Leon Haslam topped the times in the second Bennetts British Superbike Championship free practice session at Donington Park as the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider set the pace in the afternoon as conditions improved ahead of tomorrow’s rescheduled opening race of the season.
Christian Iddon had been leading for much of the early stages of the session for Tyco BMW, with Jake Dixon also having a spell at the top before the closing five minutes as Haslam pushed into the 1m:39s lap barrier, to be just 0.138s ahead of Iddon who also improved on his final run.
James Ellison had been another rider to post a time to head the session in the final 20 minutes, with the local Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha team holding third place at the chequered flag with Dixon dropping to fourth in the final moments.
Bradley Ray was the leading Buildbase Suzuki in fifth place ahead of Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran and OMG Racing Suzuki’s Gino Rea who had also been running inside the top five earlier in the session ahead of his Bennetts BSB race debut tomorrow.
Jakub Smrz was eighth fastest for PR Racing Lloyd & Jones Bowker BMW ahead of Richard Cooper who had a crash in the afternoon session and Tommy Bridewell completed the top ten.
Defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne had left it until the second half of the session to head out on circuit, posting the 13th fastest time whilst Josh Brookes and Danny Buchan had a crash together, when the McAMS Yamaha rider fell, taking the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki contender with him, both riders were ok but had a premature end to their day.
Glenn Irwin meanwhile had returned to the circuit after his crash this morning and has passed a medical to ride in tomorrow’s opening race.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Free Practice two:
01- Leon Haslam – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – 1’39.690
02- Christian Iddon – Tyco BMW Motorrad – BMW S1000RR – + 0.138
03- James Ellison – Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 0.185
04- Jake Dixon – RAF Regular & Reserves – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 0.373
05- Bradley Ray – Buildbase Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 1.054
06- Jason O’Halloran – Honda Racing – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 1.285
07- Gino Rea – OMG Racing UK LTD – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 1.774
08- Jakub Smrz – Lloyd & Jones Bowker Motorrad – BMW S1000RR – + 1.796
09- Richard Cooper – Buildbase Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 1.885
10- Tommy Bridewell – Movuno.com Halsall Racing – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 2.115
11- Peter Hickman – Smiths Racing – BMW S1000RR – + 2.817
12- Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 2.871
13- Shane Byrne – Be Wiser Ducati – Ducati Panigale R – + 2.935
14- David Johnson – Gulf BMW – BMW S1000RR – + 3.135
15- Luke Mossey – JG Speedfit Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 3.575
16- Mason Law – Team WD-40 – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 3.659
17- Michael Laverty – Tyco BMW Motorrad – BMW S1000RR – + 3.721
18- Taylor Mackenzie – Moto Rapido Ducati – Ducati Panigale R – + 3.724
19- Dan Linfoot – Honda Racing – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 4.190
20- Josh Brookes – McAMS Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 4.999
21- Dean Harrison – Silicone Engineering – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 5.494
22- Shaun Winfield – Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 6.854
23- Kyle Ryde – CF Motorsport Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 7.085
24- Sylvain Barrier – Smiths Racing – BMW S1000RR – + 7.206
25- Carl Phillips – Gearlink Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 7.273
26- Connor Cummins – Padgetts Racing – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 7.800
27- Danny Buchan – FS-3 Racing Kawasaki – Kawasaki ZX-10RR – + 8.335
28- William Dunlop – Temple Yamaha – Yamaha YZF R1 – + 9.052