MCE British Superbike Championship With Pirelli Brands Hatch Indy Circuit Kent, England April 8, 2012 Final Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Knockout Session Three (wet conditions): 1. Josh BROOKES, Australia (Suzuki), 52.877 seconds 2. Jon KIRKHAM, Great Britain (Honda), 53.155 3. Shane BYRNE, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 53.361 4. Tristan PALMER, Great Britain (Honda), 53.585 5. Freddy FORAY, France (Kawasaki), 53.767 6. Noriyuki HAGA, Japan (Yamaha), 53.811 7. Tommy BRIDEWELL, Great Britain (BMW), 53.847 8. Michael RUTTER, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 53.883 9. Stuart EASTON, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 54.496 10. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Honda), 54.526 From Superpole Knockout Session Two (wet conditions): 11. Ian LOWRY, Great Britain (Honda), 54.082 12. Gary MASON, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 54.133 13. Alastair SEELEY, Great Britain (Suzuki), 54.324 14. Graeme GOWLAND, Great Britain (Honda), 54.384 15. Peter HICKMAN, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 54.385 16. Chris WALKER, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 54.427 17. Patric MUFF, Switzerland (BMW), 54.541 18. Luke QUIGLEY, Great Britain (Honda), 55.063 19. Barry BURRELL, Great Britain (BMW), 56.062 20. Florian MARINO, France (Aprilia), 56.299 From Superpole Knockout Session One (dry-to-wet conditions): 21. Michael LAVERTY, Great Britain (Honda), 50.606 22. James WESTMORELAND, Great Britain (Honda), 50.662 23. Scott SMART, Great Britain (Ducati), 50.724 24. Dan LINFOOT, Great Britain (BMW), 50.849 25. James HILLIER, Great Britain (Kawasaki), 50.881 26. Alex LOWES, Great Britain (Honda), 51.173 27. Aaron ZANOTTI, Great Britain (Suzuki), 51.241 28. Alex POLITA, Italy (Ducati), 51.485 29. Tommy HILL, Great Britain (Yamaha), 51.931, crash 30. John LAVERTY, Great Britain (Aprilia), 51.999 31. Jenny TINMOUTH, Great Britain (Honda), 52.968 32. Tom TUNSTALL, Great Britain (Ducati), 53.772 33. Abdulaziz BINLADIN, Saudi Arabia (Ducati), 56.275 More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing: MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Round 1 Brands Hatch Indy Circuit 7/8/9 April BROOKES BAGS POLE IN DRAMATIC SESSION AS HILL CRASHES Results Top six qualifying times 1: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 52.877s 2: Jon Kirkham (Samsung Honda) +0.278s 3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.484s 4: Tristan Palmer (GBmoto) +0.708s 5: Freddy Foray (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.890s 6: Noriyuki Haga (Swan Yamaha) +0.934s Report Josh Brookes will start the Easter Monday opening race of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch from pole position after a dramatic qualifying session during which the reigning title holder Tommy Hill crashed out. Defending champion Hill will start the race from the eighth row of the grid for Swan Yamaha, he fell on his fourth lap of the first part of the grid decider. He said: “I was coming out of Druids and had to get past another rider as I wanted to get in a couple of fast banker laps before the rain came down. “I squirted around him but then hit a damp patch and lost the front end and was down. I picked the bike up but the bar had snapped and there was too much damage, so that was it.” Hill’s consolation is that he has the chance to improve his grid position for the second race by his performance in the first: “I have to get out there in the first race, get what I can out of it, and get in fast race laps as they formulate the grid for the second race, and I need to be up there.” Riding the Tyco Suzuki Brookes timed his challenge perfectly, pushing ahead of Samsung Honda’s Jon Kirkham who had challenged for the first pole position of the season, with little more than a couple of minutes of the session remaining. “I’m really happy sometimes these conditions suit me and here the Suzuki worked really well and that fills me with confidence for the races if they are run in the wet,” said Brookes. “It was tough out there and the tyres were squirming around; you could really feel the bike moving. I was not the fastest for a number of laps, but then pushed on, got pole, and that was the best I could get as I was riding close to the limits,” added Brookes. Kirkham, making his debut with the Samsung Honda team was delighted to be on the front row: “I knew in the last session that that first few laps would be the best, but after Josh had gone ahead of me I tried to push again and was nearly off.” Third fastest in the final element of qualifying was the former two times title winner Shane Byrne, and that was despite an excursion through the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend. “I decided to give it more push and was sideways at Paddock and went straight into the gravel and was happy to get through it and keep going,” said the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider. Tristan Palmer aboard the GB Moto Honda completes the front row of the grid after an impressive debut for the team into the MCE Superbike class this season. “It’s a great start for the team as they move up to Superbikes I didn’t expect this, the conditions worked for us but it is fantastic for us to be at the front.” Former World Endurance Champion Freddy Foray heads the second row on his Quattro Plant Kawasaki ahead of former World Superbike rider Noriyuki Haga, riding the Swan Yamaha; Tommy Bridewell aboard the Supersonic BMW and MSS Bathams Kawasaki rider Michael Rutter. