Editorial Notes:
American James Rispoli, riding his Everquip Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, qualified 13th in British Supersport FP1 with a lap time of 1:29.066. Benjamin Currie earned pole position with a lap time of 1:28.085 on a Gearlink Kawasaki ZX-6R. Currie went on to win 11-lap Race One, while Rispoli finished seventh.
American Brandon Paasch, riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Mahindra, qualified third in British Motostar with a lap time of 1:33.347. Jake Archer earned pole position with a lap time of 1:32.565 on a City Lifting/R5 Racing KTM. Archer went on to win nine-lap Race One, while Paasch finished fifth.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Brands Hatch GP Circuit, England
July 20, 2018
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Qualifying Knockout Session Three:
1. Glenn Irwin, UK (Ducati), 1:24.628
2. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yamaha), 1:24.709
3. Jake Dixon, UK (Kawasaki), 1:24.768
4. Tarran Mackenzie, UK (Yamaha), 1:24.769
5. Leon Haslam, UK (Kawasaki), 1:24.806
6. Luke Mossey, UK (Kawasaki), 1:25.133
7. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW), 1:25.199
8. Andrew Irwin, UK (Ducati), 1:25.260
9. Richard Cooper, UK (Suzuki), 1:25.324
From Knockout Qualifying Session Two:
10. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Honda), 1:25.493
11. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW), 1:25.559
12. Danny Buchan, UK (Kawasaki), 1:25.642
13. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW), 1:25.643
14. Bradley Ray, UK (Suzuki), 1:25.776
15. Chrissy Rouse, UK (Suzuki), 1:25.887
16. Gino Rea, UK (Suzuki), 1:26.084
17. Mason Law, UK (Kawasaki), 1:26.608
18. James Ellison, UK (Yamaha), no time recorded in Q2
From Knockout Qualifying Session One:
19. Dan Linfoot, UK (Honda), 1:26.317
20. Sylvain Barrier, France (BMW), 1:26.467
21. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW), 1:26.603
22. Dean Harrison, UK (Kawasaki), 1:26.947
23. Fraser Rogers, UK (Kawasaki), 1:27.136
24. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yamaha), 1:27.519
25. Luke Hedger, UK (BMW), 1:27.840
26. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suzuki), 1:29.662
27. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Kawasaki), 1:30.326
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
First pole position for Irwin as he hits top spot at Brands Hatch
Glenn Irwin claimed his first pole position in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this afternoon, launching the Be Wiser Ducati to the top of the times to hold off Josh Brookes in an incredibly close Datatag Qualifying, with the top nine covered by just 0.696s.
Irwin had topped yesterday’s free practice sessions and set the initial benchmark in Q3 after the first round of fast laps with Luke Mossey, Christian Iddon and Richard Cooper in close contention, but a hectic final stage of qualifying saw positions change throughout.
Tarran Mackenzie leapt into second place for the McAMS Yamaha team but then Jake Dixon moved ahead, but in the closing minutes Brookes fired in a faster lap to claim second place and just 0.081s adrift of the pole position.
The battle was on for the final place on the front row, but it was just 0.001s that settled it with Dixon having the edge to push Mackenzie back onto the second row ahead of Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey on the JG Speedfit Kawasakis.
Christian Iddon heads the third row for Tyco BMW ahead of Andrew Irwin who got caught out in the final minute of the session with a crash at Paddock Hill Bend, but he was able to walk away unhurt, with Richard Cooper completing the top nine riders in Q3.
It will be a tough start for Tommy Bridewell on his debut with the Moto Rapido Ducati team; a crash at the start of qualifying saw him out of contention in Q1 and starting from 26th on the grid for tomorrow’s opening race. James Ellison also slid out of contention in Q2, putting the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha rider 18th on the grid.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, Datatag Qualifying:
1.Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:24.628s
2.Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) +0.081s
3.Jake Dixon (RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki) +0.140s
4.Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.141s
5.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.178s
6.Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.505s
7.Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.571s
8.Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.632s
9.Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.696s
The sixth round of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship take place at Brands Hatch on July 20/21/22. For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Glenn Irwin
(Be Wiser Ducati)
Pole position
“I am really, really happy with that! We started the weekend in free practice one and we were really, strong for so early in the weekend and the lap times were coming no matter what lap we were on, and on an old tyre.
