[kropotkin thinks...] - 2009 WSBK Valencia FP1 Result - Checa Takes First Blood At Ho

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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After the Ducatis dominated the early part of the first session of free practice, they were eventually ousted by the Hondas at the end of practice. Ten Kate's Ryuichi Kiyonari was fast for much of the session, but it was Carlos Checa who eventually took top spot, ahead of the Suzuki of Yukio Kagayama and the Aprilia of Max Biaggi.

The two title protagonists fared much less well during the session. Though Nori Haga was at the top of the timesheets early on, he later dropped down to 9th position, while Ben Spies finished way down in 17th place, as he learned his way round the track. Spies was 6 places behind his Yamaha team mate Tom Sykes, who finished 11th.

Newcomer to the class John Hopkins finished the session reasonably well, finishing in 16th, 4 places behind his Stiggy Racing team mate Leon Haslam, and just under a second off the pace. Practice continues this afternoon, with the first session of qualifying.

Full times from the first free practice session of World Superbikes at Valencia:

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