Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, England
April 14, 2018
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Superpole Knockout Session Three:
1. Bradley Ray, UK (Suzuki), 44.997 seconds
2. Shane Byrne, UK (Ducati), 45.094
3. James Ellison, UK (Yamaha), 45.145
4. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW), 45.315
5. Leon Haslam, UK (Kawasaki), 45.318
6. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suzuki), 45.391
7. Jake Dixon, UK (Kawasaki), 45.450
8. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Honda), 45.527
9. Tarran Mackenzie, UK (Yamaha), 45.863
From Superpole Knockout Session Two:
10. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW), 45.361
11. Richard Cooper, UK (Suzuki), 45.369
12. Glenn Irwin, UK (Ducati), 45.413
13. Luke Mossey, UK (Kawasaki), 45.422
14. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW), 45.502
15. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW), 45.545
16. Taylor Mackenzie, UK (Ducati), 45.592
17. Danny Buchan, UK (Kawasaki), 45.617
18. Kyle Ryde, UK (Yamaha), 45.856
From Superpole Knockout Session One:
19. Gino Rea, UK (Suzuki), 45.923
20. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yamaha), 45.929
21. Mason Law, UK (Kawasaki), 46.059
22. Sylvain Barrier, France (BMW), 46.469
23. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yamaha), 46.830
24. Carl Phillips, UK (Kawasaki), 46.979
Editorial Note: American James Rispoli finished ninth in British Supersport Race One on his Everquip Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Jack Kennedy won the 16-lap race on his Integro Yamaha YZF-R6.
American Brandon Paasch finished seventh in British Motostar Race One on his Microlise Cresswell Racing Mahindra. Jake Archer won the 18-lap race on his City Lifting/R5 Racing KTM.
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Young gun Ray launches to pole position ahead of home race at Brands Hatch
Home contender Bradley Ray stormed to pole position in Datatag Qualifying ahead of the second round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this afternoon with a margin of 0.097s over reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne.
A rapid qualifying session saw Ray and Byrne duel for the pole position ahead of tomorrow’s opening race, but the 20-year-old hotshot had the edge in the closing minutes to snatch the lead position from his Be Wiser Ducati rival.
James Ellison had continued his momentum from free practice to force his way up the order into third place for the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha team, pushing Michael Laverty on the leading Tyco BMW back onto the second row.
Leon Haslam had been moving up the order during the final stages of Q3 but he had to settle for fifth place as JG Speedfit Kawasaki became the fifth different team and manufacturer to feature in the top five.
The ‘Pocket Rocket’ was narrowly ahead of Tommy Bridewell, who had been the early pace setter for the Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki team, and Jake Dixon for the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki team.
Honda Racing had a high-pressure start to their Q3 after Jason O’Halloran crashed out at Druids in the final moments of the Q2 session. He was able to return to the garage and the team worked hard to turn the Fireblade around to get the ‘O’Show’ back on circuit.
The hard work paid off and the Australian was able to head out for Q3 to qualify in eighth position, just ahead of Tarran Mackenzie who was the highest placed McAMS Yamaha in ninth place.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Datatag Qualifying:
1.Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 44.997s
2.Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.097s
3.James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +0.148s
4.Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +0.318s
5.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.321s
6.Tommy Bridewell (Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki) +0.394s
7.Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +0.453s
8.Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.530s
9.Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.866s
The next round of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship take place at Brands Hatch on April 13/14/15. For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Bradley Ray
(Buildbase Suzuki)
Pole position, Brands Hatch Indy
“To be honest, coming off what we did yesterday in free practice I was a little bit conscious of coming into today being 17th and quite far down. I got a bit worried to be fair overnight, we were chasing our tail a bit looking through data and I was getting a bit annoyed to see myself down in 17th and I didn’t know why.
“We found something this morning in free practice three and got a bit of confidence back and the bike was working fairly well. I was aiming to get on the first two rows, which is vital round the Indy circuit for the start and to make the race a little bit easier for yourself, but to come away at Brands with a pole is unbelievable and to do a 44′ as well is something special.
“Tomorrow is race day, it’s all about tomorrow. If we can get a good start and have a good race then we’ll see where we are at the end.”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Front Row At Brands For Byrne
The Be Wiser Ducati team endured mixed fortunes in Datatag Qualifying for round two of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch today with reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne taking a fine second place but team-mate Glenn Irwin finishing down in 12th.
