BSB 2013 – Round Nine – Donington Park
— Farmer tops wet day one at Donington Park
Free practice one:
1: Matteo Baiocco (Rapido Sport Racing Ducati) 2m:05.068s
2: Dan Linfoot (Lloyds British GBmoto Honda) +8.953s
3: James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) –
4: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) –
5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) –
6: Jamie Poole (Quelch BSD Motorsport) –
Free practice two:
1: Keith Farmer (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki)
2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) +0.001s
3: Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) +0.994s
4: James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +1.352s
5: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.451s
6:Tommy Bridewell (Halsall Racing Kawasaki) +1.863s
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship rookie Keith Farmer upset the order at a wet Donington Park this afternoon as he toppled triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari from the top of the times in the final seconds of free practice by just 0.001 seconds.
Farmer fired out his final lap of the session to demote Kiyonari from the top as the former three times champion was using the track time to prepare his Samsung Honda. These races will be crucial to Kiyonari’s hopes of joining his Samsung Honda team-mate Alex Lowes among the six “Title Fighters” who qualifying for the title deciding Showdown sequence of races that begin with the next round at Assen.
The Showdown was also on the minds of Buildbase BMW duo James Westmoreland, who set the fourth fastest time and Jon Kirkham, who ended the session ninth fastest. Tommy Bridewell, who is promising to fight all of the way for a position in the Showdown on the Halsall Kawasaki, was marginally faster than Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison who is also one of five riders bidding for the remaining three places in the Showdown.
Lowes on the second of the Samsung Hondas was the fastest of the riders already qualified for the Showdown in third place with series leading Shane Byrne who is aiming for a record fourth MCE-BSB crown in fifth and Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes in thirteenth place.
Double Italian champion Matteo Baiocco had set the pace in the morning session and he was back inside the top ten onboard the Rapido Sport Racing Ducati this afternoon with Bathams Honda’s Michael Rutter completing the top ten.
Championship standings:
1: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 330
2: Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) 293
3: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 284
4: James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) 174
5: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) 162
6: Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) 135
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship standings:
1. Alastair Seeley (Gearlink Kawasaki) 303
2. Stuart Easton (Martrain Yamaha) 281
3. Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) 250
4. Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) 228
5. Graeme Gowland (Appleyard Macadam Racing Yamaha) 185
— — Milwaukee Yamaha Report
The ninth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship got underway at Donington Park today but it was a steady start to the weekend for Milwaukee Yamaha in the wet conditions for the opening two free practice sessions.
James Ellison and Josh Waters sat out the opening session this morning but this afternoon both riders utilised the track time to work on their wet set up ahead of this weekend’s ninth round as Ellison bids to secure his position in the Showdown this weekend.
Ellison said: “It was very wet so we sat and waited a while for the rain to ease off but it never really did so we went out and put some laps in to get a base setting for any further wet weather sessions. On the second run out we put in a softer shock to try and get more traction and immediately topped the time sheets, after that lap I pulled in to sit the session out as we had enough data. I am happy with the set up we have worked on today and I am looking forward to getting back out in hopefully some better conditions tomorrow.”
Waters said: “We waited this morning to see if the conditions would improve this afternoon but it seemed like it was going to stay wet so we went out this afternoon to cut some laps. This circuit feels a lot different in the wet but it was good for me to get some more wet laps in on the Milwaukee Yamaha. We have a good direction for the wet so if it is like this tomorrow its cool and then if it is dry then we will have a good go at that too.”
