Superbike

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam just missed out on a front row grid place today in final Superpole when he was held up by a slower rider on his flying lap. He will now start tomorrow’s pair of 18-lap races from the second row of the grid, just behind the poleman, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha).

Both Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli gave the thumbs up to the new Silverstone circuit after spending the day learning the new layout and are now looking forward to improving their positions tomorrow. Leon finished 8th fastest and was the happier of the duo, but Sylvain is very upbeat about his prospects tomorrow, despite ending the day 17th in the standings.

The tenth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship is a ‘home’ race for both Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli. It is a home race for Leon because he is a Briton and lives in Derbyshire, but it is also a home race for Sylvain because the Frenchman has lived in UK for some time and is married to an English girl. Sylvain will be making the short trip from his home near Melton Mowbray, while Leon will have a slightly further journey.

Britain’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ World Superbike riders will ride into Silverstone next week for the UK’s only round of the FIM Superbike World Championship (Friday 30 July to Sunday 01 August). Rather than protecting the Silverstone crowd from marauding Mexican bandits, our Magnificent Seven will be searching for glory of a different kind; going all out to clinch race wins and podium finishes aboard their trusty 1000cc two-wheeled steeds.

Team Suzuki Alstare's difficult weekend continued today in Brno. Both riders hoped that solutions had been found to the problems in practice and qualifying, but while Sylvain took a superb fourth in race 1 and a seventh in race two, Leon’s struggles continued.

There were mixed fortunes today in Brno for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Sylvain Guintoli and Leon Haslam. Sylvain managed to improve his bike’s grip problems from yesterday and advance into Superpole 3, before just missing out on a front row grid spot.

The first day of practice and qualifying turned out to be a difficult one for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli. Similar problems to the ones they had on day one at Misano and a lack of grip caused Sylvain to end the day 15th fastest, with team mate Leon two places back in 17th.

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli are looking forward to Brno and hoping to go into the summer break on a high. The 5.403 kilometre circuit is a favourite amongst riders due to its flowing nature and elevation variations but, as usual, a good set-up is necessary for a fast lap.

Despite problems throughout the weekend and in the the first race, Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam maintained his impressive runs of at least a podium in every round at Misano today. He struggled with clutch/electronics problems in race one, but carried on fighting hard and took eighth place. The team came up with some ideas to improve the bike for race two and fortunately they worked!

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli will start tomorrow’s pair of 24-lap races side by side on row two of the grid. Both were happy with their grid positions after a frantic final Superpole session which saw Aussie Troy Corser give BMW their maiden Superpole victory. It was Corser’s 43rd pole and his lap of 1:35.00 was half a second faster then his nearest rival - Max Biaggi (Aprilia). Third quickest in Superpole was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati), with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) fourth. Sylvain took sixth, with Leon seventh.

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam ended the first day of qualifying at Misano with the third quickest lap and is ready to fight for a front row grid spot tomorrow. His team mate Sylvain Guintoli did not have such a good day though. He finished 12th quickest, but was unhappy with his performance, particularly in this afternoon’s timed qualifying. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) ended the day fastest, half a second or so ahead of Troy Corser (BMW), with Leon third and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) fourth.

It has been almost a month since Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli last raced, but that does not mean that they and the team have been idle. Recently both riders and the team tested at Misano and it is there that the team will be in action this coming weekend, for round eight of this year’s Superbike World Championship.