HILL SHATTERS LAP RECORD TO START SHOWDOWN ON POLE POSITION Results: Qualifying for Sunday race one: 1.Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m:28.869s 2.Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +0.389s 3.John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) +0.780 4.Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +1.305s 5.Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +1.504s 6.Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki) +1.519s Report Tommy Hill snatched the initiative as the chase for the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown enters the Showdown phase in this tenth round at Donington Park by shattering the lap record to claim pole start. Hill, who has a seven points lead in the title stakes going into this round, had been consistently fast across the weekend at the Leicestershire circuit but was pressurised throughout the final element of the grid decider by his Swan Yamaha team-mate and fellow Title Fighter Michael Laverty. But Hill saved the best for last with a scorching time of 1m 28.869secs to better the record established back in March by World Superbike title favourite Carlos Checa. He needed that pace to head off the challenge Laverty who was little more than a third of a second down on him. Taking pole is good but it was hard work as Michael was pressurising me all of the time but now I have to concentrate on making a good get away with the bunch, getting a race rhythm and trying for the race wins, said Hill as he enjoyed his fourth pole start of the campaign. There is a lot of pressure on the teams and riders now we are in the Showdown phase of the championship – it is a case of being consistent and being on the podium in the remaining seven races. It is important to stay focussed to come out on top but I am taking things race by race and trying not to look at the championship standings, he added. Laverty is intent on maintaining the pressure on Hill as he too bids to take the countrys premier crown for the first time. He said: It is about winning races to win championships but at the same time you cannot afford to slip off at this stage of the series. Former MotoGP rider John Hopkins who is still nursing broken fingers on his right hand put his Samsung Crescent Suzuki onto the front row, third fastest, and well in contention to be the first American to win the title. The fingers are pretty sore but once the adrenalin kicks in it is not too bad, said Hopkins who is third in the overall standings. I need to close the points deficit but it is not just about consistency now it is also about racking up race wins. Peter Hickman completes the front row of the grid while Shane Byrne, seven points down on Hill in the standings, starts his HM Plant Honda from the second row having run fifth fastest, 1m 30.373secs. Jon Kirkham riding the second Samsung Crescent Suzuki was sixth fastest ahead of the other two riders in contention to take the crown, the reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari whose best lap came in 1m 30.439secs a split second up on Aussie Josh Brookes aboard the Relentless Suzuki. Graeme Gowland, ninth fastest overall, was the top qualifier in the Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class on the WFR Honda ahead of his team-mate James Westmoreland and Buildbase BMW rider Barry Burrell. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA’S HILL TAKES FIRST POLE POSITION OF THE SHOWDOWN Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill broke the lap record at Donington Park today to secure his fourth pole position of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season as he prepares to defend his lead in the standings ahead of the first Showdown round. Hill leads the overall standings by seven points ahead of tomorrow’s two races and with a time of 1m:28.571s, the fastest of the weekend, he headed off the challenge from team-mate Michael Laverty, who will start alongside him for tomorrow’s first race in second position. Hill said: “The races are never easy and I knew that I would be pushed all the way for the pole position this afternoon. I knew Michael was going to be behind me so I just stayed out and got my head down and it was good enough for pole. It is going to be tight tomorrow and I know we have a slight advantage in the standings but we need tao keep pushing for wins and get the Swan Yamaha back on the podium in the two races tomorrow. We need to get a good start, stay focused and treat one race at a time because we need to stay ahead of the other Title Fighters.” Laverty said: “It was quite tough this afternoon because we knew it was going to be close but the Swan Yamaha team have got the bike working really well. We have been working on trying to get better traction and stop the rear wheel spinning up but we have been pushing hard to be in a position to challenge for the pole position. We have a good set up on the Swan Yamaha and now we need to see what we can pull out of the bag tomorrow for the races. Tommy is always good in qualifying, where it isn’t really my strong point, but front row was what we needed and that is what we have achieved. There won’t be a runway winner tomorrow that’s for sure and we want to take the title fight to them in the races. We need to be winning races, starting tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Samsung Crescent Racing’s John Hopkins has qualified his GSX-R1000 Suzuki on the front row for the 10th round of the 2011 British Superbike Championship at Donington Park as team-mate Jon Kirkham qualified in sixth for a second-row start. In his first ride back after injuring his fingers at the Czech MotoGP round, Hopkins ran top-two through practice, went fastest in first qualifying before settling for P3 for a front-row start tomorrow. Kirkham has also enjoyed a strong start to the weekend, and after finishing practice fifth fastest, took P6 for a second-row start in tomorrow’s first race. John Hopkins: “This has been a great return. I’m very happy with my bike and while my third finger – which the doctors took the pins from on Tuesday morning – needs icing after each ride, it’s not causing me issues on the bike. I could have pushed harder today in final qualifying but the real action must be saved for tomorrow. But starting from P3 is good enough. “Qualifying is just one aspect of the weekend; we’ve also been working very hard on our race set-up and I’m confident we’ve got the package to do the job tomorrow. Adrenaline will deal with any niggles my third finger might want to bring, so for me it’s not an issue. And don’t be confused; this was just the warm up. The fight comes tomorrow.” Jon Kirkham: “I’m stoked. Okay front row would be better, but I ran into a slight issue with tyres halfway through qualifying and that meant I ran a part-worn for Q3, so couldn’t do the times I wanted. But second row – and in good company – I can work it from there. It’s terrific to be at the pointy-end again; since Brands Hatch it’s been getting better and better. I’m really looking forward to two very strong races tomorrow.