Friday brought an extremely close-fought Superpole at Cremona with the top three WorldWCR riders separated by less than three tenths of a second!
With a time of 1’41.152, current championship leader Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) just snatched pole from local hero Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), the Italian very keen to do well at what is her home round.
Ponziani (1’41.253) pushed hard to secure her first front row start of the season, just getting the better of Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team), who had to settle for third today (1’41.389).
Ready to line up on row two of Saturday’s race grid are Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1), with the latter having achieved her best qualifying result to date.
Australian Teyla Ralph (Tayco Motorsport) did well to finish P7 following a crash in the morning practice session, just ahead of New Zealander Avalon Lewis, eighth, who is competing with Carl Cox Motor Sports as a wildcard entry this weekend.
While the qualifying ran in dry conditions, with just a couple of damp patches remaining, the morning’s practice ran on a wet track. In those conditions, it was Herrera, American rider Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) and South African Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) who topped the timesheets.
P1 | María Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team | 1’41.152
“It wasn’t an easy session for me because it’s my first time riding here with this bike. I struggled in some sections in terms of my speed, maybe losing even half a second along the straight I think, but I was able to make up for it a little with the braking. We still have work to do tomorrow, both on the bike and in terms of my riding style, but I’m quite pleased with how we’ve done considering this is day one.”
P2 | Roberta Ponziani | Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team | 1’41.253
“I’m very happy with today’s result. I expected to be quick but not necessarily fast enough to be on the front row. I didn’t know Maria was behind me and just focused on pushing as hard as I could. I know we have good pace for tomorrow, so I’m pleased with where we are right now. I expect close racing tomorrow, but we’ll be doing our best to score a win.”
P3 | Ana Carrasco | Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team | 1’41.389
“Today went quite well but it was a pity that this morning’s session ran on a damp track, as we don’t have so much track time in which to work. This afternoon the surface was still a little dirty, but I think track conditions will already be better tomorrow. So the feeling was a little strange, but I was able to set some good times anyway, and even felt quite comfortable in the wet this morning. I’m happy; we’re on the front row again so that’s important and I feel my pace is quite good. I was able to ride alone during the session rather than using the slipstreams, so that’s a positive too. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
WorldWCR Provisional Tissot Superpole Results
1. María Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) 1’41.152s
2. Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) +0.101s
3. Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros. Racing Yamaha Team) +0.237s
4. Sara Sánchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) +0.953s
5. Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +1.862s
6. Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) +2.064s
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Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com/en/news/wcr
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldWCR
