Karl Harris is aiming for a positive ending to his Bennetts British Superbike campaign at Brands Hatch and the Rob Mac Racing Yamaha rider warmed up for the double race finale by topping the free practice leaderboard. The former Supersport champion has had a problematic time with ill-fortune and crashes littering his season, but Harris turned on the speed and style to head off the threat of HM Plant Honda Leon Haslam with a lap of the 1.1986mile Indy circuit in 45.993secs. Haslam ran less than a tenth down on the Yorkshireman as he prepared for races in which he could secure the runner-up spot in the overall rankings to the newly crowned champion Shane Byrne. Four riders go in the two races in with a chance of the ‘number 2’ plates with Haslam running strongest, putting in a lap of 46.088secs, as he bids to continue his recent run of form that has seen him win five of the last seven races. “I want to end the season on a high, positive note, and practice has gone well though there is still a bit more to come,” said Haslam whose confidence was boosted as he ran ahead, by a quarter of a second, of the champion Byrne. Riding the Airwaves Ducati, Byrne was putting in consistent lap times as he prepared for the final showdown in which he plans to end the eleven race drought since his last win, scored at Mallory Park, back in June. Cal Crutchlow missed the chance of improving on his 46.518secs lap when he tipped off his HM Plant Honda, without injury, in the final minutes of the second session, while Michael Rutter, who clocks up his 300th appearance in the championship in the first of the two races, ran fifth on the North West 200 Ducati with a lap of 46.592secs. “Quite amazing when I realised the figure of 300 was right I had thought no way, it’s a lot of starts,” said 35 year old Rutter, adding “I’m still competitive but there a lot of good young lads out there and they are really strong, but you never know, I can still give them a run for their money.” Leon Camier, a winner last time out at Silverstone, and in with a mathematical chance of finishing as runner-up set six best time, 46.724secs, ahead of James Ellison riding the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda while Tom Sykes found himself back in eighth place. The Rizla Suzuki rider is 18 points down on Haslam in the scrap for second place overall in the rankings and is confident that he can overcome the set-up problems that slowed him, leaving him with a best lap of 46.786secs. Michael Laverty, on the Relentless Suzuki, and Billy McConnell, riding MSS Discovery Kawasaki, completed the top ten while Gary Mason headed the Daily Star Cup qualifiers with a best lap of 47.064secs aboard the Quay Garage Honda. Martin Jessopp ran his Riders Racing Honda marginally slower while the champion John Laverty was a further quarter of a second down on the Buildbase NW200 Ducati. Top ten free practice times 1. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) 45.993s 2. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +0.095s 3. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) +0.329s 4. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +0.525s 5. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +0.599s 6. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +0.731s 7. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +0.768s 8. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.793s 9. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.804s 10. Billy McConnell (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) +0.935s More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Rizla Suzuki’s Tom Sykes completed free practice in eighth place today at Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent and he is looking to improve on his setup during tomorrow’s final session so he can place his GSX-R1000 on the front row of the grid during qualifying for the final round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. Dry weather and ideal conditions allowed both riders to fully utilise the 50-minute sessions steadily working through a number of changes to dial in their Rizla Suzuki’s to the 1.1986-mile circuit. The short punchy Indy circuit can be difficult to pass on and Sykes was hindered during the sessions while trying to get a clear lap. He is determined to finish his season with Rizla Suzuki on a high and chipped away at his chassis settings which will leave him in a strong position ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying. His team-mate Atsushi Watanabe finished in 18th place and is also planning on further improvements tomorrow to guarantee a top-10 qualifying position. He concentrated on set-up taking a different direction as he reacquainted himself with the undulating Kent track. He slashed half a second off his lap time from the morning session and is hoping to do the same again if not better tomorrow. Yamaha’s Karl Harris was fastest today. Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 1400. Racing commences at 1400 on Sunday with race two at 1645. Jack Valentine – Rizla Suzuki Team Manager: “It’s been a very steady day on track for us but we are just laying the ground work. The riders need to find a comfortable set-up before they can really push it. Tom has been working on set-up based on the data gained during his Brands Hatch World Superbike outing. Once the team find the chassis balance he requires, he will have a very strong package. Traffic was also a problem as he struggled to get a clear lap in on this very short circuit. “Atsu has also spent today progressing through a number of changes to his Rizla Suzuki. His technicians took a change in direction which saw a small improvement so further changes tomorrow will take us another step up the time sheets. I think both riders will pull it out of the bag for qualifying as they have put in a lot of hard work today.” Free practice results: 1: Karl Harris (Yamaha) 45.993 2: Leon Haslam (Honda) +0.095 3: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.329 4: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +0.525 5: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.599 6: Leon Camier (Ducati) +0.731 7: James Ellison (Honda) +0.768 8: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.793 9: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +0.884 10: Billy McConnell (Kawasaki) +0.935 18: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +1.444 More, from a press release issued by GSE Racing/Airwaves Ducati: PROMISING START TO SEASON FINALE FOR AIRWAVES DUCATI The final race weekend of the 2008 British Superbike season got underway at Brands Hatch today. Newly crowned champion Shane Byrne finished both free practice sessions in 3rd. His Airwaves Ducati teammate Leon Camier finished 5th and 6th. Shane used the days two practice sessions to complete race runs and worked hard to produce consistently quick laps in both. His best time of 46.322 came in the afternoon on lap 10 of 37. Completing more laps than any other rider, Leon’s fastest time of 46.724 also came in the second of the two sessions. After a positive first day, Shane was feeling confident about the weekend ahead saying, “The Airwaves Ducati team has done a fantastic job once again. We approached practice as we have done all season, focusing on two long race runs. In both we have been consistently quick and I’m confident we can find the extra couple of tenths that we need to be at the top of the timesheets tomorrow.” Leon commented, “I really like Brands Hatch but as I have never ridden the Indy circuit on a superbike before, I had to spend time building up my knowledge of the track and getting myself into a rhythm. We’ve got a few changes that we’d like to make to the Airwaves Ducati for practice in the morning and then I think we’ll be in good shape for a strong qualifying performance.” Qualifying for round twelve of the British Superbike Championship starts tomorrow, Saturday October 11th at 1400hrs.