Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes has obliterated his own Snetterton lap record and gone underneath Shane Byrne’s pole time from last year by three tenths to claim top spot on day one of MCE British Superbike testing.
The Australian rider, who has just returned from a visit to his native Bringelly, stuck in a penultimate lap of 1’47.176 which smashes the 1’47.882 he set in the race last year and also far quicker than Byrne’s pole position time of 1’47.488.
Byrne himself was also under the lap record, briefly snatching top spot from Brookes with ten minutes left to run. The reigning champion set a 1’47.617 as Brookes made some changes in the pits but as soon as Brookes found some clear track, he properly dropped the hammer to finish four-tenths clear of his rival, and fastest in all sectors.
Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati’s Jakub Smrz ended day one in third place with a 1’47.989 and is only eight tenths than Brookes while James Ellison, on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki, has some work to do to catch his title rivals on track tomorrow.
The Kendal native set a 1’49.111 in the second session but couldn’t beat it in the final outing. He finished day one sixth on the combined sheet, beaten by both Jason O’Halloran and Broc Parkes.
O’Halloran found four-tenths over lunch to end on a 1’48.836 while Parkes dropped from a 1’50.396 to a 1’49.056. This will please both him and team boss Shaun Muir as the Aussie has been struggling to get used to the Pirelli tyres after his time in MotoGP on Bridgestones.
Be Wiser Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan finished just behind Ellison in seventh on a 1’49.159 with Howie Mainwaring next along but the truck mechanic is some two seconds down on Brookes’ pace. Chris Walker and Stuart Easton completed the top ten.
Buildbase BMW’s Lee Jackson found some speed in the final session to bounce into 11th place with Christian Iddon in 12th. Richard Cooper, Josh Waters and James Westmoreland rounded out the top ten.
It wasn’t a good day for the rest of the Honda team. Jenny Tinmouth and test rider Julien Da Costa both crashed early in the final outing while the returning Dan Linfoot only took part in the first period.
