More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
The O Show banks Cadwell Pole in wet Omologato Superpole
Jason O’Halloran stormed to pole position in the closing seconds of Omologato Superpole at Cadwell Park, beating Kyle Ryde by 0.138secs.
It was a dramatic final few minutes in the session, held under the wet condition format after rain appeared during Speedy Hire Qualifying One, as the top spot swapped between a number of riders.
The drama started at the very beginning, as championship contender Ryan Vickers crashed his OMG GRILLA Yamaha before he’d even set a lap time, ruling him out of the rest of the session.
And moments later, defending champion Tommy Bridewell suffered a similar fate as he too crashed without banking a fast lap.
Billy McConnell was the first rider to top the timesheets on the C&L Fairburn/ Look Forward Racing Honda, but was quickly deposed by local favourite Lee Jackson on the MasterMac Honda, as the lap times settled around the mid 1m26s mark.
With eight minutes to go, OMG GRILLA Yamaha’s Ryde moved ahead as behind, the likes of DAO Racing Kawasaki’s Danny Buchan and Leon Haslam on the ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW found themselves in a battle for the front row, before Jackson moved back ahead with a 1m26.254s on his fifth lap.
With two minutes to go, Hager PBM Ducati’s Glenn Irwin, one of the three who made it through Speedy Hire Qualifying, jumped up to P1, but quickly dropped back to second as Ryde once again hit the top.
But the best was still to come, as Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki’s O’Halloran, who had been steadily running in the top six, stuck in an impressive 1min25.916s lap to hit the top – and stayed there.
O’Halloran will head the grid for Race One with Ryde second and Charlie Nesbitt – who set his best lap in the final moments – third as team-mate Jackson had to make do with fourth at the flag, with Irwin fifth.
Haslam will start sixth, ahead of Buchan, with FHO Racing BMW Motorrad’s Josh Brookes eighth, as McConnell and McAMS Racing Yamaha rider Danny Kent round out the top 10.
Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s Christian Iddon will line up 11th, ahead of Storm Stacey on the LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki, as Bridewell and Vickers start 13th and 14th respectively.
It was a double blow for Honda Racing UK in qualifying as Andrew Irwin has been withdrawn from today’s action following a heavy crash in Free Practice 3. He was assessed by the BSB Medical Team and declared unfit following the crash and his situation will be reviewed no earlier than tomorrow morning.
Danny Kent has received three penalty points and will start 13th on the grid following a three position grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line, which contributed to Andrew Irwin’s crash.
