Leon Haslam fended off Josh Brookes in a frantic final five minutes of this afternoon’s second Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice session.
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s main man scorched to a 1’47.674s on his very last lap, while the top four were covered by just 0.126s.
After this morning’s blue skies and sunshine, the promised clouds arrived about 40 minutes before the session got underway, causing the temperatures to drop off a little.
However, it did little to slow things down, as Jake Dixon took less than 10 minutes to stick his RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki into the 1’48s, and the pace quickly picked up.
Luke Mossey was next to climb to the top of the timesheets, but Dixon was quick to steal it back, and two youngsters were then joined by Mossey’s team-mate Haslam as he moved to the top with just over half an hour to go.
But with 25 minutes to run, Dixon’s charge came to a premature end as he crashed out at Agostini’s, walking away unhurt.
By now, FP1 leader Glenn Irwin had found his pace, and had crept up to third as a little further back his Be Wiser Ducati team-mate and younger brother Andrew was holding an impressive 10th.
With 17 minutes to run, McAMS Yamaha’s Josh Brookes came to life, moving up to P2 and then a lap later hitting the top, with a time just a fraction shy of Irwin’s FP1 hot lap.
But action was halted moments later with red flags, allowing marshals to inspect the track surface between Nelson and Coram after Sylvain Barrier’s Smith’s Racing BMW went pop.
When practice got back underway, Haslam stormed to the top of the order with the first 1’47 of the weekend, pushing Brookes back to second as Irwin climbed to third.
Younger brother Andrew Irwin soon slotted into an impressive fourth, but was deposed moments later as FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan became the second rider to crack the 1’47s, moving into second just 0.142s behind Haslam.
Mossey pushed the Irwin boys back as he slid into fourth, but Haslam was soon under increasing pressure from Glenn, who joined the 47 club with a lap that put him second overall.
Back out after his early spill, Dixon jumped up to fourth just as Brookes clawed his way back up to second, a mere 0.078s behind Haslam, who clocked a 1’47.674s to secure his top spot.
Dixon’s late lap put Buchan fifth, nearly three tenths ahead of Mossey and rookie Andrew Irwin.
Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha’s James Ellison, Tyco BMW man Michael Laverty and Buildbase Suzuki ace Brad Ray completed the top ten.
