Milwaukee Yamaha’s Tommy Bridewell gave his home fans something to cheer about as he topped the second MCE British Superbike free practice timesheets after a 1’15.845 at Thruxton this afternoon.

The Devizes native held off the charges of Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne, and in the end there was only 0.03 seconds separating the pair. Bathams BMW’s Michael Rutter had a stellar session out on track and was never outside the top five times throughout the 45 minute outing. He ended the afternoon one tenth off the pace of the leading riders after a 1’15.938 was good enough to place him third fastest on the sheets.

The session started off dry but as soon Milwaukee Yamaha's Josh Brookes initially topped the timesheets with a 1’17.062 the heavens opened and rain started to fall on all sections of the track, and all the riders made their way into the pits. But the wet conditions were not to last as the dark clouds soon moved away from the Hampshire circuit.

While most of the riders were residing in their garages Bathams BMW’s Michael Rutter stayed out and was the first rider to lap inside the 1’16’s on the 30 minute mark to go to the top of the timing screens for the first time today with a 1’16.902.

But the veteran racer’s reign at the top was not to last as both Anvil Hire Tag Racing’s Richard Cooper and Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Dan Linfoot went quicker. Millsport Ducati’s Jakub Smrz was also another rider who was not fazed by the damp conditions, and his time of 1’16.471 was enough to lead the rest of the field after 15 minutes.

Byrne was one of the last riders to make it out of his garage, but when he did he went up to second fastest, followed by Brookes with 24 minutes left to the final outing of the day. But what ever time the Aussie clocked his team-mate, Tommy Bridewell was never far behind, and at the half way point was a tenth off his pace. Elsewhere TWR Racing’s Jenny Tinmouth took a tumble at Campbell’s but was declared OK at the trackside.

Rutter was not giving up on the pace and pulled a 1’15.938 out of the bag to edge ahead of Smrz, and was the first rider to enter the 1’15 bracket today, with 13 minutes remaining. Isle of Man TT debutant, Peter Hickman on his RAF Reserves backed Honda was also not holding back and set a 1’15.352 to go into the top three.

Meanwhile Milwaukee Yamaha’s Tommy Bridewell powered through his local track after a 1’15.845 to head the sheets with less than six minutes left to the session, ousting Rutter from the top spot.

At the flag Bridewell remained the fastest rider out on the circuit, with Byrne making his flying lap count as he went into second, followed by Rutter and Smrz. Buildbase BMW’s Ryuichi Kiyonari fitted in to fifth with Linfoot and Hickman falling to sixth and seventh respectively.

Brookes was unable to emulate his team-mate and was six tenths off the pace of the Hampshire rider, and ended the morning eighth overall, with GBmoto Kawasaki’s Chris Walker and Anvil Hire Tag Racing’s Richard Cooper completing the top ten.

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