BSB 2011 – Round Four – Thruxton
Qualifying Results
1. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) 1m: 14.891s
2. John Hopkins (Suzuki) +0.016s
3. Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.022s
4. Michael Rutter (Ducati) +0.126s
5. Peter Hickman (Honda) +0.154s
6. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.199s
7. Michael Laverty (Yamaha) +0.235s
8. Loris Baz (Yamaha) +0.277s
9. James Westmoreland (Yamaha) +0.441s
10. Dan Linfoot (Honda) +1.206s
14 Josh Brookes [Suzuki]
Supersport Race 1: 1 Billy McConnell [Triumph] 15min 39.066; 2 Alastair Seeley [Relentless Suzuki by TAS] +0.113; 3 Ben Wilson [Kawasaki] +0.294; 4 Sam Warren [Yamaha] +0.508; 5 Dean Hipwell [Yamaha] +0.698; 6 Paul Young [Triumph] +2.521.
Report
Alex Lowes marked his debut with the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team by powering to his and the team’s maiden pole start in the top flight ahead of the Holiday Monday fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Thruxton.
It was a remarkable performance by the 20 year old Lincolnshire rider who had not ridden the machine until first free practice on Saturday at the Hampshire circuit. He was quickly settled and improving his lap times ahead of the grid deciding session when with a lap in 1m 14.891secs he took the pole start at the expense of the title chasing John Hopkins.
Lowes who had been the pace-maker in the chase for honours in the Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO class until he lost his ride amid a contractual wrangle with the WFR Honda team after the Croft round and he answered a call from the Kawasaki team to deputise for their injured rider Stuart Easton.
“It is just an awesome feeling, mega. In each of the sessions, I was able to go faster and that really is a testament to the work that had been put in on the bike by Stuart,” said Lowes whose thoughts were with Easton who suffered multiple injuries in a crash during practice for the North West 200 race.
“This is for Stuart – we all want to get him back out there on track as soon as possible,” said Lowes. “This will give him a lift, as he has done all of the development work on the bike to make this possible and it will do the whole team good. It has not been easy since his crash for the team, seeing one of your own badly injured, as they are like a big family.
“Now I have to a good job for all of them in these races,” added Lowes who is in buoyant mood ahead of the races and ready to scrap for victory against his more experienced rivals. Former MotoGP rider Hopkins who starts his Samsung Crescent Suzuki alongside him at the front of the grid has a great opportunity to move ahead in the title stakes at the expense of Shane Byrne, whom he currently trails by three points.
Byrne, who had been consistently fast throughout practice tipped off his HM Plant Honda on his first flying lap in the grid deciding session, taking a bruising and bashing his hand and wrist, and as a result will start from the back of the grid. Byrne is ready for that challenge.
Tommy Hill, still suffering some pain from his injured shoulder, is much stronger, and put his Swan Yamaha onto the front row of the grid, third fastest, ahead of the Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati rider Michael Rutter.
Peter Hickman continued his steady improvement aboard the Tyco Honda to head up the second row from reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari, riding the HM Plant Honda and Michael Laverty on the second Swan Yamaha. Loris Baz set eighth fastest time, but was relegated four places for an illegal practice start in a live session, with James Westmoreland moved onto the second row.
Dan Linfoot, Chris Walker and Martin Jessopp were joined on the third row by Baz while the WFR Honda duo of Glen Richards and Graeme Gowland were fastest among the BSB-EVO class riders ahead of Simon Andrews and Scott Smart.
– Relentless Suzuki Report
Alastair Seeley took his fourth British Supersport podium of the year with second place during the opening race of the Bank Holiday weekend at Thruxton today as his Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing team-mate Josh Brookes qualified his GSX-R1000 Superbike on row four for tomorrow’s opening British Superbike race.
Fresh from his North West 200 International Road Racing victory last weekend on the all-new GSX-R600 Suzuki, Seeley qualified on the middle of the second row and from there he got embroiled in a race-long battle that saw the top five riders covered by less than 7/10ths-of-a-second at the chequered flag.
