Editorial Note: American James Rispoli qualified ninth in the Superstock 1000 class with a time of a 1:51.502 on his FS-3 Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R. Danny Buchan earned the pole position with a 1:50.250 on his Morello Racing Kawasaki.
Shakey smashes lap record to set fastest ever MCE BSB lap of Snetterton
Defending MCE Insurance British Superbike champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne smashed the existing lap record of Snetterton to set the fastest ever lap of the Norfolk circuit on his way to celebrating pole position ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
The top nine riders prepared themselves for the first Superpole shootout of the season and first to exit pitlane was championship leader Luke Mossey. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider set the benchmark with his fastest lap of the weekend, with Jakub Smrz making his first appearance in Superpole. The Czech rider made a mistake at Wilson and had to settle for second.
Next up to attack a flying lap was Leon Haslam, who had fired himself into Superpole in the final stages of Q2. He then outpaced his team-mate to move to the top of the times with his flying lap as Dan Linfoot then rolled out of pitlane to start his Superpole bid for the top.
Linfoot’s best effort put him third fastest behind the JG Speedfit Kawasakis of Haslam and Mossey as Jason O’Halloran on the second of the Honda Racing Fireblades began his flying lap. The Australian was gaining momentum and he crossed the line to move ahead and put himself as the new target at the top of the times.
James Ellison was next to shoot out for his Superpole lap on the McAMS Yamaha and he was consistently improving, as he crossed the line he had done just enough to push O’Halloran back into second with just Josh Brookes, Jake Dixon and Byrne left to set a lap.
Brookes was wrestling with the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha but he could only post the fifth fastest time as Dixon got his flying lap underway at the RAF Reserves Kawasaki’s home circuit. Knockhill double winner Dixon was only marginally faster than Brookes to put himself fourth and then all eyes were on Byrne.
The five-time champion set a blistering pace to lap the 2.968-mile circuit in the fastest ever time, with an incredible lap of 1m:46.024s to put him 0.537s ahead of Ellison to claim pole position ahead of Ellison and O’Halloran who complete the front row.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Datatag Qualifying result:
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:46.024s
James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha) +0.537s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +1.082s
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.096s
Jake Dixon (RAF Reserves Kawasaki) +1.327s
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +1.331s
Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +1.486s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +2.093s
Jakub Smrz (Lloyd & Jones PR Racing BMW) +2.139s
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Shane Byrne
Be Wiser Ducati
“I went on to the start finish straight and gave it everything I had. I ever so slightly missed the apex at turn two but recovered well, everything was spot on and I could see I was well up on my initial time.
“I rode down the back straight and thought I could do a 1m:45s, concentrated really hard and hit my marker perfectly for the Esses, I rode all the way around the final sector really well but I think because I went around Coram two or three miles an hour quicker, when I braked at my normal point for the last corner it was just a little too late!
“I tipped in and just missed the apex. The exit from there is quite crucial and the bike bogged a bit but I got myself tucked in, got my shifts perfect and hit a 1’46.0! I don’t know if I should be disappointed I missed the 45 or thrilled with the time I got! It is fantastic for the Be Wiser Ducati team as we have worked really hard this weekend and to be fair that lap was me all in!”
More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:
Pole For Record Breaker Byrne At Snetterton
Shane Byrne and the Be Wiser Ducati team will line up in pole position for tomorrow’s opening MCE British Superbike Championship race at Snetterton after the five-times and defending champion set the fastest lap ever around the Norfolk circuit.
With team-mate Glenn Irwin ruled out of round five due to injury, it was again left to Shakey to fly the flag for the Penrith-based squad but having won at the track on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R twelve months ago, he arrived in confident mood.
Indeed, this was borne out over the three free practice sessions where he was fastest in each, his best time of 1m 47.365s not only placing him almost three tenths of a second quicker than Knockhill winner Jake Dixon but also inside his own lap record from 2016.
That made the Sittingbourne rider very much the rider to beat in this afternoon’s Datatag Extreme Qualifying session where he again topped the timesheets in Q1, over a tenth of a second clear of closest rival Josh Brookes. However, in Q2 he posted a superb lap time of 1m 46.863s which was almost a second quicker than his lap record of 1m 47.714s.
