Silverstone WSS: Salom takes pole, Lowes and Rea lead Brit charge

Motocard.com Kawasaki’s David Salom will start from pole for Sunday’s World Supersport race, but will be joined on the front row by Brits Sam Lowes and Gino Rea.
 
Lowes spent the session perfecting his race setup for tomorrow before forcing his Parkalgar Honda are Silverstone in 2.08.823, good enough for second on the grid.
 
By the time Lowes had finished his testing, there was only enough time to complete one qualifying run, rather than the standard two runs.
 
Lowes said: “We managed to get the tyre we want to use to go the distance, no problem and feeling really good about it. That only left us with five minutes to do a qualifier.
 
“The warmer conditions definitely help us but I think we might be able to get the tyres working in cooler conditions as well, so we’re covered on all bases for tomorrow.”
 
Second of the Brits was Step Racing Honda’s Gino Rea in fourth overall, a half-second behind Salom.
 
Rea looked to be on for a pole late in qualifying but had a big moment when he saved a folding front tyre on his elbow once again.
 
As was common amongst riders in this afternoon’s temperatures, Rea had questions about which tyres to use tomorrow. But he figures that his guess is as good as anyone else’s.
 
Rea said: “It’s going to come down to tyres. Tyres are not lasting. It’s an 18-lap race with four tyre choices, so it’s going to be a gamble. I don’t think any rider’s done enough laps on one tyre to know what’s definitely the choice.
 
“Before the session, I would’ve been really happy with a front row. But knowing that I could’ve been first or second, it’s a little bit frustrating. But I won from fourth last race, so maybe it’ll bring me a bit of good luck.”
 
Chaz Davies ended the session in eighth and third of the Brits on his ParkinGO Yamaha with a 2.09.405, which was the time he thought he would set, despite a near one-second improvement from the morning session.
 
But Davies said the times became easier to come by as the day wore on, and feels the team have a good direction to work in overnight and into tomorrow’s morning warm-up. But like the others, Davis has reservations about tyre life tomorrow.
 
Davies said: “It wasn’t comfortable, but at the end of the session, we were going faster and it was feeling easier.
 
“I know what I can do, as long as I know the tyre will hold up, the rest of it’s simple.”
 
Results of Silverstone World Supersport Qualifying Practise 2
 
1. David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’08.527
2. Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’08.823
3. Florian Marino (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’08.964
4. Gino Rea (Step Racing Team) Honda CBR600RR 2’09.105
5. Robbin Harms (Harms Benjan Racing Team) Honda CBR600RR 2’09.141
6. Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’09.161
7. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’09.345
8. Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) Yamaha YZF R6 2’09.405
9. Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’09.415
10. Roberto Tamburini (Bike Service R.T.) Yamaha YZF R6 2’09.589
11. Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO Team) Yamaha YZF R6 2’09.700
12. Alexander Lundh (Cresto Guide Racing Team) Honda CBR600RR 2’10.394
13. Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’10.840
14. Danilo Dell’Omo (Suriano Racing Team) Triumph Daytona 675 2’10.854
15. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Lorenzini by Leoni) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’10.948
16. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’10.951
17. Imre Toth (Team Hungary Toth) Honda CBR600RR 2’10.996
18. Vladimir Ivanov (Step Racing Team) Honda CBR600RR 2’11.012
19. Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka PTR Honda) Honda CBR600RR 2’11.150
20. Ronan Quarmby (Suriano Racing Team) Triumph Daytona 675 2’11.205
21. Balazs Nemeth (Team Hungary Toth) Honda CBR600RR 2’11.323
22. Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing) Honda CBR600RR 2’11.657
23. Luke Stapleford (Profile Road and Racing Perfor) Kawasaki ZX-6R 2’11.944
24. Luca Marconi (Bike Service R.T.) Yamaha YZF R6 2’12.535
25. Bastien Chesaux (MACH Racing) Honda CBR600RR 2’12.807
26. Mitchell Pirotta (KUJA Racing) Honda CBR600RR 2’14.144
27. Marko Jerman (MD Team Jerman) Triumph Daytona 675 2’14.359
28. Christan Cassella (AARK Racing) Triumph Daytona 675 2’14.435
29. Yves Polzer (Team MRC Austria) Yamaha YZF R6 2’16.472
30. Eduard Blokhin (RivaMoto) Yamaha YZF R6 2’16.992
31. Oleg Pozdneev (RivaMoto) Yamaha YZF R6 2’17.68