James Haydon rode through the pain barrier to take seventh place and a second row start for tomorrow’s double header seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton, with his stand-in Rizla Suzuki team mate Jon Kirkham taking an impressive 12th on the third row. Still suffering from a shoulder injury sustained in a crash two weeks ago at Mallory Park, Haydon showed immense courage to push himself and his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 to within 1/10th-of-a-second of a front row grid position. Kirkham, standing in for the injured Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne – who is not permitted to race after a heavy crash yesterday – proved his talent by adapting quickly to the Rizla Suzuki and ended up on the third row. Ducati’s Leon Haslam took pole position at the 1.95-mile long Norfolk circuit. James Haydon: “My Rizla Suzuki is feeling good and it is very fast along the straights. We have tried a few minor modifications and tyres that have slowly improved the bike and I have also got used to riding and compensating for my weak left shoulder. “Tomorrow I will have an injection of pain killers before each race and hope that will help me. If I can get away with the front runners I know the bike has the pace to stay with them and towards the end of the race hopefully I can challenge for good results.” Jon Kirkham: “I struggled to get up to speed in the qualifying session. I could really have done with reducing my times quickly and then concentrating on qualifying but I am still learning about the bike and couldn’t push any faster any earlier. “On my final qualifying lap I had to overtake several slower riders but it was still good enough for 12th. It would have been nice to have completed the lap unhindered to see where I could have finished. I want to get away with the top 10 riders tomorrow and have a dice with them. The more I ride the bike the more familiar it is and the faster I am riding, so I am looking forward to the races.” John Reynolds – Triple British Superbike Champion: “James is riding with an injury and is no where near fully fit so to take seventh on the second row is a good achievement. He hasn’t taken any pain killers yet and has been saving them for the races and that will help him to be even more competitive and stick with the front runners tomorrow. “Jon is adapting quickly to the bike and every session he has gone faster and found new confidence. The Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 is now fitting him much better than before and he is comfortable riding it. I am sure he can challenge for the top 10 tomorrow in both races.” Qualifying Positions: 1: Leon Haslam (Ducati) 1:04.500, 2: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.429, 3: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.520, 4: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.806, 5: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.898, 6: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.943, 7: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +0.950, 8: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +0.961, 9: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) +1.177, 10: Dean Thomas (Kawasaki) +1.180. 12: Jon Kirkham (Rizla Suzuki) +1.284. Audi Performance Award (After seven of 13 Rounds): 1: Lavilla 49, 2: Haslam 47, 3: Harris 36, 4: Kiyonari 27, 5: Rutter 26, 6: Rea 21, 7: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) 13, 8 James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) 12, 9: Thomas 11, 10=: Hill, Michael Laverty (Honda) 5.
Leon Haslam On British Superbike Pole At Snetterton
Leon Haslam On British Superbike Pole At Snetterton
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