“We had a plan for FP2 which then was wet, but we went out and scrubbed in some pads and had a little bit of fun. I went round with Jake and watched him nearly high side himself! I was actually on the front brake as we came out of Clearways and the team were giving me the ‘in’ sign on the board for five laps but I ignored it as I was having a lot of fun!
“I really struggled earlier and I thought ‘was yesterday just one of those days I clicked and today isn’t?’. But we went back to what we knew, back to exactly how we rolled out yesterday morning and fine-tuned it. The guys know you’ve got to do a ’24 to take pole here, the lower the better, and after Q2 there were two areas where I knew that we needed something.
“Fair play to the boys in the garage; they came up with the goods. To be honest the bike was faultless so I’ve got to thank the PBM team.”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Glenn Irwin Clinches Sensational Brands Hatch Pole
Qualifying for round six of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship saw the Be Wiser PBM Ducati team enjoy a successful day at Brands Hatch with Glenn Irwin taking pole position for tomorrow’s opening race with team-mate and younger brother Andrew Irwin also having a strong day as he claimed eighth place on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R.
Glenn’s weekend started well when he posted the quickest time in the opening free practice session on Friday and although the Carrickfergus rider could only lap a tenth quicker during FP3 this morning, he went into Datatag Extreme Qualifying as the fourth quickest rider overall and in a confident frame of mind.
In the opening Q1, the 28-year-old Ulsterman immediately went quicker than what he had done during the free practice sessions with a time of 1m 25.200s putting him easily through to Q2 where he continued his good progress with a lap of 1m 25.143s in the session.
That just left the final eight-minute Q3 session and a superb lap of 1m 24.628s saw Glenn take his maiden BSB pole position, just 0.081s ahead of closest challenger Josh Brookes.
Meanwhile Andrew, having just his third race meeting on a Superbike for Paul Bird’s Penrith-based team, was also in the top twelve throughout practice and after placing 11th quickest on Friday, he improved his time by more than half a second this morning which meant he went into qualifying ninth fastest overall and just a tenth of a second slower than Glenn.
A time of 1m 25.886s in Q1 placed him 12th quickest meaning he comfortably made it through to Q2 where he put in a superb time of 1m 25.191s during the 12-minute session which was just 0.048s slower than Glenn. The 23 year old was unable to go any quicker in Q3 but recorded the eighth fastest time before sliding off in the closing stages at Paddock Hill Bend.
Glenn Irwin: “I’m really, really happy to take pole position and we’ve had a good strategy all weekend although the changes we made for FP3 didn’t work for me in the way that we thought they would. We went back to what we had in FP1 for qualifying although there were still two areas where I know I needed to improve and fair play to Johnny (Mowatt), Ryan (Rainey) and Phil (Borley) on my side of the garage as they gave me a bike that was faultless for Q3. I’m over the moon to get pole position so I feel we’re in a good place ahead of the two races.”
Andrew Irwin: “The weekend’s been good so far and I’ve continued to make good steps forward, not just in terms of my position on the timesheets but also in how I’m riding the bike. I’ve been trying to ride the bike like Shakey has done and my first goal was to get into Q3, which I did. I didn’t quite piece a whole lap together, but eighth place is another step forward and I’ll go into tomorrow looking for two more top ten positions. I feel really happy in the team and the atmosphere in the garage is great so I’m looking forward to the two races.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It’s really good to get our first pole position of the year and Glenn’s first qualifying pole and both riders have been steadily working through various settings across the two days. Glenn made changes after Q1 and again after Q2 and he was able to break into the 1m 24s bracket which was enough to take pole. I can’t say enough about Andrew and what he’s doing is phenomenal. He’s showing up a few of the BSB regulars so we need to keep him calm and keep him going in the right direction like he has been so far. It’s been a good day so hopefully tomorrow will give both riders the results they deserve.”