Keith Farmer tops Donington BSB opening day from Brookes

2019 BSB

Round Three – Donington Park

Tight at the top as BSB Donington gets underway

Images by David Yeomans Photography

Tyco BMW’s Keith Farmer set the pace after the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at Donington Park on Friday afternoon, firing the new S1000 RR to the top of the times ahead of Saturday’s Datatag Qualifying and opening race of the triple-header weekend.

BSB Rnd Fri Keith Farmer — Keith Farmer topped Friday Practice- Tyco BMW

Tommy Bridewell had initially set the benchmark, but in the closing ten minutes the Tyco BMW contender forged ahead to set the pace for the first time since returning to the Superbike class after lifting the Superstock title last season. The session saw an incredibly close field with 0.893s covering the top 18 riders.

BSB Donington Rnd Fri Scott Redding Be Wiser Ducati AROA — Scott Redding – Donington Park BSB

Farmer edged ahead of 2015 champion Josh Brookes by just 0.036s with Scott Redding in third after he led the pack in the opening session for the Be Wiser Ducati team with joint championship leader Bridewell holding fourth place at the chequered flag.

BSB Donington Rnd Fri Josh Brookes Australia Be Wiser Ducati AROA — Josh Brookes – Donington Park BSB

Keith Farmer Fastest on Friday

“I am very happy with how the session went this afternoon; I am still learning the Superbike and we haven’t changed much today between the first and second free practice sessions. We started the day good and to finish the opening day fastest is mega. It is the first time for me on the BMW in BSB and I am looking forward to raceday tomorrow. Hopefully we can have a good qualifying and can get a good start so that we can get away with them at the front and see what we can do.”

Hector Barbera had an impressive debut in Bennetts BSB, leading the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki charge in fifth, moving ahead of Luke Mossey and Tarran Mackenzie who is tied on points with Bridewell at the top of the standings.

Peter Hickman was eighth fastest ahead of Christian Iddon and Luke Stapleford, who completed the top ten for the Buildbase Suzuki team.

Tarran Mackenzie got off to a strong start in the opening session, which was lengthened for track familiarisation, running in the top five when he slipped off at Craner curves. Despite the fast off, there was little damage to Mackenzie’s R1 and after just over 20 minutes in the box he returned to action and finished the session sixth overall despite the lost track time. He was seventh quickest in the afternoon session.

Tarran Mackenzie

“This morning the initial feeling was quite good, which put a smile on my face, but unfortunately I fell off at Craner. Luckily the bike just slid on its side and I managed to get it back to the garage. I improved again towards the end of FP1. We carried that on to FP2, struggled a bit in the middle of the session and then the feeling came good towards the end again. There are one or two little things we need to try and change for tomorrow, but I think we’re in a good position. It doesn’t look great being in P7 but the overall feeling is good so I’m looking forward to getting back out for an important day!”

It was a slightly steadier start on the other side of the garage with Jason O’Halloran rounding out the day 11th overall. Despite the position on the timesheet, the Aussie remains confident they know what to try tomorrow.

Jason O’Halloran

“It wasn’t an ideal day on the timesheets but it was a good day for learning what we need to do. I enjoyed riding the track, it’s a great circuit but it’s trickier than it looks. Trying to figure out the best way through the last chicane has been my thing for today! We’ve got a few things to work on tomorrow to get a bit more comfortable with the bike, but we’ve got a lot of info from today, we’ve done plenty of laps and have a good plan for tomorrow.”

2019 BSB Donington FP1

Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:06.527s
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.023s
Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +0.198s
Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW) +0.283s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.385s
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.465s
Xavi Forés (Honda Racing) +0.508s
Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) +0.669s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.679s
Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) +0.688s

2019 BSB Donington FP2

Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW) 1m:06.475s
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.036s
Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.252s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +0.308s
Hector Barbera (Quattro JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.310s
Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) +0.317s
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.324s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.345s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +0.403s
Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.421s

Pirelli National Superstock 1000

In the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 free practice Richard Cooper topped both sessions and was the only rider in the 1:07s. Levi Day was fourth fastest in FP2, with Brayden Elliot 27th. FP1 had seen Day 11th, with Brayden Elliot 16th.

BSB Donington Rnd Fri Levi Day Australia AROA — Levi Day fourth in FP2 – Donington Park BSB

Free Practice 1

Richard COOPER 1:07.562
Taylor MACKENZIE +0.907
George STANLEY +0.108
Chrissy ROUSE +1.046
Leon JEACOCK +1.179
Luke HEDGER +1.230
Lee JACKSON +1.247
Benjamin GODFREY +1.423
Andrew REID +1.451
Tom NEAVE +1.461
Levi DAY +1.522
…16. Brayden ELLIOTT +1.983

BSB Donington Rnd Fri Brayden Elliott Australia AROA — Brayden Elliot was 16th in FP1, but 27th in FP2 – Donington Park BSB

Free Practice 2

Richard COOPER 1:07.579
Chrissy ROUSE +0.525
Taylor MACKENZIE +0.631
Levi DAY +0.651
Lee JACKSON +0.712
Lewis ROLLO +0.724
Tom NEAVE +0.791
Alex OLSEN +0.794
Eemeli LAHTI +0.952
Luke HEDGER +0.963
…27. Brayden ELLIOTT +2.251

Dickies British Supersport

Jack Kennedy topped FP1 from Kyle Ryde, with .101s separating the two, while Alastair Seeley was just 0.018 off Ryde. In FP2 Kyle Ryde turned that around to claim an extremely narrow top time of 1:08.431, just 0.024s ahead of Kennedt. Seeley was again third fastest, this time 0.356 off the leader.