MCE British Superbike Championship
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
September 19, 2014
Free Practice Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. John Hopkins, USA (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:37.472
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Japan (BMW S1000RR), 1:37.665
3. Shane Byrne, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:37.786
4. Chris Walker, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:37.918
5. Dan Linfoot, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:37.999
6. Patric Muff, Switzerland (BMW S1000RR), 1:38.143
7. Tommy Bridewell, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.239
8. Peter Hickman, UK (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:38.272
9. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), 1:38.311
10. Stuart Easton, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:38.537
11. Barry Burrell, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:38.791
12. Josh Waters, Australia (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.801
13. Christian Iddon, UK (Bimota BB3), 1:39.037
14. James Ellison, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.051
15. Jon Kirkham, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.296
16. James Westmoreland, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:39.399
17. Filip Backlund, Sweden (Yam YZF-R1), 1:39.451
18. Kevin Valk, Netherlands (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.594
19. Martin Jessopp, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:39.673
20. Jed Metcher, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.900
21. Ben Wilson, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:39.958
22. Aaron Zanotti, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:40.374
23. Howie Mainwaring, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.392
24. John Ingram, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.038
25. Lee Jackson, UK (BMW S1000RR), 1:41.180
26. Christophe Ponsson, France (Bimota BB3), 1:41.370
27. Joe Burns, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.631
28. Mitchell Carr, Australia (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.725
29. Gary Mason, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:42.505
30. Rhalf Lo Turco, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:42.505
Other Americans competing at Assen:
James Rispoli was 13th-fastest in British Supersport Free Practice Two with a time of 1:42.205 on his Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6.
Jayson Uribe, riding his FPW Racing/R5R Honda, was ninth overall and sixth-quickest in the Moto3 class during British Motostar Free Practice Two with a time of 1:48.643.
Brandon Paasch was 20th in Free Practice One for the Moriwaki 250 Junior Cup class with a time of 2:01.569.
More, from a press release issued by Motorsport Vision Racing:
Round 10 19-20-21 September Assen
HOPKINS EDGES OUT TITLE FIGHTERS IN ASSEN FREE PRACTICE
Results
Free practice one:
1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 1m:37.752s
2: Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.113s
3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.454s
4: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.516s
5: Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.594s
6: Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.958s
Free practice two:
1: John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) 1m:37.472s
2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.193s
3: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.314s
4: Chris Walker (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.446s
5: Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.527s
6: Patric Muff (Bathams BMW) +0.671s
Report
John Hopkins might be out of contention for the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown but the American former MotoGP rider is fired up to challenge for victories in the opening round of the Showdown at Assen.
Tyco Suzuki’s Hopkins waited until the final minutes of the second session to knock Ryuichi Kiyonari from the top of the times by just 0.193s. Championship leader Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne was closing him down in the closing stages as he held third place on the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki as he continues the ‘War for Four’ title battle with Kiyonari.
Kiyonari, the double race winner last time out holds third place in the standings, and he said: “I’ve now got to push hard at every round and at every race to try and win the title. Today I was not fast, enough, but I am happy as the other riders had tested here after Cadwell Park. I think we can improve again tomorrow.”
Byrne said: “It has been pretty good for us today, because we had the test here and we had a couple of ideas for direction with the setting. We have gone in two different directions in the two sessions today. We have a good idea of what we need to do, because we have a structured plan for the sessions based on what we learnt at the test. If we follow that and keep moving forward then we will be in a good position to attack for those wins in the two races in Sunday.”
Chris Walker, four times the runner-up in the championship, set the fourth fastest time on the Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki, to be just ahead of fellow title contender Dan Linfoot riding the Quattro Plant Kawasaki.
Milwaukee Yamaha’s two title-chasing riders Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes had a tough opening day on circuit as they pushed to close in on their rivals. Bridewell held seventh and Brookes was ninth after the opening two sessions, something they need to change tomorrow in qualifying as they bid for a debut title.
For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com
More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Yamaha:
MILWAUKEE YAMAHA AIMING TO CLOSE THE GAP AT ASSEN
The Milwaukee Yamaha team are looking to build on the opening day of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship Showdown at Assen after Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes ended the opening day in seventh and ninth respectively.
The weekend’s two free practice sessions saw both riders take to the track utilising the data from the recent test at the Dutch circuit, however both Brookes and Bridewell had a challenging opening day however both are confident of further improvement ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
Brookes said: “It has been disappointing today and to be honest we have been a little bit surprised. At the test, apart from the lap Shakey did at the end of the day, we had a set-up that was able to do the consistently fastest times so we thought we would be in a good position. Coming back now the track conditions must be slightly different as we have come back with exactly the same motorbike and can’t match the times we did before.
“Looking at the positives, the bike is quite different from how I would normally ride it because to get the bike to go quickly at the test we had to change it to what I would usually use. At the test though it went fast so that’s what it needed. It now seems like it wants to be put back to how it normally is compared to what we had at the test. We are now looking at tomorrow, so we might go with what we think might be more practical and see where we go from there.”
Bridewell said: “Today has been a difficult day for us as we just couldn’t get comfortable on the bike for some reason and it wasn’t working how I want it to. We have some work to do now to get to where we need to be for Sunday but we know we can do it. We will scratch out heads tonight and then try and come up with a solution for the next free practice session tomorrow so we are ready for qualifying.”
For more information visit www.milwaukeeyamaha.com