MCE British Superbike Championship
Silverstone Circuit, England
April 9, 2016
Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires):
From Knockout Session Three:
1. Leon Haslam, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:05.501
2. Jason O’Halloran, Australia (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 2:05.562
3. Christian Iddon, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:05.727
4. Shane Byrne, UK (Duc Panigale R), 2:05.827
5. Luke Mossey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:05.968
6. Michael Laverty, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:06.102
7. John Hopkins, USA (Yam YZF-R1), 2:06.130
8. James Rispoli, USA (Yam YZF-R1), 2:06.930
9. Dan Linfoot, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), no time recorded in Session Three
From Knockout Session Two:
10. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:06.553
11. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:06.581
12. Danny Buchan, UK (Duc Panigale R), 2:06.620
13. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:06.644
14. Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), 2:06.734
15. Richard Cooper, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:06.842
16. Peter Hickman, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:06.924
17. Glenn Irwin, UK (Duc Panigale R), 2:07.218
18. Alastair Seeley, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:07.276
From Knockout Session One:
19. Billy McConnell, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:09.039
20. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:09.073
21. Jack Kennedy, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:09.164
22. Howie Mainwaring Smart, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:09.657
23. Sam Hornsey, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:09.859
24. Shaun Winfield, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 2:09.902
25. Jenny Tinmouth, UK (Hon CBR1000RR SP), 2:09.975
26. Michael Dunlop, UK (BMW S1000RR), 2:10.411
27. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 2:10.492
28. Stuart Easton, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 2:10.743
29. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Italy (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:11.385
30. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:13.097, crash
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Haslam marks MCE British Superbike Championship return by celebrating a pole position at Silverstone
Leon Haslam has kicked off his return to the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in style by claiming the opening pole position of the season in the first Datatag Extreme Qualifying session of 2016 at Silverstone.
The ‘Pocket Rocket’ had been settling into the changing conditions at Silverstone and in the final stage of Datatag Qualifying the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider pulled the pin, to topple Jason O’Halloran from the top after an impressive time from the Honda Racing contender.
The pair had been pushing at the top in a hectic first session of 2016 as Christian Iddon had also enjoyed a spell as the fastest rider on circuit in the opening stages of the final session. They Tyco BMW continued to hold third position and that pushed Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne back to row two on the Be Wiser Ducati as he moved up the order with a sequence of flying laps.
Luke Mossey also had held the leading position for a short time in the session but the Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki rider will line up on the second row for tomorrow’s opening race of the season in fifth position just ahead of Michael Laverty on the second Tyco BMW.
John Hopkins fired the ePayMe Yamaha into seventh place as the American held off fellow countryman James Rispoli, who had a perfect start to his rookie campaign by pushing into the final stage of the Datatag Qualifying session.
Dan Linfoot on the second Honda Racing Fireblade completed the leading nine riders, but he was unable to set a lap in the final phase due to a technical problem. However the worst luck of the session hit James Ellison as the JG Speedfit Kawasaki will be forced to start from the back of the grid for tomorrow’s opening race after crashing at Farm during the first stage of qualifying before setting a fast enough lap to qualify for Q2.
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Silverstone, Datatag Qualifying result:
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 2m:05.501s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.061s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.226s
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.326s
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Teccare Kawasaki) +0.467s
Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) +0.601s
John Hopkins (ePayMe Yamaha) +0.629s
James Rispoli (Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha) +1.429s
Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing)
For more information visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Leon Haslam
Silverstone, Datatag Qualifying
P1: 2m:05.501s
“I think today was the most nervous, nerve-wracking day of my career. Everything is all a bit new and getting used to a new bike, plus it was the first time I rode it in the wet this morning.
“We had a bit of an intermediate session in Superpole and that was the first time that I had used the SC0 tyre in a while, as we did longer runs in testing so I really didn’t know how the bike would perform with grip. I think it was the same for everyone and we were pushing on all the time to improve.
“I am kind of relieved to have been on pole position but also super happy. The team have done an awesome job and it has been a very busy few months. Now we need to look at tomorrow and then getting the season underway!”
