From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 1 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Silverstone

Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th March 2003

SECOND PLACES IN QUALIFYING FOR BYRNE AND EASTON

MonsterMob Ducati’s new recruit Shane Byrne just missed out on Pole Position in qualification for the first round of the British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS at Silverstone, Northamptonshire this afternoon.

The 26 year old from Minster, Kent qualified the new factory specification Ducati F02 in provisional pole in the qualifying session to go through to the Dunlop Super 12 (whereby the top 12 qualifiers battle it out for pole position in a 15 minute final session). Byrne just missed out to finish in second place from Michael Rutter who took pole position in a time of 1m26.235s.

“I made a little bit of a mistake on the last lap and I wasn’t quite quick enough. Hopefully we can get a good start and away we go tomorrow.” Said Byrne.

Team mate, Supersport rider Stuart Easton also just missed out on pole from the Honda of Karl Harris.

The 18 year old Scot was fastest in the first qualifying session and ended up qualifying the Ducati 748 in second place in the final session.

“I would have liked to have been on pole instead of second but before I came here my aim was to be on the front row. I lost my rhythm a bit at one stage but managed to pull a quick lap out there. Its going to be a tough year all year, hopefully I can be up there tomorrow.” Said Easton.

Team owner Paul Bird was happy with his team’s performance “I’m happy enough with both riders on the front row and I know we can go faster under race conditions tomorrow” said the Penrith businessman.

Superbike Dunlop Super 12 Qualification

1, Michael Rutter (Ducati) 1:26.235, 2. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:26.496, 3. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1:26.567, 4. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 1:26.735, 5. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 1:26.910, 6. John Crawford (Ducati) 127.657, 7. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 1:27.805, 8. Steve Plater (Honda) 1:28.295, 9. Jon Kirkham (Yamaha) 1:28.538, 10. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 1:28.643, 11. Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 1:28.762, 12. John Reynolds (Suzuki) DNF.

Supersport Qualification

1, Karl Harris (Honda) 1:30.063, 2. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:30.135, 3. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:30.148, 4. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 1:30.324, 5. Tom Sykes (Yamaha) 1:30.507, 6. John Crockford (Honda) 1:30.541, 7. Michael Laverty (Honda) 1:30.746, 8. Mark Heckles (Honda) 1:30.862, 9. Adrian Coates (Honda) 1:30.970, 10. Rob Frost (Kawasaki) 1:31.230.

Sky Sports will be covering British Superbikes, British Supersport and the Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6 Cup live at all events. The broadcast will run from 1.00pm – 3.00pm and will be repeated on the evening of Race Day and Monday am.


More, from a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

BSB Round 1, Silverstone

QUALIFYING
Saturday March 29
Weather: dry, slight breeze, overcast, 12°C
Track: dry, 12°C

Hawk Kawasaki once again proved a force to be reckoned with in the ultra-competitive British Superbike Championship, with a magnificent performance from all three of its riders during qualifying for tomorrow’s opening round of the series at Silverstone’s International circuit.

Glen Richards led the field for much of today’s fiercely fought qualifying, despite electing to stick on race tyres, rather than soft qualifying rubber, for most of the day. ‘We’ve got the Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR working a lot better than yesterday,’ explained Glen. ‘And that has allowed me to ride it how I want to. We made changes to the front suspension and smoothed out the carburation this morning and it now feels really good to ride. I rode for most of qualifying on race rubber and the bike’s working really well on it, so I’m really happy and just looking forward to getting out in the race tomorrow.’

Richards’ brilliant performance during qualifying meant he automatically earned a place in the ‘Dunlop Super 12′, this year’s Superpole replacement, which sees the 12 quickest riders fight for grid positions in a final all-action session. Glen looked sure of a front row starting position, after posting a scorching 1:29.910 lap around the 2.2130 track, but a flying lap from defending British Superbike Champion Steve Hislop in the final minutes of the session means the Hawk Kawasaki rider will now start tomorrow’s races from fifth on the grid.

Scott Smart and Lee Jackson also put in impressive performances, despite this being their first race meeting aboard the Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RRs. Smart made it into the Dunlop Super 12, alongside Richards, and starts tomorrow’s races from the third row of the grid. ‘It was a good qualifying session and I got some decent laps in – I made my best times on medium rubber rather than super sticky qualifiers, which is better for the race,’ said Scott. ‘And we’ve made real progress with the Hawk Kawasaki throughout the day and got the second bike working really well too. Overall I’m happy and just looking forward to racing tomorrow.’

Despite just missing out on a place in the Super 12, Lee Jackson was pleased with his performance: ‘It’s a shame I didn’t make it into the Dunlop Super 12, but I wasn’t a million miles away,’ he said. ‘I’m happy with my lap times and I feel I’ve got a really good race pace. The thing is, there are 15 really good riders out there so I’m really chuffed to have made it inside that 15 and out-qualified the likes of Sean Emmett. The Hawk Kawasaki’s just so strong and the engine’s so good that the twins and 1000s aren’t really making anything on us. Plus it’s got such a good front end it just tempts you more to push harder and harder and that’s what we’ll be doing.’

After the day’s superb showing from his riders, Hawk Kawasaki Team Principle Stuart Hicken was understandably delighted: ‘Everyone in the team has worked incredibly hard this weekend and the reward is that we’ve found a really good race set up for tomorrow. The chassis we’ve got works extremely well and I feel there’s still a fair bit to come from the motors yet. Once we’ve got that right I think we’ll surprise a few people, especially on the handling circuits.’


FINAL GRID POSITIONS – DUNLOP SUPER 12
1)Michael Rutter, Ducati: 1:26.235.
2) Shane Byrne, Ducati: 1:26.496.
3)Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki: 1:26.567.
4) Steve Hislop, Yamaha: 1:26.735.
5) Glen Richards, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR: 1:26.910.
6) John Crawford, Ducati: 1:27.657.
7) Gary Mason, Yamaha: 1:27.805.
8) Steve Plater, Honda: 1:28.295.
9) Jon Kirkham, Yamaha: 1:28.538.
10) Dean Ellison, Ducati: 1:28.643.
11) Scott Smart, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR: 1:28.762.
12)
John Reynolds, Suzuki: 8:24657.
13) Lee Jackson, Hawk Kawasaki ZX-7RR: 1:28.964