After a rain-affected first qualifying session yesterday morning, the board was wiped clean and it was left to Johnny Blackshaw and his Smiths Triumph to take full advantage of the dry conditions this lumnchtime with a lap time of 48.562, earning him his first ever pole position.

In the early going it was the two South Africans, Tim Hastings and Bjorn Estment, swapping back and forth for the pole position before Tommy Dale put his Haribo Starmix Triumph into provisional pole. He was to stay there until both Seton Tuning riders, Estment and Ben Burke, exited pit lane together and tagged each other round putting Estment back into pole and the Australian, Burke, into third.

Then with five minutes remaining Blackshaw emerged. First slotting into fourth and then following with his pole position lap. Dale looked sure to beat it after going quickest through both sector one and two but it faded in the last and he could only manage second, 0.026 behind Blackshaw’s time.

Yesterday’s pole setter in the wet, Jake Dixon, showed he was capable in any conditions as he moved up to third with the two time 125 Champion , James Lodge, rounding out the front row moments later. Josh Wainwright headed the second row with early pace setters Hastings, Estment and Burke joining him.

In ninth for tomorrow’s race is Leon Jeacock, tenth after slipping down from second in yesterday’s session is James Rose and Joe Collier and Tom Young, eleventh and twelfth. On the fourth row and moving up more than 12 places from yesterday is Jordan Simpkin and Scott Hudson with Alex Olsen and James Phare slotting in behind them.