Oxford Tag Triumph’s Richard Cooper made his way to the top of the Motorpoint British Supersport timesheets in the final free practice session of the day. It was a last lap dash as the chequered flag came down, and Cooper ended up quickest after the thirty minute session, and clocked a time of 1’21.046, beating the earlier time set by Gearlink Kawasaki’s Alastair Seeley this morning.
Reigning Supersport Champion, Smiths Gloucester Racing’s Glen Richards was not going to let any of the young upstarts get in his way and during the dying seconds of the session managed to crawl his way up to second, with a time of 1’21.306.
Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Wilson alongside team-mate Seeley came out of their garage with less than ten minutes of the session remaining, and almost immediately Wilson made his way to the top of the time sheets. But it was not enough, and he could not improve on his lap time of 1’21.636. Wee wizard, Seeley could not show the form from this morning, and was last but one in the timings this afternoon.
The weather conditions did improve from the morning, and it did remain dry for the race. It was a solid session for Smiths (Gloucester) Racing team, as Adelaide native Billy McConnell was never outside the top five. Luke Jones, on board his KGD Honda machine made sure he kept up with the big boys and set a lap time of 1’22.596, and ended the session just ahead of RLR Motorsports’ Samuel Hornsey who finished in sixth overall.
Milwaukee Yamaha’s William Dunlop and Samsung Honda’s Jason O'Halloran made sure they were out on track for as long as possible and set solid times, which saw them end the session in seventh and eighth respectively. Seton Tuning Yamaha Graeme Gowland and Oxford TAG Triumph’s Scott Smart rounded off the top ten.
Earlier in a very wet and cold Motorpoint British Supersport free practice session one Gearlink Kawasaki’s Alastair Seeley came out top of the timesheets, clocking a time of 1’24.097 around the Thruxton circuit. But during the session CF Motorsports Jake Dixon made a late comeback to secure the second fastest time of 1’25.220. Mar Train Yamaha’s Glenn Irwin set some consistent lap times and rounded off the top three with a time of 1’25.220.
Seeley’s team-mate Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Wilson could not emulate the wee wizard’s prowess in the wet, and set the fifth fastest lap time of 1’25.693. There were some casualties this morning, Colin Appleyard Macadam rider Deane Brown crashed on lap four at Club Chicane, but was not hurt, and Globalnet Telecom/Bladen Electrical rider Dean Hipwell had technical issues with his bike at Allard’s.