More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:
Byrne To Start Silverstone Opener From Fourth
The Penrith-based Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team got their 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship campaign formally underway at Silverstone this afternoon with four-times champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and new team-mate Glenn Irwin qualifying in fourth and 17th respectively for tomorrow’s opening 14-lap race.Shakey Silverstone Qualifying
Today saw mixed weather conditions throughout the day with both rain and cool temperatures, but when Datatag Extreme Qualifying got underway, the rain had stopped and the track was continually drying although a number of damp patches still existed. However, both Byrne and Irwin had no problems during the first part of Q1, whereby Byrne topped the timesheets on the factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R, and the duo duly continued into the second and shorter 12-minute session for Q2.
As the track improved, so too did the lap times and it remained tight as the 18 remaining riders battled it out for the top nine places that would see them advance through to the final qualifying session in Q3. Byrne set the third fastest time to comfortably make it through, although Irwin had to settle for 17th as the Carrickfergus rider started his maiden season in the MCE BSB Championship in solid fashion.
That left 39-year old Londoner Byrne to single-handedly fly the flag for the team in the final nine-minute session and a time of 2m 05.827s saw him finish in fourth place and only miss out on a front row position by 0.1s as he recommenced his Ducati career for Paul Bird’s team.
Shane Byrne: “Today’s been my first real go in anger at putting in a good lap time and although I did that, I couldn’t quite find that last little bit that makes the difference and was perhaps over-riding the bike a little bit. Having said that, the last part of qualifying was really good for me and I understood more about the bike in that session than the others although by then, there wasn’t much tyre left. To finish fourth and only 0.3s off pole is pretty pleasing and we’ve got good potential for tomorrow, so I’m looking forward now to two strong races.”
Glenn Irwin: “My goal at the beginning of the weekend was to make the top 18 in qualifying so to do that was pleasing, although having been fourth fastest in the first part of qualifying, I’m a bit disappointed to have ended up 17th. I missed the window a bit and found myself riding on my own whilst I had a small issue with the front brake so the first target tomorrow will be to make a good start. I’ll keep chipping away and am learning all the time, so I’m hopeful of scoring some good points tomorrow.”
Phil Borley, Technical Director: “Shakey’s qualifying position is very good and to be so close to the front row first time out is a great effort. Conditions were challenging with the track drying all the time and we weren’t running a fully dry setting on the bike so we’re pleased with fourth place. Glenn’s a little bit disappointed with his end position and a few issues with the bike hampered him, but we’re happy with his performance and are confident that with a few more changes he’ll be able to improve his position considerably.”
More, from a press release issued by JG Speedfit Kawasaki:
PERFECT START AS HASLAM TAKES TWELFTH MCE BSB POLE!
9th April 2016 – Leon Haslam made a perfect return to the MCE British Superbike Championship this afternoon, claiming his 12th pole position with a 2:05.501s lap. It was a different story for his team mates however, with Peter Hickman qualifying 16th whilst an unfortunate crash before putting in a flying lap for James Ellison means he will start from 30th.
Despite inclement weather playing a part in all three free practice sessions, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki trio of James Ellison, Leon Haslam and Peter Hickman were still able to work through various settings on the new Kawasaki ZX-10R as they dialled their bikes into the 3.6 mile Silverstone circuit.
With James finishing the final practice session on top, the team were confident heading into the opening Datatag Extreme Qualifying of 2016. With rain clouds looming overhead, all three riders headed out early for Q1 however bad luck struck James as he slipped off before he could register a flying lap. With Leon and Pete progressing through to the second session, Haslam’s sixth place was enough to secure him a slot in the final session whilst a set up change for Hickman failed to pay off, securing 16th on the grid.
With just twelve minutes to battle for pole position, Leon’s first flying lap of 2:05.501s saw him top the timesheets and secure his twelfth MCE British Superbike Championship pole position of his career, his first BSB pole since Knockhill in 2008.
