The wet conditions made it challenging for the riders however Brookes wasn’t going to give up without a fight and despite three crashes in as many sessions the Australian powered in the fastest lap in the closing stages to seal the position. Tommy Bridewell narrowly missed out on the top ten in eleventh place but is confident that in the forecasted dry conditions he will be able to move up the order to make amends.

Brookes said: “I had felt in control in the final free practice and everything was going smoothly even though it was the first day we rode in the wet and it was all going to plan. In qualifying it was completely different conditions and I went out and went down. I managed to get the bike back to the garage as there was time to get it back to the team and we started again and then I crashed for the second time. Again I made it back and the Milwaukee Yamaha guys did a great job to fix it all and I got back out to be in Q2. I am thrilled to be on pole and the team now have to work to get the bike back to how it was, but I feel this might go some way towards repaying them for their hard work. I am really pleased with how things are going and I am looking forward to hopefully a dry race tomorrow.”

Bridewell said: “Eleventh place is obviously not where I want to be on the grid and we want to change that for tomorrow. The Milwaukee Yamaha was working well but it was a massive gamble trying to get it through into the final qualifying. It is dry tomorrow I am feeling really positive with our settings. Eleventh is not where I wanted to be on the grid but we will give it our best shot in the races tomorrow.”

For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com

More, from a press release issued by Buildbase BMW Motorrad:

Kiyonari secures second-place start for his BMW debut at rain-lashed Brands Hatch.

Buildbase BMW Motorrad rider Ryuichi Kiyonari will start from second place on the grid for tomorrow’s first British Superbike race at Brands Hatch. Extremely wet track conditions made for unpredictable events, with all riders on the eventual front row having suffered crashes at some point during Qualifying.

Kiyonari often led the timesheets during three nail-biting wet qualifying sessions, with the Japanese rider fastest overall in Q1. Kiyo was the fastest for most of the Q3 session, before being pipped at the last moment by a charging Josh Brookes.

James Westmoreland will start in fifth place on the second row, following an impressive Qualifying performance which saw him top the timesheets in Q2.

Michael Dunlop, joining the team as part of his preparation for racing at the Isle of Man TT, delivered a stunning effort for his first ever BSB ride. The Irish racer was running in second place in Q1, and looked set to secure a place at the front of the pack during Q2 when he slid off in the treacherous conditions, preventing him from setting a time in the third session. Dunlop will start from 16th place.

Lee Jackson, riding the BMW HP4 in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 championship, secured fourth place and will start tomorrow’s race on the second row of the grid.

Ryuichi Kiyonari said: “I felt good in the dry and wet because we haven’t made changes between the settings and we have been building throughout the weekend. I think we will be ok for race distance but we need to make some more changes still to make sure we are faster tomorrow. So far it has been very good because today was our first ride in the wet but I am happy to be back on the front row again.”

Stuart Hicken, Team Owner, said: “Elated and disappointed in the same breath. Michael was exceedingly unlucky to come off, we were so close to having three bikes in the top six. All in all, though, a great start to the first race weekend of the season. All we need now is some dry weather and we can get some proper racing done.”

While heavy rain and cold temperatures have hit the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent, Bank Holiday Monday’s weather is set to be much warmer and more pleasant, with sunshine and dry conditions forecast.

Tomorrow’s racing begins at 11:20 am with the Supersport 1000 fixture. The first British Superbike race starts at 1:30 pm.

Follow the action live on British Eurosport 2 or follow live timings on www.britishsuperbike.com

MCE BSB, Brands Hatch, Datatag Qualifying result:

1) Josh Brookes – Milwaukee Yamaha

2) Ryuichi Kiyonari – Buildbase BMW Motorrad

3) John Hopkins – Tyco Suzuki

4) Chris Walker- Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki

5) James Westmoreland – Buildbase BMW Motorrad

6) Richard Cooper – Anvil Hire TAG Racing Kawasaki

7) Ben Wilson – Gearlink Kawasaki

8) Michael Rutter – Bathams BMW

9) Keith Farmer – PR Racing Kawasaki

10) Patric Muff – Bathams BMW

16) Michael Dunlop – Buildbase BMW Motorrad

More, from a press release issued by Tyco Suzuki:

HOPKINS SPLASHES HIS WAY TO THE FRONT ROW ON TYCO SUZUKI DEBUT

British Superbike Championship – Round 1, Brands Hatch [Qualifying]

Former Suzuki GP star John Hopkins will start from the front row of the grid in tomorrow’s opening British Superbike race of the 2014 season. The American posted the third fastest time in the third and final qualifying session with new team Tyco Suzuki in treacherous conditions earlier today.

His Australian team-mate Josh Waters – also making his Tyco Suzuki debut – will open his account with the Northern Ireland team from row five in fourteenth place, right beside Shane Byrne who finished runner up in last season’s championship.

John Hopkins:

“There was lot of standing water out there today. I hadn’t ridden in the rain for a long, long time. The Tyco Suzuki was working perfectly in the conditions, just like it did at the end of last season when the team won three races. The boys did a great job today with set-up for me. My aim is to take it step by step, but we had a little crash at the end there, although we are looking all right for tomorrow. I just want to be in the top five and battling with those guys to start the season off, but overall I’m very happy so far.”

Josh Waters:

“I’m a bit disappointed to miss out on Q3 today but we’ve made progress and I’m starting to find my feet back on the GSX-R, but the guys did a great job. Row five is not ideal for race one but I’m right beside Shakey, so I’ll let him bang open the gap and I’ll follow him through.”

Team Manager – Philip Neill:

“All things considered, today was pretty positive especially as it’s the first time John has ridden our bike or any other machine in the wet in over two years. He did an exceptional job in what were extremely difficult conditions. In my opinion it certainly shows the class of the man. Josh was also working his way up the field in the various sessions as we tried to find a comfortable setting for him. Unfortunately a change of tyre for Q2 didn’t quite provide the grip we had hoped for and he just missed out on Q3. We came out of the day relatively unscathed unlike some of the other teams and riders.”