British Superbike Championship Croft Circuit May 14 Final Combined Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):

From Knockout Qualifying Session Three: 1. Shane Byrne (Honda), 1:20.069 2. Michael Laverty (Yamaha), 1:20.194 3. Loris Baz (Yamaha), 1:20.264 4. Michael Rutter (Ducati), 1:20.818 5. James Westmoreland (Yamaha), 1:20.980 6. Stuart Easton (Kawasaki), 1:20.980 7. Dan Linfoot (Honda), 1:21.080 8. Tommy Hill (Yamaha), 1:21.588 9. John Hopkins (Suzuki), 1:21.754 10. Peter Hickman (Honda), no time recorded

From Knockout Qualifying Session Two: 11. Gary Mason (Kawasaki), 1:20.696 12. Josh Brookes (Suzuki), 1:20.696 13. Alex Lowes (Honda), 1:20.740, EVO 14. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda), 1:20.945 15. Glen Richards (Honda), 1:21.146, EVO 16. Jon Kirkham (Suzuki), 1:21.305 17. Martin Jessopp (Ducati), 1:21.443 18. Tommy Bridewell (Honda), 1:21.533 19. Scott Smart (Ducati), 1:21.538, EVO 20. Simon Andrews (Kawasaki), 1:21.732

From Knockout Qualifying Session One: 21. Ian Lowry (BMW), 1:21.807 22. Steve Brogan (Honda), 1:21.895 23. Chris Walker (Kawasaki), 1:21.915 24. Barry Burrell (BMW), 1:22.230, EVO 25. Hudson Kennaugh (Aprilia), 1:22.394 26. James Hillier (Kawasaki), 1:22.502, EVO 27. John Laverty (BMW), 1:22.674 28. Tom Tunstall (BMW), 1:23.207, EVO 29. Craig Fitzpatrick (Honda), 1:23.464, EVO 30. Aaron Zanotti (BMW), 1:23.494, EVO 31. Joshua Day (Kawasaki), 1:23.533, EVO 32. Patric Muff (Honda), 1:23.922, EVO 33. Jenny Tinmouth (Aprilia), 1:25.579 34. Nick Medd (BMW), 1:27.990 35. Matteo Mossa (Suzuki), no time recorded

More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha:

FRONT ROW START FOR SWAN YAMAHA AT CROFT

Swan Yamaha’s Michael Laverty will start from the front row for tomorrow’s opening race of the third round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Croft after qualifying second this afternoon. Tommy Hill has continued to fight the pain this weekend from his shoulder injury sustained two weeks’ ago and he will start from row two in eighth.

Laverty had set the pace in both qualifying sessions this afternoon but when it came to the final top ten shoot for pole position the conditions changed and with light rainfall Laverty was only able to push hard enough to set the second fastest time. Hill had continued to battle on despite the pain he was suffering from his injury to qualify in eighth place, when his fast laps were slowed by traffic and the conditions.

Laverty said: “I am disappointed that we aren’t on pole position after topping the first two qualifying sessions this afternoon. I went out for my lap and as I got to the back part of the circuit there was a sprinkle of rain and I backed off and wasn’t committed enough to push for the pole time, so fair play to Shakey. That said I am not too disappointed as I know we have the pace, both over a qualifying lap and also race distance. I am pretty confident that no matter what the conditions tomorrow we can get a good feeling on the Swan Yamaha and challenge for the wins and podium finishes.”

Hill said: “This morning was painful but as the day went on and the adrenaline kicked in it got better. I thought that we would have the pace for a front row start, but I needed to see how things turned out. I kept some in reserve after the first two sessions and then in the final session nobody really knew how hard to push. I got held up on my better lap which was disappointing for me and then it rained, so a second row start was all I could do. Other than that I know what we are capable of and tomorrow we know we have the pace, it is just damage limitation for me with the injury so I want two good finishes for the points.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

Josh Brookes remains upbeat and confident going into tomorrow’s British Superbike races at Croft in North Yorkshire, despite narrowly missing out on the final Q3 qualifying session by a narrow 400ths-of-a second.

