Leon Haslam was the dominant force in opening practice ahead of the ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship which is making a second visit of the season to the Oulton Park circuit. The Airwaves Ducati rider, who closed within eleven points of his series leading team-mate Gregorio Lavilla with a pair of third places the previous Sunday at Knockhill, smashed half a second off the record, lapping the 2.692mile Cheshire circuit in 1m 35.788secs, at an average speed of 101.17mph.
“I’m feeling good and the bike is running superbly so I am determined that I will take my first wins of the season and move ahead of Gregorio. If I am going to take the title, I have to start winning races, and having done well here during the May round, I know that the bike will be really strong,” said Haslam who on that occasion claimed pole start
“I ran half a second better then and while I am aiming for a repeat, I am focusing on achieving a podium finish and strong championship points. I struggled a little last weekend at Knockhill although I am pleased that I secured two podium finishes and now I hope that I can go a couple better here.”
Haslam can expect a severe examination in these races. Lavilla, sixth fastest, with a best lap of 1m 36.826secs, is eager to ride himself out of a difficult mid-term during which he has crashed out of two of the last four races. That has loosened his hold on the title and left him under pressure from not only Haslam, but also HM Plant Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari.
The Japanese rider is only 20 points down on him, and importantly is enjoying a good run of form, underlined by his lap times in practice as he closed within 0.164secs of Haslam. Like Lavilla, Kiyonari has good memories of racing this parkland circuit, having enjoyed a winning double here last September. Karl Harris, riding the second HM Plant Honda, was only a split second down on his team-mate, as he bids for maiden glory in the top flight.
Shane Byrne, who powered Rizla Suzuki to their first victory in almost two years last Sunday at Knockhill, ran fourth fastest – the former champion lapped in 1m 36.333secs, while Steve Plater, who is making his debut with the team, deputising for their injured James Haydon was back in sixteenth place, with a time of 1m 38.247secs.
Jonathan Rea, riding Red Bull Honda, is aiming for a second podium finish in a week, and the 19 year old Ulsterman underlined that by running, fifth, a tenth of a second faster than Lavilla, while Tommy Hill on the Virgin Mobile Yamaha was seventh, 1m 36.871secs, just ahead of Stobart Motorsport Honda rider Michael Rutter.
Scott Smart, Vivaldi Suzuki, and Glen Richards aboard the Hydrex Honda, completed the top ten, while James Buckingham, anxious to regain the lead in the British Superbike Cup rankings ran nineteenth overall but fastest in that category with a lap of 1m 38.561secs. Chris Martin, the PR Branson Honda rider, who leads the Cup chase ran a second slower than his Quay Garage Honda rival.
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