Qualifying three
Josh Brookes 1’25.512
Jakub Smrz 1’25.956
Danny Buchan 1’26.567
Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes will start the opening MCE British Superbike race at Brands Hatch this afternoon from pole position after a 1’25.512 was good enough to go P1 in mixed conditions.
But Brookes did set a new out-right lap record earlier in Q2 with a phenomenal 1’25.233 and in every qualifying session placed his R1 at the top of the sheets today. The title fighter shares the front row with team-mate Jakub Smrz and PBM Kawasaki’s substitute rider, Danny Buchan.
Buchan’s team-mate, title challenger, Shane Byrne will start race one of the triple-header on row two in fifth on the starting grid, and is sandwiched in-between Bennetts Suzuki’s Christian Iddon and Moto Rapido Ducati’s John Hopkins.
At the start of Q3 rain started to fall in sector three, but with four minutes remaining rain started to fall in all parts of the Kent circuit, which meant that Byrne couldn’t better his 1’27.059 - going over one second slower than Brookes.
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison, Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty (who are battling it out for third place in the championship) and Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey completed row three. Smith Racing’s Billy McConnell rounded off the top ten.
Brookes has bagged pole in every qualifying session during the Showdown rounds and is now looking forward to a strong start in race-one.
"I got out quickly and tried to do a fast lap. I went out first but it was a challenging end in tricky conditions so I tried to find something where the bike felt confident. I didn't really now how wet in was, I did a 25'5 and it is not the fastest lap I have done all weekend, but it was enough to go pole. I would love to race tomorrow for a race and if I can wrap it up this afternoon that would be good" said Brookes, at the track.
Qualifying two
Josh Brookes 1’25.233
John Hopkins 1’25.571
James Ellison 1’25.792
In a repeat of the opening qualifying outing it was Brookes who once again set the pace with a 1’25.233, going two tenths under his own circuit record, and setting a new out right lap record in cold conditions.
It was another stellar session for the Moto Rapido team as Hopkins went P2, with Ellison completing the provisional front row. Byrne ended Q2 in fourth.
His team-mate for this round, Danny Buchan scrapped in to the final qualifying session and put himself in contention for a possible pole position. But when the tall Essex lad went faster it pushed RAF Reserves Peter Hickman into the drop zone and down to P11.
The road -racing star was joined in the elimination spots with Jackson, Stapleford, Jessopp, Waters, Kennedy, Westmoreland and Showdown rider, Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell.
Eliminated
Hickman
Jackson
Mainwaring
Stapleford
Jessopp
Waters
Kennedy
Westmoreland
Bridewell
Cooper
Qualifying one
Josh Brookes 1’25.519
John Hopkins 1’26.118
Shane Byrne 1’26.256
Round one went to Brookes who was the only rider in the opening qualifying session to lap inside the 1’25’s with Hopkins and Byrne rounding up the top three.
Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot was the only Showdown rider not to make it through to Q2, and missed out on progressing through to fight for a possible front row by 0.2s from fellow Showdown racer, Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell.
The Devizes Swearbox was teetering on the edge of the drop zone, and managed to hold on by the skin of his teeth by setting a 1’27.370 and that was good enough to place his S1000RR P20.
Linfoot was joined in the elimination spots by team-mate Jenny Tinmouth, Mackenzie, Harms, Backlund, Winfield, Ingram, Lo Turco and Zanotti.
Buildbase BMW’s Richard Cooper high-sided coming out of Surtees, but he had already comfortably qualified for Q2. He did hobble away from the crash but he is already nursing a broken hand, didn’t make it out for the second qualifying outing.
Eliminated
Linfoot
Mackenzie
Harms
Backlund
Winfield
Ingram
Tinmouth
Lo Turco
Zanotti
