Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne went 0.4s quicker than his own circuit lap record, in the second MCE British Superbike free practice session at Snetterton.

Byrne set a 1’47.345, and it was a case of déjà vu,  as in a repeat of the first outing Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran was the second fastest rider, going four tenths slower that the Panigale.

At first it was Smiths Racing’s Peter Hickman who set the pace, with Josh Brookes in tow. The Australian went second quickest on the timesheets using really worn tyres, and lapped an impressive 1’48.516 with 20 minutes remaining.

Brookes then retreated to the pits and put in fresh tyres and instantly went fastest, and improved his time by four tenths, after 25 minutes out on the 300 circuit. But the red flags soon made an appearance, as Brookes’ Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha suffered a technical problem, just as he set the fastest lap of the weekend so far - a 1’48.016.

With Brookes out of contention he slipped down to P6 on the timing-screens. Hickman on the other hand was able to improve and finished the 45 minute session with a 1’47.832.

Meanwhile JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam at first had an issue with the ECU and had to stay in the garage until his crew fixed the problem. He went P9 straight away and at the flag went even quicker with a 1’48.311, which placed him eighth.

It has been a tough couple of weeks for the World Superbike wild card rider, as he is recovering from a fractured vertebrae and overcame concussion. This morning he was declared fit to take part this weekend.

Jake Dixon, who was the double race victor at Knockhill, left his best lap until last and a 1’47.924 was more than good enough to go fourth quickest, with JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey completing the to five.

Former World Superbike champ Sylvain Guintoli found an extra two seconds from this morning’s session and went inside the top ten, and had obviously found improvements with his Suzuki.

There were a number of absentees from the session, which included Be Wiser Ducati’s Glenn Irwin and Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon. The pair are still recovering from injuries sustained from the last round at Knockhill and are not fully recovered to compete today.

Pirelli National Superstock 1000 rider, Josh Elliott has replaced Iddon for this round, and he is joined in the garage by new recruit Andy Reid. The young-guns finished the second free practice in 19th and 21st on the timesheets.

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