The extremely variable weather at the “Cathedral” of motorcycle racing at Assen saw Tom Sykes prevail over the rest of the field with an amazing and untouchable Superpole.

The Kawasaki rider who is currently third in the standings, is on form in both wet and dry conditions, so he’ll be the man to beat tomorrow regardless of whatever the weather will have in store for the third round of the season.
Reigning World Champion and points leader Carlos Checa has been slightly undertone so far this weekend never hitting the top of the timesheets as we’ve come to expect from him, but watch out for the Althea Ducati rider on the race distance where he’ll make a difference.

Max Biaggi came to Assen saying “there is no margin for even the smallest error” but the Aprilia rider didn’t even make into Superpole and so far he’s be very off pace all weekend long unable to find the proper set-up and lagging in the back of the field, but expect a slingshot start from the Roman Emperor especially if race 1 is dry.

Rider quotes following Assen Superpole:

Tom Sykes - 1st

“It is a fantastic feeling and firstly I want to thank the Kawasaki Racing Team because they have done a great job. They have given me the correct package to let me win Superpole three times in a row, so hopefully we can make it last. On my last qualifying tyre today I had to dig deep because I saw I had some pressure from Jonathan Rea. When I crossed the line I was one second up and was very happy to have been that fast, because I thought I had improved only two or three tenths. For tomorrow I hope we can convert it - third time lucky. Obviously we had some bad news from the Imola tests so hopefully this is something for Joan to smile about and hopefully we can give him something to smile about tomorrow. I am looking forward to the race. Like my rivals have said already it is going to be tricky because of the expected weather conditions but it should be very exciting.”

Continue reading: WSBK Assen Superpole debrief with highlight video

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WSBK’s may now be under the the same umbrella as MotoGP, but they still work better, because they’ve already posted a highlight video of today’s Superpole action at Nurburgring that saw the seemingly unstoppable Carlos Checa take another pole position while breaking the track lap record.

Max Biaggi is thinking of bowing out of tomorrow’s round (we doubt it) because of his foot injury that makes shifting gears very difficult.

Here’s what some of the Superbike riders had to say after qualifying:

Carlos Checa - 1st

“Yesterday we learned a lot and the changes we made between yesterday and today’s sessions brought the right results. We’re really happy with the work completed, we’ve improved the bike and the lap times have come. In the first Superpole phase I was having a little difficulty but the second and third sessions went better and I was able to take pole. The Nürburgring is one of those tracks where it’s difficult to make passes so it’s certainly an advantage to start from the front here. Tomorrow I will be aiming to make the best possible start and do all I can to fight for the win; I think we’ll see two really exciting races.”

Continue reading: Nurburgring Superpole highlight video and rider quotes

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Carlos Checa will start the today’s races at Miller Motorsports Park from pole position, his fourth in five rounds so far this 2011 season. The Spaniard who seems to be a master at the Utah circuit, admitted he was surprised of being up front considering that he was able to snatch the pole from a hard charging Jakub Smrz in such tricky weather conditions.

Here’s some rider quotes and couple of videos from after the Superpole session:

Carlos Checa - 1st

“Considering the conditions, this was the most difficult and most surprising pole of the season so far. I really didn’t expect to do it on the wet seeing as we were struggling to make the top eight this morning. I would have been happy with the front row for tomorrow but the pole is fantastic, and also unexpected! We had a good setting and I gained confidence in each session of the Superpole, improving as the grip began to pick up. Maybe I could have pushed a little harder in certain sections of the track but I didn’t and it was an amazing surprise when I realised I’d made pole! Tomorrow we hope for drier conditions, but of course I will give it my all whatever the weather.”

Continue reading: WSBK MMP: Superpole superquotes

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Here’s what some of the riders had to say after yesterday’s Superpole session at Miller Motorsports Park that saw Carlos Checa take his Althea Racing team to the pole position. The Spanish rider who is currently in third place in the WSBK standings tied with Jonathan Rea has received numerous upgrades on his Ducati and according to Italian commentator Mauro Sanchini, Checa’s bike is now the same spec as the Xerox Ducati factory riders.

Carlos Checa 1st:

“I know this track and I really like this track. And we made a good job. I always have some success here; always feel well. Even now with the Ducati we have had fantastic performance. I didn’t expect to get this lap time and to get the Superpole win. We know the Aprilia has a lot of speed. With a lot of grip even this makes it more difficult. But finally, this lap time was fantastic.”

Max Biaggi 2nd:

“I think we have been in a good pace since yesterday and we have found a way to work better with one bike than the other, in chassis and set-up of the suspension. Today we have found a good way in Superpole and we will start from the front row, which is important.”

Cal Crutchlow 3rd:

“It has not been too bad but the pace was so fast. Carlos and Max have been fast all weekend. All credit to Carlos, what a fantastic lap. I could not get anywhere near that and yet I have been going well in Superpole lately. We should have two close races tomorrow and we have a good chance of being in the top five, because we have good race pace.”

Continue reading: WSBK Miller: Superpole Quotes with Pics

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