Alastair Seeley: “I didn’t get as good a start as I normally do, but I got up to third place and chased down Wilson and Kennedy before Jack eventually tucked the front. I could hear a Triumph on my bumper the whole race but wasn’t sure who it was. So with four laps to go I tried to make a break for it but they were able to slipstream me back. In the last two laps I sat back and waited until the final chicane and got past the two front men, but McConnell braked that bit later than me and nipped in for the win. It was really tight but a good race and just what British Supersport racing is all about. Thruxton is hard on tyres so in the longer race tomorrow it will all be about preserving them. And if the forecast is correct, the rain may even come into play.”
Josh Brookes: “We’re not miles away, but it feels like we are miles away! I don’t know what to say; if I did I suppose I’d be going quicker, but every round so far we’ve had to come from less than average qualifying positions. It’s not a sprint and there are plenty of laps in the race to make up the places – it’s just annoying I suppose that it takes us so long to get up to speed on a weekend. I’m really not too concerned though as I know I’m a better racer than a qualifier, although it would be better for the team if we were closer to the front in qualifying.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It’s just a pity that opening Supersport race was not live on TV as it was a thrilling race to watch. Alastair really is on a high at the minute and he had a good plan out there today, but Billy made the best of a four-rider slipstream to take the win; that’s racing. Just like he was at the NW200, Alastair was brilliant on the brakes on the wee GSX-R600 today, but it was a good race for the Championship with more solid points and he now moves into second place in the overall table.
“Unfortunately we are still in this mode with Josh working towards race set-up all the time and this weekend it has taken us more time than we anticipated, maybe trying to over-correct things after fitting a new tank and seat unit. But we are now making strides forward and are confident with the set-up for race one. We are hopeful of mixing it at the front in the races tomorrow as Josh has shown as he doesn’t have a problem making passes from wherever he qualifies. In saying that we need to look at making his job easier in the future and that will mean qualifying higher up the grid.”
– Samsung Crescent Racing Report
Samsung Crescent Racing’s John Hopkins will start from second place on the front row of the grid at tomorrow’s first race of the fourth round of the British Superbikes Championship at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire as team-mate Jon Kirkham starts from P13.
In what’s been an impressive build-up for Hopkins – who is making his debut at the circuit – he’s consistently stayed inside the top-10 in free practice on his GSX-R1000 Suzuki, lowering his lap time by half-a-second each session. In qualifying he recovered from a testing second qualifying session – when a defective tyre cost him precious grip – to storm the final session with a time barely 1/100th-of-a-second off pole position.
Kirkham – a winner at the last round at Croft – pushed hard to improve his set-up through practice and had just entered the top 10 yesterday afternoon when he crashed at Goodwood. His bike was repaired overnight but a small technical glitch, resulting from the crash, cost him precious time in final practice. Kirkham, too, was to suffer tyre issues in Q2 and so failed to make the final qualifying session. He starts tomorrow’s first race from the fourth row.
John Hopkins: “It’s been an interesting weekend so far, learning the track from scratch. This is another one where you can’t hurry the learning process. You must ride so hard here, like flat out in fifth gear, when cranked to the edge of the tyre – with the track dropping away – so it’s critical to have a good understanding of what’s coming and a good feel for what’s going on.
“Most importantly: I have to give so much credit to my crew, and crew chief Lez Pearson for giving me such a great bike – hats off to them; they really know what I like in a bike. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow!”
Jon Kirkham: “We didn’t start the weekend too badly and I found I felt ok on the bike despite being sore after the Croft crash. Then yesterday afternoon’s crash at Goodwood really set us back. That’s a fast corner to crash on and it did knock my confidence. It didn’t do my crew any favours either; another rebuild after they’d already rebuilt the bike after the Croft crash.
