Byrne fends off Brookes to take pole by 0.001 seconds at Brands Hatch

Author: Oli Rushby Posted: 18 Jul 2015

Shane Byrne will start from pole position for tomorrow’s British Superbike races at Brands Hatch after fending off a late charge from Josh Brookes in this afternoon’s qualifying.

With the top 20 covered by less than a second, it was a punishing qualifying session with the margin for error even smaller than usual.

Brookes, who has been on Byrne’s tail all weekend, came devastatingly close to taking his second pole of the year missing out by just 0.001 seconds in the closing moments.

Fresh from a strong weekend at the German Grand Prix, Michael Laverty took third on the Tyco BMW ahead of Anvil Hire TAG Racing’s Richard Cooper in an impressive fourth.

Stuart Easton will start fifth with James Ellison completing the second row. Broc Parkes heads row three ahead of a disappointed Ryuichi Kiyonari. 

Riding for the first time since the final round last year, John Hopkins stunned the crowd as he briefly topped the table in Q2. The Anglo-American went on to qualify ninth on the Lloyds British MotoRapido Ducati. 

Tommy Bridewell was a big-named casualty in Q2, failing to make it through to fight for pole on the Tyco BMW along with others including Christian Iddon, Chris Walker and Jason O’Halloran.

British Superbike Qualifying – Brands Hatch

1. Shane Byrne – PBM Kawasaki – 1’25.331
2. Josh Brookes – Milwaukee Yamaha – 1’25.332
3. Michael Laverty – Tyco BMW – 1’25.716
4. Richard Cooper – Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki – 1’25.869
5. Stuart Easton – PBM Kawasaki – 125.948
6. James Ellison – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – 1’25.982
7. Broc Parkes – Milwaukee Yamaha – 1’26.138
8. Ryuichi Kiyonari – Buildbase BMW – 1’26.148
9. John Hopkins – Lloyds British MotoRapido Ducati – 1’26.179
10. Luke Mossey – Teccare Quattro Plant Kawasaki – 1’26.234

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