Haslam On British Superbike Pole Position At Oulton Park

Haslam On British Superbike Pole Position At Oulton Park

© 2006, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Categories:

James Haydon starts tomorrow’s Bank Holiday Monday double header fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship from fourth on the front row of the grid with his Rizla Suzuki team mate Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne heading up the second row in fifth. Consistently in the top four throughout practice, James kept his cool during qualification and earned Rizla Suzuki its first front row start of the 2006 season. Byrne posted the fastest lap times in the previous two practice sessions but missed out in qualification when he crashed out at high speed at Cascades with nine minutes to go. He was unable to rejoin and his best lap time placed him fifth on the grid. Superbike racing starts at 14:00 tomorrow at the picturesque 2.69-mile long Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire. James Haydon: “A big thank you to my Rizla Suzuki technicians for improving my bike so much over the course of the weekend. They have worked wonders and I am happier now than ever before on the GSX-R1000. “I recorded my fastest ever laps of Oulton Park on race and qualifying tyres today. I now have to go out and get results tomorrow.” Shakey Byrne: “I am disappointed to end up fifth in qualification but today has been a trying day for me. I woke up this morning feeling terrible with the flu and have been visiting the medical centre to take a saline drip to keep hydrated. I then crashed in qualification and I’m sure I’ll be stiff later on. “Overall my feeling on the bike is real positive and I like Oulton Park. There are no points awarded today but tomorrow is when it counts and hopefully I’ll be feeling better for the races.” Niall Mackenzie – Race Operations Manager: “It has been Rizla Suzuki’s best qualification session of the year so far and it’s brilliant to be fighting for the front row positions. It’s exactly where the team deserves to be. “James has put in a lot of hard graft on his bike and got his just rewards. He is comfortable on his GSX-R1000 and looking every bit a podium contender. “Shakey on race rubber is lightning quick and on form should have been going for pole position but his challenge was cut short by a crash. Fifth is a strong second row start and if he can shift the flu bug then we can expect him to be fighting at the front tomorrow.” Qualification: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:35.120, 2: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.349, 3: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.370, 4: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +0.521, 5: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) +0.903, 6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +1.046, 7: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +1.059, 8: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +1.559, 9: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +1.568, 10: Glen Richards (Honda) +1.588.

Latest Posts

North West 200: Irwin Breaks Lap Record Again To Claim Pole Position

Glenn Irwin claimed pole position during Superbike final qualifying...

Reminder: Every MotoGP Race In 2024 Will Be Shown Live On TNT Sports

MotoGP™ partners with TNT Sports in the U.S. Every Sprint...

Dainese Opening D-Store In Atlanta

Dainese Group Announces Grand Opening of Atlanta Flagship Location An...

Friends Of Laguna Seca Hires Racetrack Veteran As CEO

FRIENDS OF LAGUNA SECA ANNOUNCES CEO Longtime motorsports executive Lauri...

UtahSBA: Norton Wins Four At Snow-Affected Opening Weekend

Utah Sportbike Association Kicks Off 2024 Season! The Utah Sport...