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SECOND ROW START FOR HAGA AND SWAN YAMAHA AT BRANDS HATCH Swan Yamaha’s Noriyuki Haga will start from the second row of the grid for his debut race in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch tomorrow after qualifying sixth at the Kent circuit while his team-mate Tommy Hill will start from the eighth row after a crash in the opening qualifying session. The conditions continued to change as the riders began the race one grid-deciding qualifying session and as Hill aimed to set a lap he was caught out by the conditions and crashed uninjured at Graham Hill Bend. The reigning champion was unable to continue the session as the Swan Yamaha had suffered damage that could not be repaired before the end of Q1. The lone Swan Yamaha of Haga continued to challenge in qualifying; he comfortably made it through to Q2 as it began to drizzle at the circuit, however the Japanese ace was able to set a lap time to qualify for the final session. Haga’s lap of the 1.2-mile Indy circuit in the final session put him sixth for tomorrow’s opening race. Hill said: “It was unfortunate for me to have had a qualifying session like that; it was hit and miss with the weather and I felt confident that we could secure a good position. I was on a lap and came up on a slower rider and I went down the inside but as I went off line I hit a wet patch and I just went down. I tried to pick the Swan Yamaha up, but unfortunately there was too much damage to get it back and out on track again. I am a bit gutted but tomorrow is another day; I just need to try and come through the pack at the start but it is ok, I will have my binoculars with me!” Haga said: “I am quite happy with qualifying; I had experience of a qualifying system like this one in WSB. For sure they were difficult conditions as between the three sessions it kept changing. In the first session I was on a slick tyre so was very careful as there was a dry line and I didn’t want to move off it. The next stage it started raining and I was testing the tyre and then at the end I did a good lap time so I could go to the final stage. The last session was most difficult I think; as I was exiting some parts were wet, some were dry and there would be no time to change the tyres if we chose the wrong one. I am happy as I am starting from a good position which is very important here on this track. Today I also had a look at some places I can look at passes tomorrow and now I just need to make sure I get a good start. I want an exciting race, like I have seen before in BSB, so I am excited for tomorrow and hopefully we can get good results for the Swan Yamaha team.” Team manager Gary Ekerold concluded: “As we have seen before in this championship anything can happen and that has been the case today. Tommy led the practice sessions yesterday and with tricky conditions today it was just unfortunate that he had a crash, but it is recoverable as we have also seen before. Noriyuki’s solid results in his first qualifying session give him a good position to start working from tomorrow.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes is on Pole Position for tomorrow’s opening round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent. In treacherous conditions, Australian Brookes hooked-up the quickest time in both Q2 and Q3 on his GSX-R1000 Superbike, giving TAS Racing’s new title sponsor Tyco Security Products its first ever pole spot. Team mate and 2011 British Supersport Champion Alastair Seeley narrowly missed-out on Q3 and will start the opening race from row four in 13th position. Josh Brookes: “I’m sure everyone else will say the same: it was horrible conditions to ride in, but once I got a feel for the track, it generated a bit of confidence. In the first session there were damp patches and I was waiting for the front to tuck, but in Q2 and Q3 with ‘Wets’ in I felt even more confident and wasn’t worried about running off the dry line. I just hope there was some element of entertainment out there for the fans in the rain as on the bike it was pretty scary. It’s great to post the first pole position slot of the year for Suzuki and all our new sponsors.” Alastair Seeley: “It’s always disappointing not to make Q3 but the conditions were tough today and with the bike ‘walking around’ on me in and out of the turns I didn’t feel we could push any harder. We just need a good start tomorrow and hopefully race one will give me a better grid position for the second race.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “After all the hard work over the winter we couldn’t ask for a more positive start to the season. These are morale-boosting moments that also get you through the tough days. There are no points to be had in Qualifying but Pole Position demonstrates the quality of the Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 package. Josh has been in a great frame of mind all weekend, which is good to see; it has been a great team effort. It was a little disappointing for Alastair today as we know he is capable of much more, but we just have to accept that he has yet to find the correct set-up.” BSB Qualifying Results: 1 Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki), 2 Jon Kirkham (Honda), 3 Shane Byrne (Kawasaki), 4 Tristan Palmer (Honda), 5 Freddy Foray (Kawasaki), 6 Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha), 7 Tommy Bridewell (BMW), 8 Michael Rutter (Kawasaki), 9 Stuart Easton (Kawasaki), 10 Luca Scassa (Honda). 13 Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki).