MCE British Superbike Championship

Thruxton, England

July 23, 2016

Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):

From Knockout Qualifying Session Three:

1. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:14.315

2. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:14.590

3. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 1:14.594

4. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:14.643

5. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.021

6. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.030

7. Billy McConnell, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:15.047

8. Alastair Seeley, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.321

9. Jake Dixon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.386

From Knockout Qualifying Session Two:

10. Peter Hickman, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:14.927

11. Jason O’Halloran, Australia (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 1:14.949

12. James Rispoli, USA (Yam YZF-R1), 1:15.205

13. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.243

14. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.271

15. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:15.344

16. Ryuichi Kyonari, Japan (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:15.400

17. Richard Cooper, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:15.618

18. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:16.166

From Knockout Qualifying Session One:

19. Filip Backlund, Sweden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:15.771

20. Stuart Easton, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:15.797

21. Jack Kennedy, Ireland (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:15.851

22. Danny Buchan, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:15.988

23. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:16.007

24. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:16.191

25. Luke Stapleford, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:16.305

26. Jenny Tinmouth, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 1:16.401

27. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:16.751

28. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:16.767

29. Josh Wainwright, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:16.943

30. Josh Hook, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:17.444

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

Shakey claims pole position from Bridewell in fierce Superpole shootout

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne narrowly claimed the pole position for tomorrow’s opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship race at Thruxton after setting a Superpole lap in Datatag Qualifying just 0.275s faster than home contender Tommy Bridewell.

An intense Superpole session got underway in the Hampshire heat with Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty up first to set his lap and he set the benchmark with a time of 1m:15.021s.

Next up was Jake Dixon on the Briggs Equipment BMW and the MCE BSB rookie couldn’t better the time of Laverty to hold second place. His team-mate Alastair Seeley was up next and on the fastest circuit on the calendar he moved ahead of Dixon, as the RAF Reserves BMW team celebrated having both riders inside the top nine.

Lee Jackson was next, making his first appearance in the final Superpole stage of Datatag Qualifying. The Buildbase BMW rider was just 0.009s adrift of Laverty’s fastest lap that was still holding the top position, putting him second with five riders still to go.

FS-3 Racing Kawasaki’s Billy McConnell was ready for his one lap flier, the Australian starting seventh on the grid with his strongest performance of the season so far.

Bennetts Suzuki’s Tommy Bridewell was one of the final three riders left to set their lap time and the local contender put in a dazzling display on track to claim his first front row start of the season, hitting the top of the times by 0.053s.

Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot was the penultimate rider to head out on track and again a flying lap put him into second place, just 0.004s adrift of Bridewell with just Byrne left to cross the line.

Byrne was down at the first sector, but the four-time champion was determined to make it a clean sweep at the top of the times ahead of the two races tomorrow. The Be Wiser Ducati rider mastered the final part of the circuit to hold a 0.275s advantage over Bridewell to hit the top of the times and claim his second Superpole victory of the season.

It was a disappointing Datatag Qualifying session for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team with Peter Hickman in tenth, Leon Haslam in 15th position and James Ellison in 23rd.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Datatag Qualifying Superpole result:

Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:14.315s

Tommy Bridewell (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.275s

Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.279s

Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +0.328s

Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +0.706s

Lee Jackson (Buildbase BMW) +0.715s

Billy McConnell (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) +0.732s

Alastair Seeley (RAF Reserves BMW) +1.006s

Jake Dixon (Briggs Equipment BMW) +1.071s

For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com

Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati)

Pole position rider:

“The Be Wiser Ducati has been phenomenal here and that is all credit to the team. On my fast lap I was in the last sector and I thought I could pull back the tenth I had lost earlier in the lap, and it was off the 1m:13.8s I had done in free practice three.

“I out-braked myself into the last chicane and made a complete mosh up of it so it wasn’t my best lap of the weekend but it was good enough for pole position so that did the job!”

More, from a press release issued by Be Wiser Ducati:

Dominant Byrne Romps To Thruxton Pole

For the third meeting in succession, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne put in a dominant performance at Thruxton today to put the Be Wiser Ducati on pole position for tomorrow’s opening MCE British ShakeySuperbike Championship race at the Hampshire venue.

The four-times MCE BSB champion and 2016 series leader had been in imperious form on the factory backed Ducati Panigale R throughout the three practice sessions, being quickest in all three and also lapping inside the circuit lap record, so he was naturally in confident mood heading into this afternoon’s Datatag Extreme Qualifying session.

The 39-year-old only completed three laps in Q1 but he didn’t need to do any more as, second time around, he went quickest and the closest anyone got to his time was Luke Mossey who was still 0.370s adrift.

