Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes set the quickest time of the MCE British Superbike weekend so far in the second free practice session at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit this afternoon, and also for the first time today he was able to out-pace the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki of Shane Byrne.
Brookes set a 45.506, just half a tenth off the lap record, with Byrne just a tenth off the fastest time clocked by the Australian rider. The triple champ failed to improve on his quickest lap in the first free practice on his home track, and had to settle for a 45.677.
For the third time this weekend it was Brookes who set the pace at the start of FP2, with Byrne once again chasing his tail. Easton was never too far behind his Rapid Solicitors team-mate setting the third quickest time of 46.232 with 25 minutes remaining. When the chequered flag appeared Easton only fell back one place to fourth, just behind Millsport Ducati’s Jakub Smrz.
Looking at the race pace, Brookes managed 12 laps in the 45-second bracket while Byrne managed just five and Jakub Smrz put in two 45s laps.
Buildbase BMW’s Ryuichi Kiyonari made sure that Easton’s provisional front row was not to last as he set the third quickest lap of 46.105. Elsewhere at the top of the timing screens Byrne set the first lap of the session inside the 45 second barrier demoting Brookes to second with just over twenty minutes of track time left to the afternoon session. But the top of the timesheets changed between the pair in a repeat performance of this morning.
Smrz left it till there was ten minutes of track time remaining to make an impact in the top five, and on his 22nd lap clocked his first lap inside the 45’s - a 45.768 to go third, leaving Brookes as the fastest bike out on track so far this weekend.
GBmoto Kawasaki pairing of James Ellison and Chris Walker appeared to have had a resurgence in the final part of FP2, with both riders improving on their lap times from this morning’s outings to go fifth and sixth respectively.
The Buildbase BMW’s could not match the pace of the GBmoto garage and ended the afternoon in seventh and eighth on the timing screens, with James Westmoreland getting the better of his new team-mate, Ryuichi Kiyonari by one tenths of a second. RAF Reserves Honda Simon Andrews and Ridersmotorcycles’ Martin Jessopp complete the top ten.
Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s James Hiller - who’s standing in for the injured Howie Mainwaring - did not make it out as his bike was still being rebuilt after he crashed earlier this morning as his throttle stuck open going into Paddock Hill.
There was only one crash this afternoon and that came from the youngest rider in the BSB paddock –-Halsall’s Harry Hartley - who took a tumble at Druids but was unhurt.
