Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) was denied the pole position at Knockhill today ahead of the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship by just 0.004 seconds as Brookes lines up second on the grid for the opening race.
Japan’s Ryuichi Kiyonari claimed pole ahead of Brookes and Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki).
Kiyonari was delighted with the result, he said: “I am very happy, because the last session was hard because you did a lap, went faster and then went back positions as everyone was pushing so much. I thought I could have gone faster, but I was nervous and I kept making mistakes and then the last lap I just thought ‘go’ and we did it. I am happy for the team and I will try and do it again tomorrow. We will push hard and hopefully we can win, or at least be on the podium.”
Brookes had been pushing for his second pole position of the season and with the improvements made by the team during free practice and qualifying, the Australian is confident heading in to race day tomorrow.
Josh Brookes: “Normally I like Kiyo and he is one of my favourite past team-mates, but not right now because we were here to take the pole position. I am quite happy with where we are now because I started the weekend a bit frustrated but we have worked hard and fine tuned the Milwaukee Yamaha and that has given me confidence to push to the limit.
“We have been making improvements throughout qualifying and today it has been a race in the pitlane as well as on the track to achieve the results we have and I need to thank the team for their work. We were close today and we didn’t give up and we certainly will be pushing again tomorrow in the races.”
On the opposite side of the Milwaukee garage Tommy Bridewell had a challenging day in Scotland. A technical problem and then a crash gave the team a huge amount of work ahead of qualifying, but the dedicated crew and a determined Bridewell turned the day around to qualify seventh. Bridewell will line up tenth on the grid for the opening race after he was issued a three grid place penalty for a delayed response to the black and orange flags in free practice three this morning.
Tommy Bridewell: “I was happy at the end of the day with the pace that we had in qualifying, especially as the bike was completely rebuilt and new after the crash this morning. It takes time when you are in that position to get your confidence back usually, but we didn’t have time for that and we just had to go for it.
“We banged in some laps and got through to Q3 and although I was seventh I have to start tenth which has me even more determined for the races. I need to get a good start and make back those positions and I will be giving everything to make sure that happens and I won’t be taking any prisoners. I am ready for tomorrow and that is down to the team and their hard work so thanks to them.”
Stuart Easton will head row two alongside James Ellison and James Westmoreland on the second Buildbase BMW. Jakub Smrz was back in the top ten for the Millsport Ducati team and is joined on the third row by Chris Walker and Michael Rutter.
Qualifying results
1. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Buildbase BMW S1000RR 48.112s
2. Josh Brookes AUS Milwaukee Yamaha YZF-R1 48.116s
3. Shane Byrne GBR Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.130s
4. Stuart Easton GBR Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.172s
5. James Ellison GBR GBmoto Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.207s
6. James Westmoreland GBR Buildbase BMW S1000RR 48.297s
7. Tommy Bridewell GBR Milwaukee Yamaha YZF-R1 48.315s *
8. Jakub Smrz CZE Milsport Ducati 1199 Panigale R 48.326s
9. Chris Walker GBR GBmoto Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.562s
10. Michael Rutter GBR Bathams BMW S1000RR 48.681s
11. Barry Burrell GBR WD-40 Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.608s
12. Dan Linfoot GBR Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.619s
13. John Hopkins USA Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 48.640s
14. Patric Muff SUI Bathams BMW S1000RR 48.759s
15. Richard Cooper GBR Anvil TAG Kawasaki ZX-10R 48.809s
16. Josh Waters AUS Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 48.900s
17. Peter Hickman GBR RAF Reserves Honda CBR1000RR 49.068s
18. Keith Farmer GBR PR Kawasaki ZX-10R 49.152s
19. Howie Mainwaring GBR Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R 49.034s
20. Aaron Zanotti GBR AZ Suzuki GSX-R1000 49.052s
21. Jon Kirkham GBR Halsall Kawasaki ZX-10R 49.111s
22. Ben Wilson GBR Gearlink Kawasaki ZX-10R 49.203s
23. Ian Hutchinson GBR FXX Yamaha YZF-R1 49.285s
24. John Ingram GBR Morello Services PBR Kawasaki ZX-10R 49.322s
25. Jenny Tinmouth GBR TWR Honda CBR1000RR 50.055s
26. Harry Hartley GBR Tsingtao WK Kawasaki ZX-10R No Time
* To be demoted three grid positions for late response to Black/Orange flags in FP3
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