MCE British Superbike Championship
Donington Park, England
September 5, 2014
Free Practice Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. John Hopkins, USA (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.717
2. Shane Byrne, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:29.775
3. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (BMW S1000RR), 1:29.866
4. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), 1:30.029
5. Dan Linfoot, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.221
6. James Westmoreland, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:30.251
7. Stuart Easton, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.485
8. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:30.627
9. Patric Muff, Switzerland (BMW S1000RR), 1:30.648
10. Howie Mainwaring, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.736
11. Julien Da Costa, France (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:30.905
12. Michael Rutter, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:30.918
13. Chris Walker, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.994
14. Peter Hickman, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:31.165
15. Jon Kirkham, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:31.170
16. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:31.449
17. John Ingram, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:31.570
18. Filip Backlund, Sweden (Yam YZF-R1), 1:32.049
19. Gary Mason, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:32.104
20. Barry Burrell, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:32.118
21. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.355
22. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:32.635
23. Ben Wilson, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:32.979
24. Christophe Ponsson, France (Bim BB3), 1:33.476
25. Josh Waters, Australia (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:33.865
26. Mitchell Carr, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:34.254
27. Rhalf Lo Turco, Brazil (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:34.624
28. David Johnson, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:35.105
29. Abdulaziz Binladen, Saudi Arabia (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.212
Other Americans competing at Donington Park:
James Rispoli was 12th-fastest in British Supersport Free Practice Two with a time of 1:33.317 on his Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6.
Jayson Uribe, riding his FPW Racing/R5R Honda, was sixth overall and fourth-quickest in the Moto3 class during British Motostar Free Practice Two with a time of 1:40.767.
Cory West, riding a Splitlath Motorsports EBR 1190 RS, posted the 28th-best lap time, a 1:34.145, during provisional British 1000cc Superstock qualifying.
Former AMA Pro regular Ben Young, a resident of Canada, was 12 in British 1000cc Superstock Qualifying Session One with a time of 1:32.909 on his Team WD-40 Kawasaki ZX-10R.
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision:
Round nine 5-6-7 September Donington Park
HOPKINS STUNS TITLE FIGHTERS BYRNE AND KIYONARI WITH LAST MINUTE LAP
Results
Free practice one:
1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 1m:30.035s
2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.227s
3: John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) +0.557s
4: Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.696s
5: Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.727s
6: Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki) +0.761s
Free practice two:
1: John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) 1m:29.717s
2: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.058s
3: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.149s
4: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.312s
5: Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.504s
6: James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +0.534s
Report
American John Hopkins out-gunned the leading trio in the chase for this year’s MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship with a scorching final lap in free practice ahead of Sunday’s ninth round at Donington Park.
The Tyco Suzuki rider, a double winner at the Leicestershire circuit in 2011, was full of determination as he showed the qualities that made him a former MotoGP podium finisher with a scorching lap of 1m 29.717s.
Hopkins said: “It’s been a long time coming! I’m just excited we’ve gone well today. The conditions have been good and the bike feels really good. It’s never easy but I felt comfortable today. I was actually surprised at how quick the lap time was coming as I wasn’t stressed and going balls out for one lap – so far it is so good.”
Shane “Shakey” Byrne had set the pace initially in the second session, snatching the position from Buildbase BMW’s Ryuichi Kiyonari as the pair continue their ‘War for Four’ MCE BSB titles. The pair have already qualified for the Showdown and they remained ahead of Josh Brookes on the Milwaukee Yamaha in fourth place.
Quattro Plant Kawasaki rider’s Dan Linfoot was fifth fastest as he bids to secure his position in the Showdown following the two crucial races on Sunday. His nearest rival Chris Walker, who currently lies sixth in the overall standings, was 13th fastest for the Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki team.
Scot Stuart Easton still hopes he can close the 34 points deficit he has on Walker to make the cut for the Showdown. The second Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider was seventh fastest today.
Cumbrian James Ellison was back on track after missing out on the races at Cadwell Park as he returns from injury, setting the 16th fastest time on his Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki.
For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com
More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:
BROOKES AND BRIDEWELL BUILDING FOR DONINGTON PARK QUALIFYING
The Milwaukee Yamaha team kicked off the ninth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Donington Park today (Friday) and both Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell now feel confident of their direction ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session.
The pair, who are both already qualified for the Showdown fight for the title, are fully focused on securing the final Podium Points in the final races of the Main Season on Sunday and today Brookes and Bridewell ended free practice in fourth and eighth respectively.
Both sides of the garage have been working hard to find the optimum set-up for the Donington Park circuit, to find a balance for the fast and flowing sections of the first half of the lap against the contrasting second half with its stop and start nature. The team now continue their preparations ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session at the Leicestershire circuit.
Brookes said: “Today has not been ideal but there are a couple of reasons for that. I have had to change my gearing so I am not on the rev limiter for so long. We have tried a set-up this morning and I didn’t like it. It was good on paper, but on track it didn’t work so we had to go in a different direction using a different gear pattern. It has taken me a bit of time to ride the correct way to make the best of those changes, because you want to ride a certain way, but because of the nature of the track here you spend more time on the edge of the tyre at a higher RPM.
“We have made our way back again with the setting this afternoon and it is better for the bike and the potential appears to be there. We have overlaid the data and I need to make some changes tomorrow. For instance I am braking too late and then carrying too much speed into the corner and then I lose speed on the way out. I just have to make some more changes and adjust the way I am riding. It is a mixture of the two because at the moment I am being more aggressive than I should be. At the test here at the start of the year with no racing element we built up slowly, you don’t have that ‘we have to go hard’ and that triggers the stab the brake action. That’s essentially where I can improve but we are looking at what we can do to make the bike at its optimum.”
Bridewell said: “To be honest today has been alright. I was a bit disappointed with free practice two when we ended up eighth because we didn’t achieve anywhere near what we were expecting. This morning we had a few problems, but we were a lot stronger and more comfortable to set consistent times than we were this afternoon. We made some massive changes to get me more comfortable but it went the opposite way so we didn’t achieve the times. To be honest in hindsight we could have reverted back to the settings from this morning, but we didn’t get a chance at the end. We will get back to the drawing board now and hopefully make some improvements ready for qualifying.”
For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com