Britain’s Craig Jones and Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s World Supersport race on the front row of the grid after finishing third and second respectively in final qualifying this afternoon.
In a session that suffered intermittent rain, Re stuck his Ten Kate Honda at the top of the timesheets with just five minutes gone with a 1’28.117 lap which Jones followed with a 1’28.340 to take second.
www.bikesportnews.com columnist Jones then went quicker with a 1’28.171 just three minutes later to secure his third place. The Peterborough man had looked to be on for a pole lap with just three minutes left in the session but was baulked by another rider and he then ran out of time.
He also suffered from clutch problems and spent ten minutes in the garage only to return to the track just as it began to rain.
“To be honest I am disappointed with third on the grid. I was building up my effort while testing a tyre and could have gone a fair bit faster but a problem with my clutch forced me into the garage. By the time I was ready to go back out the rain was falling and even though it dried out towards the end and I set the fastest first split, it was still damp at the rear of the circuit and there was no chance of improving," said Jones.
“We will look at final tyre choice in the morning warm-up and to be honest I am in good shape. The home crowd puts me under some pressure but I can use that to my advantage and it will simply inspire me to do my very best tomorrow and win the race, so please cheer me on.”
Wildcard Karl Harris ended the session in fifth but had been on for a pole lap until it went away from him in the last sector. Steve Plater who is wildcarding on the BE1 Triumph was 11th.
Pole was taken by Matthieu Lagrive, who was one-tenth faster than Rea and Jones, and this is his debut WSS pole position.
Click here for results
Read Craig Jones Exclusive Brands Hatch Diary