Editorial Notes:
American James Rispoli, riding his Everquip Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, was fifth-fastest in British Supersport qualifying but DNF in Race One. Jack Kennedy won the nine-lap race on an Integro Yamaha YZF-R6.
The British MotoStar class, in which American Brandon Paasch competes on his Microlise Cresswell Racing Mahindra, is not part of the program this weekend at Snetterton.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Snetterton Circuit, England
June 16, 2018
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Qualifying Knockout Session Three:
1. Bradley Ray, UK (Suzuki), 1:46.632
2. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yamaha), 1:46.768
3. Glenn Irwin, UK (Ducati), 1:46.876
4. Jake Dixon, UK (Kawasaki), 1:46.906
5. Leon Haslam, UK (Kawasaki), 1:47.103
6. Dan Linfoot, UK (Honda), 1:47.338
7. Luke Mossey, UK (Kawasaki), 1:47.460
8. Danny Buchan, UK (Kawasaki), 1:47.619
9. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW), 1:47.946
From Qualifying Knockout Session Two:
10. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Honda), 1:47.586
11. James Ellison, UK (Yamaha), 1:47.601
12. Andrew Irwin, UK (Ducati), 1:47.636
13. Richard Cooper, UK (Suzuki), 1:47.694
14. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW), 1:47.852
15. Tarran Mackenzie, UK (Yamaha), 1:47.966
16. Taylor Mackenzie, UK (Ducati), 1:48.166
17. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW), 1:48.285
18. Mason Law, UK (Kawasaki), 1:49.036
From Qualifying Knockout Session One:
19. Gino Rea, UK (Suzuki), 1:48.847
20. Sylvain Barrier, France (BMW), 1:49.218
21. Kyle Ryde, UK (Yamaha), 1:49.804
22. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yamaha), 1:51.147
23. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Kawasaki), 1:52.270
24. Carl Phillips, UK (Kawasaki), 1:52.272
25. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suzuki), no lap time recorded
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Ray finishes on top after battle with Brookes for Snetterton pole position
Bradley Ray saved his best for last in the Datatag Qualifying session at Snetterton as the Buildbase Suzuki rider snatched the top spot from Josh Brookes on the final lap of Q3 to celebrate his second Bennetts British Superbike pole position of the season.
Glenn Irwin had initially set the benchmark after the opening flying laps in Q3 but the Be Wiser Ducati rider was toppled by Brookes as the McAMS Yamaha rider topped the times, however seconds later Ray had moved ahead by just 0.136s.
Ray’s last lap attack left his rivals with no time to respond as he set the pace for the first time this weekend, with Brookes celebrating his first front row start of the season ahead of Irwin.
Jake Dixon and the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki team head the second row for tomorrow’s opening race ahead of championship leader Leon Haslam and Dan Linfoot, who returns from injury this weekend.
Luke Mossey starts from the third row ahead of Danny Buchan, who had topped the final free practice session, and Michael Laverty who completes the top nine for Tyco BMW.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Datatag Qualifying:
1.Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) 1m:46.632s
2.Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +0.136s
3.Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.244s
4.Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +0.274s
5.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.471s
6.Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.706s
7.Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.828s
8.Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.987s
9.Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +1.314s
The next round of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship take place at Snetterton on June 15/16/17. For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Bradley Ray
(Buildbase Suzuki)
Pole position rider
“In qualifying you sort of grit your teeth and do the best lap you can. I had done two 1’47.5s laps and I knew that wouldn’t be enough for pole as in Q2 I’d gone quicker.
“I knew I had one last chance to improve my lap time so I just braked as late as I could in every corner and hit every apex and luckily it was a fairly strong lap.
“Shakey did a 1’46.0 last year so I wasn’t too sure if it would be pole or not, but I knew it was a strong time, it was the best I had on the day and if the others could beat it fair play to them.
“It’ll be a difficult race, but we’ve had good pace all year. I need to try and stay out of trouble in the early laps, use my head and be consistent and we should be OK.”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Front Row Start For Glenn, P12 For Andrew At Snetterton
After a six-week break, the Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team got their Bennetts British Superbike Championship campaign back underway in fine style at Snetterton today with team leader Glenn Irwin claiming third place during Datatag qualifying for round four.
Leading the team in the absence of injured reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, the Ulsterman will start tomorrow’s opening 16-lap race from the front row on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R with team-mate and brother Andrew also impressing so far as he posted the 12th quickest time for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team.
With the fifth fastest lap overall from yesterday’s and this morning’s free practice sessions, 28-year-old Glenn was in confident mood heading into this afternoon’s Datatag three-phase qualifying session and with the fifth fastest time once more in Q1, he progressed into Q2. The Carrickfergus rider continued to impress with a time of 1m 47.243s seeing him top the leaderboard ahead of the final Q3 section.
Then, with just eight minutes to put in a quick time around the three-mile 300 configuration, Glenn was quick out of the blocks and his first flying lap of 1m 46.876s put him comfortably quickest but just when it looked like he’d claim his maiden BSB pole position, Bradley Ray and Josh Brookes pushed him back to third in the closing stages with just 0.244 seconds covering the trio.
23-year-old team-mate Andrew made his BSB debut after impressing in a shakedown test at Knockhill earlier in the week and he did so again at Snetterton, posting the 11th fastest time across the free practice sessions.
