Brits dominate in Brands first practice

Seven out of the top ten riders in today’s World Superbike free practice session at Brands Hatch are British and five of them are wildcards.

HM Plant Ducati rider Chris Walker took the fastest time in the damp session with a 1:36.863 lap but the British Superbike riders are taking full advantage of their track knowledge, having raced at the circuit just over a month ago.

Michael Rutter took his Renegade Ducati to the second fastest time, 0.012 seconds down on Walker, while Suzuki rider John Reynolds was third fastest just under a second behind.

Frankie Chili was fourth-fastest on the Ducati 998RS followed by Walkers team-mate James Toseland with a 1:38.090 lap.

Regis Laconi beat British championship leader Shane Byrne to the sixth fastest time by 0.13 seconds followed by Ruben Xaus, Sean Emmett, and Leon Haslam.

Niel Hodgson was taking it easy finishing the session in 14th with wildcards Nick Medd 16th, Yukio Kagayama 18th and Dean Ellison 23rd.

The first practice session was a damp affair but forecasts for the weekend look like the rain could hold off for a dry race day, so check back regularly throughout the weekend for all the action from Brands Hatch plus full coverage of the German GP.

To comment on this story click the link on the right to go to our WSB discussion board.