British Supersport Cup front runner Ben Field took the bikesportnews.com Ducati 848 guest bike to fourth place in the opening free practice session at Brands Hatch this afternoon and we spoke to Ben before he went out to make sure he upheld our honour this weekend

“Excited; but very nervous. People have been telling me what I’m in for and that hasn’t made me feel much more confident at all,” said the youngster.

Luckily for Ben, he managed to not only do the business but also massively surpass our expectations. After a few laps to get used to the Ducati 848, Ben posted a time of 49.943, placing him in fourth. After a few minutes of swapping and changing he then improved on his time and position, going back into fourth with a lap of 49.798.

“It was surprisingly easier to ride, in fact it was far easier”, Ben said when comparing the Ducati to his Yamaha R6 he rides in the Supersport Cup, “it’s far smoother on the bottom end due to the bike running at low revs, and I found I could carry a lot more corner speed.” We then went onto ask him on his expectations for the Qualifying session later on this afternoon, “With a few changes to the bike and by throwing some new rubber at the bike, I believe there’s every chance I could get on the front row for the two races.”