Round Eight 9/10 August Knockhill Leon Haslam claimed his first pole start of this Bennett British Superbike Championship season and reckons that he can convert that pace into first victories of the campaign at a Knockhill circuit where he has a strong pedigree. The HM Plant Honda rider had been well on the pace through free practice, in both the dry and the wet and he was soon at the sharp end of the action in the Swan Combi 50 Roll for Pole grid deciding session towards the end of which, on the damp Fife circuit, Michael Rutter looked to be heading for pole start. Riding the North West 200 Ducati, he had put in a lap of 52.966secs around this short but demanding 1.2713mile circuit, but Haslam was to eclipse that, first shaving two tenths off it, and then running faster in the final seconds of the session with a lap of 52.692secs, 86.85mph. “I’ve not had the best of seasons, but I am pretty happy with this,” said the 25 year old Derbyshire rider, adding “I’ve got a good set-up in both the dry and now the wet, so I can’t wait to get going in these races.” Haslam has a strong pedigree at the Fife circuit, taking the first National victory of his career in 125cc action and more recently including four podium finishes in the past two seasons, and he warned his rivals: “It is all about winning races and that is what I am here for.” He needs to open his seasonal account, ending a run of 16 races without a victory, if he is boost his outside hopes of taking the title, currently lying fourth in the rankings which are led by former champion Shane Byrne who is currently 99 points clear of the pack. The Airwaves Ducati rider is again well on the pace, though he escaped with nothing more than dented pride when he slid out of the qualifying session, soon returning on his second machine, to be third fastest, 52.974secs, and a split second up on Relentless Suzuki rider Michael Laverty. Cal Crutchlow, second in the title stakes, missed out on a front-row start, by 0.174secs, for the first time this season, starting alongside Leon Camier who returns after missing the previous round through injury. Tom Sykes, the double race winner of Oulton Park, ran seventh just ahead of Hydrex Bike Animal Honda rider James Ellison. Karl Harris headed the third row of the grid with a 53.768secs lap aboard the Rob Mac Racing Yamaha, with Tristan Palmer, Tena for Men Honda; Billy McConnell who took his second tumble of the day from his MSS Discovery Kawasaki and SMT Honda rider Tom Grant alongside him. Steve Mercer, who took over the second MSS Discovery bike on Friday afternoon when Stuart Easton decided his right wrist, broken at Snetterton, was too weak to continue, ran 21st fastest. Gary Mason, riding the Quay Garage Honda, topped the qualifiers for the Daily Star Cup with a best lap of 54.634secs, running a tenth up on Astro Kawasaki rider Kenny Gilbertson. Chris Burns was third best aboard the STP MV Agusta with Tom Tunstall, Leon Morris and Martin Jessopp on the pace, though series leader John Laverty misses the race after a heavy crash during first free practice. Leading qualifying times: 1. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) 52.692s 2. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +0.274s 3. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) +0.282s 4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.311s 5. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +0.485s 6. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +0.576s 7. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.603s 8. James Ellison (Hydrex Bike Animal Honda) +0.895s 9. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) +1.076s 10 Tristan Palmer (TENA for Men Honda) +1.184s More, from a press release issued by GSE Racing/Airwaves Ducati: FIRST AND SECOND ROW STARTS FOR AIRWAVES DUCATI The Airwaves Ducati team today qualified on the front and second row of the grid for round 8 of the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill. Shane Byrne finished the day 3rd fastest with Leon Camier in 6th. Shane went to provisional pole early on in the wet qualifying session and continued to bring down his lap times. