What injury? Crutchlow steals pole by almost half second

By Burning Rubber on Jun 27, 09 01:53 PM

CAL Crutchlow pipped Eugene Laverty to pole with a banzai lap in the dying seconds of today's qualifying session for tomorrow's World Supersport Championship race Donington Park.

The championship leader shrugged off a chipped ankle bone injury sustained in a crash on Friday morning to take the top spot from Laverty.

The Yamaha Racing star yesterday vowed to carry on regardless after a highside in his opening lap of the weekend at the famous Derbyshire circuit.

And in true Crutchlow style, he wasn't about to let the injury get in the way - particularly when his nearest rival, Durham-based Irishman Laverty, shot to the top of the timesheets with two minutes remaining.

Starting a hot lap and then abandoning it, Crutchlow looked like he was going to have to settle for second, but still had enough time to start one last charge before the chequered flag fell.

Up on Laverty's time in both the first and second sectors, things looked to go wrong when he got slightly out of shape coming into the Melbourne Hairpin, and he ran wide around the famous loop.

But the firey Brit wasn't finished yet, and as he rounded Goddards and headed to the finish line it was touch and go if he could make it.

And make it he did, with a time of 1:31.701 - more than half a second up on Laverty's Parkalgar Honda.

Joan Lascorz - a rider who tends to be stronger in qualifying than in race conditions - will line up third on the grid on the Kawasaki Motocard.com machine, while the final spot on the front row was taken by HANNSpree Ten Kate's Kenan Sofuoglu.

Full World Supersport Qualifying times:

1 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1'31.701
2 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1'32.222
3 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'32.481
4 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1'32.818
5 8 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'32.846
6 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1'32.879
7 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'33.062
8 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'33.120
9 13 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'33.143
10 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'33.182
11 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'33.283
12 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'33.365
13 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1'33.455
14 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'33.476
15 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'33.544
16 6 Kennaugh H. (RSA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'33.590
17 77 Veneman B. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1'33.833
18 25 Laverty M. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.009
19 28 Vos A. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.020
20 4 Westmorland J. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1'34.102
21 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.220
22 105 Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.301
23 101 Coghlan K. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1'34.489
24 96 Smrz M. (CZE) Triumph Daytona 675 1'34.659
25 30 Günther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.851
26 22 Muresan R. (ROU) Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.051
27 7 Vostárek P. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.609
28 40 Gentile F. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.155
29 88 Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.273