Donington Park BSB: Leon Camier takes pole

Leon Camier took his second pole position of the year when he topped qualifying on Sunday for the third round of the British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.

The Airwaves Yamaha put in a lap of 1m31.047s to just hold off the close attentions of Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli on the Worx Suzuki.

The former Moto GP rider got to within 0.064s of Camier on his final flying lap and appears to be the only man who could challenge the young English rider tomorrow.

James Ellison continues to make strides forward on the second Airwaves Yamaha and will line up in third, despite suffering a low speed fall at the Melbourne Hairpin in the opening part of the three-tier qualifying system.

Joining him on the front row will be Simon Andrews, the MSS Colchester Kawasaki rider continuing his rich vein of form.

Although his ZX-10R is fitted with full electronic aids, he’s again switched them off, preferring instead to concentrate on getting the best out of the more conventional bike.

Chris Walker had his best qualifying session of the season in fifth with Glen Richards the first of the Honda riders in sixth.

The Hydrex Honda’s of Karl Harris and Stuart Easton fill out the remainder of the second row, the duo having changed gearbox ratios and both front and rear suspension settings after experiencing chatter problems mid-corner.

Harris also fell at the Old Hairpin in the final 10-minute period of qualifying.

Julien da Costa on the second MSS Colchester Kawasaki and Ian Lowry on the leading Relentless by TAS Suzuki completed the top ten.

Josh Brookes was the highest profile casualty from the Superpole format, only managing the 12th fastest time in the second 15-minute session.

The Australian fell at Coppice in the morning’s final free practice session and then hit the tarmac again in the first part of qualifying, low-siding on his second lap at the Melbourne Hairpin.

With the middle session red flagged due to Graeme Gowland falling at Starkey’s Bridge, he ran out of time to haul himself into the top ten.

Gowland escaped injury and will line up eleventh.

1 Leon Camier (Airwaves Yamaha) – 1m31.047s
2 Sylvain Guintoli (Worx Crescent Suzuki) – 1m31.111s
3 James Ellison (Airwaves Yamaha) – 1m31.442s
4 Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) – 1m31.585s
5 Chris Walker (Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha) – 1m31.805s
6 Glen Richards (HM Plant Honda) – 1m31.863s
7 Karl Harris (Hydrex Honda) – 1m31.940s
8 Stuart Easton (Hydrex Honda) – 1m32.076s
9 Julien Da Costa (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) – 1m32.246s
10 Ian Lowry (Relentless by TAS Suzuki) – 1m32.891s

Supersport
South African rider Hudson Kennaugh bounced back from a high speed spill in first qualifying to claim pole position for the third round of the British Supersport Championship.

The South African rider went down heavily at Craner Curves but escaped injury and a time of 1m33.538s placed him 0.322s ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Dan Linfoot.

Linfoot has also been off this weekend, although his was more embarrassing as he tipped off at slow speed as he turned into his garage.

Triumph had their best day of the season so far with Paul Young and James Westmoreland sandwiching current Championship leader Billy McConnell in third and fifth whilst Steve Plater was another morning faller at Craner Curves and will line up in ninth.

1 Hudson Kennaugh (Linxcel-Seton Tuning Yamaha) – 1m33.538s
2 Dan Linfoot (NW 200 Coca Cola Zero Yamaha) – 1m33.860s
3 Paul Young (TAG Triumph) – 1m33.961s
4 Billy McConnell (MAP Raceways Yamaha) – 1m34.177s
5 James Westmoreland (JW Racing Triumph) – 1m34.312s
6 Tom Grant (Centurion Racing Honda) – 1m34.440s
7 Dennis Hobbs (AIM Racing Yamaha) – 1m34.523s
8 Craig Fitzpatrick (BLDS Yamaha) – 1m34.613s
9 Steve Plater (HM Plant Honda) – 1m34.626s
10 Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) – 1m34.686s