Praising the team for their hard work, pole position man Leon Haslam said, “This was probably one of the most nerve-wracking days of my career! Everything is new, we’re getting used to the bike still and this morning was the first time I had ridden the bike in the wet. Throughout testing we’ve been working on the harder Pirelli tyre, concentrating on race runs so this was the first time I used the softer SC0 for quite a while. Naturally I’m relieved, but also real happy. The team has been mega all winter and have worked so hard, they can’t do enough for me. The passion is there with the whole team, and the Kawasaki is working really well so I want to thank them for everything and hopefully I can thank them properly tomorrow with some good results!”
Having cured the chatter problems that he suffered with during testing, a set up change failed to work for 16th placed Peter Hickman “We’ve made lots of changes this weekend, and have been able to cure the chatter problem we had during testing, but the bike is now quite a far away from the settings we had in testing. It really is completely different and obviously with the weather we’ve not been able to get as many laps in as I would like. The first qualifying was good and we made a change ahead of the second session that just didn’t quite work – I pitted in half way through and we changed it, and was able to go half a second quicker but the tyre was gone unfortunately so just couldn’t get the time needed for Q3. I’m looking forward to tomorrow though, we know where to improve so we’ll see what tomorrow brings!”
Disappointed to crash out of Qualifying, James Ellison is still pleased with the improved feeling from his ZX-10R and will start tomorrow’s opening race in 30th, “I’m really disappointed, but if I’m honest this is just a little set back. We’ve made some big improvements with the bike this weekend and I’m feeling really good on it, even topping the timesheets this morning in similar conditions. Unfortunately I just lost the front at Vale in that opening session and although I could get the bike up and was able to ride it back through the paddock, it was just too damaged to get back out. It’s frustrating, but we know the bike is there and it’s great to see that the Leon and the team were able to do the job and get pole. It’ll be a tough race tomorrow but I’m looking forward to it!”
GBmoto Racing Team Principal Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, “It was great to see Leon recognise his potential so early on in the season! I think most people had him down to do well from the start, but he’s brought the goods and has given himself a fantastic opportunity to score two great results tomorrow. Although the other two guy’s results might not show it, they both feel they now have a strong package and every time they’ve gone out this weekend they’ve improved. I’m not worried about their positions, James showed he had the potential to challenge for the front row and we know he can fight back tomorrow whilst Pete has now cured the chatter problems and will be back challenging tomorrow!”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
BENNETTS SUZUKI POSITIVE FOR SILVERSTONE BSB
Ryuichi Kiyonari will start from the fourth row of the grid on his Bennetts Suzuki debut for tomorrow’s opening MCE British Superbike race of the season, after qualifying in 10th place in tricky conditions at Silverstone, with team-mate Tommy Bridewell starting from 13th.
Both Kiyonari and Bridewell comfortably progressed from Q1 without taking too many risks in the conditions that could easily catch riders out, before starting strongly in Q2.
Despite missing the cut for Q3, the team is feeling positive with the potential shown so far and is confident ahead of tomorrow’s races.
Ryuichi Kiyonari:
“I’m feeling really good and there’s definitely more to come in the races. We have improved in every session and I have felt good in both the wet and the dry, and we’ve got some things to try in warm up tomorrow. Our lap times have been consistent, which is good. Qualifying was not so great but it’s not a bad position, and I think our race pace will be good, even if we have bad weather. I’m enjoying riding the bike and working with the team, and looking forward to the races.”
Tommy Bridewell:
“I’m happy enough to be honest. The bike feels good and I genuinely feel really good on it. I think we’ve got a lot better potential than we showed in qualifying. We’ve been plugging away with the limited track time we’ve had and kept it simple with the bike and made some small changes here and there as we go. It’s not an ideal grid position but I’m not panicking and think we’ll be strong over race distance. It’ll be elbows out, try and latch onto the guys further up the grid, and have a go.”
Martin Halsall – Team Owner:
“It’s not where we wanted to be on the grid for tomorrow, but everyone’s still in really high spirits and feeling very positive. Kiyo just missed out on Q3 but I’ve never seen him with such a smile on his face. He came back in and got off the bike with a huge grin, and it’s great to see him really enjoying riding the big Suzuki, and bodes well for tomorrow’s races as we know the potential is there with him and the package. Tommy’s really happy too and again, feels really good on the bike. I think we’ll see more from him tomorrow over the course of the race.”