Just a few days ago we had written an article where we quoted a pessimistic Carlos Checa who said a fifth place at Monza would be like a victory for Ducati. However, the Super Pole session at Monza saw the Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1198 of Sylvain Guintoli set pole position for time for tomorrow’s races. Tom Sykes on the Kawasaki ZX10R has shown consistent speed yet again to take second on the grid while Marco Melandri on the BMW S1000R took the third place. Carlos Checa himself did not do too badly by claiming the last spot on the front row in fourth position aboard the Ducati. Jonathan Rea riding the factory Honda CBR1000RR took fifth place while the much fancied Aprilia RSV4 of Max Biaggi could only take sixth place. The Provec team that runs the Kawasaki Official entry chose to replace Joan Lascorz with Spaniard Sergio Gadea who did not even qualify for Super Pole.
The surprise speed of Ducati in qualifying may not indicate race pace with Monza favouring motorcycles with horse power and this puts the Aprilias and the BMWs as favourites. Tom Sykes has gone consistently on the other fast machine the Kawasaki but has not been able to convert his speed into a win so far. The races tomorrow should be exciting, with both World Superbike and MotoGP in the vicinity of each other on the same Sunday. Enjoy watching.