Quattro Kawasaki’s Ben Currie topped the Bennetts British Superbike third practice timesheets at Brands Hatch this morning on a greasy surface that curtailed laptimes.
Currie set a 1’36.937 to end the morning session on top and was eight-tenths faster than title contender Josh Brookes in second as the Australian only put in four laps to minimise the risk of a tumble ahead of qualifying and race one later today.
His Be Wiser Ducati team-mate Scott Redding was in full safety mode and didn’t leave his garage, saying he and his team has to be a bit smart as to the amount of risk they were prepared to take in those type of conditions, which saw the Indy part of the track dry but the rest of the Kent circuit wet.
OMG Suzuki’s James Ellison was third quickest, putting in 14 laps with a quickest of 1’37.909 while Bradley Ray, who didn’t turn a wheel yesterday due to the conditions, finished in fourth.
Joe Francis kept up his form from yesterday, taking fifth place with a 1’38.861 while Tarran Mackenzie was next along with a 1’40.744.
Honda’s Xavi Fores bagged seventh but was some four seconds off the pace with Hector Barbera, Ryan Vickers and Claudio Corti wrapping up the top ten.
Showdown contenders Peter Hickman and Danny Buchan finished in 14th and 15th - behind Taylor Mackenzie, Luke Stapleford and Dean Harrison - while Tommy Bridewell did one sighting lap and thought better of it.
