BSB 2014 – Round One – Brands Hatch – Datatag Extreme qualifying:
- Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 55.093s
- Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.703s
- John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) +1.055s
- Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +1.160s
- James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +1.204s
- Richard Cooper (Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki) +1.322s
- Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) +1.843s
- Michael Rutter (Bathams BMW) +1.897s
- Keith Farmer (PR Racing Kawasaki) +2.841s
- Patric Muff (Bathams BMW)
Josh Brookes claimed his first MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship pole position with Milwaukee Yamaha at Brands Hatch today with a bullish performance as he bounced back from three crashes to snatch the top spot from triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
The Aussie escaped unscathed after crashing three times during a wet and frantic Datatag Extreme qualifying session which caught out a number of riders, including local favourite and three times former champion Shane Byrne who will start from the fifth row of the grid for the opening race
Brookes crashed out in the first part of qualifying, but he made it back to his pit garage for the team to repair his Milwaukee Yamaha. However within minutes of returning to the action, he was dramatically down again, but the team repaired the bike and he was soon back on circuit.
Their efforts were rewarded by Brookes who bounced back superbly, putting in a lap to take the 20th pole start of his MCE BSB career, only to high-side off moments later and he reflected: “Three crashes, but I still have pole position. It was so slippery out there and I guess I’ve had the highs and the lows. It was heart in the mouth stuff but we will be ready for the races tomorrow.”
Starting alongside Brookes is Japanese rider Ryuichi Kiyonari who makes his debut with Buildbase BMW. He was denied his first pole start in four years by a split second while on a fully International front row American John Hopkins set the third best time on his debut with Tyco Suzuki
Kiyonari said: “I felt good in the dry and wet because we haven’t made changes between the settings and we have been building throughout the weekend. I think we will be ok for race distance but we need to make some more changes still to make sure we are faster tomorrow. So far it has been very good because today was our first ride in the wet but I am happy to be back on the front row again.”
Hopkins said: “The session was good. I am going to be honest I didn’t expect to be on the front row, but the condition played their part in that session and the Tyco Suzuki was working amazingly and felt really smooth in the wet. I just got on it and rode it to be honest and it was easy….just joking because I high-sided on my last lap! We have a pretty good setting and have been working with different tyres for our race set up tomorrow and I want to stay in the top five.”
Chris Walker on the Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki, James Westmoreland on the second Buildbase BMW and Richard Cooper on the Anvil Hire TAG Racing Kawasaki start from the second row ahead of Gearlink Kawasaki’s Ben Wilson, Bathams BMW’s Michael Rutter and Keith Farmer on the PR Racing Kawasaki. Joshua Waters ended qualifying 14th quickest while countryman Mitchell Carr ended the session 22nd out of the 32 rider field.
British Supersport
Glenn Irwin held off the determined Luke Jones to enjoy maiden race winning glory in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship though just 0.173s separated the pair after an 18 lap thriller.
Gearlink Kawasaki rider Irwin had made the early running though with Graeme Gowland in close contention as Luke Jones move third following the early demise of Luke Stapleford while Alastair Seeley was overcoming a fifth row start by riding hard into eighth place on the opening lap.
Jones, riding the Acumen Industrial Service Triumph was pushing on hard and was running second after Gowland had crashed and on the eighth lap eased ahead of Irwin and held him off for four laps before the Gearlink rider regained the advantage. Jake Dixon looked all set for a podium finish only to crash on the last lap with Seeley on his MarTrain Yamaha debut taking third.
Irwin said: “I hadn’t ridden the bike in the wet before but we had a setting dialled into it – I had a plan that it anyone came past, I would push on to them. Luke came through and I tried to go with him and it was time to take a risk round the outside to take him and that’s the first one is in the bag.”
Alex Olsen crossed the line in fourth place, the first EVO class rider, on the Power Projects Racing/T3 Racing Triumph with Luke Hedger fifth on the second Gearlink bike. Billy McConnell brought home sixth place on the Smith’s Triumph.
