British Superbike: Josh Brookes Wins Superpole, American John Hopkins Qualifies Fifth In The Wet At Brands Hatch (Updated)

British Superbike: Josh Brookes Wins Superpole, American John Hopkins Qualifies Fifth In The Wet At Brands Hatch (Updated)

© 2017, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MCE British Superbike Championship

Brands Hatch GP Circuit

Leeds, England

July 22, 2017

Qualifying Results (All on Pirelli tires):

From Qualifying Knockout Session Three (wet conditions):

1. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.198

2. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:35.856

3. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:35.865

4. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:35.900

5. John Hopkins, USA (Duc Panigale R), 1:36.020

6. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:36.169

7. James Ellison, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.378

8. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:36.831

9. James Westmoreland, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:37.160

From Qualifying Knockout Session Two (wet conditions):

10. Billy McConnell, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:37.601

11. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:37.621

12. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:37.813

13. Jake Dixon, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:37.884

14. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:38.008

15. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:38.574

16. Michael Laverty, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.741

17. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.213

18. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.718

From Qualifying Knockout Session One (wet conditions):

19. Martin Jessop, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.015

20. Andy Reid, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.262

21. Bradley Ray, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.099

22. Taylor Mackenzie, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.768

23. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:47.972

24. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), no time recorded

25. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), no time recorded

More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:

Brookes masters the conditions to claim pole position at Brands Hatch

Josh Brookes scored his first pole position of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season at Brands Hatch this afternoon, mastering the changing conditions to claim the top spot for the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha team.

A heavy shower before the session left the riders dealing with improving conditions throughout the three-stage Datatag qualifying. Brookes topped the opening session but it was defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne who topped Q2.

In Q3, a hectic final battle for pole position between the top nine erupted and Peter Hickman was instantly on the attack; pushing hard from the start of the session to put the Smiths Racing BMW at the top ahead of Byrne, John Hopkins and championship leader Luke Mossey.

However Brookes was not giving up without a fight and the bullish Australian completed a run to first take the top spot, and then edge further ahead as Mossey moved into second with Linfoot in close contention, which he held to claim his first front row start of the season for Honda Racing.

Hickman will start the opening race tomorrow from the second row, ahead of the two Ducatis with Hopkins holding off defending champion Byrne for sixth place, after the Be Wiser Ducati rider set the fastest ever lap of the circuit this morning in dry conditions.

James Ellison heads the third row for McAMS Yamaha ahead of Leon Haslam who suffered a technical problem at the end of the second session, but was able to head back out in the final stage to claim eighth place on the grid.

Gearlink Kawasaki had their best performance of the season with James Westmoreland in Q3 for the first time this year; he completes the third row of the grid.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Datatag Qualifying:

1.Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) 1m:35.198s

2.Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.658s

3.Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.667s

4.Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.702s

5.John Hopkins (Moto Rapido Ducati) +0.822s

6.Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.971s

7.James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha) +1.180s

8.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.633s

9.James Westmoreland (Gearlink Kawasaki) +1.962s

For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com


Josh Brookes

Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha

“Everyone involved has put in a lot of work and everyone wants to be where we are at the moment, but it’s a hard road to get here and I’m very pleased for everybody involved.

“The wet conditions are something I don’t normally struggle with so I was interested to see how I’d go in them. Each session the track was changing a lot, when I first went out in Q1 it was really wet and each lap it changed right through to my last lap in Q3.

“I’m actually hoping for a dry race tomorrow, we’ve got strong pace in dry conditions, even though I’m on pole in the damp I’d rather we had two dry races tomorrow. Maybe I took more risk than the others but it was nice to have that confidence with the bike and the track in what were tricky conditions.”

More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:

 Row Two Start At Brands Hatch For Byrne

After dominating practice and setting the fastest ever lap around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit earlier today, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and the Be Wiser Ducati team had to settle for sixth place in Datatag Extreme Qualifying this afternoon meaning a second row start for tomorrow’s opening MCE British Superbike Championship race at Brands Hatch.

The three free practice sessions were held in good conditions and Byrne was in superb form on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R, topping all three sessions. However, he saved the best until last this morning which saw him post a time of 1m 24.614s to not only lead the rest of the field by over half a second but also set the fastest ever lap witnessed around the 2.43-mile Grand Prix circuit.

It put him in confident mood going into the afternoon’s Datatag Extreme Qualifying session but a torrential downpour beforehand changed the outlook for the 25-rider field. Nevertheless, Shakey, from Sittingbourne, was again on top form initially setting the second fastest lap in Q1 before topping the timesheets in Q2, half a second clear of Josh Brookes.

That just left the final eight-minute Q3 session and with the track drying, the leaderboard was changing all the time. With not much time to get the set-up of the bike right, a time of 1m 36.169s ultimately meant the five-times and defending champion had to settle for sixth place and the second row of the grid.

Team-mate Glenn Irwin was making his return from injury which had seen him miss the last two rounds and although he ended free practice in 19th place, he was only half a second adrift of the top ten. He too made it through from Q1 to Q2 but the Carrickfergus rider didn’t quite have the pace to make it through to Q3 and had to settle for 14th place and the fifth row for tomorrow’s opening 20 lap race.

Shane Byrne: “The bike’s working amazingly well in the dry and everything had gone perfectly up until Q3 when we struggled to find the right setting. I think we went too hard when it was really wet and too soft when it started to dry up but there’s no stress and the second row isn’t a bad place to be. We know what our pace is in the dry so we’ll be hoping for two dry races tomorrow so we can show what we can do.”

Glenn Irwin: “In theory, the wet conditions are less physical but I was struggling on the left handers as I didn’t have the strength in my shoulder to bend my arm as much as I needed. It was difficult to get a good feeling and it was frustrating as I felt strong in other areas of the track. It’s a good enough grid position and we know what we need to do and where we need to improve. I’ll get some more physio and get a good night’s rest and see how we get on. It’s better to be back racing than sat at home for sure!”

Phil Borley, Technical Director: “Qualifying didn’t quite go to plan and with Shane in sparkling form in the dry we were confident of pole position before the rain came. He didn’t quite have the pace in the wet due to the setting of the bike but the second row isn’t the end of the world and we’ll be competitive in the races without doubt. Glenn was hoping for wet conditions but actually found it to be as difficult as it was in the dry. He just missed out on Q3 so it will be a case of ‘suck it and see’ in the races in terms of how his shoulder holds out. Hopefully, he can push on and score some good points.”

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