Wet season opener, lucky (hopefully…) season opener for Bennetts BSB. Due to the rain that fell last night on Donington Park, the riders had a difficult first free practice, 45 minutes during which the King Shane Byrne made the difference on the wet track. Shakey immediately felt comfortable on his #67 Be Wiser PBM Ducati Panigale R and his lap in 1’50″317 allowed him to distance his opponents, starting from 2017 breakthrough Jake Dixon (one second and four tenths off from Byrne on his Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki) and the rookie Kyle Ryde (third at +1″8, CF Motorsport Yamaha). With just two minutes left, the session was stopped with the red flag due to Glenn Irwin’s crash.
Yes, FP1 was bittersweet for PBM Ducati: Shane Byrne is already competitive, but his team-mate Irwin was taken to the medical centre after crashing at Goddards. Hoping for better conditions for the next sessions of this Bank Holiday Weekend, which opens the 2018 season, FP1 classification sees in top 5 also Joshua Brookes (McAMS Yamaha, the first rider to hit the track) and Leon Haslam, fifth after the tiring tests he had in Motegi, where he tested the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR he will ride at Suzuka 8 Hours.
Sixth position for the unlucky Glenn Irwin, followed by the other rookie Gino Rea (OMG Racing Suzuki), Jakub Smrz (PR Racing BMW), Danny Buchan (back to FS-3 Kawasaki) and Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW). Irwin is not the only rider who crashed during the session, since he was joined by Peter Hickman, the special guest William Dunlop (who crashed at Melbourne) and the twice FIM Superstock 1000 Champion Sylvain Barrier (Fogarty Esses). FP2 will start at 15:40.
2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship
Donington Park
Classifica Prove Libere 1
01- Shane Byrne – Be Wiser Ducati – Ducati Panigale R – 1’50.317
02- Jake Dixon – RAF Regular & Reserves – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 1.437
03- Kyle Ryde – CF Motorsport Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 1.857
04- Josh Brookes – McAMS Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 2.674
05- Leon Haslam – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 2.888
06- Glenn Irwin – Be Wiser Ducati – Ducati Panigale R – + 3.317
07- Gino Rea – OMG Racing UK LTD – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 4.312
08- Jakub Smrz – Lloyd & Jones Bowker Motorrad – BMW S1000RR – + 4.912
09- Danny Buchan – FS-3 Racing Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 5.225
10- Michael Laverty – Tyco BMW Motorrad – BMW S1000RR – + 5.550
11- Richard Cooper – Buildbase Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 5.590
12- Luke Mossey – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 5.622
13- Bradley Ray – Buildbase Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 5.653
14- David Johnson – Gulf BMW – BMW S1000RR – + 5.679
15- Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 5.936
16- Christian Iddon – Tyco BMW Motorrad – BMW S1000RR – + 6.320
17- Sylvain Barrier – Smiths Racing – BMW S1000RR – + 6.333
18- Tommy Bridewell – Movuno.com Halsall Racing – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 6.921
19- James Ellison – Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 7.694
20- Jason O’Halloran – Honda Racing – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 8.307
21- Connor Cummins – Padgetts Racing – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 8.704
22- Dan Linfoot – Honda Racing – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 10.295
23- Peter Hickman – Smiths Racing – BMW S1000RR – + 10.437
24- Mason Law – Team WD-40 – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 11.116
25- Shaun Winfield – Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 14.239
26- Taylor Mackenzie – Moto Rapido Ducati – Ducati Panigale R – + 15.072
27- Dean Harrison – Silicone Engineering – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 16.858
28- Carl Phillips – Gearlink Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 20.429
29- William Dunlop – Temple Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 21.737