From a press release issued by series organizers:

Pole Position for Bontempi and Suzuki

Yamaha GMT94’s David Checa set the scene for this afternoon’s qualifying sessions, recording a time of 1:20 for his first flying lap and 1:19 on only his second lap. Ellison for Suzuki GB Phase One and Giabbani for Suzuki Police Nationale soon followed him into the 1:19s, with Nowland (Suzuki Zongshen 1) following suit after some minor changes to the front suspension. Only Checa was able to match Bontempi’s 1:18.916 set in the morning session.

A few drops of rain fell as the second group of riders went out for their final session, and Bontempi was one of the last to leave pitlane. The session was also red-flagged twice for crashes, one of them involving Stephane Mertens (Suzuki Zongshen 1): “I came to the right hand hairpin and the brakes were gone. Every time something goes wrong with this bike it happens to me.”

GMT94’s William Costes was the first of the group to drop into the 1:19s, quickly followed by Piergiorgio Bontempi who then pitted for a fresh tyre before putting in an unbeatable 1:18.6 second lap.

In the final session, Suzuki Police Nationale’s Freddie Moreira was quickest, followed by Suzuki GB Phase One’s Andi Notman and Yamaha Austria’s Karl Truchsess. Moreira ended his session by highsiding on the fastest part of the course.

The starting grid for tomorrow’s race will be based on the best time of the fastest rider of each group. If the qualifying times represent race performance, Zongshen 1 will have a fight on their hands to win the race; their only hope of holding on to the World Endurance Championship. Suzuki GB Phase One have qualified in fourth place but only need to finish in the top thirteen to claim the title. However, rain is forecast for tomorrow’s race, and a lot can happen in 200 miles. With a packed grid, two fuel and rider stops per team and some very quick local entries (both Celani Team and Ducati DRE 101 have made it into the provisional top ten) the race is guaranteed to be close and exciting.