FAST PACE IN FREE PRACTICE
Round 7 of the Bennetts British Superbike championship got
underway at Knockhill with two 50 minute practice sessions
today. Airwaves Ducati had a satisfactory day with Leon Haslam
finishing 3rd and Gregorio Lavilla 6th.
Leon’s times dropped consistently throughout the first
session, with his fastest time of 49.124 coming on his penultimate
lap. In the second session he completed 50 laps, significantly
more than anyone else, clocking his fastest time of the day,
48.586, on his final lap to finish in 3rd.
He commented after practice; “It is going to be tough
against the Honda’s this weekend! I am pleased with
the 3rd today though, I am only 0.2 seconds off Kiyonari and
already I am going quicker than last year, so that gives me
a lot of confidence. I like the track but it is a difficult
one for the Ducati; it’s going to be a battle all the
way this weekend!”
Greg spent longer in the garage than he usually would today,
in order to achieve the most effective set up for this circuit.
Subsequently he completed less laps than his team mate but
clocked his best time of 48.825 late in the second session
to finish 6th.
He was confident about his performance saying, “Today
was not too bad; it is all about the Ducati versus the Honda
speed here, which we know will be hard but we have done ok
for the first day. We are not far off the pace and I know
I can get more from myself and the bike, I am hoping tomorrow
is dry so we can continue to improve. Knockhill is not my
favourite, it is slow and it doesn’t have the kind of
corners I like but I am going to keep working hard and then
we shall see what happens in qualifying.”
Qualifying commences at 14.40pm tomorrow, Saturday 30th June
2007.
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