Superbike: Aprilia dominates the third free practice session at Sepang

The RSV4 sets the pace in the third and final free practice session, valid for access to the Tissot-Superpole, at the Sepang International Circuit: Jordi Torres finished in the lead thanks to a time of 2'04.356, preceding his teammate by 166 thousandths. team Leon Haslam and the two-time WorldSBK champion Max Biaggi by almost half a second.

The two Aprilia riders were not the only surprises of the session given the fourth position of Randy de Puniet and the fifth place of Sylvain Guintoli.
Chaz Davies did not improve compared to yesterday, sixth ahead of Ayrton Badovini who slipped in the initial stages after setting his best time.
Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes complete the top ten, unusually late, and Niccolò Canepa who goes directly to the Tissot-Superpole.

Slips for Alex Lowes, who crashed twice, and for Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki): both riders will try to make their way through the first qualifying round.

Below is the time table after the third round:

1. Jordi Torres ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 2m 04.356s 
2. Leon Haslam GBR Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 2m 04.522s 
3. Max Biaggi ITA Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 2m 04.823s 
4. Randy de Puniet FRA Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 2m 04.858s 
5. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Honda CBR1000RR 2m 04.863s 
6. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 2m 04.972s 
7. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR 2m 05.009s 
8. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 2m 05.043s 
9. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 2m 05.096s 
10. Niccolò Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199R 2m 05.395s 

Top 10 will progress straight to SP2. Riders 11-20 entered into SP1 

11. David Salom ESP Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 05.635s 
12. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Honda CBR1000RR 2m 05.748s 
13. Matteo Baiocco ITA Althea Ducati 1199R 2m 05.757s 
14. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 2m 05.806s 
15. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta F4 RR 2m 06.038s 
16. Leandro Mercado ARG Barni Ducati 1199R 2m 06.268s 
17. Roman Ramos ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 06.518s 
18. Christophe Ponsson FRA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 07.650s 
19. Gianluca Vizziello ITA Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 09.060s 
20. Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR 2m 09.742s 

Will not progress to Superpole, grid positions determined 

22. Alex Phillis AUS Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 10.512s 
21. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR 2m 10.895s

In the fourth round, however, which is not valid for the purposes of access to the Tissot-Superpole, the two Kawaskis are back with Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea returning in front of everyone: the 2013 world champion set a 2'04.557 while his teammate he stopped just 49 thousandths from the top.

The most obvious step forward, however, was that of Michael van der Mark, third and capable of lowering the time set in the third free practice session by six tenths.

Fourth place for Jordi Torres, followed by the official Aprilia wildcard Max Biaggi and Alex Lowes, recovering after the double crash in the morning.
However, those who slipped in this session were Chaz Davies and Leon Haslam, who together with Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing) and David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) completed the top 10.

Bad fall, after a contact during the exit lap from the pits, for Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia), who collided with his compatriot Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing Ducati): the BWM rider landed violently on the track, hitting his head.
Red flag and round over.
After the first checks, Badovini was declared unfit and, for this reason, the Malaysian round ended prematurely for him.

Below are the timing measurements after the fourth free practice session:

1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 2m 04.557s 
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 2m 04.606s 
3. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Honda CBR1000RR 2m 05.118s 
4. Jordi Torres ESP Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 2m 05.122s 
5. Max Biaggi ITA Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 2m 05.549s 
6. Alex Lowes GBR Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 2m 05.679s 
7. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 2m 05.703s 
8. Leon Haslam GBR Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 2m 06.031s 
9. Niccolò Canepa ITA Althea Ducati 1199R 2m 06.324s 
10. David Salom ESP Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 06.649s 
11. Randy de Puniet FRA Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 2m 06.722s 
12. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Honda CBR1000RR 2m 06.779s 
13. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta F4 RR 2m 06.800s 
14. Leandro Mercado ARG Barni Ducati 1199R 2m 07.205s 
15. Roman Ramos ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 07.427s 
16. Matteo Baiocco ITA Althea Ducati 1199R 2m 07.509s 
17. Christophe Ponsson FRA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 09.233s 
18. Gianluca Vizziello ITA Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 09.735s 
19. Gabor Rizmayer HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR 2m 10.422s 
20. Alex Phillis AUS Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 10.557s 
21. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth BMW S1000RR 2m 10.787s 
22. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR No Time