ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki endured another tough qualifying today in preparation for the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike championship at Silverstone. MAXXIS British Supersport rider Stuart Easton suffered a big fall during the morning practice session and suffered some minor injuries, which hampered his progress in the afternoon’s timed qualifying session. The 23-year-old from Hawick could only muster 25th on the grid as he struggled to muscle the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R around the Northamptonshire circuit. In the Bennetts British Superbike championship, Michael Rutter was using a number of new parts, including a revised swingarm and a new airbox system. Despite being baulked on his best lap the 34-year-old rider from Kirkby Mallory took 10th position on his Ninja ZX-10R machine.
Michael Rutter, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R (10 – 1m 26.323s)“It’s a shame but the red flag came out when I had the first qualifier in so that effort was wasted and then when I got the last one in and my head down I got held up again which must have cost me a couple of tenths of a second. On the positive side, you can feel the improvements in the bike with the changes we’ve made – now comes the tough part – shaving the odd tenth off here and there to improve further. It’s tight at the top, we’re only three-tenths off Lavilla in sixth. Tomorrow I’ll be happy with some more solid top ten finishes.”
Stuart Easton, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R (25 – 1m 31.424s)“I’ve taken some big knocks to my ankle and arm thanks to that morning crash. When I went out this afternoon I was in quite a bit of pain and discomfort when moving around on the bike. I’m disappointed, but all I can do is have a rest and hope I feel better for warm-up tomorrow.”
Nick Morgan, Team Owner “If we can replicate the results we’ve had at the first two rounds with the Superbike, I’ll be content. I won’t be happy but it will be bearable, as you’re always wanting more. Michael’s getting more confidence with the bike and his crew and that’s showing. With Stuart he’s taken a bit of a pounding, so we’re hoping he’ll feel better after a good night’s rest. We’ll see how he feels in warm-up tomorrow morning and hopefully he can get some points.”
Stuart Simmonds, Joint Team Owner “It’s still early days in both championships but it’s good to see the changes helping Michael a little. We’re hopeful that with a little bit more luck we can nip into the top ten again in both races. We’re in third in the series with Stuart, so it’s terrible luck for him to take a bit of a bashing. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed to see if he feels a bit better tomorrow.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Saturday Qualifying:1. Ryuichi Kiyonari
2. Leon Haslam
3. Shane Byrne
4. Jonathan Rea
5. Chris Walker
10: Michael Rutter, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
MAXXIS British Supersport Championship, Saturday Qualifying: 1. Billy McConnell
2. Dennis Hobbs
3. Ian Lowry
4. Martin Jessopp
5. Michael Laverty
25. Stuart Easton, ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki
Related Linkswww.mssdiscoveryracing.com
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