Misano Adriatico, – A busy day for the Althea Racing team that spent the first qualifying session preparing the bike ahead of tomorrow’s sessions, when concentration will turn to identifying the best possible set up.

The work, however, did not prevent Carlos Checa from recording the fifth fastest time of the session, less than half a second from provisional pole sitter, Cal Crutchlow.

“We worked a lot with the used tyres”, said Carlos, “before putting on a new one and I think the low 1’37 that I recorded was more than satisfactory. I could perhaps have improved further but Parkes inadvertently held me up when I was on a fast lap. The track seems to be getting better and I think by tomorrow it will be perfect.”

Shane Byrne is not far behind, having registered the seventh fastest time. “It was a busy day for us, and tomorrow we’ll be concentrating on setting the times. Being inside the top ten gives me confidence ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing, declared: “We’re satisfied with how today has gone because although we were concentrating on bike set ups we were also able to record times, both with used and race tyres, that put us well inside the top ten. Tomorrow we’ll focus on performance, pushing for the best possible grid positions.”

QUALIFYNG Day 1:

1. C.Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1’36″288

2. T. Corser (BMW) 1’36″344

3. L. Haslam (Suzuki) 1’36″365

4. M. Fabrizio (Ducati) 1’36″549

5. C. Checa (Ducati) 1’36″761

6. M. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’36″793

7. S. Byrne (Ducati) 1’36″819

8. L. Scassa (Ducati) 1’36″946

9. L. Camier (Aprilia) 1’37″048

10. J. Toseland (Yamaha) 1’37″124.