British Superbike Championship Oulton Park, Great Britain July 16 Final Qualifying Results, After Superpole (all on Pirelli tires): From Superpole Knockout Session Three: 1. John Hopkins (Suzuki), 1:35.142 2. Tommy HILL (Yamaha), 1:35.247 3. Michael LAVERTY (Yamaha), 1:35.530 4. Shane BYRNE (Honda), 1:35.936 5. Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda), 1:36.062 6. Loris BAZ (Yamaha), 1:36.072 7. Alex LOWES (Kawasaki), 1:36.366 8. Peter HICKMAN (Honda), 1:36.532 9. James WESTMORELAND (Yamaha), 1:36.597 10. Josh BROOKES (Suzuki), 1:36.626 From Superpole Knockout Session Two: 11. Michael RUTTER (Ducati), 1:36.627 12. Chris WALKER (Kawasaki), 1:36.703 13. Jon KIRKHAM (Suzuki), 1:36.770 14. Gary MASON (Kawasaki), 1:36.792 15. Martin JESSOPP (Ducati), 1:36.884 16. Graeme GOWLAND (Honda), 1:36.908, EVO 17. Glen RICHARDS (Honda), 1:37.132, EVO 18. Ian LOWRY (BMW), 1:37.139 19. James ELLISON (Honda), 1:37.157 20. Scott SMART (Ducati), 1:37.346 From Superpole Knockout Session One: 21. Barry BURRELL (BMW), 1:38.114, EVO 22. Patric MUFF (Honda), 1:38.470, EVO 23. James HILLIER (Kawasaki), 1:38.755, EVO 24. Karl HARRIS (Aprilia), 1:38.876 25. Joshua DAY (Kawasaki), 1:39.458, EVO 26. Jake ZEMKE (Honda), 1:39.696, EVO 27. Hudson KENNAUGH (Aprilia), 1:39.964, EVO 28. Aaron ZANOTTI (BMW), 1:40.958, EVO 29. Dan KNEEN (Kawasaki), 1:41.011, EVO 30. Matteo MOSSA (Suzuki), 1:42.386, EVO More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: FRONT ROW START FOR SWAN YAMAHA AT OULTON PARK Swan Yamaha’s Tommy Hill and Michael Laverty will start from the front row of the grid for the opening race of the seventh round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park tomorrow after qualifying second and third respectively. The pair had been building the pace throughout the three free practice sessions and in qualifying the Swan Yamahas were ready to challenge for the pole position in the final qualifying session. Hill looked set to claim his third pole position of the season and held the top spot until the final lap when he was nudged back to second by John Hopkins. Laverty also made a return to the front row as he secured third on the grid for tomorrow’s race one. Hill said: “I really wanted the pole position this afternoon and I thought I might have had it. I did two 1m35.2s laps with a bit of a gap and I thought I had it in the bag. On my last lap I had P1 on my board as I crossed the line with the chequered flag and when I came in I was second, but fair play to John (Hopkins). The front row was where we needed to be for tomorrow’s race and it is good to know we have the pace. Oulton Park is one of the best rounds on the calendar and tomorrow everyone is going to be pushing for sure. It is going to be tight in the two races and who knows what colour paintwork everyone will have at the end of the day!” Laverty said: “It feels great to be back on the front row as I have missed out on a front row start over the past three rounds. We made quite a few changes after free practice this morning and the Swan Yamaha does feel better than it did yesterday but we still have a few things we need to improve in warm up tomorrow before the race. It is trying to balance the changes so you get the best of both worlds. I know we are looking pretty good for the races now and it of course is going to be another two tough races but the Swan Yamaha is working well in both wet and dry conditions so come rain or shine we should be in contention tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing’s Josh Brookes took 10th place in today’s British Superbike combined qualifying at the Oulton Park seventh round in Cheshire, giving him a third-row grid position in the opening race. The Australian struggled with set-up issues but remains confident going into tomorrow’s races. Josh Brookes: I have to be honest and say I’m not happy with the times and my position in qualifying but we’ve got to deal with it tomorrow and do the best we can. We made some changes that didn’t work for me, so we reverted back to yesterday’s settings and we’ve another few things that we can try in morning warm-up. In saying that it all depends on the weather and if it’s going to be wet as expected, all the dry settings are out the window and we start again. I’ve just got to get a good start in race one and see if we can push our way through and be further up the grid for the second race.