WSB First Qualifying Results

Ok, so it looks like Qatar is not a track for Haslam. The first qualifying session had Ben Spies first, followed by Johnny Rea, Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi all within a second. A nice surprise was Shakey Byrne in 6th (on a Ducati of course). First qualifier doesn't mean much but it shows who's probably competitive ... such as Biaggi on the Aprilia ... and who's not, like the two Beemers. Fabrizio and Haga were further down, but they'll probably move up in the next session. So I'm going with Spies definately on the podium both races with one or even two first places. Haga probably one or two podiums, with at least one second, maybe a first. Biaggi a possible podium in one race. Good showings and possible podiums from Fabrizio and Rea and longshots, but possible podiums, for Neukirchner, Laconi or Nakano. I've been a Shakey Byrne fan for years, since he was a test rider for Fast Bikes magazine/videos with Rob Frost. Would be nice to see him in top 5 or better. I'm also starting to think that Spies might even take the championship, if he doesn't crash-out of any races.