Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport rider Tom Sykes posted third fastest in qualifying for round seven of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship as the weather interrupted proceedings at Knockhill in Scotland yesterday.
The 21 year old Yorkshireman took advantage in the early minutes of the one and only qualifying session to seal his best qualifying position of the season as shortly after he set his fastest lap the heavens opened and the rain came down.
The front row will be Sykes’ second of the season following his fourth place qualifying position at Oulton Park in round four. But for team mate Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne it was not so happy and as a result the 30 year old Londoner will start tomorrow’s two races from the second row of the grid.
Byrne got held up in the early stages of the session before the rain came but nonetheless a row two start in eighth place is not a disaster for the VK sponsored rider.
Tom Sykes
“I could see the clouds coming over so we set a plan of action and decided to put a qualifier in from the go and I just got out as soon as the flag went out. I found a bit of clear track and it was great. It’s fantastic to be on the front row for the second time this year and all we need is a good start as we’ve got a good set up for tomorrow. The bike was fine in the wet too so I’m just looking forward to getting another couple of good results under my belt and score some more points.”
Shane Byrne
“I got to the front as soon as I could at the start of practice and tried to get a clear lap because I knew it was important to go fast at the start but I came upon some backmarkers and couldn’t get past. I pulled in to try a qualifier but by then it was already raining so it was too late for me. I’m not happy but I hope to make amends tomorrow.”
Paul Bird
“It’s great that Tom’s on the front row again, but a bit disappointing for Shakey. It’s a shame the rain didn’t hold off a bit longer because we could have been up there with both riders but hopefully we can get some solid results tomorrow”
The first of the Bennetts British Superbike races gets underway at 13.00 with the second one screened live on ITV1 at 15.40.
Qualifying
- Jonathan Rea (Honda) 48.345s
- Leon Haslam (Ducati) 48.665s
- Tom Sykes (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 48.839s
- Leon Camier (Honda) 49.141s
- Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 49.240s
- Chris Walker (Suzuki) 49.240s
- Karl Harris (Honda) 49.528s
- Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 49.539s
- Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 49.628s
- Tommy Hill (Yamaha) 49.720s.
Sunday 1st July
09.30 - Warm up
13.00 - Race 1 - 30 laps
15.40 - Race 2 - 30 laps
ITV1 Broadcast: 15.00 – 16.30
Sky Sports XTRA: 20.00 - 23.30
- Round 1 – 7th to 9th April – Brands Hatch GP, Kent
- Round 2 – 14th/15th April – Thruxton, Hants
- Round 3 – 27th/29th April – Silverstone, Northants
- Round 4 – 5th/7th May – Oulton Park, Cheshire
- Round 5 – 18th/20th May – Snetterton, Norfolk
- Round 6 – 15th/17th June – Mondello Park, Co Kildare
- Round 7 – 30th June/1st July – Knockhill, Fife
- Round 8 – 13th/15th July – Oulton Park, Cheshire
- Round 9 – 20th/22nd July – Mallory Park, Leics
- Round 10 – 10th/12th August – Croft, North Yorkshire
- Round 11 – 25th/27th August – Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire
- Round 12 – 21st/23rd September – Donington Park, Leics
- Round 13 – 12th/14th October – Brands Hatch Indy, Kent
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