The Australian’s Q2 time would have been good enough for the front row in Q3 – that’s how close it was in qualifying – and his ideal time was fast enough for second place on the grid – so he’s raring to go and looking to pick up strong Championship points tomorrow.

Josh Brookes:

“It looks and feels like we are a long way off but if we keep looking at the areas where we are strong, then there are lots of positives. For personal satisfaction it’s not that great, but providing the weather stays good, we have a couple of little changes to make in the morning. Once we get on the track tomorrow I know there’s a fair bit of time still to come from me and the bike. While the others seem to give it their all in qualifying, I hold a little bit in reserve so we have nothing to worry about. A bit of fine-tuning and we’ll be there.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:

“It wasn’t a great day for us but it’s hard to be down when your ideal lap time is good enough for P2 around Croft – which is a very difficult circuit to find the perfect set-up. I’m fairly satisfied with that performance, but obviously, like Josh, we are a little disappointed to have been bumped out of Q3 in the dying seconds by 100s-of-a-second – but that’s racing.

British Superbike Championship, Croft, Qualifying result: 1st – Shane Byrne [Honda] 1m:20.069s; 2nd – Michael Laverty [Yamaha] +0.125s; 3rd – Loris Baz [Yamaha] +0.195s; 4th – Michael Rutter [Ducati] +0.749s; 5th – James Westmoreland [Yamaha] +0.871s; 6th – Stuart Easton [Kawasaki] +0.911s; 7th – Dan Linfoot [Honda] +1.001s; 8th – Tommy Hill [Yamaha] +1.519s; 9th – John Hopkins [Suzuki] +1.685s; 10th – Peter Hickman [Honda]; 11th – Gary Mason [Kawasaki]; 12th – Josh Brookes [Relentless Suzuki by TAS].

More, from a press release issued by Rapid Solicitors:

Fry heads Rapid Solicitors Ducati 848 Challenge grid

Darren Fry (Buildbase/JHP Ducati) stormed to pole position for Round Two of the Rapid Solicitors Ducati 848 Challenge after a long day of qualifying in very changeable conditions, lapping the Assen circuit in 1:45.750. Only 0.7 seconds behind is Leon Morris (Buildbase/JHP Ducati), followed by Kenny Gilbertson (AOR/Boast Plumbing) and Mike Edwards (MSKWorks.com).

With three qualifying sessions in which to score their fastest lap time, the majority of the riders chose to sit out the first session after the rain started to fall just 5 minutes before the start. Russian rider Alexey Ivanov (DMC Racing) might be wishing he had too as he high-sided his bike coming out of the very tricky Strubben hairpin, dislocating his shoulder.

He was soon back in action for QP2 which was held in bright, sunny conditions that the whole field made the most of. Knowing this was their best chance to put in their fastest lap of the day, all the riders were very quickly out of the blocks and the laptimes began to tumble. Also coming into play were various tyre strategies meaning all the riders were looking to do as few laps as possible but still post a good time, so we had the spectacle of riders pulling into pit lane to weigh up their grid position before deciding if they needed to do further laps.

With the clock ticking down riders began to settle for their current grid position and so it was Fry who headed the field at the end of QP2. The afternoon brought more changeable weather, and in a repeat of QP1 the rain started to fall just before the riders headed out for the final qualifying session of the day, meaning most riders times were slower than earlier with the only exception being Jack Keen (Havoc Racing) who took over a second off his best time.

Fry, the defending champion, was understandably pleased to be back at the front with his old sparring partner and teammate Morris alongside him, but both will be looking across to series newcomers Edwards and Gilbertson and know they won’t have an easy time on race day. Also pushing them hard will be the non-848EVO triumvirate of Cheetham (Shorrocks Motorcycles), Connolly, and Poll (Pumpkin Patch Racing) who are proving that the older bikes are more than a match with great riders onboard.

Race One goes off at 12:00 CET and Race Two at 14:25, with regular updates throughout the day on www.facebook.com/848challenge or www.twitter.com/848challenge.

More, from a press release issued by Splitlath Motorsport:

TINMOUTH TO MAKE HISTORY AT CROFT

SPLITLATH Motorsport’s Jenny Tinmouth will make history when she lines-up on the grid at Croft for Round Three of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship tomorrow.

Tinmouth will start from 33rd spot at the North Yorkshire track, while team-mate Hudson Kennaugh will line-up two rows ahead in 25th.

Despite a minor off just five minutes into the 20-minute first qualifying session, Jenny was unharmed and jumped straight back onboard her Aprilia RSV4 machine and continued for the rest of the session. Her final lap was to be her quickest, as she shaved almost a second off her previous best time, which was enough to secure her a spot on the grid for tomorrow’s races.

“It’s really good to qualify, I’m pleased and relieved and now I just have to keep plugging away at it to get faster,” she said.

“We have a few changes we need to make for warm-up and for the race, at the moment it’s all about trying different things to make us more competitive. I’m just aiming for two good finishes tomorrow.”

Kennaugh meanwhile enjoyed a steady session where he got progressively faster with each lap. He starts tomorrow’s opening race from the seventh row.

“It’s going to be a big day tomorrow and I’m going to be giving a big push and come out fighting from the rear. We are going to move up put it this way, we don’t intend to go backwards.

“There is rain forecast tomorrow and that could play into our hands a bit. It always levels the playing field and if we get it, we’ll try and use to our advantage.”

Team Manager John Dimbylow added: “We have made great strides forward with bike and the set up and we’re just waiting for everything to click. When it does the sky is the limit.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

Bad weather and ill luck have kept the Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki machines off the front two rows of the grid for tomorrow’s opening BSB race at Croft.

However, having posted a lap time just two-10ths off Pole (in Q2) John Hopkins – winner of the last BSB race at Oulton Park – remains confident of good results from tomorrow’s races. He’ll start the first race from P9.

His team mate Jon Kirkham has endured a tougher weekend so far: Technical issues prevented him from riding in two of the three practice sessions, and with limited track time, his qualifying times suffered. He’ll start from P16 in tomorrow’s opening race.

John Hopkins:

“It’s been another weekend of finding my way around a new track, trying to find a good flow; to create a rhythm. It’s gone quite well considering I’ve not really been able to get a tow off anybody. I’ve had to find my own way, yet I’ve posted times as high as fourth fastest.

“In qualifying Q2 I was lucky enough to catch on to Shane Byrne and that allowed me to cut a few 10ths-of-a-second off my previous best; putting in a 1:20.3 meant I was just off front row pace. But then it showered lightly between Q2 and Q3 so I went out careful and I’d just tucked in behind Tommy Hill to see if I couldn’t repeat my trick from Q2 when it rained properly. If you hadn’t got your quick lap in during the few minutes the track was dry then you were done for, and that was my fate.

“But I’m upbeat about tomorrow. We started the second race at Oulton Park in a similar start position – and won. I know I can get good starts and if I get in with the lead group then I’ll use the tow and continue my work from there.”

Jon Kirkham:

“I was looking to continue on a roll from Oulton Park but having missed the first free practice with a fuel line issue it was instead catch-up in the second practice. And then we got hit with electrical problems this morning so I missed the final practice as well.

“Having ridden so few laps I was on the back-foot in qualifying. I made it through the first qualifier but couldn’t make it to the final. So I’ve a lot of work to do tomorrow, but in both meetings so far this season we’ve raced better than we qualified, so I’m hoping we’ll do likewise here.”

Jack Valentine – Team Manager:

“For Hopper the weekend’s gone mostly to plan. He’s learnt the track well and applied some canny tricks to get himself on the pace. His only failing was to get caught out by the shower and then the rain in Q3. He’s shown he can do the lap times, and he’s got a good set-up to go race distance, so we expect strong performances from him tomorrow.

“JK’s had a troubled weekend and without the track time he naturally struggled in the qualifying. He is, though, very happy with his bike’s set-up and so we can expect him to go better tomorrow, too.

“Obviously with JK we’ve had our fair share of technical issues, but overall we’re very pleased with the performance of both our bikes and riders this weekend and we’re confident both riders will improve significantly come the races.”