Having placed first and third overall on their factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigales across the three free practice sessions, which saw a mixture of conditions, both riders were in confident mood ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session, which saw dry weather all around the 1.2-mile Kent circuit. And it couldn’t have started any better for the duo as they placed first and second in Q1 with six times champion Byrne from nearby Sittingbourne the quicker of the two.
Moving into the 12-minute session for Q2, Byrne soon signalled his intentions with a lap of 45.102s which put him top of the pile, just ahead of rival Leon Haslam where he stayed going into Q3. Sadly for Carrickfergus rider Irwin, he didn’t make the third and final qualifying session, ending up in 12th place on the grid meaning a row four start for tomorrow’s opening race.
Heading into Q3, which was only eight minutes in duration, Shakey was able to record his fastest lap of the weekend so far, 45.094s, but he had to settle for second place and the middle of the front row of the grid behind Bradley Ray, double winner at the opening round at Donington Park two weeks ago.
Shane Byrne: “It was a bit frustrating and I’m gutted not to have done a sub-45 second lap but a lot of riders were seemingly looking for a tow and whilst my first effort was solid enough, on my second flier I got held up by a lot of traffic. Everyone’s doing their own thing but if riders are cruising round in the middle of the track looking backwards all the time, it’s not clever. On a positive note, the bike’s working great and the team have done a fantastic job again and we got a front row position which is what we always want coming into a weekend. Our race pace is very strong and I’m feeling confident, so I’ll aim for a good start tomorrow and then see what happens but I’m expecting a busy and interesting race.”
Glenn Irwin: “To be perfectly honest, I’m gutted with 12th place as I don’t feel it’s anywhere near where I should be. Our pace has been excellent all weekend, as I again showed in Q1, but I had a small technical issue in Q2 and got caught out a little bit on track, missing Q3 by a fraction of a second. Starting from row four for race one means it’s going to be difficult, but the flip side is that is that the bike’s working really well and my race pace is as good as anyone’s. I’ve no concern with tyre life and there’s definite silverware to be had tomorrow.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-Ordinator: “Glenn was a bit unfortunate today to miss out on Q3, but he got caught out with track position and whilst 12th on the grid isn’t ideal, we all know how good he is at coming through the pack and managing his tyres. Shakey put the bike on the front row which is always his aim and both riders have really good race pace so we’re looking forward to tomorrow. We’ve got every chance of coming away with good results and podiums.”
More, from a press release issued by luxeStar VIP:
BRANDON PAASCH QUALIFIES 7TH, CUTS FASTEST LAP IN RACE 1 OF BSB HEL PERFORMANCE BRITISH MOTOSTAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT BRANDS HATCH INDY
In his first weekend racing with Microlise Cresswell Racing, Brandon Paasch qualified in 7th position for the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship at Brands Hatch Indy. After establishing a baseline setup in FP1, Brandon continued to improve in FP2 and Qualifying to log his fastest qualifying lap late in the session.
During Race 1, Brandon dueled with a couple of riders for a few laps before clearing out and starting to chase down the lead pack. With his head down, Brandon was gaining on the group and cut the fastest lap of the race on Lap 13 of 18. He had his sights set on mixing it up with the front riders in the final couple laps, just before the gear shift shaft uncoupled, leaving him stuck in fourth gear for the final laps to finish 7th.
“I’m very happy with how things are progressing with the Microlise Cresswell Mahindra Moto3 race bike. We just got the bike a few weeks ago and have been working out a couple kinks, but it’s an awesome machine! The team worked hard all weekend, and we secured a Top 10 grid for Race 1, so I was really pumped up after qualifying. It took me a couple laps to get my momentum in the race, but the bike felt amazing and I was able to push even harder. I’m stoked to nail down the fastest lap of the race, but I’m disappointed that I only brought it home in 7th. But since I had the fastest lap, I’ll start from Pole in Race 2. So, I’ll be running with the lead pack and gunning for the podium. Huge thanks to the team for all their effort in getting the bike set up in top shape and to everyone that’s helped me get here this season.” (Brandon Paasch)
You can watch Brandon via British Superbike Live Timing at www.BritishSuperbike.com/live-timing for Race 2 of the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship on Sunday April 15
scheduled start time 2:50pm GMT (9:50am EDT / 6:50am PDT).
Make sure to follow Brandon’s personal journey this season on:
Facebook (@BrandonPaasch)
Twitter (@PaaschBrandon)
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