By Glenn LeSanto

After spending all weekend struggling with set-up, Jamie Whitham put it all together in the last minute of final qualifying to grab pole position in the World Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch. After languishing down in 18th for most of the session, Whitham went out for a last-gasp attempt on his Belgarda Yamaha to improve his grid position as the clock ticked away the final seconds of the session. “It all came together for me,” said a delighted Whitham, “I got tucked in behind Karl Harris for the first part and managed to get a clear run after that.”

Frenchman Fabien Foret also did a fast lap in the closing stages on his Ten Kate Honda to jump onto the front row, he qualified third behind Whitham and Andrew Pitt. Australian Pitt, who rides for Fuchs Kawasaki, had spent much of the session on provisional pole until Whitham’s last-gasp lap. Pitt’s teammate Iain MacPherson had also spent time at the top of the time sheet, but found himself bumped down to fourth on the grid after Whitham and Foret put in their last-minute fast laps.

Reigning World Supersport champion Jorge Teuchert struggled during qualifying and starts tomorrow’s race from down in the third row. Teuchert’s been on good form for the past few races and can’t be written off despite his third-row grid position. World Supersport has produced some very tight racing in the past and Sunday’s race is bound to follow in that tradition with only one second separating the top 20 riders on the grid.


Final World Supersport Championship qualifying times:
1. James Whitham, GB (Yamaha) 1:29.668
2. Andrew Pitt, Australia (Kawasaki) 1:29.849
3. Fabien Foret, France (Honda) 1:29.924
4. Iain MacPherson, GB (Kawasaki) 1:29.937
5. Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Suzuki) 1:29.969
6. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 1:30.012
7. Pere Riba, Spain (Honda) 1:30.024
8. Fabrizio Pirovano, Italy (Suzuki) 1:30.103
9. Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 1:30.180
10. Karl Harris, GB (Suzuki) 1:30.238