WSBK: Qualifying at Monza Provides Another Wet Superpole

Declared a wet session by Race Direction, Superpole at Monza brought an interesting change of events at the historic Italian track. With horsepower being the name of the game during dry conditions, all eyes were trained to see if the damp weather could be the great equalizer for the Ducati contingency hoped for.

With the horsepower of the BMW S1000RR’s creating 1-2-3 advantage during the provisional pole session that was lead by the BMW Italia of Michel Fabrizio, Carlos Checa and the rest of the Ducatis had to contend with significantly slower trap speeds down the main straight. Getting some help from the weather, that seemed all to change though Saturday afternoon at Monza.

Contending with variable conditions on the circuit, Sylvain Guintoli benefited from fitting a slick to his Ducati Superbike 1098R, and robbed Tom Sykes from another pole position. Sykes is still setup well for Sunday’s race though, coming with the distinction of being the fastest recorded bike ever in WSBK history, at 210+ mph. Strong all weekend, Marco Melandri will start third, while Carlos Checa will round out the front row with a surprising fourth. With five manufacturers in the Top 6, World Superbike continues to be anyone’s race.

“First pole for me and in difficult conditions! Unlike Tom and Marco I’m hoping for rain tomorrow, I’ll probably do a dance before the race,” joked Guintoli. “Today I had to take a lot of risks, I decided to go with the slick tyres and some corners were still wet, so it was quite dangerous and the last lap was very exciting. I thought Tom had enough watches now and I could do with one for my wife!”

Superpole Results from World Superbike at Monza, Italy: