Editorial Note: American James Rispoli is not riding his Quattro Plant FS-3 Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR this weekend at Assen because the Superstock 1000 class is not competing at this round of the series.
American Brandon Paasch, riding a Microlise Cresswell Racing Mahindra Moto3 racebike, finished seventh in the wet British Motostar GP race, which was won by Tom Booth-Amos on a KTM.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
September 30, 2017
Qualifying Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires):
From Superpole Knockout Session Three:
1. James Ellison, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:54.027
2. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:54.109
3. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:54.188
4. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:54.698
5. Bradley Ray, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:55.240
6. John Hopkins, USA (Duc Panigale R), 1:55.371
7. Josh Elliott, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:55.943
8. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:56.439
9. Michael Laverty, UK (Yam YZF-R1), no lap time recorded in SP3
From Superpole Knockout Session Two:
10. James Westmoreland, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:56.492
11. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), 1:56.996
12. Jake Dixon, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:57.318
13. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:57.329
14. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), 1:57.642
15. Jason O’Halloran, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:57.682
16. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:57.922
17. Danny Buchan, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:58.030
18. Richard Cooper, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:59.918
From Superpole Knockout Session One:
19. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:00.206
20. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 2:00.294
21. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 2:01.503
22. Taylor Mackenzie, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:02.932
23. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:04.359
24. Dean Harrison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:04.968
25. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 2:07.912
26. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 2:08.649
27. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 2:11.532
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Ellison on pole as Haslam holds Showdown advantage in dramatic Datatag Qualifying at Assen
James Ellison claimed pole position in a dramatic Datatag Qualifying session in wet conditions at Assen as Showdown contender Leon Haslam was the only rider in the top six of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship standings to qualify inside the top ten.
The session got underway and instantly ended in disaster for Peter Hickman as he crashed the Smiths Racing BMW unhurt; he was able to finally get back on track but he will start 19th on the grid for tomorrow’s opening race.
The next of the Showdown contenders to crash out was Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and the defending champion got to his feet and managed to get the Be Wiser Ducati back to the garage. The team worked to repair the damage and he was soon back on circuit but another slid off ended his hopes of progressing to Q3 and he starts 16th on the grid and just one place adrift of Jason O’Halloran.
Josh Brookes and Jake Dixon also missed out on the cut for the top nine in Q3 and they start 11th and 12th respectively.
In the final stage of Datatag qualifying Ellison had taken the advantage at the start of the session but then Haslam had cut to the top of the times. As the time ticked down Christian Iddon then posted the fastest time before Ellison moved back ahead for McAMS Yamaha.
The last rider on a flying lap was Haslam and the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider just missed out on the pole position, splitting Ellison and Iddon on the front row and pushing Dan Linfoot back onto the second row for Honda Racing.
Bradley Ray starts alongside Linfoot with John Hopkins completing the second row for Moto Rapido Ducati. Josh Elliott overcame a huge moment to save a crash and score his best qualifying result of the season in seventh place on the second of the Tyco BMWs with Sylvain Guintoli and Michael Laverty completing the top nine.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Assen, Datatag Qualifying:
1.James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha) 1m:54.027s
2.Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.082s
3.Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.161s
4.Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.671s
5.Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) +1.213s
6.John Hopkins (Moto Rapido Ducati) +1.344s
7.Josh Elliot (Tyco BMW) +1.916s
8.Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki) +2.412s
9.Michael Laverty (McAMS Yamaha)
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
James Ellison
McAMS Yamaha
Pole position
“It was a good session. We haven’t had great pace in the wet this season so I was a little dubious when I saw what the conditions were like. We made some big steps this morning and then a few tiny changes in Superpole and all of a sudden it just worked.
“To come out with a pole position I’m peaking! I was pushing on quite a bit, I was definitely on my limit. I think I nearly crashed about 18 times on that lap! We could do with a bit of dry time in warm-up to work on the bike as we went the wrong way in the dry yesterday.”
Leon Haslam
JG Speedfit Kawasaki
Championship position: 1st, qualified 2nd
“I saw a lot of people crashing, so it was a case of judging how hard to push. I had a good feeling with the bike, didn’t have too many moments in Q2 and I made some quite big changes with the bike between sessions and I only got out for the final five minutes.
“We’d gone the wrong way with the bike and I had so many moments. We still managed to do a good lap time, and the biggest bonus is that we’re on the front row and our biggest title threats aren’t on the first three rows.”