Monza (Italy), Friday 4th May 2012: the Althea Racing team and its riders Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano were greeted by warm and sunny conditions at the Monza racetrack, where the fourth round of the 2012 World Superbike Championship is taking place this weekend. Checa and Giugliano closed today’s first qualifying in ninth and tenth place respectively at the fastest track on the SBK calendar.
Checa and Giugliano were out on track this morning for the first free practice session of the weekend. With a track temperature of 39˚C, both riders worked to refine the set-up of their 1198 bikes ahead of this afternoon’s first qualifying session, using last year’s data as a base from which to work. Concentrating on preparing the bike itself rather than on lap times, Carlos closed in thirteenth position with a best time of 1m44.4 and Davide in fourteenth place, just one tenth of a second behind his team-mate.
The first qualifying session was also completed in good conditions. Both Althea flagbearers worked hard to improve on the morning’s performances. In the opening phase, Giugliano dropped his time by more than a second, recording a 1m43.4 which positioned him tenth at the session’s end. Carlos’ times began to fall in the second half of the session; the current world champion registered his fastest time in the final minutes, with a 1m43.3 that put him in ninth position, once again a fraction of a second ahead of his team-mate. The results bode well, especially considering the chances of bad, or at least variable, weather that is forecast for the rest of the weekend.
Carlos Checa:
“Considering the track, one of those at which we have always had trouble, I’d say that we’ve grown during today’s two sessions. I’ve even improved in T2, a point of the track that usually gives me problems. There are sections where we can definitely make further improvement but, all things considered, I’m satisfied with the work we’ve done so far.”
Davide Giugliano:
“It went quite well today. This morning we worked hard on the bike, knowing that we needed to do as well as possible this afternoon, in case of rain tomorrow. The important thing is that Carlos and I are the first Ducatis, and it’s no surprise that the four-cylinders are all up ahead. The weather looks like being very changeable but I’m feeling ready and confident whatever the conditions over the rest of the weekend.”
TIMES (Qualifying): 1. Fabrizio (BMW) 1’42.3; 2. Melandri (BMW) 1’42.3; 3. Haslam (BMW) 1’42.5; 4. Laverty (Aprilia) 1’42.6; 5. Badovini (BMW) 1’42.6; 6. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’42.7; 7. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’42.8; 8. Davies (Aprilia) 1’43.2; 9. Checa (Ducati) 1’43.3; 10. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’43.4