MCE INSURANCE BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2 Thruxton 13/14/15 April LOWRY COOKS UP A STUNNER AS HILL BEATS GREMLINS Results Free practice one top six: 1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 1m:15.969s 2: Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) +0.335s 3 Alex Lowes (Team WFR Honda) +0.602s 4:James Westmoreland (Team WFR Honda) +0.706s 5:Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +0.928s 6: Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) +0.992s Free practice two top six: 1: Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 1m:15.841s 2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.017s 3: Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +0.025s 4: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.070s 5: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +0.245s 6: Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) +0.255s Report Ian Lowry served up the fastest lap at the high-speed Thruxton circuit as he outgunned his rivals in free practice for the second round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship but reigning champion Tommy Hill ended the day confident that his gremlins were behind him. Former chef Lowry powered his Padgetts Honda to a stunning 111.83mph lap of the Hampshire circuit to beat Aussie Josh Brookes aboard the Tyco Suzuki. Alex Lowes riding the WFR Honda and former two times title winner Shane Byrne on the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki were in close contention as four different manufacturers were inside the top five. Lowry, who is chasing a maiden victory in the series said: “It is only early days and we still have some improvements to make. I am well settled to riding this circuit but I know the others will be chasing us!” Champion Hill who is fighting back after a non-point scoring opening race last weekend was fifth fastest after another difficult start to the day, losing the majority of the opening free practice session. “We had the throttle sensor go down in the morning and that cost me track time but after that we settled down and I am feeling pretty confident that here we can put the disappointment of the first round behind us.” Michael Laverty set the sixth fastest time despite a last minute crash, but his Samsung Honda team-mate and first round winner Jon Kirkham was a further seven places back on the leaderboard as the top riders were separated by only 0.964 seconds. For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Swan Yamaha: SWAN YAMAHA GET TO GRIPS WITH HIGH-SPEED THRUXTON The Swan Yamaha team were back on track at Thruxton today as the team began their preparations for the second round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in Hampshire. Defending champion Tommy Hill had suffered some early session issues that the team resolved and he was able to lap the circuit fifth fastest despite the limited track time compared to his title rivals. In the second afternoon session he was able to run fastest until the closing moments, finishing fifth ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session. Noriyuki Haga had his first opportunity to lap the former RAF airfield and he continues to learn the circuit and believes the extra track time tomorrow will give him the extra knowledge to have a strong qualifying performance. Hill said: “It has not been a bad day despite missing a lot of time this morning with a few gremlins in the first session but we were still fifth despite missing a big chunk of time. In the second session we were fastest and then in the last minutes there were some improvements but we are doing the times we have on tyres we can run in the race and that is what is important. I think we are one of the strongest out there at running consistent times over a string of laps and that is what we need for Sunday’s races.” Haga said: “I need a little more time with this circuit; it looks easy but there are still some sections that I need to learn more to improve. It is mainly the last section of the track that I need to find more time from Village and Church really as that is the bit where I need to be more confident on the gas! These high-speed sections are where I am losing the time but I can find more tomorrow for sure; it is all about tomorrow and the races.” Team manager Gary Ekerold concluded: “After a little electrical gremlin this morning for Tommy and losing a lot of time he got on the pace very quickly and he carried that through to free practice two. He had led the session until there were only a few minutes left so he showed he will be a contender for the races. Obviously Noriyuki hasn’t been here before so is still learning the fastest line that works for him and generally getting his head round the new track. But as we know, we will see what he is capable of in qualifying and the two races on Sunday.” For more information visit www.swanyamaha.co.uk