Pole start number nine for champion elect Camier
Leon Camier prepared for what he intends to be a MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli clinching ride in the penultimate round at Silverstone by powering his Airwaves Yamaha to a ninth pole start in a dominant campaign.
He needs only to finish ahead of his team-mate James Ellison in a points scoring position to take the sport’s premier crown and Camier warmed up by bettering the lap record in the third period of free practice although he was not quite able to match that pace in the grid deciding Swan Combi 50 Roll for Pole.
Ellison pressed him hard, but Camier took the verdict with a lap of the 2.213 mile International circuit in 1m 25.391secs, an average speed of 93.29mph and afterwards he reflected: “that was hard work, one of the hardest sessions of the season, but it is mega to be on pole and it is all going to plan.
“Fingers crossed now, we can keep it going like this in the races and get the job done but for sure James is going to be very competitive. I will need to keep the pressure on in the races, but also need to be careful.
“I need a good start, and that is not one of my strong points, or I will make things hard for myself. I have to get away with them, but be sensible,” added Camier, the winner of 16 races, amassing a 99.5 points lead in the process.
Ellison starts alongside him at the front of the grid, less than a tenth of a second down, and determined to rack up strong points in his efforts to ensure the Airwaves team maintain their one-two in the standings as Hydrex Honda rider Stuart Easton makes a late challenge for second place overall.
Easton, 32 points down on Ellison going into this round, ran fourth fastest, marginally slower than HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes. Tommy Hill headed the second row for Hydrex Honda with a lap in 1m 26.345secs ahead of the Builbase Kawasaki of John Laverty. Simon Andrews, riding the MSS Colchester Kawasaki, and Sylvain Guintoli on the Worx Crescent Suzuki lined up alongside them.
Julien da Costa and Ian Lowry completed the top ten qualifiers while Richard Cooper, making his second appearance in the series, was the fastest of the Mirror.co.uk Cup competitors. He put in a lap in 1m 27.415secs aboard the Co-ordit Yamaha, running fourteenth overall, while National Superstock Champion Alastair Seeley riding the BSB Evo Class Relentless Suzuki was a further two places back, with a lap in 1m 27.544secs.
Michael Rutter returning to action aboard the Bathams Ducati – the fifth different make of bike he has raced this season – had a difficult time, running 21st, starting adrift of a fifth row comprising of Cup riders Tom Tunstall, Peter Hickman, Gary Mason – already assured of the title, and Tommy Bridewell.
Superbike Qualifying |
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Two on the front row for MAP Raceways Yamaha in Supersport
MAP Raceways Yamaha’s Billy McConnell had pole stolen from him at the last minute by a mere tenth of a second while team-mate Lee Johnston joined him on the front row for the first time this season.
And Allan Jon Venter kept the whole team inside the top ten in ninth at Silverstone in the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship final qualifying session this afternoon.
McConnell has been running in the top five all weekend, but in the second qualifying session it was business as usual with the Australian returning to the top before slipping down a position seconds before the chequered flag. In the penultimate round, McConnell’s main focus is to gain points on Steve Plater who currently has a 13-point advantage over him in the title chase.
McConnell said: “Westy [James Westmoreland] just pipped us a little bit which was unfortunate but our main rival is Steve Plater. It is a big weekend for us and pole is on the outside so maybe being a little bit on the inside may be beneficial for tomorrow.
“We have got a little work to do, a little bit of data searching but we are not a million miles away. We are working on the fron- end setting and might go back to the setting we had at Cadwell. We haven’t been off the front row all year and it would have been nice to get eight pole positions, but if they have the pole and I have the win tomorrow and I am ahead of Plater I will be happy. We really need to win.”
Johnston has also been on the pace this weekend, working his way up from being in the top ten to the top five before claiming the final place on the front row in fourth taking just over one and a half seconds off his time from the first practice session.
Johnston said: “Obviously I’m happy. It’s the first one of the year and should have come before now. The bike feels really good and we’ve got a good setting. We haven’t really had any problems all weekend. I would like to thank Jason, Andy, Crowie [John] and the MAP Raceways team as the bike is absolutely brilliant and it makes my job easier.”
AJ Venter continued his strong run of results consistently sitting in the top ten from the start of the weekend, although as a racer he was slightly disappointed with the outcome of this afternoon due to him slipping down to the third row in ninth place.
Venter said: “We went well this morning. I was pretty happy with it as I was on the second row but I thought I was going to go quicker this afternoon. However, I couldn’t hold it together and I kept making silly mistakes. I am now on the third row I just need to get a good start tomorrow. The bike’s good, the team is working really hard, everything is good I just need to put my head down.”
The Fuchs-Silkolene British supersport race will take place tomorrow at 15:45
Qualifying results
1. James Westmoreland Triumph 1:27.790
1. Billy McConnell Yamaha 1:27.917
3. Steve Plater Honda 1:28.358
4. Lee Johnston Yamaha 1:28.370
5. Ian Hutchinson Honda 1:28.408
6. Ben Wilson Kawasaki 1:28.623
7. Hudson Kennaugh Kawasaki 1:28.653
8. Tom Grant Honda 1:28.726
9. Allan Jon Venter Yamaha 1:28.889
10. Joe Dickinson Honda 1:28.904