HASLAM SATISFIED WITH PROVISIONAL 5TH IN KYALAMI

2010-05-14 23:46
There were mixed fortunes for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli on the opening day of the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship in Kyalami: Haslam finished a comfortable fifth, but Guintoli could only manage 17th.

But this is the Frenchman's first visit to this technically and physically-demanding track, so he has a big chance of improvement tomorrow.

Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) set the day's best lap with a time of 1:38.477. Second was Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) with Jonathan Rea (Honda) third and Troy Corser (BMW) fourth. Haslam's fifth meant that five different manufacturers filled the first five places today.

Leon Haslam - 5th, 1:38.951:

"I'm pretty happy with what we did today and satisfied with the number of laps I put in. The tyres felt pretty consistent and I was able to go quite quickly on a tyre that was old, so that bodes well for the races. The track is very bumpy and it's important to get a good bike set-up and one that works with the bumps. We've been working on getting a good bike balance and once you have that, it is easier to push hard.

"After the end of a session my left wrist aches a bit, but there is no problem with it when I am on the bike. Because this circuit is so physical, if I get a slide, I certainly know about it in my wrist, but I don't see it been a problem in Sunday's races.
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"I am sure that Superpole is going to be frantic tomorrow. In the past, I haven't made big improvements on qualifying tyres, but I have always managed good grid positions and last week was the first time this season I have been off the front row. I am more concerned with the balance of the bike and the set-up than grid positions and as long as I am on the first two rows I will be happy."

Sylvain Guintoli - 17th, 1:39.834:

"It's my first time here and I spent most of the day learning the track and trying to work out where all the bumps are - and there a lot of them! I like this track; it's very technical and very demanding and you don't really get a chance to have a rest anywhere. It's a shame that there are so many bumps and changes of tarmac because it is such a good track to ride.

"We started today with the Monza bike set-up and then made changes. But most of the changes made the bike worse and I went slower, so we will have to go back to the Monza set-up and then work from there. My position in the ranking today was rubbish, but I'm actually quite pleased with my lap times and we are not so far away. I just need to put it all together and do well in Superpole."

Friday WSB qualifying: 1 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1:38.477, 2 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha) 1:38.529, 3 Rea (GBR-Honda) 1:38.687, 4 Corser (AUS-BMW) 1:38.896, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 1:38.951, 6 Checa (ESP-Ducati) 1:8.954. 17 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:39.834.

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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