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The opening day of practice for the World Superbike Championship at Imola was delayed for four hours due to a slippery surface before Michel Fabrizio laid down the fastest time.

A number of riders requested that the surface be cleaned when the session was red-flagged after just five minutes due to Yamaha rider Tom Sykes crashing on his first lap. He was not seriously hurt.

FIM safety officer Claude Danis, together with the circuit organisers and race directors, agreed to clean and dry the track despite the contention of several riders and team managers that riders should stay out in order to lay down rubber.

Fabrizio of Ducati Xerox was the only rider to dip under the 1:50 mark with a time of a minute, 49.895 seconds.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda man Carlos Checa was second, just a couple of tenths behind, with points leader Ben Spies of Yamaha third and Checa's team-mate Jonathan Rea fourth.

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) made a major step forward from the July tests to slot in fifth place, while stand-in 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli eased into superbikes with the 12th-quickest time.

Japan's Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) was 13th.

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