British Superbike

BSB Assen: Lowes Maintains Edge Over Byrne

2 Mins read

Alex Lowes continued his recent momentum with pole position for the opening British Superbike race at Assen, giving him the perfect chance to start the showdown with a victory. The Samsung Honda rider was too strong for Shane Byrne, beating the championship leader to pole by three tenths of a second.

Lowes didn’t make the best start to the weekend with a crash on Friday but put it all together for qualifying and is hopeful of carrying today’s pace into race day.

“It went pretty good for me and feels good”, he commented. “The bike works well here and now it is down to me to put two good races together. I am feeling pretty confident and will give 100% and go for it.”

Byrne hasn’t beaten Lowes since Oulton Park with the youngster winning all four races since and the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider admitted he was surprised by the pace of the Honda man.

“I saw my time was in the 1m 36secs and then saw he had gone even faster and I thought how did he do that. I’m happy enough with my race pace and it looks all set for a big battle between us. He is my target and I guess that I am his.”

Behind the top two, Tommy Bridewell was the star of Saturday, qualifying a sensational third on his debut for Milwaukee Yamaha ahead of teammate and title fighter James Ellison. Jakub Smrz and Josh Brookes will join Ellison on the second row with the Czech rider set to mix it with the championship challengers. The other two showdown participants will start of row three with Ryuichi Kiyonari and James Westmoreland seventh and eighth respectively while BSB returnee Noriyuki Haga thirteenth.

 

2013 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship – Round 10: Assen
Qualifying Classification
Pos Rider Bike Team Time
1  Alex Lowes Honda Samsung Honda 1:36.261
2  Shane Byrne Kawasaki Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki 1:36.638
3  Tommy Bridewell Yamaha Milwaukee Yamaha 1:37.134
4  James Ellison Yamaha Milwaukee Yamaha 1:37.220
5  Jakub Smrz Honda Padgetts Honda 1:37.336
6  Josh Brookes Suzuki Tyco Suzuki 1:37.723
7  Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda Samsung Honda 1:38.105
8  James Westmoreland BMW Buildbase BMW Motorrad 1:38.307
9  Dan Linfoot Honda Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda 1:38.391
10  Jon Kirkham BMW Buildbase BMW Motorrad 1:38.405
Eliminated in Q2
11  Danny de Boer Honda Bathams Honda 1:38.471
12  Peter Hickman Honda Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda 1:38.546
13  Noriyuki Haga Kawasaki Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki 1:38.629
14  Barry Burrell Kawasaki Quattro Plant Kawasaki 1:38.972
15  Matteo Baiocco Ducati Rapido Sport Racing 1:39.174
16  Martin Jessopp BMW Riders Motorcycles 1:39.237
17  Robbin Harms Honda Doodson Motorsport Honda 1:40.881
18  PJ Jacobsen Suzuki Tyco Suzuki No Time
Eliminated in Q1
19  Chris Walker Kawasaki Quattro Plant Kawasaki 1:39.230
20  Lee Costello Kawasaki Halsall Racing Kawasaki 1:39.512
21  David Johnson Kawasaki Tsingtao WKbikes 1:40.669
22  Aaron Zanotti Suzuki STEL Suzuki 1:40.727
23  Jenny Tinmouth Honda Two Wheel Racing 1:41.660
Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
British SuperbikeDakarRoad Racing

Isle of Man TT winner James Hillier set for Dakar Rally debut in 2023 Malle Moto

2 Mins read
After a delay, James Hillier will make his first Dakar Rally start in 2023. Riding in the Malle Moto class, he will be the first Isle of Man TT winner to challenge Dakar.
British Superbike

Exclusive interview with Ben Luxton

3 Mins read
Getting to know one of the UK’s rising talents. Here’s an exclusive interview with British Superstock 600 rider Ben Luxton
British SuperbikeRoad Racing

Honda Racing confirm their 2020 British Superbike plans

1 Mins read
Honda Racing have announced their British Superbike and Superstock plans, along with their road racing plans for the 2020 season.