Jake Dixon made a late charge to top this afternoon’s delayed Bennetts British Superbike practice session as weather put a temporary hold on proceedings.
After a couple of red flags to get riders out of heavy rain and a stoppage to allow marshals to clear the track, it was once again the RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki man who led the times with the only 1’48 of the session, set in the closing two minutes.
Moments before action got underway, the sun looked to be peeking through the clouds. But there was no hope for the Superbike riders to get any dry track time as water came lashing down seconds into the original FP2 start.
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Haslam had topped the session early ahead of Gino Rea, but Moto Rapido man Tommy Bridewell splashed to the top of the times and upped the pace with each lap.
Dixon slotted in behind Haslam, leading Gearlink rider Fraser Rogers and Rea, but the OMG Racing man was stuck near Hizzy's as his Suzuki was stranded near Druids, which brought out red flags.
But less than a minute after the session was restarted, flags were thrown once again as the weather got even worse, halting action for the best part of 25 minutes.
When green flags flew for a final 15-minute stint, McAMS Yamaha’s Brookes started to catch Haslam and session leader Bridewell while Rea hit the deck, before Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran shoved his fellow Aussie back to fourth.
And just after Bridewell clocked an even faster 1’51, Dixon stormed to the top of the times with a 1’50.760 only to be eclipsed again by Bridewell with just under seven minutes to go before Dixon beat him yet again, setting a 1’49.894 as the sun began to shine through the clouds.
Haslam set a 1’49 to slip into second, but Dixon kept resetting the mark and stormed into the 1’48s to pull a 1.098s gap over the rest of the pack with less than two minutes remaining.
While no one could match Dixon’s 1’48, it was a frantic final 30s as O’Halloran jumped up to second ahead of Buildbase Suzuki’s Richard and Anvil Hire TAG Racing’s James Ellison.
Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty beat Bridewell and Brookes to fifth, while Haslam ended just behind, nipping eighth from Be Wiser Ducati’s Andrew Irwin and Luke Mossey.
