ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki riders did well in a close day’s qualifying for the British Championship races at Oulton Park today. Stuart Easton secured a slot on the second row of the grid on his Ninja ZX-6R in a hard-fought 600 session, while Michael Rutter took his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R to 11th place by putting in his best time on his penultimate lap of practice. Both riders are hopeful of three dry races during tomorrow’s Bank Holiday Monday schedule and some solid points finishes.
Michael Rutter, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R (11th – 1m 36.859s) “The depth of quality in the field is amazing this year, if we had another half a second we’d be in eighth. The extra knowledge some teams have is priceless over a brand-new team like ours – things like gearing and suspension set-up are always easier the second year on. I know that from my time with Honda. Over the weekend we went in the wrong direction with a few settings, but soon reverted to what we know works and that has helped. As for the races the weather looks dodgy, but we just want to get some good points.”
Stuart Easton, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R (8th – 1m 41.138s) “We’re deep in the second row but I do think that eighth is as good as fifth here really. Tomorrow I’m hoping it’s dry. If so, I think that on race tyres we can do a good job and be challenging for a podium position. It’s very important that you get a good start here as it’s one of those circuits that is very hard to pass on as it’s so flowing. I’m hopeful of a podium, but you never know what will happen in the race!”
Nick Morgan, Team owner “We’ve probably had our best qualifying day on the 600, despite only equalling our best grid slot. The improved communication and planning that we put in place between Stuart, the team and Ken Summerton of K-Tech is paying dividends and it was only a few technical issues that robbed us of a starting slot further up the grid. We’re hopeful of a top five or a podium come the race. With Michael you can see the quality of the grid with how close it is at the bottom of the top ten. It’s nice to be ahead of Chris Walker – a rider from a big-budget team like Rizla Crescent Suzuki. We’re hoping for some luck so Michael can secure some more good points for the team.”
Stuart Simmonds, Joint Team Owner “We’re mindful of what the weather could do tomorrow, but we’re upbeat about what we can achieve in both classes. It’s good to see that Michael’s new engine is an improvement and that communication is better still in Stuart’s camp. Fingers crossed for the races!”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Sunday Qualifying:1. Gregorio Lavilla
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari
3. Leon Haslam
4. Tom Sykes
5. Jonathan Rea
11: Michael Rutter, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
MAXXIS British Supersport Championship, Sunday qualifying: 1. Dennis Hobbs
2. Billy McConnell
3. Ian Lowry
4. Michael Laverty
5. Guy Sanders
8: Stuart Easton, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
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