Checa holds on for top pre-Superpole qualifying place

Date published : 27 Feb 2010 - 02:15:58

After heavy overnight rains and cool track conditions visited Phillip Island, Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) held on for the fastest combined qualifying time, with only Superpole for the top 20 riders set to determine the shape of the final starting grid.On a dry but cool track surface today, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) also had to rely on their Friday best times for second and third best overall lap times. Cal Crutchlow (Sterilgarda Yamaha) was the best of the riders who improved in the final qualifying session, fourth fastest, while Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) also found a bit more pace today, to go fifth. Despite a painful crash on the first day, James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha) bounced back to score a top six finish in the pre-Superpole charts. Local rider Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) qualified eighth. The top 17 riders qualified within 0.729 of each other. All the factory riders made it into the final Superpole 20, with the privateer riders who missed out being Josh Brookes (Honda), Vittorio Iannuzzo (Honda) and the Kawasaki pairing of Matteo Baiocco and Roger Lee Hayden.