The Sittingbourne rider was just getting into his stride and Q2 saw him lap at 1m13.843s, over a second inside the circuit lap record, which stretched the gap to the rest of the field even further. And although he was unable to go any quicker in the single ‘Superpole’ lap of Q3, he comfortably claimed yet another pole position.

Team-mate Glenn Irwin had run inside the top 15 during Friday’s free practice sessions but, despite going quicker this morning and being only 1.5s adrift of Byrne, the Northern Irishman placed 21st overall heading into the afternoon’s qualifying session. Times were extremely close and going just one tenth of a second quicker would have put the 26-year-old inside the top twelve.

When it came to qualifying, though, the Carrickfergus rider’s hopes were dashed before they’d even begun as a slight mistake in the opening minutes of Q1 saw him crash out at the Complex. The team managed to get him back out onto the circuit with minutes to spare but it all means he’ll have to start tomorrow’s opening 20-lap race from 24th and the eighth row of the grid.

Shane Byrne: “The most pleasing aspect about the weekend so far is that we arrived with the bike as it had finished at Snetterton and we’ve only had to make a few small changes; it’s the first time this season the bike’s worked from the outset. As a result, that’s allowed us to concentrate on other areas, particularly tyre life this weekend. I’m really happy with the way our bike is working and I’m confident that our race pace is strong so the plan is to get my head down in the first couple of laps and see how it goes. I had a bit more to give in Superpole but the bike jumped into neutral through turn two and that’s the last thing you want as it’s flat out in fourth gear. I managed to get it back together and it was still good enough for pole so I’ll take that and look forward to tomorrow’s races.”

Glenn Irwin: “Shakey came by just before the Complex and I wanted to tuck in behind him and ensure no-one got between us but I let the brake off a bit earlier than normal and down I went. I managed to Glenn Irwinget the bike back to the pits and fair play to the team, they got me back out on track but 24th was the best I could manage so it’s going to be hard going tomorrow, certainly in the first race. My pace had been OK in the free practice sessions but I’ll have to get stuck in tomorrow and hopefully get two points scoring finishes.”

Phil Borley, Technical Director: “It was a fantastic qualifying performance by Shakey today and he’s been happy with the bike from the word go. He pushed when he had to push and he seems to be a good step ahead of everyone else. With the pole position, we’re extremely hopeful of having two good races tomorrow and he’s used the sessions to work on tyre life, which will probably be key to victory. Glenn had a crash in Q1 and so lost the grip he had in the tyre. There was no real chance of him getting into Q2 and he’s a long way back on the grid for the first race tomorrow but, hopefully, he can make good progress and get two points scoring finishes.”

Datatag Extreme Qualifying

1 Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m14.315s

2 Tommy Bridewell (Suzuki) 1m14.590s

3 Dan Linfoot (Honda) 1m14.594s

4 Luke Mossey (Kawasaki) 1m14.643s

5 Michael Laverty (BMW) 1m15.021s

6 Lee Jackson (BMW) 1m15.030s

24 Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m16.191s

For further information, please visit www.pbmuk.net and www.pbmuk.net

More, from a press release issued by Smiths Racing:

Smiths Part Company With Mainwaring Smart

Gloucester-based Smiths Racing BMW have today announced that they will part company with Howie Mainwaring Smart at the culmination of this weekend’s sixth round of the MCE British Superbike Championship at Thruxton.

The decision was taken mutually between the Aylesford rider and Team Manager Rebecca Smith following today’s third Free Practice session which saw Howie end up 31st, missing out on Datatag Extreme Qualifying.

However, a decision as to whether Mainwaring Smart will take his place on the grid for tomorrow’s two races is pending, whereby the team will be happy to field Howie as well as other riders Jakub Smrz and Luke Stapleford, if he so wishes.

Howie Mainwaring Smart: “Everything we’ve tried this year hasn’t worked for whatever reason and I just haven’t gelled with the BMW so it’s not fair of me to waste the team’s time. I’m a bit embarrassed as we should be achieving a lot more, definitely top 15 and maybe even top tens. The most frustrating aspect is that we’ve all worked incredibly hard but haven’t been able to pinpoint the main problem. It’s difficult to stand down and the last thing I wanted to do was walk away but it’s time to take a step back and see where we go from here. I’ve got to say a massive thank you to Alan and Rebecca Smith for giving me such a great opportunity and also to the team who have never stopped working for me from day one. My own personal sponsors have been massively supportive and desperate for me to get results so I’d like to publicly thank them also.”

Rebecca Smith, Team Manager: “It’s been a difficult first half of the season and we are not where we want to be. Howie has been very honest with us and we admire him for that and thank him and for his hard work this season. We genuinely wish him well for the future. We are very happy to honour our commitment and if Howie wants to race tomorrow, we will fully support him as well as Jakub and Luke. We have no plans to field a replacement rider at this stage.