Riders BMW’s Martin Jessopp snatched pole position for tomorrow’s Macau Grand Prix from under the nose of multiple winner Michael Rutter with his final lap in the second qualifying session while race rookie Glenn Irwin stormed into third place on the Be Wiser Ducati.
Jessopp put in a 2’24.654 on his last flying lap to better Rutter’s qualifying one time by a tenth as the Bathams/SMT man wasn’t able to go quicker in today’s session. Rutter was still on the case however, with a best lap of 2’24.887 and they are the only riders to go under the 2’25s barrier.
However, young Irisman Irwin only missed out by 0.66s as he put in a 2’25.065, and then followed it with a 2’25.318 to prove it wasn’t a fluke to sit on the front row alongside the two vastly more experienced men. Irwin lopped a full 2.7s off his qualifying one time in his 14-lap stint.
Penz13.com’s Gary Johnson slowly climbed his way into the top five, setting first a 2’26.751 and followed it with a 2’26.381 before his final lap of 2’25.843 saw the Lincolnshire man claim fourth place.
Lap record holder and multiple winner Stuart Easton followed Bathams/SMT team-mate Michael Rutter round to set his best lap of 2’26.044, a full three seconds quicker than his qualifying one effort while Horst Saiger bounced back from a highside at Lisboa to claim sixth place with his last effort.
The Kawasaki man’s lap demoted reigning champion Peter Hickman to seventh after the Bathams/SMT rider (yes, another one) had clawed his way up to third with only seven minutes remaining. Hickman’s 2’26.183 was more than two seconds better than his earlier effort.
John McGuinness was another man who was in contention and lapped at 2’26.585 - enough for third place with 16 minutes left but the TT legend got wrapped up in traffic and slowly slipped down to eighth even though he managed a 2’26.358 with his 14th and last lap.
Honda team-mate Conor Cummins stormed into fourth with eight minutes left but he too went the same way as McGuinness and will start from ninth, one place ahead of Ian Hutchinson. The Tyco BMW was man was in the frame early doors but his best of 2’26.699 was only enough for tenth.
Dan Kneen made good progress on the Mar-Train Yamaha, cutting his laptime by three seconds to claim 11th, one ahead of Didier Grams with Derek Sheils, Dan Cooper and Steve Mercer wrapping up the top 15. Former Moto3 star Danny Webb upped his game to claim 18th, improving his pace by four seconds for 18th while TT winner Ivan Lintin finished in 19th.
