Qualifying three
Jake Dixon – 1’33.758
Tommy Bridewell – 1’34.157
Luke Mossey – 1’34.208
Jake Dixon went under the race lap record in this afternoon’s Bennetts British Superbike qualifying session as he stormed to pole position, while drama has forced Leon Haslam to start at the back of the grid.
The RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki man set the only 1’33 of the weekend to top the times at 1’33.758, while JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s main man Haslam set zero flying laps after engine issues in Q1.
Dixon went to the top of the tables with his very first flying lap, setting a 1’33.952 – nearly half a second under Josh Brookes’ race lap record from 2015, as Buildbase Suzuki’s Bradley Ray and Glenn Irwin set provisional front row times as they slotted into second and third.
But action was brought to a halt with just under four minutes to go when FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan binned it at Island Bend and brought out the red flags.
But racers were left with a maximum of two flying laps and while no one could catch Dixon, who went even quicker with a 1’33.758, Moto Rapido Ducati’s Tommy Bridewell used his final lap to go second quickest ahead of Luke Mossey.
McAMS Yamaha man Brookes leads row two ahead of Be Wiser Ducati’s Irwin and Richard Cooper, while Cooper’s team-mate Ray, Taz Mackenzie and Buchan complete row three.
Qualifying two
Jake Dixon – 1’34.690
Josh Brookes – 1’34.842
Glenn Irwin –1’34.998
Ray hit the lead with his second flying lap, becoming the first of the session to crack the 1’35s barrier before Aussie Brookes joined him, but Bridewell jumped up the timesheets with a 1’35.372.
As has been the case almost all weekend, however, Dixon blasted to the top of the times with just over five minutes remaining before Brookes clocked the first 1’34 of qualifying to go top, only to be beaten back by the 22-year-old with a couple of minutes to spare.
While it was all shuffle in the top nine seconds before the finish of Q2, Showdown contender Peter Hickman missed out on a place in Q3 along with both factory Honda Racing Fireblades.
Eliminated
Andrew Irwin
O’Halloran
Hickman
Laverty
Rea
Linfoot
Ellison
Harrison
Law
Qualifying one
Jake Dixon – 1’36.464
Richard Cooper – 1’36.820
Tommy Bridewell – 1’36.898
Glenn led Andrew Irwin around the Cheshire circuit to top the times after their first flying laps, but Laverty went quickest moments later before Mackenzie, Ray, Rea and Brookes all clocked faster laps to move into the top four.
But was disaster as Haslam was already out of contention with just the out lap under his belt as he pulled into the garage after losing a cylinder.
Pint-sized Cooper popped in a third-fastest lap with just over six minutes remaining, but was shoved back to fifth as Brookes, Rea and Ray moved back ahead.
Coopes and Mackenzie diced for the lead, but Dixon’s final lap after the chequered flag gave him the top spot while Dean Harrison knocked Lloyd and Jones Bowker Motorrad’s recent recruit Joe Francis out of the top 18.
Eliminated
Francis
Rogers
Neave
Winfield
Zanotti
Haslam