“In qualifying what I was missing was a good tow to bring my time up; many of the best times have come by using the slipstream of another rider. I was set up to get a tow off Chris Walker in Q2 when he went on the grass so I didn’t get the full benefit and my time just wasn’t enough. But I’m feeling good for tomorrow. The last three practice/ qualifiers have all been troubled for me but we have had the speed for the race, so I’m looking to improve.”
Jack Valentine – Team Manager: “Hopper has chipped away at the job all weekend and as ever he’s overcome every hurdle and put himself in one of the strongest positions for tomorrow’s first race. The races are very much going to be about tyre management, saving the best until last, but I’m sure that Hopper will be on top of the situation. There is an opportunity here to grab the Championship lead and build up some very good points and we’ll look to do that, but we know the Championship is long and there’s the ‘reset’ when we get to the Showdown phase, so we’re taking each step as it comes.
“For JK he’s had another less than perfect run-up to the races. He was going well, building up his speed steadily when he crashed. That created a further set-back in final practice. He suffered the same tyres/ grip issues as Hopper in Q2 but wasn’t able to find enough speed to stay in the running. I’m sure – as JK has proved every race – that he’ll improve dramatically come race day.”
– HM Plant Honda Report
Second row start for Kiyo as Shakey crashes out at Thruxton
HM Plant Honda’s Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne endured a dramatic qualifying session at Thruxton today ahead of the fourth round of the British Superbike Championship when the title leader crashed out in the first session which means he will start tomorrow’s opening race from 33rd on the grid. Ryuichi Kiyonari improved his pace this afternoon and he was able to qualify on the second row in seventh position.
Byrne had been second in combined free practice times after setting the pace on the opening day but he had completed a single lap before he crashed at the Club Chicane. Byrne suffered just cuts and bruises and is now determined to fight his way through the field in tomorrow’s opening race as he bids to maintain his lead in the overall standings. Kiyonari is also feeling confident of a strong performance tomorrow after making some positive changes to the HM Plant Honda Fireblade that has made him more comfortable.
In the Superstock 1000 Championship Jason O’Halloran will start from the third row of the grid in ninth place following today’s second qualifying session. He is feeling positive ahead of tomorrow’s race that he has the pace to challenge for a podium finish for the team.
Shakey said: “It was disappointing to end qualifying with a crash in the first session, especially as the HM Plant Honda Fireblade has been working so well all weekend. I used a race tyre and needed just one lap to put me through to Q2 as after that we were going to make a few changes. I was feeling good and in the first sector it was my fastest of the weekend and as I exited the chicane I just got on the gas and the bike came round on me and I thought ‘oh no this isn’t going to be good!’ The electronics then figured it out and snapped it back and then it was over and out.
“It was frustrating as we still had a few things we wanted to try so it’s not ideal but I have started from the back before and come through to fourth so I will be trying that’s for sure. I have a few cuts and bruises but luckily nothing more than that so I will be back out tomorrow. I want to come out and show everyone how determined I am!”
Kiyo said: “We are in a better position than yesterday. We tried a completely different balance on the HM Plant Honda Fireblade and it was better straight away. Yesterday we needed to find something more and I think that now we have. We can do consistent lap times and we are getting faster all the time. We are closer now and I am happy for tomorrow’s races.”
Jason said: “That was a decent session for us and it is better than it looks on paper. Our race pace is good but we just struggled to get one lap. We are not a million miles away and we just didn’t get the new tyre working how we needed to but on the used tyre we were consistent. We just need a good start in the races and then we should be up there.”
Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded: “That was another mixed qualifying session for HM Plant Honda. To have Shakey crash at the very start was obviously disappointing and he will have to start 33rd on the grid for race one. However if you are going to take the positives this track is slightly more forgiving than some of the others and I am confident that he can work his way up the order tomorrow. For Kiyo he is not too worried as he has consistent pace for the races but if he can stay with the leading group then he should be challenging tomorrow. The same goes for Jason, if he can get away at the start then he will be up there again fighting for the podium.”