Oulton Park BSB: Hill on Pole

Tommy Hill set pole position for Saturday’s opening British Superbike race at Oulton Park with a flying lap of 1m35.742s, the only rider to post a lap time in the 1’35s. With the threat of rain building up all the time, the on-track activity in the final 8-minute session was hectic to say the least with all riders eager to post a time early and it was reigning champion Hill that set the pace from the off immediately dipping below the 1’36s bracket. However, although his initial advantage was almost a second, a late lap of Josh Brookes saw him end up just a quarter of a second adrift.
 
Ian Lowry was back on form with the third fastest time whilst Michael Laverty and Shane Byrne set identical times in fourth and fifth. However, it will be the Honda of Laverty that occupies the final spot on the front row courtesy of his second best lap being faster than Bryne’s. The second Tyco Suzuki of Alastair Seeley completed the top six.
 
Jon Kirkham had posted the tenth fastest time in the second qualifying session but was unable to take part in the final session after stopping out on the circuit with technical issues. Meanwhile, Alex Lowes ended a lowly 20th after crashing in Q1, seconds after posting the second fastest time.
 
1 Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m35.742s
2 Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 1m36.014s
3 Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) 1m36.271s
4 Michael Laverty (Samsung Honda) 1m36.421s
5 Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) 1m36.421s
6 Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) 1m36.758s