2019 BSB
Round Three – Donington Park
Tight at the top as BSB Donington gets underway
Images by David Yeomans Photography
Tyco BMW’s Keith Farmer set the pace after the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at Donington Park on Friday afternoon, firing the new S1000 RR to the top of the times ahead of Saturday’s Datatag Qualifying and opening race of the triple-header weekend.
Tommy Bridewell had initially set the benchmark, but in the closing ten minutes the Tyco BMW contender forged ahead to set the pace for the first time since returning to the Superbike class after lifting the Superstock title last season. The session saw an incredibly close field with 0.893s covering the top 18 riders.
Farmer edged ahead of 2015 champion Josh Brookes by just 0.036s with Scott Redding in third after he led the pack in the opening session for the Be Wiser Ducati team with joint championship leader Bridewell holding fourth place at the chequered flag.
Keith Farmer Fastest on Friday
“I am very happy with how the session went this afternoon; I am still learning the Superbike and we haven’t changed much today between the first and second free practice sessions. We started the day good and to finish the opening day fastest is mega. It is the first time for me on the BMW in BSB and I am looking forward to raceday tomorrow. Hopefully we can have a good qualifying and can get a good start so that we can get away with them at the front and see what we can do.”
Hector Barbera had an impressive debut in Bennetts BSB, leading the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki charge in fifth, moving ahead of Luke Mossey and Tarran Mackenzie who is tied on points with Bridewell at the top of the standings.
Peter Hickman was eighth fastest ahead of Christian Iddon and Luke Stapleford, who completed the top ten for the Buildbase Suzuki team.
Tarran Mackenzie got off to a strong start in the opening session, which was lengthened for track familiarisation, running in the top five when he slipped off at Craner curves. Despite the fast off, there was little damage to Mackenzie’s R1 and after just over 20 minutes in the box he returned to action and finished the session sixth overall despite the lost track time. He was seventh quickest in the afternoon session.
Tarran Mackenzie
“This morning the initial feeling was quite good, which put a smile on my face, but unfortunately I fell off at Craner. Luckily the bike just slid on its side and I managed to get it back to the garage. I improved again towards the end of FP1. We carried that on to FP2, struggled a bit in the middle of the session and then the feeling came good towards the end again. There are one or two little things we need to try and change for tomorrow, but I think we’re in a good position. It doesn’t look great being in P7 but the overall feeling is good so I’m looking forward to getting back out for an important day!”
It was a slightly steadier start on the other side of the garage with Jason O’Halloran rounding out the day 11th overall. Despite the position on the timesheet, the Aussie remains confident they know what to try tomorrow.
Jason O’Halloran
“It wasn’t an ideal day on the timesheets but it was a good day for learning what we need to do. I enjoyed riding the track, it’s a great circuit but it’s trickier than it looks. Trying to figure out the best way through the last chicane has been my thing for today! We’ve got a few things to work on tomorrow to get a bit more comfortable with the bike, but we’ve got a lot of info from today, we’ve done plenty of laps and have a good plan for tomorrow.”
2019 BSB Donington FP1
- Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:06.527s
- Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.023s
- Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +0.198s
- Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW) +0.283s
- Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.385s
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.465s
- Xavi Forés (Honda Racing) +0.508s
- Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) +0.669s
- Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.679s
- Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) +0.688s
2019 BSB Donington FP2
- Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW) 1m:06.475s
- Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.036s
- Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.252s
- Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +0.308s
- Hector Barbera (Quattro JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.310s
- Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +0.317s
- Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.324s
- Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.345s
- Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.403s
- Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.421s
Pirelli National Superstock 1000
In the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 free practice Richard Cooper topped both sessions and was the only rider in the 1:07s. Levi Day was fourth fastest in FP2, with Brayden Elliot 27th. FP1 had seen Day 11th, with Brayden Elliot 16th.
Free Practice 1
- Richard COOPER 1:07.562
- Taylor MACKENZIE +0.907
- George STANLEY +0.108
- Chrissy ROUSE +1.046
- Leon JEACOCK +1.179
- Luke HEDGER +1.230
- Lee JACKSON +1.247
- Benjamin GODFREY +1.423
- Andrew REID +1.451
- Tom NEAVE +1.461
- Levi DAY +1.522
…16. Brayden ELLIOTT +1.983
Free Practice 2
- Richard COOPER 1:07.579
- Chrissy ROUSE +0.525
- Taylor MACKENZIE +0.631
- Levi DAY +0.651
- Lee JACKSON +0.712
- Lewis ROLLO +0.724
- Tom NEAVE +0.791
- Alex OLSEN +0.794
- Eemeli LAHTI +0.952
- Luke HEDGER +0.963
…27. Brayden ELLIOTT +2.251
Dickies British Supersport
Jack Kennedy topped FP1 from Kyle Ryde, with .101s separating the two, while Alastair Seeley was just 0.018 off Ryde. In FP2 Kyle Ryde turned that around to claim an extremely narrow top time of 1:08.431, just 0.024s ahead of Kennedt. Seeley was again third fastest, this time 0.356 off the leader.
Free Practice 1
- Jack KENNEDY 1:08.664
- Kyle RYDE +0.101
- Alastair SEELEY +0.119
- Tom OLIVER +0.385
- Brad JONES +0.429
- Sam WILFORD +0.583
- Charlie NESBITT +0.673
- Jamie PERRIN +0.887
- Rory SKINNER +0.968
- Josh OWENS +1.021
Free Practice 2
- Kyle RYDE 1:08.431
- Jack KENNEDY +0.024
- Alastair SEELEY +0.356
- Brad JONES +0.693
- Tom OLIVER +0.697
- Kurt WIGLEY +0.886
- Sam WILFORD +1.080
- Charlie NESBITT +1.168
- Josh OWENS +1.236
- Bradley PERIE +1.277
