It was a tentative start to the 6th round of the British Superbike championship at Mallory Park today, as wet weather resulted in limited track time. The Airwaves Ducati team had completed 76 laps in a dry first session, more than any of their competitors, however Shane and Leon chose not to return to the track for second wet practice.
Shane was fastest for much of the first 50 minute session, recording his best time of 56.793 on lap 17 of 39. This time held the number one spot until the final 2 minutes when he was pushed down into 2nd place. Leon saw a continual improvement in his times in the final 15 minutes of practice. His fastest time of 57.049 came on his final lap to place him in 5th.
Following practice Leon commented;"It is a shame the weather affected second practice but the first session was good so I am happy with that. When I first went out I was struggling for grip so I came in and we changed a number of settings which improved the bikes performance. I was then able to put in some consistent laps with satisfactory times which I was pleased with. This is not one of my favourite circuits but the Airwaves Ducati team will keep working and I am confident we will put in a good performance tomorrow and Sunday."
Shane Byrne was pleased with his day‚s work saying; "Everything has gone well so far; it was disappointing not to have had more track time but this morning I was pleased with how the bike was feeling. We recorded some good lap times and I was leading for most of the session which is encouraging. I hope the weather holds for tomorrow but whatever the situation the Airwaves Ducati team will provide me with the best set up possible and I will do my best out on track for them and the fans."
Qualifying for round 6 of the Bennetts British Superbike championship takes place tomorrow, Saturday June 28th, at 14.40pm.
