American Kenny Noyes on Pole for Spanish FIM CEV SBK in Motorland

Larry Lawrence | June 7, 2014

American Kenny Noyes (Palmeto Kawasaki ZX10R) will start on pole for both Superbike races in the second round of the FIM CEV Repsol Championship at Motorland Aragon, Spain. Noyes and his Venezuelan teammate Robertino Pietri will start first and second on their Palmeto Kawasakis alongside Spaniard Ivan Silva (BMW S1000RR) on the three-rider front row. Noyes also took pole in the season´s opener at Jerez but was taken out the opening lap by another rider who overshot his braking.

“We made a big step up here today after going over data last night,” Noyes said. “We missed the set-up yesterday but today we had the Kawasaki working real good and found the combination of Michelins we need for the morning race. We´ll have a decision to make for the hotter afternoon race. I actually did a time of 1m52.907 with a race tire and then was only able to cut two tenths more with the qualifier. So my time on a race tire was good enough for the pole. The main thing is we were able to run a good string of 53s in the afternoon heat and that´s the pace we need to keep for all 15 laps tomorrow. I´m really glad to see my team mate Robertino right there with me because it helps us both to push each other and to compare data. It´ll be hot tomorrow, but after going to high school in Borrego Springs (California), it has to be a lot hotter than 85 to get my attention!”

Noyes’ time of 1m52.713, a new absolute Motorland CEV SBK record, was set in the cooler morning session, as was Pietri’s time of 1:52.930. Silva was one of few riders who improved in the afternoon qualifying session with track temperatures reaching 110 degrees.

Reigning Spanish SBK Champion Carmelo Morales (Calvo Kawasaki) starts fourth off the second row along with fellow Spaniards Santiago Barragan (Kawasaki) and Dani Rivas (BMW).

Sunday’s two Superbike races are likely to be run in contrasting conditions. Race one starts at 11:00 AM with a predicted ambient temperature of 70 degrees but the second race is scheduled for 2 PM when the a temperature 15 degrees higher is expected with track surface temperature likely to reach 115 degrees.