Swan Yamaha's Tommy Hill has topped the timesheets in this morning's first British Superbike free practice session at Brands Hatch, just holding off late charges by Stuart Easton and his own team-mate Noriyuki Haga in the final minutes.
On a dry Kent track, Hill went round in a 46.297, three-tenths faster than Kawasaki's Easton while Haga was just another tenth in arrears after spending yesterday's test sessions decided on a final engine specification to use for the rest of the weekend.
WFR Honda's Alex Lowes had a steady climb up the leaderboard to claim fourth as the chequered flag came out while Buildbase BMW's Barry Burrell was in the top five for most of the session, remaining there until the end on a 46.756.
Alastair Seeley was the first factory Suzuki home in sixth, just ahead of Ian Lowry on the Padgett's Honday with Josh Brookes eighth. Dan Linfoot and Chris Walker rounded out the top ten with the BSB veteran only seven-tenths off Hill's leading pace.
Samsung Honda's Jon Kirkham was 11th, Michael Rutter 12th, Freddy Foray 13th while title challengers Shane Byrne and Michael Laverty propped up the top 15.
