Alastair Seeley threw down the gauntlet as he beat Jack Kennedy to this afternoon’s Dickies British Supersport pole position by just two thousandths of a second.

Fresh off a pole start last weekend at Silverstone, the EHA Racing Yamaha rider beat the wet weather which fell just seconds after he set his quickest time.

Integro Yamaha’s Kennedy had opened his account with a 1’38.464 on just his third lap, 0.078s quicker than championship rival Ben Currie, but it was all over for both of them when former champ Seeley hit the track.

The Carrickfergus rider stuck in a 1’38.462s lap with perfect timing as rain began to fall on the second half of the track moments later, leaving everyone to back off the pace.

Action continued at a slightly lower pace with the drizzle overhead, but the session was red-flagged with five minutes to go after Ross Patterson crashed at Lodge.

While qualifying resumed a few minutes later, no one could beat Seeley’s pole-setting lap, leaving Irishman Kennedy and Gearlink Kawasaki’s Currie to settle for second and third on the grid.

Nearly half a second off the top three was Everquip Racing’s James Rispoli, who led row two after edging Brad Jones and Movuno.com Halsall Racing’s new recruit Kyle Ryde.

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