Virgin Media Optoma Loans Yamaha Superbike rider Tommy Hill will be reliant upon a good start after qualifying on the third row for the twelfth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship tomorrow (23 Sept).
Team-mate, Marty Nutt will make his team debut on the Pirelli-shod Yamaha YZF-R1 from the sixth row of the grid. The 29 year old from Castlerock, Northern Ireland has made the jump from the privateer British Superbike Cup Championship to Virgin Media Optoma Loans Yamaha for the remainder of the season.
Rob McElnea, Team Principal
"I'm frustrated for Tommy, we were working on getting a good race setup and concentrating on grip but Donington is a tough track to master when it comes to setup. His qualifying tyre didn't really give him what we thought but we know we have a good race pace and we can make the best of it during the races tomorrow."
Supersport
The Virgin Media Yamaha Supersport pairing of Billy McConnell and Tom Grant laid the gauntlet down with an impressive provisional Pole and third position respectively, during the first qualifying session. Come qualifying two the track conditions had changed and the damp from the morning had dispersed.
Switching to qualifying tyres towards the end of the second session, Billy struggled with a mixture of traffic and a few mistakes, which left him posting a time on the end of the front row in fourth place. Meanwhile, team-mate Tom Grant was out on his second flying lap and hungry for pole position. Tom crossed the line in second place, just missing out on that illusive pole while nudging Billy back down to the front of row two.
Tom Grant
"It ended up being a really good qualifying session, I only used two qualifying tyres that both felt good. I was really comfortable on the bike and feel ready for the race. I know if I can get a good start and get away cleanly off the line I can stay with them at the front."
Billy McConnell
"The first qualifying session was good but the track was still damp so we stayed on race rubber. Qualifying two was a good session and I did a lot of good times on race tyres. When I put my qualifiers in it didn't quite come together and I made a few errors and got frustrated in traffic. 5th will have to do this weekend and I'll need to get a good start to be up there."
Rob McElnea, Team Principal
"Tom had a strong finish to the session. He's had a tough rookie year in Supersport but the last few rounds have come together for him. With great qualifying like that and a good race pace, I'm confident he can make it another good round.
Billy didn't get the best qualifying laps in having got lured into the Donington trap and pushed a bit too hard. He proved he has a good race pace though. Without the added pressure that comes with pole I'm sure he'll convert it into a strong race."
Virgin Media Cup
In a pressure fuelled environment and the prestige of a Championship win within clutching distance, the twenty-two Virgin Media Cup competitors took to Donington for the second time this year (22 September). Having already competed as part of the support for the MotoGP spectacle earlier in the year, the riders definitely benefited from the experience of racing at the same circuit twice.
David Paton had stamped his authority all over the first practice session with Championship leader BJ Toal and Midge Smart just behind him.
BJ Toal raised his game in qualifying dominating top spot for the majority of the session, his rival Paton languishing at the bottom of the sheets with no clear track ahead of him. Toal was pipped to the post by Smart in the closing minutes. But it was the young Scot, David Paton who had the last push with only seconds to go on the clock, posting a pole position time of 1:40.295.
With two 10-lap races in one day ahead of them the Toal, Paton, Smart trio have it all to play for. Toal needs two clean wins ahead of his rivals for any chance of securing the prestigious Championship win this weekend and his seat on the Supersport bike in 2008. But with as many variables as you can imagine amongst the young field of hungry riders the Championship is still wide open.
David Paton
"Initially I couldn't get any clear track but once I did I knew I could put in a good time. I feel really strong here and confident for good results tomorrow."
Niall Mackenzie, Cup Mentor
"It's a tough weekend for a few of the guys out there. This morning was about getting used to the track again and trying to put the pressure of the championship behind them. It's going to be so close tomorrow, we have an obvious battle between our top three but who knows what will happen. The depth of the field is so great there, really there are a number of guys who could put in a podium finish."
ITV4 Broadcast window - 12.30-17.10 Sunday 23 September
Sky Sports 3 delayed coverage - 19.30-23.00 Sunday 23 September
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