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Shane fell at the Scotsman corner and although able to get back on track on his second bike, could not improve on his best time of 52.974. Despite his fall, Shane was pleased with his qualifying performance saying, “Front row is fine by me! I was happy with my pace early on and knew that I could go quicker if I needed to, so when I saw that Michael Rutter had gone a few thousandths faster than me I wanted to go out there and push harder. The track had started to dry and I was on new tyres so was feeling really confident, but I was carrying a bit too much corner speed and realised straight away that I was going to go wide. Sure enough I hit the white line on the kerb and the bike just spat me off over the top. It was my mistake but I’m absolutely fine. My aim was to get pole position for Airwaves Ducati today, but the team has worked hard to give me a really good set up for both the wet and the dry so I’m feeling positive about the two races tomorrow whatever the weather”. Leon’s fastest time of 53.268 came on his 26th lap of 44. Although disappointed not to have qualified on the front row, Leon is feeling confident of a better result tomorrow. “I’ve been improving my times and my position on the timesheets all weekend so was really hoping to get on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s races. It was good to get some time on track in the wet practice session this morning before going into qualifying as it gave us an idea as to how the Airwaves Ducati would perform. I’m feeling good around here but I’m struggling on the final corner and it is ruining my whole lap time. I’ve worked with my engineer to understand what needs to change in order to improve, so I’m looking forward to warm-up tomorrow to put those changes into action.” Round 8 of the British Superbike Championship kicks off tomorrow, Sunday 10th August with race one at 1300 and race two at 1530. Qualifying Results: 1. Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 52.692 2. Michael Rutter North West 200 Ducati 52.966 3. Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati 52.974 4. Michael Laverty Relentless Suzuki by TAS 53.003 5. Cal Crutchlow HM Plant Honda 53.177 6. Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati 53.268 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Rizla Suzuki’s Tom Sykes mastered the wet and rainy conditions at Knockhill to secure a strong seventh place start on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s eighth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. During free practice three which proceeds qualifying, Sykes headed the time sheets as his team used data they had gathered during the Brands Hatch World Superbike weekend to set up his bike for the wet conditions. The rain continued for the singular 50-minute qualifying session but stopped with 10-minutes remaining. As he was preparing to go for his fastest lap at the end of the session the track was drying but his wet set-up didn’t allow him to improve his time. Atsushi Watanabe had a baptism of water on his debut at the 1.27-mile Scottish circuit and immediately had to adapt both to the new track and the harsh weather conditions. He worked on set-up for his Rizla Suzuki and steadily improved his lap times, getting faster every time he left the pit box. He took three seconds off his lap times between today’s sessions and will start from 16th on the fourth row of the grid. Superbike race one is at 1300 and race two at 1530 tomorrow. Tom Sykes: “In the full wet conditions this morning we had plenty of grip but this afternoon as the track dried out a little we started to struggle. We are on the second row and at the end of the day that’s a good place to be. My Rizla Suzuki team will work hard to give me the best bike possible for tomorrow and I’m confident it will all come together.” Atsushi Watanabe: “I like Knockhill but qualifying is difficult. I want to be further forward – especially after my result at Suzuka. My Rizla Suzuki feels good in moist conditions and I like Knockhill so I will work hard in the race and hope for improving result.” Jack Valentine – Rizla Suzuki Team Manager : “Tom had the pace to challenge for the front row but the drying track right at the end of the session confounded his bike set-up and didn’t give him the chance to achieve that. By the time he came in, the session was nearly over so he wasn’t able to take his number two bike out to try and improve his position. Second row isn’t the end of the world and I know Tom has been riding incredibly-well lately, I’m confident in either the wet or the dry he can fight for the podium. “Atsu has done really well as he has had to learn a new circuit in difficult conditions and has gone faster every session. Knockhill isn’t an easy track to learn as it is such a short lap and there is nowhere to take a rest. I must say I’m pleased with his progress and with a bit of luck he will get into the top 10 tomorrow.” Qualifying results: 1: Leon Haslam (Honda) 52:692 2: Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.274 3: Shane Byrne (Ducati) +0.282 4: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) +0.311 5: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +0.485 6: Leon Camier (Ducati) +0.576 7: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) +0.603 8: James Ellison (Honda) +0.895 9: Karl Harris (Yamaha) +1.076 10: Tristan Palmer (Honda) +1.184 16: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +2.126.