Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran set the quickest time during the opening MCE British Superbike free practice session at Cadwell Park with a 1’26.870, going 0.007 seconds faster than Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne.
Initially it was JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam who set the pace but then Byrne went quicker on the 30 minute mark. But just as Haslam was on a hot lap he crashed unhurt at the top of the Mountain while second fastest overall, after a 1’27.221. At the flag the Derby-based racer slipped down to sixth on the timesheets.
FP1 was red flagged with just 60 seconds left to the session as the S1000RR of Lee Jackson had a technical problem at Coppice, and his Buildbase BMW engine went bang, causing track contamination. But the local lad did set the third fastest time of the morning, with a 1’27.877.
Meanwhile with seven minutes left to the opening practice session, locally based O’Halloran edged Byrne at the top of the sheets and was the first rider to reach the 1’26’s with a 1’26.870 lap, and that is how it stayed until the end.
The session did start off with a light rain shower, but that did pass and it did not affect the track or riders too much. When the chequered flag appeared Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey and Buildbase BMW’s Richard Cooper completed the top five.
Hickman, Bridewell, McConnell, Ellison, Iddon and Laverty rounded off the top twelve. Tsingtao’s newest recruit, Danny Buchan ended the session out on the ZX-10R in P18, with Moto Rapido Ducati’s newbie racer, Stuart Easton finishing FP1 in nineteenth on the timesheets. ePayMe Yamaha’s stand-in rider, Howie Mainwaring ended the first outing in 22nd.
