Jerez Superpole
World Superbike 2014
The top three qualifying World Superbike riders were dialed-in during Superpole 2 at Jerez, each logging a fast lap quicker than the previous circuit record set by Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes in 2013. This year, Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz claims the pole position honors with a 1’40.298 in the final minutes of the session. Ducati’s Davide Giugliano will start from second on the grid followed by Sykes in third.
Baz started the race weekend with the fastest lap in Friday’s Free Practice and maintained his momentum through to qualifying, taking the second pole position of his World Superbike career.
“We changed something on the bike set-up for Superpole and it worked out well,” explained Baz. “I could have pushed a little bit more in the first split because I did not know how the full grip of the tire would be. My second pole this year but it is the first in fully dry conditions and I am really happy about that.”
Giuglano got bumped to second when Baz crossed the line on his flying lap, the Ducati ace being the first rider to break last year’s circuit record in the final minutes. Sykes was pacing in range of taking the top-spot from his teammate on the final lap, but came up just short in the final sector.
Aprilia’s Marco Melandri will start from the top of the second row, followed by teammate Sylvain Guintoli in fifth. Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty joins the Aprilia duo in sixth. Ducati’s Chaz Davies finished in seventh trailed by Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam in eighth. Haslam was the fastest on track for a period halfway through the session, but quickly dropped down the ranks as riders rejoined the action with fresh rubber. Laverty’s teammate, Alex Lowes, took ninth and was one of two riders to go down in the latter stages of the session. BMW Motorrad Italia’s Sylvain Barrier, the only EVO entry to qualify through to SP2, was the other.
World Superbike Jerez Superpole Results 2014
1. Loris Baz (Kawasaki) 1’40.298
2. Davide Giugliano (Ducati)
3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’40.561
4. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) 1’40.822
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) 1’40.877
6. Eugene Laverty (Suzuki) 1’41.092
7. Chaz Davies (Ducati) 1’41.199
8. Leon Haslam (Honda) 1’41.338
9. Alex Lowes (Suzuki) 1’41.421
10. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1’41.447
11. Toni Elias (Aprilia) 1’41.882
12. Sylvain Barrier (BMW) 1’42.928
13. David Salom (Kawasaki) 1’42.329
14. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1’42.356
15. Alessandro Andreozzi (Kawasaki) 1’42.622
16. Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki) 1’43.380
17. Jeremy Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1’43.628
18. Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) 1’43.640
19. Claudio Corti (MV Agusta) 1’43.651
20. Imre Toth (BMW) 1’44.633
21. Gabor RIzmayer (BMW) 1’45.590
22. Geoff May (EBR) 1’45.693
23. Aaron Yates (EBR) 1’45.929
