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′45.518
24 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1′45.676
25 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1′46.006
26 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′46.596
Source | Crash.net
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