MCE British Superbike Championship

TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands

September 18, 2015

Free Practice Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yamaha), 1:37.072

2. Luke Mossey, UK (Kawasaki), 1:37.793

3. Christian Iddon, UK (Suzuki), 1:37.885

4. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (Yamaha), 1:38.004

5. Jack Kennedy, Ireland (Kawasaki), 1:38.028

6. Shane Byrne, UK (Kawasaki), 1:38.054

7. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW), 1:38.258

8. James Ellison, UK (Kawasaki), 1:38.360

9. Richard Cooper, UK (BMW), 1:38.507

10. Danny Buchan, UK (Kawasaki), 1:38.636

11. Josh Waters, Australia (Suzuki), 1:38.692

12. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW), 1:39.033

13. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW), 1:39.157

14. Peter Hickman, UK (BMW), 1:39.175

15. Chris Walker, UK (Kawasaki), 1:39.307

16. Billy McConnell, Australia (BMW), 1:39.335

17. Dan Linfoot, UK (Honda), 1:39.340

18. John Hopkins, USA (Ducati), 1:39.571

19. Filip Backlund, Sweden (Kawasaki), 1:39.636

20. Jed Metcher, Australia (Kawasaki), 1:40.165

21. Howie Mainwaring Smart, UK (Kawasaki), 1:40.165

22. Tommy Bridewell, UK (BMW), 1:40.796

23. Taylor Mackenzie, UK (Kawasaki), 1:41.117

24. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yamaha), 1:42.040

25. Stuart Easton, UK (Kawasaki), 1:42.794

26. Shaun Winfield, UK (Kawasaki), 1:42.998

27. Jenny Tinmouth, UK (Honda), 1:47.318

American James Rispoli, riding his Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6, was sixth-fastest in dry British Supersport Free Practice One and ninth-fastest in wet Free Practice Two.

American Brandon Paasch, riding a spec bike in the Moriwaki 250 Junior Cup, was sixth-quickest in dry Free Practice One and second-best in Friday’s qualifying session, which was held in “changeable” conditions, according to the official timing and scoring information from British Superbike Championship organizers.

More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:

Brookes strikes first blow but Showdown spoilers pack a punch at Assen

Results

Free Practice one:

1: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 1m:38.153s

2: Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.208s

3: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.286s

4: Jack Kennedy (Team WD-40 Kawasaki) +0.479s

5: Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.550s

6: Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +0.718s

Free practice two:

1: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) 1m:37.072s

2: Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.721s

3: Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.813s

4: Jakub Smrz (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.932s

5: Jack Kennedy (Team WD-40 Kawasaki) +0.956s

6: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.982s

Report

Josh Brookes struck an initial blow to his MCE British Superbike Championship rivals by topping the free practice times at Assen for the opening round of the title-deciding Showdown, but the spoilers came thick and fast to ruin the remaining Title Fighters’ ambitions.

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Brookes leads the standings by a narrow two points ahead of Sunday’s two races. The Australian bounced back from a small crash in the morning session to prove he could master the changing conditions thrown at him in the afternoon to hold off the chasing pack and most importantly arch rival Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne.

However the leading title contenders were divided by the Showdown spoilers – the riders who are outside the top six and therefore not in contention for the title crown. Rookie Luke Mossey maintained his recent run of form aboard the Quattro Plant Kawasaki to run second fastest to Brookes, with Christian Iddon on the Bennetts Suzuki also in close contention. Jakub Smrz, returning to the series after injury and making his debut on the Milwaukee Yamaha set the fourth best time from WD40 Kawasaki’s Jack Kennedy.

The remaining Title Fighters know they need to come out fighting in Datatag Qualifying tomorrow and James Ellison held eighth position for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team after an early technical problem set them back initially. He was narrowly adrift of Michael Laverty on the leading Tyco BMW; however team-mate Tommy Bridewell had a disastrous start in 22nd with Dan Linfoot also determined to turn around his day one performance tomorrow after ending in 17th position.

For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com

Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha)

Championship leader: 553 points

“I was quite surprised this morning as I slipped off the paint line on the edge of the track because I was not focussed on what I was doing, thinking ahead about the marshals on the track. I had an eye on the track and drifted too wide – I was a little tentative coming back onto the track afterwards and it gave the guys a lot of work on the bike, for something that was avoidable.

“Then it was a case of not making any mistakes and to go to the top of the session, then after the rain in the afternoon I sat time out, waiting for the track to dry. I was able to go out, get into the rhythm that I know that I can here and I did that. I am just focussed on myself – everyone will be trying to do their best, either to try for the title, or with jobs for next season in mind.

