British Superbike

BSB Silverstone: Lowes Beats Bruised Byrne To Pole

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Alex Lowes bounced back from his controversial disqualification at Assen to take a dominant pole position at Silverstone. The Samsung Honda rider was half a second quicker than Shane Byrne who entered the session in great discomfort, not because of his Assen tumble, but because of another accident in free practice.

The Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider lost control at Luffield in the morning session and the inevitable high side brought him crashing down on his right hip. After intensive physiotherapy, the championship leader was declared fit and paid tribute to the BSB medical staff after qualifying second.

“The bike just came round on me and flipped over the top and I landed heavily on my side. I’m just relieved to have got out there for qualifying. I don’t know what I’ve done but it was not very comfortable.  The medics did a lot of work to get me out there and I have to thank them for that as the time before qualifying has just disappeared!”

Byrne will begin the opening race on Sunday one point ahead of Lowes and the polesitter is expecting a tight battle tomorrow.

“It was a lot better in qualifying than it had been earlier when I was struggling a bit, but I enjoyed that session and we can do a bit more before the races which are when the real action starts. I think it will be close in the races tomorrow but hopefully not as close as Assen!”

The two Tyco Suzukis will start third and fourth with PJ Jacobsen edging out Josh Brookes for a place on the front row while Jon Kirkham and Peter Hickman line up next to the Australian. Matteo Baiocco, Tommy Bridewell and title challenger James Westmoreland make up row three with James Ellison the main showdown participant out of position after a crash on his first lap of Q2 consigned him to eighteenth.

2013 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship – Round 11: Silverstone
Qualifying Classification
1  Alex Lowes Honda CBR1000RR Samsung Honda 2:05.724
2  Shane Byrne Kawasaki ZX-10R Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki 2:06.278
3  PJ Jacobsen Suzuki GSX-R1000 Tyco Suzuki 2:06.320
4  Josh Brookes Suzuki GSX-R1000 Tyco Suzuki 2:06.770
5  Jon Kirkham BMW S1000 RR Buildbase BMW Motorrad 2:06.900
6  Peter Hickman Honda CBR1000RR Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda 2:06.996
7  Matteo Baiocco Ducati 1199 Panigale Rapido Sport Racing 2:07.062
8  Tommy Bridewell Yamaha YZF-R1 Milwaukee Yamaha 2:07.154
9  James Westmoreland BMW S1000 RR Buildbase BMW Motorrad 2:07.276
10  Jakub Smrz Honda CBR1000RR Padgetts Honda 2:07.463
Eliminated in Q2
11  Noriyuki Haga Kawasaki ZX-10R Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki 2:07.626
12  Michael Rutter Honda CBR1000RR Bathams Honda 2:07.628
13  Dan Linfoot Honda CBR1000RR Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda 2:07.851
14  Chris Walker Kawasaki ZX-10R Quattro Plant Kawasaki 2:07.879
15  Josh Waters Kawasaki ZX-10R Halsall Racing Kawasaki 2:08.213
16  Karl Harris Kawasaki ZX-10R PR Racing Kawasaki 2:08.633
17  Lee Costello Kawasaki ZX-10R Halsall Racing Kawasaki 2:08.730
18  James Ellison Yamaha YZF-R1 Milwaukee Yamaha No Time
Eliminated in Q1
19  Freddy Foray Honda CBR1000RR Samsung Honda 2:08.963
20  Danny de Boer Honda CBR1000RR Bathams Honda 2:09.390
21  Barry Burrell Kawasaki ZX-10R Quattro Plant Kawasaki 2:09.607
22  Aaron Zanotti Suzuki GSX-R1000 STEL Suzuki 2:10.093
23  Martin Jessopp BMW S1000 RR Riders Motorcycles 2:10.399
24  Jenny Tinmouth Honda CBR1000RR Two Wheel Racing 2:10.931
25  Howie Mainwaring Kawasaki ZX-10R Tsingtao WKbikes Performance 2:11.051
26  Jamie Poole Kawasaki ZX-10R Quelch BSD Motorsport 2:13.873
27  Stefan Cappella BMW S1000 RR MotoDex Spearmint Rhino BMW No Time
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