BSB Mallory Park: Free practice report

Tommy Hill again set the pace for Sunday’s British Superbike round at Mallory Park, topping the third and final free practice session just as he had done throughout the opening day.

The 24-year old set a best time of 56.251s to top the time sheets by two tenths of a second from surprise second placed man Richard Cooper.

The Nottingham rider, currently lying third in the National Superstock Championship knows the Leicestershire circuit like the back of his hand and he looks more than capable of upsetting the Championship regulars on pace day.

It was another local rider, fellow Nottingham man Chris Walker, who enjoyed himself in third just ahead of a rejuvenated Karl Harris whilst Simon Andrews ignored the pain from his broken scaphoid to slot in to fifth.

Josh Brookes, encountering the Mallory Park circuit for the first time took a solid sixth on his HM Plant Honda with John Laverty again impressing on his Buildbase Kawasaki in seventh.

James Ellison was down in eighth but at least he fared better than team-mate Leon Camier who again experienced technical problems with his Airwaves Yamaha.

The Championship leader completed four laps at the beginning of the session as he ran an engine in but then remained in his garage until there were just three minutes remaining in the 50-minute session. His only flying lap saw him finish in 17th place.

Meanwhile Michael Rutter, on board the SMT Honda, finished in 14th.

Free Practice 3 – Times
1 Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) – 56.251s
2 Richard Cooper (Co-ordit Yamaha) – 56.455s
3 Chris Walker (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha) – 56.568s
4 Karl Harris (Hydrex Honda) – 56.613s
5 Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) – 56.698s
6 Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) – 56.767s
7 John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) – 56.790s
8 James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) – 56.819s
9 Gary Mason (Quay Garage Honda) – 56.843s
10 Graeme Gowland (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha) – 56.865s