Fabrizio quickest in World Superbikes opening practice
Michel Fabrizio fastest in opening Phillip Island practice
Italian privateer Michel Fabrizio has upstaged his factory-backed counterparts to set the fastest time on his Aprilia in opening practice for the Superbike World Championship opener at Phillip Island.
Fabrizio, a past winner at Phillip Island in 2010, set a best lap of 1:31.218s in the 45-minute session, followed by Honda’s Leon Haslam, Suzuki’s Leon Camier, Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli and BMW’s Chaz Davies.
Most of the other championship top brass were in the bottom half of the top 10, including Tom Sykes (Kawasaki), Marco Melandri (BMW), Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Carlos Checa (Ducati). Australia’s Jamie Stauffer (Honda) was 12th, three spots in front of countryman Glenn Allerton (BMW).
Checa crashed hard at turn six during the session, but the carnage was far worse in the preceding World Supersport practice hitout when the red-flag had to come out five times because of incidents right around the 4.445km circuit.
Australian duo Josh Hook (Honda) and Mitchell Carr (Triumph) both went down, with their bikes suffering extensive damage. Hook’s team is now preparing a makeshift CBR600RR for Hook to continue competing, but it’s unlikely to be ready in time for this afternoon’s opening qualifying session.
Practice #1
| Position | Rider | Team | Bike | Time |
| 1 | Michel Fabrizio | Red Devils Roma) Aprilia | Aprilia RSV4 Factory | 1:31.218 |
| 2 | Leon Haslam | Pata Honda World Superbike | Honda CBR BR1000RR | 1:31.728 |
| 3 | Leon Camier | Fixi Crescent Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1:31.803 |
| 4 | Sylvain Guintoli | Aprilia Racing Team | Aprilia RSV4 Factory | 1:31.964 |
| 5 | Chaz Davies | BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK | BMW S1000 RR | 1:32.046 |
| 6 | Marco Melandri | BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK | BMW S1000 RR | 1:32.057 |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 1:32.113 |
| 8 | Jonathan Rea | Pata Honda World Superbike | Honda CBR1000RR | 1:32.158 |
| 9 | Carlos Checa | Team Ducati Alstare | Ducati Panigale 1199 | 1:32.171 |
| 10 | Davide Giugliano | Althea Racing | Aprilia RSV4 Factory | 1:32.315 |
| 11 | Eugene Laverty | Aprilia Racing Team | Aprilia RSV4 Factory | 1:32.339 |
| 12 | Jamie Stauffer | Team Honda Racing | Honda CBR1000RR | 1:32.512 |
| 13 | Max Neukirchner | MR-Racing | Ducati Panigale1199 | 1:32.740 |
| 14 | Ivan Clementi | HTM Racing | BMW S1000 RR | 1:32.752 |
| 15 | Alexander Lundh | Team Pedercini | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 1:32.866 |
| 16 | Loris Baz | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 1:32.882 |
| 17 | Glen Allerton | Next Gen Motorsports | BMW S1000 RR | 1:32.935 |
| 18 | Ayrton Badovini | Team Ducati Alstare) | Ducati Panigale 1199 | 1:33.006 |
| 19 | Jules Cluzel | Fixi Crescent Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1:33.172 |
| 20 | Vittorio Iannuzzo | Grillini Dentalmatic SBK | BMW S1000 RR | 1:33.473 |
| 21 | Federico Sandi | Team Pedercini | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 1:34.313 |