BSB: Irwin denies Brookes pole at Brands

Glenn Irwin will start on pole position for tomorrow’s opening Bennetts British Superbike race after a career-best qualifying.

The Be Wiser Ducati rider’s time of 1’24.628 placed him less than a tenth ahead of second placed Josh Brookes, who struggled with quickshifter issues on his McAMS Yamaha.

A late lap from Jake Dixon saw him jump onto the front row in third, denying Tarran Mackenzie from a maiden front row start by 0.001 seconds. 

Nevertheless, it was an impressive effort from the rookie with a career-best fourth on the grid placing him ahead of JG Speedfit Kawasaki duo Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey.

Christian Iddon will start seventh for Tyco BMW ahead of Andrew Irwin, who also achieved his best ever qualifying result with eighth in his first Q3 session despite a crash at paddock hill bend.

Richard Cooper rounds out the third row ahead of Jason O’Halloran, who narrowly missed out on a spot in the third and final qualifying session as he continues to recover from injury.

It was a tough session for current Showdown contender Bradley Ray, who will start 14^th on the Buildbase Suzuki ahead of rookie Chrissy Rouse.

Quick throughout the weekend, James Ellison was unable to bag a decent qualifying position after a crash in Q2 while Tommy Bridewell, who has made an impressive start with the MotoRapido Ducati team, crashed out in the opening moments of Q1 and will therefore start 26^th.