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It’s been another one of those frustrating days. Josh just couldn’t get himself comfortable enough during the three sessions to really trouble the front three, but 10th on the grid is not the end of the world. We all know he’s a good racer and doesn’t struggle to come through the pack, so a strong start and finish to race one should push him up the grid for race two.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Alastair Seeley posted his ninth British Supersport podium of the season, finishing third in the opening race of this weekend’s seventh round at Oulton Park in Cheshire. The Relentless Suzuki by TAS rider did lead in the early stages on his GSX-R600, but at the end of 10 pulsating laps, less than a 10th of a second covered the first three. Alastair Seeley: “I’m gutted with that result. I did all the hard work and led on the last lap only to get outdone coming out of the last corner. I made a mistake so I’ve no excuses and we picked up more points, but I was surprised to see Wilson up there from his grid position. We’ll make a few minor adjustments for tomorrow and hopefully be able to report back with better news.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “Alastair’s race was always going to be tight, but he maybe lost an opportunity to get one over on Ben Wilson’s lowly qualifying position today. Fair play to the lad; he fought back well and it was some finish. It’s another podium for the all-new GSX-R600 and tomorrow is another day.” More, from another press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Samsung Crescent Racing’s John Hopkins topped British Superbike qualifying at the Oulton Park seventh round in Cheshire with a sensational Pole Position in the very last seconds of the session after taking his GSX-R1000 Suzuki to the fastest lap in every practice and qualifying session. Hopkins’ team-mate Jon Kirkham didn’t have such a good run, suffering a 140mph crash in second practice. Kirkham qualified in P13 (fourth row) but remains confident of a top-10 performance tomorrow. John Hopkins: “We’re really, really happy! This place is something special to me. I loved it the last time here – taking my first win – and coming into this weekend I knew we’d be faster again. Even in the wet we’ve had the situation covered; the Samsung Crescent Racing GSX-R is everything I want right now. “Qualifying wasn’t easy, though. I was pushed all the way in that last session, but there was no way I wasn’t going to take Pole after sitting on top of the table all weekend. I had to take some time out, figure where I could go faster. I got that in my mind and then just pulled the pin. I was on an old tyre, sliding everywhere, popping out of the seat a few times and in that last corner I couldn’t have been any more on the limit than I was – but it did the trick. And all of this for no points! Tomorrow’s when it counts, so I’ll just look to keep the momentum up. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow – rain or shine!” Jon Kirkham: “This has been a tough build up for me. We were experimenting with set-up when I crashed at Island Bend early in Free Practice 2. That’s a very fast corner and so the bike was badly damaged, prematurely stopping our progress on set-up. And we were further compromised by a wet FP3 this morning. Then in qualifying I had a rear brake problem. You really rely on the rear brake around here on a Superbike as the bike wheelies everywhere and if you can’t control it the way you’d like then it costs 10ths of a second every time. “Even with those set-backs I only just missed out on Q3. With the brake sorted we should cut into my times tomorrow. I’m confident that, like the last time we were here, I’ll race much better than I’ve qualified.” Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “We’re definitely one-up one-down at the moment. Hopper couldn’t have had a better run-up to tomorrow; he’s been magnificent. In that final qualifying he left it until his last lap to steal Pole – he certainly knows how to crush his opposition’s hopes! “JK’s had another torrid pre-race weekend, though. High speed crashes are never good for a rider’s confidence. And then to have the setback of a wet final practice really didn’t help. Despite all that he was riding well in qualifying – even then fighting brake issues – and was in P9 right up to the final seconds of Q2. He’s intelligent enough to see through the bad and he knows he and his bike will come out faster tomorrow, he’s remained confident. I think we’ll see two strong performances from him tomorrow. “So we can expect Hopper to be chasing two wins tomorrow; he’s on top form. And I think we can expect to see a strong fight back from JK as he hasn’t lost sight of his goal: top six.”