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “I couldn’t be happier. Hopper is back and he’s right on the money, but as well, our second rider ‘JK’ is bang in there as well. Practice and qualifying have gone very well; we’ve had a few small hiccups, like Jon slipping off in third practice, but nothing’s stood in the way of progress. Both riders have qualified well and feel confident in their race set-ups – just what the doctor ordered. “This is a great circuit and our riders – and the whole team I think – are responding to that, we’ve got a buzz and expectation of doing a proper job tomorrow as this amazing Showdown phase gets underway. Hopper’s said he’ll race for the win and he means it; he’s a straight talker. I think we can anticipate some cracking racing!” MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Qualifying: 1 Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m: 28.869s 2 Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +0.389s 3 John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) +0.780 4 Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +1.305s 5 Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +1.504s 6 Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) +1.519s 7 Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +1.570s 8 Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +1.605s 9 Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +1.673s 10 James Ellison (Sorrymate.com Honda) +1.777s More, from another press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Josh Brookes proved his fighting spirit during today’s British Superbike qualifying session at Donington Park, overcoming yesterday’s crash at Redgate to put his Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing GSX-R1000 Superbike on row two for tomorrow’s opening race of round 10 of the hotly-contested Championship. The Australian bettered his Q3 time in the final stint by almost a second to take eighth place. Josh Brookes: “People keep thinking this is a track I haven’t been at too much, but it’s my fourth season racing here and I’ve won a World Supersport race here. In the first practice I just couldn’t put the bike in the places on the track that I needed to be. I could see the line I wanted but just couldn’t seem to get on it. I’ve adjusted the way I’ve been riding a bit and that’s been helping and we’ve tried a few things with the bike. “Now we’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel. We still need to take a good old solid step forward to make the lap times come a bit easier, but we’ve dug deep today. If it is dry tomorrow – which it’s not meant to be – we need to find a bit more time but I know where that is and we shouldn’t be too far away.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “When things go good it’s easy to heap praise on a rider, but it was pleasing today to see Josh dig deep and make Q3 after struggling to find a set-up that he was really comfortable with. He never makes it easy for himself but he has come through today and the second-row is far from a disaster. It could all come down to the weather tomorrow and wet or dry we should be in the hunt. BSB Qualifying: 1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m:28.869s 2: Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +0.389s 3: John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Suzuki) +0.780 4: Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +1.305s 5: Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +1.504s 6: Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Suzuki) +1.519s 7: Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +1.570s 8: Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +1.605s 9: Graeme Gowland (WFR Honda) +1.673s 10: James Ellison (Sorrymate.com Honda) +1.777s More, from another press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: After qualifying in pole position, Alastair Seeley produced yet another faultless performance on his Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing GSX-R600, winning today’s British Supersport race by over five seconds at Donington Park. The Ulsterman also took the fastest lap and will start tomorrow’s second Supersport outing from the pole position-slot on the grid. Alastair Seeley: “The first two laps, Ben tried to break away, but I didn’t panic and made sure I used all of the track with fast-flowing lines. Then when I caught him I got that-much drive onto the back straight, I wasn’t prepared to shut-off and try to get in his slipstream. I used more of the track and the kerbs, pulled alongside and it was a matter of who braked the latest. I probably ran in a bit too-deep but it gave me the lead. After that I just watched my board. I could hear him for about a lap and after that I started to disappear and it gave me great satisfaction to see ‘plus-three’ and then ‘plus-four’ on my board. The wee bike felt really strong today and gave me a lot of confidence, so big thanks to the team and Suzuki.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “I’ve said it all before about Alastair Seeley, but pole position, convincing race win; and fastest lap is all he can do now. I have an idea for him tomorrow, but realistically all he can do is win and see if some of the other guys can get in the mix for honours. Wet or damp races would make it very interesting for us in both classes.” British Supersport Race 1 Result: 1 Alastair Seeley [Relentless Suzuki by TAS]; 2 Ben Wilson [Kawasaki] +5.441sec; 3 Christian Iddon [Triumph] +7.342; 4 Paul Young [Triumph] +7.647; 5 Jack Kennedy [Yamaha] +7.813; 6 Jimmy Hill [Triumph] +14.898.