MCE British Superbike Championship
Snetterton 300 Circuit, England
July 9, 2016
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Knockout Qualifying Session Three:
1. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:47.795
2. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:48.358
3. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 1:48.427
4. Jason O’Halloran, Australia (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 1:48.595
5. Peter Hickman, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:48.697
6. Danny Buchan, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:48.825
7. Broc Parkes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), 1:48.829
8. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.018
9. Richard Cooper, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.044
From Knockout Qualifying Session Two:
10. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:49.124
11. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:49.272
12. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.366
13. Billy McConnell, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:49.480
14. Jake Dixon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.499
15. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:49.537
16. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:49.862
17. Jack Kennedy, Ireland (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:50.327
18. Filip Backlund, Sweden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:50.616
From Knockout Qualifying Session One:
19. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), 1:50.925
20. Stuart Easton, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:50.962
21. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:51.050
22. James Rispoli, USA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:51.092
23. Alastair Seeley, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:51.228
24. Ryuichi Kyonari, Japan (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:51.670
25. Howie Mainwaring Smart, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:52.095
26. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:52.104
27. Josh Hook, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:52.800
28. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:52.816
29. Jenny Tinmouth, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 1:52.888
30. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:53.474
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Shakey claims first Superpole win of 2016 MCE British Superbike season at Snetterton
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne claimed pole position in the first Datatag Superpole Qualifying of the 2016 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season at Snetterton, pushing Leon Haslam back to second place with his one flying lap.
First up was Broc Parkes and he set the initial benchmark lap for the ePayMe Yamaha team, but Peter Hickman was up second and he then went to the top of the times to put the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team ahead.
Christian Iddon then went for his fast lap, aiming to beat the lap Hickman had set ahead of him; the Tyco BMW rider couldn’t quite do it though and he was placed just adrift of Australian Parkes.
Buildbase BMW’s Richard Cooper was next for the one lap shootout and despite his best attack he will start ninth on the grid for tomorrow’s first race, just adrift of Iddon who joins him on row three.
Danny Buchan was next for his first Superpole experience and he powered the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati into second place behind Hickman after his flying lap, but with four riders still to go he played the waiting game. The local contender starts from row two in sixth place after the end of the Superpole session.
Championship Haslam was on the ascendancy though and the JG Speedfit Kawasaki completed his flying lap to move to the top of the times with Jason O’Halloran and Dan Linfoot unable to better his time. Linfoot slotted into second position ahead of his team-mate with just Shakey to go.
The final lap of the session was down to Shakey to better Haslam’s time and he stormed ahead by 0.563s.
It was disappointment for Michael Laverty and Luke Mossey who both crashed out, the Tyco BMW rider missing out in Q2 and the Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki rider will start from the tenth row after his mistake in Q1.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Datatag Qualifying, Superpole:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:47.795s
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.563s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.632s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.800s
Peter Hickman (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.902s
Danny Buchan (Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati) +1.030s
Broc Parkes (ePayMe Yamaha) +1.034s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.223s
Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +1.249s
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)
Pole position
“I am really happy with that lap time. I was a little nervous before I went out for my lap as I had got to see Leon’s [Haslam] time so I knew what I had to do to beat it. On the lap itself I knew I had a little bit in hand and I knew I was up on my best previous time. I kept nicking time here and there, but had a few little errors too but when I saw the final time I was pretty chuffed!
“The team have done a great job and we are building to be as good as we can for the Showdown. So far, so good and we need to keep it up now. I have had a lot of good races here so hopefully we can have more of the same tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Byrne Storms To Superpole Victory At Snetterton
The Penrith-based Be Wiser Ducati team of Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Glenn Irwin enjoyed an excellent Datatag Extreme Qualifying session at Snetterton today at the fifth round of the 2016 MCE Shane ByrneBritish Superbike Championship, with Byrne claiming a stunning pole position and Irwin taking a solid 11th.
With a new exhaust system on the factory-backed Ducati Panigale R, Byrne only put in three laps during the opening Q1 session but it was enough for him to be quickest, his time of 1m49.181s, over two tenths of a second quicker than second placed Peter Hickman. Carrickfergus, County Antrim rider Irwin also made it comfortably through to Q2 in 12th place.
Four-times champion Byrne, from Sittingbourne in Kent was equally in control during Q2, this time lapping at the much quicker rate of 1m48.156s to again top the timesheets. Team-mate Irwin also went quicker but he just missed out on making it through to the third and final stage of qualifying as he posted the 11th fastest time, good enough for a fourth row start for tomorrow’s opening race.
For the first time this season, the final nine riders then went into the Superpole qualifying for pole position, each rider getting just one flying lap of the 2.99-mile ‘300’ circuit. Having been fastest in Q2, Byrne was the last rider to take to the track and had to beat the time set by Leon Haslam on his single flying lap which he did, lapping over half a second quicker than his title rival to claim a 44th career pole position and second in succession after doing likewise at Knockhill two weeks ago.
Shane Byrne: “I’m not sure if going last was an advantage or not in the new Superpole format as we needed one more dry session of practice. We’ve had a new exhaust made and whilst there are a lot of positives, we’re still having to do development work over the course of the weekend. At the same time, this is the first time we’ve arrived at a circuit with a base setting having tested here a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a gamble coming into qualifying but my team did a great job and I’m so proud of the work Giovanni and the boys have done as the bike was on absolute rails. I knew after Q2 I had a bit in reserve although I wasn’t sure how much, and Leon obviously got close to my Q2 time. I could see from my first split that everything was going well so I just tried to maintain everything throughout and pole position is a great way to start the weekend.”
Glenn Irwin: “I’m a little bit disappointed not to have made it through to Superpole as my pace has Glenn Irwinbeen good enough for the top ten pretty much all weekend. The track conditions for qualifying were quite different to what they had been previously and I didn’t quite have the feel I needed. The set-up of the bike can change quickly and we still need to work a bit with that. At the same time, 11th is one of my better performances in the dry and it’s not a bad grid position so I’m hopeful of pushing on in the two races.”
Phil Borley, Technical Director: “It was a very impressive qualifying performance today from Shakey from start to finish and his final lap was very good indeed. To be over half a second quicker than the rest of the field is no mean feat and puts us in a good position for tomorrow’s first race. Glenn struggled a bit with the track conditions and it affected his confidence slightly. He’s a bit disappointed as he’s been a lot quicker in the tests but it’s not the worst position to be in and he’s got good race pace so should be able to make up a few places on race day.”