Motorpoint British Championship, Brands Hatch, sprint race
- Glenn Irwin (Gearlink Kawasaki)
- Luke Junes (Acumen Industrial Services Triumph) +0.173s
- Alastair Seeley (MarTrain Yamaha) +6.339s
- Alex Olsen (Power Projects Racing/T3 Racing Triumph) +7.643s
- Luke Hedger (Gearlink Kawasaki) +9.216s
Motul British Motostar Championship qualifying
Joe Irving starts his Redline KTM Moto3 bike from pole position with a best lap of 50.585s which put him 0.223s clear of Ryan Saxelby on the 125GP RS Honda with the front row completed by Edward Rendell on the Banks Racing Honda. Moto3 runners Jayson Uribe, Jordan Weaving and Charlie Nesbitt start from the second row.
Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship qualifying
Andy Reid claimed pole start with a lap in 47.485s on the FFX Yamaha in the first dry session, running a third of a second up on Mason Law’s Trik Moto Kawasaki with Tom Oliver completing the front row on the Anglia Fixing TK Cope Moto Yamaha. Danny Stamper, Aleix Aulestia and Kyle Ryde – fastest of the top six in the wet second session start from the second row. Australian Benjamin Currie qualified tenth ahead of countrymen Levi Day (16th) and James Mutton (28th).
Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship qualifying
Danny Buchan, with a lap in 46.231s, starts the Tsingtao WK Kawasaki from pole position, with Honda’s Jason O’Halloran starting alongside, 0.307s down and that despite a tumble at Graham Hill Bend. Josh Elliott ran third fastest on the GA/Homer Racing Alzheimer’s Society Kawasaki. Lee Jackson, Daniel Johnson and Danny Eslick start from the second row. Glen Richards qualified ninth, David Johnson 14th.
Ducati TriOptions Cup – round one
Leon Morris grabbed the lead and the first round victory, by almost a second, with a neat move at Druids to nose ahead of the pole starter and long time race leader, his Carl Cox Motorsport/P&H Motorcycles team-mate, Dennis Hobbs.
TriStar T&G Triple Challenge – round two
Phil Atkinson took the second round victory as conditions deteriorated and his tactics worked out. The South African had initially taken the lead on the fifth lap but Tom Carne and Sam Cox both took him only to slide out in the closing stages with first round winner Freddy Pett coming through to take second, five seconds down with Scott Pitchers a further eight seconds back third.
Milwaukee Yamaha Report
Milwaukee Yamaha claimed the first pole position of the 2014 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season at Brands Hatch this afternoon as Josh Brookes overcame three crashes in difficult conditions during qualifying to seal the top spot in the final minutes.
The wet conditions made it challenging for the riders however Brookes wasn’t going to give up without a fight and despite three crashes in as many sessions the Australian powered in the fastest lap in the closing stages to seal the position. Tommy Bridewell narrowly missed out on the top ten in eleventh place but is confident that in the forecasted dry conditions he will be able to move up the order to make amends.
Brookes said: “I had felt in control in the final free practice and everything was going smoothly even though it was the first day we rode in the wet and it was all going to plan. In qualifying it was completely different conditions and I went out and went down. I managed to get the bike back to the garage as there was time to get it back to the team and we started again and then I crashed for the second time. Again I made it back and the Milwaukee Yamaha guys did a great job to fix it all and I got back out to be in Q2. I am thrilled to be on pole and the team now have to work to get the bike back to how it was, but I feel this might go some way towards repaying them for their hard work. I am really pleased with how things are going and I am looking forward to hopefully a dry race tomorrow.”
Bridewell said: “Eleventh place is obviously not where I want to be on the grid and we want to change that for tomorrow. The Milwaukee Yamaha was working well but it was a massive gamble trying to get it through into the final qualifying. It is dry tomorrow I am feeling really positive with our settings. Eleventh is not where I wanted to be on the grid but we will give it our best shot in the races tomorrow.”
