KYLE SMITH ON MISANO PACE

Kyle Smith set the fourth fastest overall time in today’s two free practice sessions for Sunday’s eighth-round World Supersport race at Misano in Italy as fellow Honda CBR600RR rider PJ Jacobsen took provisional pole position.

Jacobsen’s time of 1m38.569s was identical to that of French rider Jules Cluzel with 23-year-old Pata Honda rider Smith, who crashed midway through this afternoon’s second session, just 0.5s off the top spot.

Smith had been second fastest during the morning’s opening free practice, feeling more confident with the front feeling of his Pata Honda CBR machine. However, after experimenting unsuccessfully with a different rear tyre in the second session, he and his crew are confident of improved times tomorrow.

Kyle Smith commented, we had a good start with P2 this morning and I felt comfortable on the bike. The first outing this afternoon gave the same feeling as when I finished FP1 and the few changes we’d made felt like an improvement and I matched the morning time quite quickly. I came in to try a different rear tyre that worked for us in Portimao but it didn’t give me a good feeling here. It kept pushing the front and I had some chatter problems. I had a small crash and, after that, I didn’t feel comfortable so I think it was a problem with the rear. We didn’t have any more tyres to try but P4 is not too far off the head group. With the improvements that we made and the tyre from this morning, I feel we can be back there challenging PJ [Jacobsen] and the others at the front tomorrow.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator said, Kyle had a good day and he was quick from the off this morning when he was second fastest. He had a small crash this afternoon but nothing really to worry about. I think there’s more to come tomorrow because there is a better tyre to choose. Tomorrow we’ll continue the work, which is going well, and I don’t think we’ll need to make too many changes.

19.06.2015
IB
Misano - Dubai - Cairo