MCE British Superbike Championship

Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, England

May 21, 2016

Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):

From Qualifying Knockout Session Three:

1. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 45.275 seconds

2. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 45.303

3. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 45.389

4. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW S1000RR), 45.414

5. Richard Cooper, UK (BMW S1000RR), 45.496

6. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 45.603

7. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 45.656

8. John Hopkins, USA (Yam YZF-R1), 45.757

9. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 45.838

From Qualifying Knockout Session Two:

10. Peter Hickman, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 45.725 seconds

11. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 45.741

12. Danny Buchan, UK (Duc Panigale R), 45.769

13. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 45.802

14. Billy McConnell, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 45.885

15. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 45.971

16. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 46.039

17. Alastair Seeley, UK (BMW S1000RR), 46.168

18. Jack Kennedy, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), no time recorded in Q2

From Qualifying Knockout Session One:

 20. James Rispoli, USA (Yam YZF-R1), 46.351 seconds

21. Stuart Easton, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 46.356

22. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Italy (Kaw ZX-10R), 46.377

23. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 46.416

24. Filip Backlund, Sweden (Kaw ZX-10R), 46.421

25. Jenny Tinmouth, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 46.484

26. Howie Mainwaring Smart, UK (BMW S1000RR), 46.628

27. Matej Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), 46.946

28. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), no time recorded in Q1

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

Mossey claims first MCE BSB pole position in final 20 seconds at Brands Hatch

Luke Mossey claimed his first pole position in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in dramatic style in an intense Datatag Extreme Qualifying session at Brands Hatch, beating James Ellison and Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne to the pole position in the final 20 seconds of Superpole.

The hectic Datatag Qualifying saw several riders crashing out of contention in the opening two sessions including James Rispoli, Jack Kennedy and Billy McConnell, but with less than a second covering the top 18 riders at the finish, it was a fight all the way to the flag for pole position.

The battle for Q2 saw Peter Hickman narrowly miss out on joining his JG Speedfit Kawasaki team-mates James Ellison and Leon Haslam in the top nine, however despite a crash in the closing stages of Q2, Jason O’Halloran’s Honda Racing team were dramatically able to turn his Fireblade around so he could set a flying lap in Superpole, although he still held ninth at the chequered flag.

The fight for the pole position was a scrap between the top nine riders and Ellison was the first rider to set the benchmark ahead of Tommy Bridewell on the Bennetts Suzuki as Michael Laverty was on the move, pushing into second place after his initial flying laps.

At the top Ellison was holding on and looked set to repeat his 2015 pole position performance on the Indy circuit, but on his final lap Mossey launched ahead of the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider and Byrne, who starts from the front row for his home round.

Laverty heads the second row for tomorrow’s opening race with Richard Cooper splitting the Buildbase BMW and Bridewell who completes the trio, pushing Leon Haslam back to row three ahead of American John Hopkins and O’Halloran.

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

Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) 45.275s

James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.028s

Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.114s

Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +0.139s

Richard Cooper (Buildbase BMW) +0.221s

Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.328s

Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.381s

John Hopkins (ePayMe Yamaha) +0.482s

Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.563s

For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com

Luke Mossey

(Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki)

Pole position rider, Datatag Qualifying

“I wanted to be on the first two rows so the pole position really is a dream come true. We had a good day yesterday and again this morning to be sixth and I felt pretty happy. I didn’t feel that I had done my best lap of the weekend until we got into qualifying and I knew that I had something more in the bag.

“I have to see what tomorrow brings and I know the races are going to be even tougher. The team have been working hard all weekend and we knew we had it, we just needed some luck, and hopefully we can get our first rostrum of the season tomorrow.”

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

Front Row For Byrne At Brands Hatch, Irwin In 15th

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will start tomorrow’s opening race at round three of the MCE British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent from the front row of the grid after a superb lap on the Shakey ByrneBe Wiser Ducati Panigale R saw him qualify third fastest during this afternoon’s Datatag Extreme Qualifying.

The four-times British Superbike champion arrived at his home circuit keen to get his title challenge back on track for the Penrith-based PBM team, and he was immediately on the pace during the free practice sessions.

As expected, times around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit were incredibly close but Shakey continually got quicker and his fastest lap during today’s three-phase qualifying session was just 0.114s adrift of pole setter Luke Mossey, which puts him in a great position for tomorrow’s opening race.

