John Hopkins tops day one at Oulton Park BSB
American John Hopkins upstaged the title-chasing pair of Josh Brookes and Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne in the dying moments of free practice two, topping the times ahead of the triple-header ninth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park.
The former MotoGP and MCE BSB runner-up stormed to his fastest lap of the day on the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati to close in on the lap record time ahead of the opening race which takes place at the Cheshire circuit following Datatag Qualifying tomorrow (Saturday).
Hopkins, who claimed his first ever victory in the series at the circuit back in 2011, is poised for more of the same and that could spell problems for both Brookes and Byrne who are aiming for the maximum Podium Points haul ahead of the Showdown opener at Assen.
This round is crucial to the championship aspirations of the chasing pack who are all aiming to join Brookes and Byrne as Title Fighters in the final Showdown. Outsider Luke Mossey on the Quattro Plant Kawasaki set the sixth best time, just adrift of Danny Buchan and Christian Iddon.
The Tyco BMW pairing of Michael Laverty and Tommy Bridewell, who both currently hold places in the top six, were seventh and eighth respectively on combined free practice times and will be pushing to close the deficit ahead of Datatag Qualifying and the first race tomorrow.
Today’s sessions marked the comeback of both Stuart Easton and James Ellison who both return from injury. PBM Kawasaki’s Easton currently holds fifth place in the overall standings and just six weeks after his Brands Hatch injury valiantly set the 12th fastest time, just 0.009s separating him from the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider who also is battling for a Showdown spot.
It was a disastrous opening day for the Honda Racing team as Dan Linfoot bids to make the cut for the Showdown; he currently holds seventh place in the overall standings but could only set the 20th fastest time.
John Hopkins (Lloyds British MotoRapido Ducati) – P1: 1m 35.092s – “I had no idea of my time as I did not have the GPS switched on and during that lap I made a few little mistakes so I thought it was slower than that! We had run with used tyres earlier as we worked on the bike, then put in a new one for the afternoon, and that with the adjustments to the suspension made a big change to my lap times.
“The bike feels great, the boys in the team have worked very hard and I am great and up for the three races. I had my first win here back in 2011 so this is a pretty special track for me and I want to be fighting for the podium.”
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) – P2 – “I haven’t thought about the race tomorrow yet, I have just been focused on today. This morning was good and we just rode on one tyre the whole session through and maintained the fastest lap time and did the best lap at the end of the session.
“This afternoon wasn’t so good although we went faster but I wasn’t happy with the gearing and we made some changes to make it right and then the set-up wasn’t matched to the wheel base with the different gearing so we changed it again. Everything then started going outside the window of what works so we are going to have a little rethink for tomorrow and then come back.
“We just have to alter the suspension settings as I didn’t feel comfortable and have confidence after the changes, but we will fix that for tomorrow.”
Free practice two
1: John Hopkins (Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati) 1m:35.092s
2: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.054s
3: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.203s
4: Danny Buchan (Be Wiser Kawasaki) +0.379s
5: Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.607s
6: Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.639s
Series leader Stapleford takes charge in Supersport free practice
Luke Stapleford, the leader in the chase for the Motorpoint British Supersport title, upped the pace this afternoon during the second free practice session to close in on the lap record, as he topped the times at Oulton Park.
The Profile Trumph rider had been cautious in the damp morning session, putting in only five laps, the best of which was some three seconds off the pace in a session led by Smiths Triumph rider Jake Dixon who underlined his competitiveness by then closing with 0.180s of Stapleford next time out.
Andy Reid, riding the Team Traction Control Yamaha, was also strong in both sessions, finishing the day in third place overall, a little over half a second faster than his team-mate James Rispoli.
Kyle Ryde, who goes into the races determined to close the 37 points deficit he has on Stapleford at the top of the standings put in a late, strong lap, to be fifth fastest, though 0.919s down on his rival.
Gearlink Kawasaki riders Ben Wilson and Glenn Irwin who had been in the top five in the first session, slipped back to sixth and eighth in the later session, running either side of Sam Hornsey aboard the second Profile Triumph.
Supersport EVO title contender Joe Collier again set the pace in this category, ninth fastest though his best lap was 1.959secs down on that of Stapleford.
Motorpoint British Supersport Championship, Oulton Park, Free practice two
1: Luke Stapleford (Profile Triumph) 1m 37.700s
2: Jake Dixon (Smiths Triumph) +0.180s
3: Andy Reid (Team Traction Control Yamaha) +0.223s
4: James Rispoli (Team Traction Control Yamaha) +0.865s
5: Kyle Ryde (PacedayZ Trackdays Yamaha) +0.919s