That made him quickest by 0.413s but there was still the single lap ‘Superpole’ to negotiate and confirm the grid positions. With times tumbling as the session progressed, in the style of a true champion, he responded perfectly and lapped at a stunning 1m 46.024s to claim the 51st pole position of his career by over half a second.
Shane Byrne: “When I saw some of the lap times, I thought they were fast and the team joked that I’d need to do a 45.8 to get pole and although I didn’t manage that, I am pleased with the lap and to get pole obviously. I actually made a couple of small mistakes, one at turn two and another at the final corner when I missed the apex, probably after having such a great run through Coram, but I tucked in as much as I could on the run to the line and got the pole position. It’s testament to the team as we’ve been chipping away, working methodically and we had a good race run this morning so fingers crossed. Snetterton’s been good to me in the past and we’ve some good tracks for us now, so we need to maximise that potential and make them count.”
Phil Borley, Technical Director: “It was a fantastic Superpole lap by Shakey and when James Ellison did his lap, the pressure was on a bit but Shakey responded with an awesome time. He’s been quicker than everyone else all weekend, by quite a bit, but it was a phenomenal lap on a race tyre. We’ve got really good race pace so hopefully conditions on race day will be good and we can get two good starts and two wins. With the pace Shakey’s shown all weekend, we’re only looking at the top step this weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Bennetts Suzuki:
Mixed fortunes in Snetterton qualifying for Bennetts Suzuki
The Bennetts Suzuki team has endured an up-and-down start to the fifth round of the MCE British Superbike championship Snetterton, with Richard Cooper starting from the front row of the grid on his GSX-R1000 in the National Superstock 1000 race, while it was disappointment for Taylor Mackenzie and Sylvain Guintoli.
Cooper set the second fastest time of today’s qualifying session, narrowly missing out on pole by less than a tenth of a second. However, the former Superstock 1000 champion was well under the existing lap record, and is happy with both the his one lap pace but also his race pace.
Richard Cooper, “Much better this weekend. We struggled a bit at Knockhill but we knew we had to be back on the pace here, and we are. I’m really happy with the bike, the speed is good, the chassis is working well. And I’m also confident that I can do the pace for the full distance. It looks like it’ll be between me and Danny [Buchan], but hopefully we’ve got enough to do the job.”
Mackenzie’s qualifying session was brought to an early end, the youngster failing to make it out of Q1 after he was forced to retire with an electrical issue. Mackenzie will start tomorrow’s opening race from 23rd on the grid.
Guintoli progressed from Q1 into the second qualifying session. He set the 14th fastest time and will start from the fifth row of the grid.
Taylor Mackenzie, “I was full of confidence coming here after Knockhill, but unfortunately we’ve had a few issues that have cost us track time in the practice sessions, and then our qualifying was cut short with an electrical issue. From the few laps I’ve done I’ve felt good on the bike. We’re way down on the grid but I think if we can score points in both races we’ll have done okay; it’s damage limitation a little bit for us, but if we can get away hopefully I can get up the order and turn our weekend around.”
Sylvain Guintoli, “The pace isn’t coming as quickly as we’d hoped this weekend. I had a small crash this morning which set us back as well. Everyone in the team is still working really hard and we’re all motivated to work on improvements. It’s not one particular area, we’re working on the whole package, and we’ll keep pushing for two good results in the races.”
Richard Cooper continued to prove the merits of the new GSX-R1000 in Superstock trim, and will start tomorrow’s National Superstock 1000 race from the front row of the grid after setting the second quickest time during qualifying.
Team manager, Steve Hicken, “Difficult day today. We’ve not done the laps we’d have liked, especially with Taylor. We had an issue in qualifying which was the worst time for it to happen and it’s cost him a good grid position. But it is what it is and we have to take it on the chin and move on. We’ll keep doing our best and try to get two good results from the races.
“With Cooper we’re back where we should be. We didn’t quite have the pace to fight for the wins at Knockhill and we gave away a good few points in the championship, but we’re up there again this weekend, so hopefully we can come away with a good result and get back in the championship hunt.”
Superbike qualifying result: 1. Shane Byrne, 2. James Ellison, 3. Jason O’Halloran, 14. Sylvain Guintoli, 23. Taylor Mackenzie
Superstock 1000 qualifying result: 1. Danny Buchan, 2. Richard Cooper, 3. Michael Rutter