Brands Hatch – 8th Round – 4, 5 And 6 August

After the first day of regulation qualifying at Brands Hatch Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) scored the overnight pole placing, with a 1'26.272 lap; almost under the existing best lap at the classic English circuit after only one day of practice. His quick early marker was almost matched by his old friend and rival Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) who was only 0.222 seconds down after one hour of free practice, and one hour of qualifying. The leading duo were closely followed by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) who took his Yamaha to within 0.291 seconds of Bayliss' Ducati. The provisional front row was completed by Misano race winner, Andrew Pitt, Haga's team-mate.

Muggeridge On Form With Walker The Top Kawasaki Rider

Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored fifth best time, making him the best Honda rider on display on day one. The Aussie, back to full fitness, headed the fastest local rider on day one - SBK regular in the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse squad - Chris Walker. Proof that a strong performance at Brands is as much about track knowledge and rider skill as machinery, Ruben Xaus (Berik Sterilgarda Ducati) went seventh fastest, on a privateer Ducati.

Wildcard Hill Eighth On A Four

After scooping Superpole at Silverstone, wild card rider Tommy Hill showed his prowess at the full Brands Hatch circuit, finishing day one in eighth place in the rankings. After his most successful SBK race weekend in his two-year SBK career, double Brno race winner Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) slotted home ninth, with the top ten rounded out by Bayliss' team-mate, Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox).

Toseland 11th After Experiencing Early Problems

James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) was disappointed to finish his first day at Brands Hatch just outside the top ten positions, after suffering braking problems with his machine. His old Ducati team-mate, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) was 12th, despite a highside crash in the unofficial morning session, while double Brno podium sensation Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) scoring the last place in the top 13.

Weather An Important Factor For Saturday Morning

Despite some threatening clouds surrounding the Brands Hatch circuit all day, Friday stayed dry throughout, but should conditions deteriorate for the final regulation qualifying session on Saturday morning, the current top 16 will be the ones who go forward to Saturday afternoon's Superpole contest, which is the final determiner of the first four rows of the grid. Rounding out the top 16 on day one are Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse), Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) and Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda). Barros, unlike most of his peer group, was sampling Brands Hatch for the first time. New rider Kurtis Roberts (Pedercini Ducati) set an early qualifying time on his SBK weekend, and his first at Brands Hatch, some 4.7 seconds behind Bayliss. He had missed the first untimed session for administrative reasons.

Supersport World Championship

Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) went fastest of all in Supersport on day one, only 0.040 seconds ahead of second quickest rider Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). Sofuoglu's team-mate Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) showed he is well on the road to recovery from recent injury by posting third best time, ahead of local wild card rider, Cal Crutchlow (Northpoint Ekerold Honda). WSS regular Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) finished fifth, with another Northpoint Ekerold Honda wild card rider, Leon Camier, sixth.

Superstock 1000 FIM Cup:

Australian rider Brendan Roberts made another positive career step by finishing the first qualifying session in first place on his HP Racing Suzuki at Brands Hatch. Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) finished second, a mere 0.074 seconds down, with another MV rider, Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni Racing) third. Championship leader Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki Italia) was only seventh, with one more session remaining. Jon Boy Lee (Nvidia Yamaha) was the fastest of the wild card riders on show, ninth.

Related Links
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