Josh Brookes on Pole Position at Knockhill
HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes will lead the field away at Knockhill on Sunday, having taken top spot during the Swan Combi 50 Roll for Pole.
Brookes edged out Leon Camier, the leader of the ViSK.com British Superbike Championship, by 0.297 seconds – his best lap a 48.759 seconds.
It was his maiden BSB pole – and the first of the year for HM Plant – and after crashing in final practice and completing only 9 laps all the more impressive.
“It feels really good to be on pole here and I knew it was always possible and I just never lost the faith despite a difficult start to the season,” Brookes told the official BSB website.
“It feels good to be back at the top and we have a good race set up for tomorrow. It was a whole sequence of events to get that lap; we worked really hard this morning and I chucked it up the road and trashed it.
“We made changes in qualifying one to the suspension just to fine tune it and find the right balance and the best compromise. I just went out there and went for it! I did a couple of good laps then went all out. I strung the whole lap together for the first time, as before I was quick but not in all the sectors so that final lap was pretty hectic for me! I was all over the place, on the curbs, the front was tucking and the back was coming round.
“I am really happy for the whole HM Plant Honda team especially after all their hard work to get me back out there after the crash this morning.”
Stuart Easton meanwhile came in third for Hydrex Honda, with ’stand-in’ Michael Rutter fourth and Karl Harris, who crashed out at Leslie’s late on, fifth.
James Ellison was next up, followed by Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha duo Chris Walker and Graeme Gowland.
Ian Lowry and Glen Richards rounded out the top ten, although they tangled at Real Radio Hairpin at the start of the third session. Lowry escaped unhurt, while Richards was not so lucky and required medical attention. He was later taken to Queen Margaret hospital in Dunfermline with a suspected broken right femur.
There were also a number of other incidents during qualifying, with Alastair Fagan crashing at Seats Curve, he escaped uninjured, as well as David Haire and Jon Kirkham, both of whom fell at Leslie’s. Haire was off in Q1, while Kirkham waited until Q2 for his fall.
British Superbikes Knockhill Qualifying Times
1. Josh Brookes AUS HM Plant Honda 48.759secs
2. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha 49.056secs
3. Stuart Easton GBR Hydrex Honda 49.110secs
4. Michael Rutter GBR Worx Crescent Suzuki 49.133secs
5. Karl Harris GBR Hydrex Honda 49.183secs
6. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha 49.348secs
7. Chris Walker GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 49.383secs
8. Graeme Gowland GBR Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 49.490secs
9. Ian Lowry GBR Relentless TAS Suzuki 50.404secs
10. Glen Richards AUS HM Plant Honda No time
11. Gary Mason GBR Quay Honda 49.584secs Cup
12. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki 49.605secs
13. John Laverty IRL Buildbase Kawasaki 49.614secs
14. David Johnson AUS Team Maxxis Adept Yamaha 49.663secs
15. Peter Hickman GBR Ultimate Yamaha 49.698secs Cup
16. Tristan Palmer GBR Buildbase Kawasaki 49.764secs
17. Julien Da Costa FRA MSS Colchester Kawasaki 49.772secs
18. Tommy Bridewell GBR Team NB Suzuki 49.804secs Cup
19. Jon Kirkham GBR North West 200 Yamaha 49.864secs
20. Jason O’Halloran AUS SMT Honda 49.929secs
21. Atsushi Watanabe JPN Relentless TAS Suzuki 50.015secs
22. Tom Tunstall GBR Hardinge Doodson Honda 50.526secs Cup
23. Aaron Zanotti GBR Red Viper Honda 50.572secs
24. David Haire GBR DHR Racing Honda 50.772secs Cup
25. Alastair Fagan GBR Red Viper Honda 51.133secs Cup
Cup denotes eligible for Mirror.co.uk Cup
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