The first segment of qualifying saw him set his first sub-1m 48s lap of the weekend and a time of 1m 47.944s meant he comfortably made it through to Q2. He improved further still during the shorter 12-minute session with a time of 1m 47.636s and although it meant he didn’t move through to Q3, qualifying in twelfth place was an excellent effort in his first outing.
Glenn Irwin: “It’s been a really good weekend so far and after a solid test at Knockhill and my wins at the North West 200, I arrived here with a lot of confidence. The team’s working really well and whilst there’s a bit of pressure on me as the team leader, I think it’s a position I can thrive on. We made a small, but key change to the bike between Q1 and Q2 which made a significant impact on what I could do with the bike, but we’ll definitely be looking to improve further for tomorrow’s races. I’m a better racer than I am a qualifier so I’m feeling good ahead of race day.”
Andrew Irwin: “I had no expectations coming into the weekend but if someone had handed me 12th place in qualifying at the beginning of the weekend, I’d have taken it! The test at Knockhill was quite difficult as it came straight after three days of riding at Brno and I was quite fatigued, but I came here fully rested and ready to make the next step in what I hope is just the beginning of my BSB career. I’m understanding the bike and learning all the time and I’ve been pleased with the progress I’ve made so far in the first two days, so I’ll be looking for some points tomorrow.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Coordinator: “There’s pressure on Glenn’s shoulders now that he’s the team leader so hopefully he’s ready to step up to the plate. We know it’s a circuit where the bike works well but we also knew qualifying was an area where Glenn needed to improve as you can’t afford to be back in the pack. Today has been a good start to that and he’s looked good all weekend. We were under no illusions as to how big an ask it was going to be for Andrew and we had no expectations on his results, but he’s done a brilliant job so far. He’s taking it step by step and understanding how the Ducati works each time he goes out and what’s been especially pleasing is that he did his best lap time on his own so fair play to him. It’s been a good day and we’ll be hoping for a strong race day.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing BSB Press Office:
GUTSY EFFORT BY HONDA RACING DUO IN SNETTERTON QUALIFYING
Qualifying for the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship took place this afternoon, with Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran impressing throughout each stage aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade as both return from injury.
Linfoot, who is making his return after a nine-week absence, effortlessly made it through each of the three qualifying stages. With quick times all-round, the final session saw the 29-year old finish sixth just 0.706 seconds off pole position. With his Fireblade showing good pace at the 2.99-mile circuit, he will start tomorrow’s opening BSB race from the second row of the grid.
Meanwhile teammate O’Halloran impressed with his performance and just missed out on Q3, finishing Q2 in tenth place. Still walking on crutches after breaking his ankle just nine weeks ago, his performance on track remained impressive. ‘The O’Show’ missed out on the final stage by a mere 0.010 seconds and was only 0.343 seconds from the top spot.
Honda’s duo will now prepare for tomorrow’s opening 16-lap British Superbike race, which is scheduled to take place at 1330, with race two at 1630 (BST).
To keep up-to-date with all the latest team news follow @HondaRacingBSB on Twitter.
#4
Dan Linfoot
That was my first qualifying since Donington Park and it felt good, to be honest I’ve felt good most of the weekend, I’m happy to be on the back of the second row in sixth place, especially as I haven’t ridden in nine weeks. What I am really pleased with is that I’m riding close to the limit again, I expected that maybe it would have taken a little longer to get near to that point, but I’m happy to be able to be pushing that fast already. I’ve got my eyes firmly on the races tomorrow and it will be difficult, but the key is to focus on race one, take what we can from that and then go into the second race.
#22
Jason O’Halloran
I’m disappointed to miss out on Q3; I gave everything I had but at the minute I’m probably 60% off where I need to be. I tried so hard and the boys have once again given me a great bike, the CBR feels so good and I have no complaints there – I’m just struggling with the limit of where I am at the moment. I tried really hard at the end of Q2 to get through and I think we missed out by less than a tenth of a second! I’m pleased with the pace overall, we were 0.343s from the top in Q2, which is really good considering I’m carrying an injury. I’m not disappointed in our position, but I’m disappointed in what we could have done this weekend, I love riding here and to be that close with the injury just frustrates me. But, tomorrow is a new day and we have two long races ahead of us, I’ll obviously try the best I can and to score as many points as possible.
Havier Beltran
Team Manager
Overall I am really pleased with both riders and how they’re getting on this weekend, they are both a bit stiff and sore but that’s to be expected. I’m so impressed where they both are considering the amount of time Dan has had off the bike and Jason with his injury. They’re both confident with the package they have with the Fireblade and they are showing good race pace. I’m confident they can be strong in both races tomorrow and gather a handful of points. This round for us is about building and maintaining, I’m looking forward to seeing how they both get on.
More, from a press release issued by Halsall Racing:
HALSALL RACING PARTS COMPANY WITH TOMMY BRIDEWELL
THE Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki squad can today confirm it has terminated its contract with rider Tommy Bridewell.
The decision follows several weeks of discussions between team and rider, and following a few recent disagreements, the team feels the only way forward is to part company.
Halsall Racing and Tommy Bridewell have a long relationship dating back to 2013, and we have experienced some of our finest results with him on our machines.
However, under the current situation we feel that we have no option but to go our separate ways.
We wish Tommy the very best of luck for the future.