Team-mate Glenn Irwin posted a best time which was less than half a second slower than the quickest time but such was the close proximity of the times, this placed him in 15th which meant he didn’t progress into Q3 and so the Carrickfergus rider will start tomorrow’s first 30-lap race from the fifth row of the grid.

Shane Byrne: “I’ve been nowhere near the front row at the first two rounds so to get here today shows how much progress we’ve made and to do it at Brands Hatch where every thousandth of a second counts feels good. I posted a good lap time on Friday and made some changes this morning which helped in some areas but not others so I went back to Friday’s settings for qualifying and they worked fine. We’ve been working on our race pace, which looks good, and although we’re still in the early stages of development, I’m sure we can improve a bit more. The progress we’ve made so far has been good but we should get some upgrades after this round which should carry us forward that bit more.”

Glenn Irwin: “It was a bit of a struggle for me in qualifying and I haven’t been able to get a good feel for the bike or a setting that I’m really comfortable with. The changes we made before and during Glenn Irwinqualifying didn’t work as I would have liked and I perhaps should have come in during qualifying a bit earlier and given myself a better chance. We know which direction to go in though and with a few more changes before the races tomorrow, I think we’ll be a bit closer. One thing’s for sure, I’ll be getting really stuck in!”

Phil Borley, Technical Director: “It was a strong qualifying performance from Shakey today and we’re certainly pleased to be back on the front row again. He had strong pace on Friday which he’s carried through to today and we only just missed out on pole so we look pretty strong for the races tomorrow. Our race pace is good so we’ll look for a good start and look after the tyres as best we can as 30 laps around is hard going. Glenn struggled a bit today and although he had good pace in Friday’s cooler conditions, he couldn’t quite find the grip he needed today and wasn’t able to lower his lap times as he would have liked. He’s on the fifth row for the first race so his start will be even more crucial but if we can help him find a bit more feel, we’re more than hopeful that he’ll be in the top ten results again.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

BRIDEWELL PUTS IN BEST BSB START FOR BENNETTS SUZUKI

Tommy Bridewell will start tomorrow’s opening race from the second row of the grid after he qualified his Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000 in sixth place for the third round of the MCE British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch.

After a difficult start to the season, today’s qualifying reaffirmed the potential of the Halsall Racing Team and the Suzuki GSX-R1000, with Bridewell posting competitive lap-times over the course of the weekend to take his and the team’s best qualifying position of the season.

Bridewell was consistently among the top riders in free practice, and progressed from both Q1 and Q2 in fourth place. The tight lap-times around the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit made for a close Q3, with Bridewell finishing the session in sixth place.

Tommy Bridewell:

“We’re definitely getting there now. The work from our test at Anglesey has paid off and the team has worked hard to make us competitive this weekend. The bike has been consistently strong and I’ve felt comfortable in every session. Qualifying probably isn’t my strongest area as a rider, but we’ve got a good race-pace and I’m feeling confident for tomorrow. We’ll try a couple of things in warm up, just to see if we can improve in any areas further, but the bike is good to race. It’s hard to pass on the Brands Indy circuit, so I need to get a good start and get away with the guys at the front. You have to be pretty ruthless when it comes to making a pass, as the lap-times are very close between everyone, but I’m looking forward to the first race and having a good go.”

Martin Halsall – Team Owner:

“That feels a bit more like it. The lap-times are incredibly close around here, so it was always going to be a tight battle for a spot on the front row. But after the start to the season we’ve had – and the bad luck we’ve had to endure – a second-row start feels like we’ve turned a bit of a corner. The test at Anglesey was really beneficial, and we’ve come here and Tommy’s been consistently-fast all weekend, and the team has worked really hard too. Tomorrow we’re expecting to see the Bennetts Suzuki up the front and we’re looking to score some solid championship points and get our season back on track.”

The team will be without Ryuichi Kiyonari, who fractured his collarbone in Free Practice yesterday. He will undergo treatment in his native Japan, with a view to returning for the fourth round at Knockhill.

Brands Hatch Qualifying Result: 1. Luke Mossey, 2. James Ellison, 3. Shane Byrne, 4. Michael Laverty, 5. Richard Cooper, 6. Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000).