Rutter takes pole at Silverstone

Michael Rutter will be on pole for the first round of the British Superbike Championship tomorrow, but Rizla Suzuki rider John Reynolds will be missing the race after breaking his collarbone in a tumble at Priory corner on the first lap of qualifying.

Rutter managed a fastest time of 1:26.235, improving on his Qualifying time by 0.25 seconds. The Renegade Ducati rider took three attempts to get there making full use of the new extended qualifying session.

Shane Byrne will be lining up beside Rutter after clocking a time of 1:26.496, while Yukio Kagayama start his first BSB race in third after a best time of 1:26.567.

Kagayama said: ” I am happy with today’s result and glad to be on the front row. I have worked hard with my crew to get the feeling and balance of my GSX-R1000 to how I like it. In the final session I was able to push hard and I have confidence in my bike. I did not ride aggressively and maybe if I had, I could have recorded a faster time. ”

Steve Hislop on his Yamaha R1 completes the front row. He managed to improve on his qualifying time by 0.2 seconds to finish the Superpole with 1:26.735.

Renegade Ducati rider Sean Emmett only managed to get to 15th place in the qualifying session complaining that his suspension setup was far from perfect.

Times:

1: Michael Rutter, 1:26.235, 2: Shane Byrne, 1:26.496, 3: Yukio Kagayama, 1:26.567, 4: Steve Hislop, 1:26.735, 5: Glen Richards, 1:26.910, 6: John Crawford, 1:27.657, 7: Gary Mason, 1:27.805 7, 8: Steve Plater, 1:28.295, 9: Jon Kirkham, 1:28.538, 10: Dean Ellison, 1:28.643, 11: Scott Smart, 1:28.762.

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