Donington BSB: Westmoreland takes debut pole to throw down marker

James Westmoreland was the surprise pole man for tomorrow’s first MCE British Superbike race, throwing down a marker to his rivals as he sets out to secure the last realistic place in the final rounds Showdown.

Westmoreland was able to put down a 1’29.7 lap half way through the final Q3 session, one of only two to dip below 1’30, to secure his first ever pole position in BSB. The only other rider in the 29 second laps was Alex Lowes, taking second on his Samsung Honda.

James Ellison was third on the Milwaukee Yamaha, demoting Shane Byrne back to fourth and off the front row for the first time this season, ahead of championship rival Josh Brookes.

Tommy Bridewell, also battling for that treasured Showdown spot, was unable to improve on sixth spot after crashing out of the session.

Westmoreland said after the session that although pleased with pole, the real work for him and the team will be tomorrow to capitalise on the pole.

“Tomorrow is when it counts, but it’ll be nice going to sleep tonight! It’ll put a few more nerves on than I’d normally have, but we’ll manage! I have to give full credit to the team though – I really didn’t expect pole today.”

“Everyone is struggling with grip, but I’ve had no problems. We could have had a little more track time, but I’m happy with race pace; we’ve been top five all day. We know what the job is for tomorrow now – we have to secure that top six spot.”