Qualifying three
James Ellison 45.310
Jakub Smrz 45.567
Ryuichi Kiyonari 45.587
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison has thrown down the gauntlet to his fellow MCE British Superbike title rivals as he set a time that was one-tenth under lap record pace – a 45.310 to storm to pole position during the qualifying sessions at the Brand Hatch Indy circuit this afternoon.
The Cumbrian has been up the sharp end all weekend, and had been edging ever closer to Gregorio Lavilla’s lap record with every session. He is joined on the front row by Moto Rapido Ducati’s Jakub Smrz, who came out of no where to climb on to the front row, after a 45.567. Buildbase BMW’s Ryuichi Kiyonari was another racer who had a series of hot laps, and even though he was two tenths off Ellison’s time he completes the front row.
But behind the top three are some strong riders, who will be vying for the first step on the podium tomorrow. Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes missed out on a front row start by 0.1s, and will be in fine company, alongside the PBM machines of Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton.
BSB full-time debutants, Bennetts Suzuki’s Christian Iddon and Team WD-40’s Jack Kennedy had a solid qualifying session and they both comfortably made it on to the third and fourth rows respectively. Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran and Milwaukee Yamaha’s Broc Parkes round up row three.
Qualifying two
James Ellison 45.403
Christian Iddon 45.440
Jakub Smrz 45.583
Ellison went under lap record pace during the second qualifying session at the Indy circuit, with a super quick 45.403 on his ZX-10R. But the Kendal rider was not the only racer in Q2 to break the lap record; Bennetts Suzuki’s Christian Iddon lapped an impressive 45.440 to place him on the provisional front row, followed closely by Smrz on the Panigale.
Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell missed out on progressing through to the final qualifying outing by 0.04s and finds himself on the fourth row for tomorrow’s race one. Kennedy, recovering from an earlier free practice crash just made it into Q3 by the skin of his teeth, to have another chance of fighting for pole.
Be Wiser Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan is feeling a bit battered and bruised after his FP3 crash and couldn’t find the pace to pull his ZX-10R into the third qualifying session, even though he had been up the sharp end during the free practice sessions yesterday. But Buchan wasn’t the only Tommy Hill managed bike not to make it through to the final outing, as housewives favourite, Chris Walker finished Q2 17th fastest on the sheets
During Q2 Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki’s Richard Cooper received a warning for exceeding the speed limit in pit lane, but all his efforts to get back on the track quickly did not pay off as he could not push his Kawasaki into Q3 and starts from 14th on the grid on Sunday. The diminutive racer was joined in the drop zone by Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Howie Mainwaring, Harms, Waters, Westmoreland, Jessopp and Backlund.
Eliminated
Bridewell
Buchan
Mainwaring
Cooper
Harms
Waters
Walker
Westmoreland
Jessopp
Backlund
Qualifying one
Josh Brookes 45.643
Ryuichi Kiyonari 45.671
James Ellison 45.815
Brookes set the pace in the opening qualifying outing with a 45.643 lap, with Kiyo going 0.03 seconds slower than the Australian racer. Ellison also lapped inside the 45 seconds barrier to take a provisional front row position.
Backlund and Jessopp narrowly avoided the drop zone, but the same couldn’t be said for Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey and RAF Reserves BMW’s Peter Hickman. The pair, along with veteran racer, Michael Rutter couldn’t lap times quick enough to keep them out of the elimination spots, and are joined by Team WD-40’s Taylor Mackenzie, Johnson, Hutchinson, Cox and Winfield.
Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty did not have a solid session on the Indy track and had to watch as his team-mate, Bridewell comfortably made it into Q2. The Northern Irishman found himself languishing near the bottom of the sheets, with the Wales-based rider now having to start race one from 25th on the start grid on Sunday.
Smiths BMW’s Billy McConnell experienced a technical problem at Graham Hill Bend meaning he missed out on going into Q2, and has to start further down the grid than anticipated for the opening race on Sunday. There were some notable absentees from the qualifying sessions; Honda Racing’s Jenny Tinmouth and Buildbase BMW’s Lee Jackson failed to set times that we fast enough to progress through to the qualifying outings this afternoon.
Eliminated
Mossey
Hickman
Mackenzie
Rutter
Laverty
Johnson
Hutchinson
Cox
Winfield
McConnell
