Unheralded Czech on top after day one

Czech privateer Jakub Smrz has stunned the heavyweights of world superbike by claiming provisional pole position in this afternoon’s opening 60-minute qualifying session.

Smrz left his best until the last few minutes, vaulting to the top of the timesheet with a sensational best lap of 1min32.212secs, to place him in front of fellow late dasher Noriyuki Haga (Ducati, 1:32.659).

“For me, Phillip Island is almost the best circuit in the world,” said Smrz. “It’s easy for me to make a good lap here. The bike is a good bike and 95 percent similar to last year’s, so I have been able to get on the pace very quickly.

“For sure, I have a lot of confidence with the tyre, even in these very hot conditions.”

Smrz only finished a modest 13th in the 2008 championship, but he was always one of the fast men in practice and qualifying. The 25-year-old is partnering Australian Brendan Roberts in this year’s championship, with the duo on Italian-entered Ducatis.

Briton Leon Haslam (1:32.623), back in world superbike after a four-year exile, was third on his Honda in qualifying, with Suzuki double act Max Neukirchner (1:32.673) and Yukio Kagayama (1:32.704) rounding out the top five.

Neukirchner was the fastest rider down the main straight at 316.1km/h, while the factory Ducati team certainly doesn’t show any favouritism – both Haga and teammate Michel Fabrizio recorded identical speeds of 315.2km/h.

Six of the seven WSBK manufacturers were represented in the top 10, with only BMW failing to crack into the top echelon.

Another rider to impress was Japan’s Shinya Nakano (1:32.928), the former world 250cc GP runner-up and WSBK rookie slotting his new factory Aprilia V-four into sixth position.

Nakano has linked up with Max Biaggi in 2009, and the Italian team has already shown it will be a serious player from the start of championship play on Sunday afternoon.

Aprilia, owned by scooter behemoth Piaggio, left WSBK at the end of 2002 to go MotoGP racing, but has returned with one of the most fearsome line-ups in the paddock.

In qualifying, only four of the 28 riders failed to better their times from this morning’s opening practice session -- American hope Ben Spies (Yamaha), Australia’s factory Kawasaki rider Broc Parkes, Regis Laconi (Ducati) and Briton Tommy Hill (Honda).

Spies, a three-time American superbike champion, was the fastest rider in practice, producing enough body of work to signal that he’ll still be a force in tomorrow’s Superpole shootout, which wil determine final grid positions for Sunday’s two 22-lap races.

If conditions hold up during Superpole, Aussie Troy Corser’s lap record of 1:31.826 is expected to be eclipsed, and Troy Bayliss’ outright best lap of 1:31.493 may also come under scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Hill had a good excuse for tapering off a little this afternoon, as his No.1 bike caught fire this morning after a major engine blow.

Corser, the most prolific WSBK rider in Phillip Island history, was an uncharacteristic 16th in qualifying as development still continues on his all-new BMW S1000 RR.

But being in such foreign territory is not worrying Corser, who’s now the elder statesman of WSBK with the retirement of Bayliss.

“The way I prefer to work is to change one thing at a time, and then proceed from there,” said Corser. “This morning we were making a lot of changes, but I have just wound it back a bit.

“I was not chasing any quick lap times all day. My goal was to simply improve the bike and get it more ready for race day.

“I am not bothered about the one second a lap down at this stage.  It’s all very close across the top 20.”

Hunter Valley rider Broc Parkes (1:33.911) was 19th, although he only completed three laps on his No. 1 bike before a technical glitch grounded it.

“We had a disaster to be honest,” said Parkes. “We had a few problems with my good bike, the sensor came off, and it interfered with the electronics on the bike.

"So I only did three laps on it before changing to my second bike, which I am not that comfortable with.  I just don’t have the confidence with that bike to push it round here.

“But they’ve fixed my first bike now, and tomorrow we’ll be right to go.”

The final two Aussies, Brendan Roberts (1:35.1123) and Karl Muggeridge (1:35.716), were 23rd and 24th in the 28-rider field.

Tomorrow’s debut of the heavily revamped Superpole session wil be a highlight, with the old one-lap shootout jettisoned in favour of an elimination format where 20 riders will be whittled back to eight after two 12-minute sessions.

The final eight will then go on track for another 12 minutes to work out the composition of the opening two rows of the grid.

WORLD SUPERSPORT – FIRST QUALIFYING

Reigning world champion Andrew Pitt reminded everyone why he’s No. 1 with a blistering time to set provisional pole position.

Pitt and his Honda teammate Kenan Sofouglu both eclipsed the current lap record of Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier in the 45-minute session, with the Australian stopping the clock at 1:34.833. Sofuoglu was only marginally in arrears withy a 1:34.895 – the only riders to make it into the 34-second bracket.

Pitt, 33, won last year’s race at Phillip Island in a thrilling six-way battle to the finish line, while Sofouglu was the world champion in 2007.

“The bike is fantastic and I feel good,” said Pitt. “We just need to get that rear tyre lasting and tomorrow’s cooler forecast will help, along with some changes we have planned.

“I was only 3km/h under the fastest speed on the straight, and that was without a slipstream, so I am very happy with the performance of the engine today.”

In a show of real Aussie sportsmanship, Pitt has promised donate his prizemoney from this Sunday’s race to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund.

“What is more important to me right now is winning races,” said Pitt. “That is what I love to do and that is what I want to do for not only my Australian fans, but also for my fellow countrymen who have been effected by the horrific bushfires in Victoria, and to the thousands of emergency services personnel who have stuck their necks out for all of us."

The all-conquering Ten Kate team of Pitt and Sofuoglu has won the last seven world supersport titles, with Pitt also joined on that list by two other Australians – Chris Vermeulen in 2003 and Muggeridge a year later.

Third was Yamaha veteran Fabien Foret (1:35.063), while Aussies Garry McCoy (Triumph, 1:35.431), Mark Aitchison (Honda, 1:35.589) and former MotoGP rider Anthony West (Honda, 1:35.641) also continued their strong from this morning’s practice session, and were fourth, sixth and seventh.

Sydney’s Russell Holland (Honda) improved over two seconds between sessions to sit in 19th, while Shaun Geronimi struggles to make up for lost time after only jumping on his Suzuki for the first time this morning.

However, some comfort for Geronimi is that he’s now been confirmed as the permanent second seat at the Dutch-entered Suzuki squad, after initially only being contracted to compete at the opening two rounds at Phillip Island and Qatar.

This year’s world supersport title will feature six Australians, the most of any country other than Italy.

The final run for grid positions will be held tomorrow afternoon, followed by the 21-lap race on Sunday afternoon.

For full results and standings, click here.