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Assen BSB: Brookes quickest in first session

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes was the fastest rider in the opening MCE British Superbike free practice session at Assen, even though he experienced a small crash in the early part of the FP1 outing.

The title challenger lapped a 1’38.153, going two tenths quicker than Bennetts Suzuki’s Christian Iddon. The former World Superbike racer left his best lap till last and a 1’38.361 was good enough to go P2, leap frogging PBM Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne to second on the timing-screens.

Reigning champ, Byrne was edged out by Iddon by 0.1s at the flag. Team WD-40’s Jack Kennedy did set the pace towards the end of the session, only to be pipped to the post by Brookes, but the Dubliner managed to stay inside the top five fastest times and a 1’38.632 was good enough to put him fourth, just in front of Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey.

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Title fighter, Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty finished FP1 in sixth, with fellow Showdown racer, JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison ending the morning in P8. The Cumbrian did experience a technical problem on the first corner with one minute to go, and was unable to finish the 45 minute session.

The session was red flagged after only three minutes, when Moto Rapido Ducati’s John Hopkins stopped with a technical problem, at Mandeveen, and the track had to be treated for surface contamination. But after a short delay the session got back underway once again.

Other Showdown riders; Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell and Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot ended FP1 in eleventh and sixteenth respectively. Milwaukee Yamaha’s newest recruit for this round, former World Superbike contender, Jakub Smrz ended his first outing onboard the R1 in fifteenth on the sheets.

There were a few fallers out on the Dutch track, which included, JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Westmoreland, who crashed at Ossebroeken, but was declared OK at the trackside. He got back on his ZX-10R but then fell again, unhurt but this time at Hoge Heide. Honda Racing’s Jenny Tinmouth was another faller, who took a tumble at De Bult, but was uninjured.

Returning to the BSB paddock was PBM Kawasaki’s Stuart Easton. The Scottish rider had to miss the triple-header at the last round at Oulton Park through injury, but the crocked racer managed to make it out for the opening free practice session, and did a few laps to end the outing in 26th. Buildbase BMW’s Ryuichi Kiyonari was notably absent from proceedings as he is still recovering from a flat-track crash.

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