Be Wiser Ducati’s Shane Byrne lapped an impressive 1’14.340 and went under lap record pace by five tenths of a second, and not only that but he set a new outright lap record in the process.
The current championship leader went quicker than the previous outright lap - a 1’14.366, which was set by Tommy Hill back in 2010, and Byrne was the only man to lap within the 1’14’s. He was 0.8 seconds faster than Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey, and left his best lap until last. Meanwhile Mossey set a 1’15.169 to go P2 on the sheets followed by Buildbase BMW’s Lee Jackson who lapped a 1’15.382, a time that put him inside the top three.
Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran was two tenths shy off the best time of Jackson, with Buildbase BMW’s Richard Cooper, going fifth fastest. Bennetts Suzuki’s Ryuichi Kiyonari had a resurgence in form and propelled his machine from outside the top twenty to sixth on the timing screens.
Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon, Briggs Equipment’s Jake Dixon, Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty, JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Peter Hickman and Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot finished the afternoon inside the top eleven.
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Leon Haslam only had his first taste of the Hampshire track in nearly nine years this morning, and the former World Superbike star is still getting accustomed to the circuit and went P15 when the chequered flag appeared. His team-mate James Ellison ended the session 25th overall.
