Qualifying report
World Superbike Phillip Island
Phillip Island WSBK: Rea leads Kawasaki 1-2 in qualifying
Four-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea claimed pole position for the 2019 season opener at Phillip Island ahead of new Kawasaki teammate Leon Haslam.
Rachit Thukral
Edited: Feb 23, 2019, 1:07 PM
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It was Yamaha’s Alex Lowes who set the first competitive lap in qualifying, his 1m30.117s benchmark putting him four tenths clear of the rest of the field.
That time remained unbeaten until exactly the halfway point of the session, when pre-qualifying favourite Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1m30.054s.
Times began to tumble in the final 10 minutes of the 25-minute session, with Haslam first to break the 1m30s barrier by setting a breathtaking lap of 1m29.624s.
Bautista crossed the start-finish line line moments later but couldn’t match Haslam’s chart-topping time, his 1m29.729s lap leaving him at best second on the grid on his WSBK debut.
But Rea managed to demote the Spaniard to third with just two minutes to go as he took pole with a 1m29.413s flyer.
Behind the leading trio, Tom Sykes took fourth on his BMW debut, four tenths off Rea’s pace.
Lowes managed to lower his previous benchmark to qualify fifth, ahead of World Supersport graduate Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha), who was an impressive sixth with a time that was just over three quarters of a second off the pace.
Michael van der Mark finished seventh fastest in the second of the factory Yamahas, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Barni Yamaha) and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) separated by just 0.011s in eighth and ninth respectively.
Leon Camier qualified 10th on Honda’s return to WSBK as a factory team, seven spots ahead of his teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari.
Bautista's teammate Chaz Davies, who led Ducati's works effort in the recent years, toiled badly in his first qualifying with the new Panigale V4 R as he took 16th place.
Qualifying results:
Cla # Rider Bike Time Gap 1 1 
Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 1'29.413 2 91 
Leon Haslam Kawasaki 1'29.624 0.211 3 19 
Alvaro Bautista Ducati 1'29.729 0.316 4 66 
Tom Sykes BMW 1'29.822 0.409 5 22 
Alex Lowes Yamaha 1'29.987 0.574 6 11 
Sandro Cortese Yamaha 1'30.159 0.746 7 60 
Michael van der Mark Yamaha 1'30.361 0.948 8 21 
Michael Ruben Rinaldi Ducati 1'30.390 0.977 9 33 
Marco Melandri Yamaha 1'30.401 0.988 10 2 Leon Camier Honda 1'30.608 1.195 11 50 
Eugene Laverty Ducati 1'30.730 1.317 12 81 
Jordi Torres Kawasaki 1'30.760 1.347 13 28 
Markus Reiterberger BMW 1'30.900 1.487 14 54 
Toprak Razgatlioglu Kawasaki 1'31.015 1.602 15 36 
Leandro Mercado Kawasaki 1'31.062 1.649 16 7 
Chaz Davies Ducati 1'31.587 2.174 17 23 
Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda 1'31.626 2.213 18 52 Alessandro Delbianco Honda 1'32.135 2.722 17 Troy Herfoss Honda 1'36.895 7.482
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