Phillip Island WorldSBK: Debut WorldSSP pole for Locatelli
Andrea Locatelli won the Superpole contest at Phillip Island in his first ever WorldSSP weekend, as he and second place rider Randy Krummenacher (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) each went under the seven-year-old track best lap, set by Sam Lowes.
Locatelli’s 1’32.176 is the new mark to beat for WorldSSP rider at PI, but he and his peers had the benefit of the all-new Pirelli slick tyres used for the first time this season, not the treaded DOT rubber of all previous seasons.
In third place Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the top Kawasaki rider and made the front row a Yamaha-MV-Kawasaki affair.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was fourth, with Krummenacher’s team-mate Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) fifth and Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) sixth.
Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Yamaha) placed seventh, Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing Yamaha) eighth after a fall in FP1.
Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) was ninth and Federico Fuglini (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) tenth. Britain's Danny Webb was 14th
The 16-lap flag-to-flag race, to be run in two parts for each rider by decree, takes place on Sunday March 1, at 13.15 local time in Australia.
