25 riders covered by 0.9s at Brands Hatch BSB
James Ellison edged out triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari in the opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at the second round of the season at Brands Hatch.
The top 25 riders were separated by just 0.9s around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit but JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Ellison, who was victorious in the opening race of the season at Donington Park, closed in on the lap record with a best time of 45.700s to set the pace.
Ellison had Kiyonari to contend with and the triple champion closed to within 0.024s of him, while Josh Brookes was gathering momentum on the Milwaukee Yamaha to claim the third place position.
Danny Buchan, the reigning Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Champion, is ready to cause an upset on his second appearance with the Be Wiser Kawasaki team. The 21-year-old Essex rider set the fourth fastest time, ahead of the current series leader and record four time champion Shane “Shakey” Byrne.
The PBM Kawasaki rider had topped the session in the early stages, but slipped back to fifth, 0.220s adrift, just ahead of his team-mate Stuart Easton. Jakub Smrz, on the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati, Billy McConnell aboard the Smiths BMW together with Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell and Richard Cooper on the Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki complete the top ten fastest.
Dan Linfoot, who arrived at round two holding second in the title stakes for Honda Racing, is sidelined from this weekend’s races after breaking his right wrist in a crash during this morning’s free practice session.
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) – P1: 45.700s – “It definitely feels good to end the first day fastest. We were so close to Kiyo in qualifying at Donington and now it has been reversed. It has been dead close but we got the better of him this time. I know it is only free practice but it is nice to be at the front on a Friday and just make small tweaks.
“Kiyo did something like a 28 lap run and we kept coming in and out of the garage to solve a problem, but the runs we did were consistently quick and we did the time on used tyres so there is more to come. Tomorrow we will do long runs to test our pace over a longer distance but I am happy after day one.”
Josh Brookes was carving his way up the order and making progress as the team continued their development work with the new YZF-R1, moving to within 0.129s of the fastest lap of James Ellison who set the pace.
The top 25 riders were covered by less than a second and as Parkes made his debut on the Indy circuit, the Australian had to settle for 23rd position today, 0.904s adrift of the fastest time.
Josh Brookes – “This morning was more or less back to our base setting and then try and progress. Fortunately some of the things we’ve tried today with the changes and the direction we’ve made worked. They weren’t working at Donington, but knowing more about the bike and studying it a bit better has given us some more direction.
“We’re kind of like using a see-saw, you’ve got to rise one side before the other side can go otherwise the stuff will fall off the ends, so that’s what we’ve sort of done. Just a little step back, front, back, front, and got the bike improved, and generally we’re closer to the front now and more consistent.
“The bike’s lost a little bit of grip as a result, but I think if we can recover a little bit of grip, like back to where we were before and maintain the bike set-up that we’ve got it will be a competitive package. We’re in the ballpark for sure, but we still – of course for me I want more – but the mechanics can still a bit more out of it.”
Broc Parkes – “I’m struggling a bit at the last corner, but as I haven’t raced on the Indy circuit it is something I’ve not done before. That section is so important as basically it is the last split and the first split and I’m down so much on them but I’m OK on the middle part of the track, which I know, I’m not too bad there. I can see on the data where I am struggling and will see if I can change my lines tomorrow and be quicker out of there and hopefully be stronger.”
British Supersport
Kyle Ryde led the way in British Supersport practice ahead of Glenn Irwin and Luke Stapleford.
South Australia’s Levi Day finished the session 21st quickest overall and tenth quickest in the EVO sub-category.
British Superstock 600
Benjamin Currie continued his impressive start to the British Superstock 600 season, second only to Mason Law in the opening qualifying session at Brands Hatch.
