Team Guandalini Racing - Valencia - Superpole - 4 April 2009
Official qualifying practices of the morning ended with twenty pilots within 8/10 of a second. Guandalini team riders qualified for the Superpole session, with Brendan Roberts in 11th place, immediately followed by Jakub Smrz at 54/1000 behind his teammate and 345/1000 from the leader Ben Spies.
Jakub Smrz in Superpole used the soft qualifying tires as planned, but suffered chattering problems which enabled him to reach only 11th place, while Brendan did not have problems with second qualifying tires.
“We are very happy with Brendan Roberts' result today in Superpole, after the experience with the new bike and new tracks in the first two races. Our goal was also to reach a higher position with Smrz, as he did in Australia and Qatar. Unfortunately some setting problems slowed us down.”
Pierfrancesco Chili
“Jakub in the first two races always started from the front row, but was unable to capitalize on a result. Let’s see if starting from the third row will have different results. To tell you the truth, from Friday and Saturday qualifying I was expecting a better result. A mention to Brendan that today showed us his riding value. I hope for a good result from both of the races. I regret not taking part in the third Superpole session, but sometimes this may happen with the extreme competition we had today.”
Mirco Guandalini
“During Superpole I suffered chattering problems, even if I ride to the limit I can’t go under 1.35 low. Trying to push harder was too risky and I didn’t want to fall. Tomorrow morning during the warm up session I’ll do my best to find out the right feeling, and together with my technicians I hope to set up my bike for the race.”
Jakub Smrz
“I felt more confident with the bike and I knew the track from the previous year, so my approach was more relaxed and I knew where to focus my attention. I was very nervous for the superpole, especially the second mini-session because with the qualifying tyre I didn’t find the right feeling. For tomorrow's race I have to keep my concentration for all the length, and especially with the old tyre when it's easy to make a mistake.”
Brendan Roberts