“I will be working hard, concentrating, trying to give my team the feed back to keep on improving the bike, trying to win again.”

Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki)

Second in the standings: 551

“Today has been ok to be honest and it has been nice to get back out on the PBM Kawasaki at Assen as it is always exciting here, plus it is the Showdown! We had a wonderful bike at Oulton Park and some of what we learnt there we have used again today, but because of the nature of the cambered corners plus the flat sections, it has thrown a few spanners in the works.

“We have some good plans for tomorrow and the team have been working hard as always. We did a little bit of a race run on a hard tyre this afternoon and from a consistency point of view it wasn’t too bad. We know there are some areas we need to improve, so roll on tomorrow and then obviously Sunday!”

James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki)

Third in the standings: 522

“We’ve made some big improvements today. This morning we didn’t get to finish the session with the new tyre because we had a problem with the bike, so that’s where that big chunk of time has come from this afternoon.

“Brookes is the man to beat at the moment, but he has been here already this year which is probably a factor. We are struggling a little with rear grip at the moment, but we’ve got some ideas to try tomorrow to solve this. We’ve also got a new swing arm that we want to try, I did a few laps on it today but with conditions the way they were it’s hard to tell how much of an improvement it made.

“The injury is much better than it was at Oulton, but it is still a hindrance – particularly in the last chicane. The goal tomorrow is get on the front row, I’m still not able to pass with the wrist very well, so a good start from the front will be vital to closing the gap down!”

Tommy Bridewell (Tyco BMW)

Joint fourth in the standings: 507

“It hasn’t been a good day for us to be honest as obviously 22nd is not where we need to be at any point of the season, especially in the Showdown. We tried something today that I just wasn’t comfortable to push with and so tomorrow we are going to revert back to what we know that I can push for podiums with on Sunday.

“The weather didn’t really play a part in the issue, it was just something that didn’t work for us, but tomorrow we want to be back where we should be.”

Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing)

Joint fourth in the standings: 507

“Today has been a notoriously steady Friday; this morning we got out there and did some riding on the set-up we came here with on the harder tyre to understand the bike. We used the same tyre to work on various things and then in the second session we wanted to build on that but then the rain scuppered that a little bit.

“We did some laps to test a few things and we weren’t as fast as we are looking for but I have some positive comments that we can implement for tomorrow at move forward. This is a bit of a Friday thing for us so I am not worried at this point, of course if it is the same tomorrow then that is another story!”

Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW)

Sixth in the standings: 500

“It has been a good first day for us as we had a few new components in the bike and it was about evaluating them today and I felt really comfortable and happy.

“We didn’t get a good run for a lap time so the lap times don’t reflect how strong I feel. This is the feeling I have been chasing all year so I am feeling pretty positive ahead of qualifying tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:

BROOKES LEADS THE WAY AT ASSEN SHOWDOWN OPENER

Milwaukee Yamaha’s Josh Brookes continued his reign at the top of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship by topping the times in both free practice session at Assen, whilst team-mate Jakub Smrz impressed on his debut in fourth position.

Brookes had been pushing the times forward throughout the two sessions despite the changing conditions of the afternoon practice and the Australian continued to build the momentum despite a small crash in the morning.

Smrz impressed as he had his first taste of the Milwaukee Yamaha to push up the order and move ahead of the other five Title Fighters ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session.

Josh Brookes

“I was quite surprised this morning as I slipped off the paint line on the edge of the track because I was not focussed on what I was doing, thinking ahead about the marshals on the track. I had an eye on the on the track and drifted too wide – I was a little tentative coming back onto the track afterwards and it gave the guys a lot of work on the bike, for something that was avoidable.

“Then it was a case of not making any mistakes and to go to the top of the session, then after the rain in the afternoon I sat time out, waiting for the track to dry. I was able to go out, get into the rhythm that I know that I can here and I did that. I am just focussed on myself – everyone will be trying to do their best, either to try for the title, or with jobs for next season in mind.

“I will be working hard, concentrating, trying to give my team the feed back to keep on improving the bike, trying to win again.”

Jakub Smrz

“First of all thanks to Milwaukee Yamaha and Shaun Muir for getting me back on a race bike. The first session was going very easy to get the first feeling with the setup and handlebars and then it was a case of getting back on the pace after few months off.

“After some changes for FP2 everything went very well and I felt lot better on the Yamaha R1. I started to understand a little more what I needed to change and improve and now we have more information and data for tomorrow. I enjoyed riding a lot today and that was our plan. Tomorrow we will continue in our work!“