Josh Brookes - Photo Credit: Motorsport Vision
Josh Brookes will start the opening race of the 2012 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship from pole position after coming out on top in an eventful qualifying session. Unpredictable weather threw the session wide open and a number of shock casualties in the knockout sessions have created an unusual grid.
Tommy Hill was the biggest surprise with the reigning champion crashing during Q1. The Swan Yamaha rider crashed at Graham Hill bend without posting a representative time and couldn't keep himself out of the drop zone. He will begin his title defence from 29th while his former teammate Michael Laverty also faces an uphill task in race one after qualifying 21st.
Rain fell in the closing stages of Q1, leaving the Indy circuit wet for the remaining sessions, and Alastair Seeley came unstuck on the Tyco Suzuki, ending up in 13th. His teammate made it safely through though and got the better of Jon Kirkham to claim pole position in the final session, a quarter of a second ahead of the Samsung Honda debutant.
Shane Byrne narrowly avoided elimination in Q2 but placed the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki on the front row while Tristan Palmer produced the shock of the day to join him on the front row. The New Arley rider is racing for the GBmoto squad who are competing in their debut BSB campaign but that didn't stop him going fourth quickest on their Honda CBR1000RR.
There's an international flavour to row two with Freddy Foray in fifth position on the Quattro Plant Kawasaki. Fellow BSB newcomer Noriyuki Haga will start alongside in sixth and will carry the victory hopes of Swan Yamaha in the opening race tomorrow. Tommy Bridewell is seventh on the grid for the Italian Supersonic BMW team while Michael Rutter will start eighth on the MSS Bathams Kawasaki.
Stuart Easton will make his BSB return from ninth on the grid ahead of the two Padgetts Hondas, Luca Scassa and Ian Lowry while Gary Mason starts 12th, just in front of Seeley's Suzuki.
2012 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
Round 1: Brands Hatch Indy (Qualifying Result)
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Josh Brookes |
Suzuki | Tyco Suzuki | 52.877 |
| 2 |  Jon Kirkham |
Honda | Samsung Honda | +0.278 |
| 3 | Shane Byrne |
Kawasaki | Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki | +0.484 |
| 4 | Tristan Palmer |
Honda | GBmoto Racing | +0.708 |
| 5 |  Freddy Foray |
Kawasaki | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | +0.890 |
| 6 |  Noriyuki Haga |
Yamaha | Swan Yamaha | +0.934 |
| 7 | Tommy Bridewell |
BMW | Supersonic Racing Team | +0.970 |
| 8 | Michael Rutter |
Kawasaki | MSS Bathams Kawasaki | +1.006 |
| 9 | Stuart Easton |
Kawasaki | Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki | +1.619 |
| 10 |  Luca Scassa |
Honda | Padgetts Racing | +1.649 |
| Eliminated In Q2 | ||||
| 11 | Ian Lowry |
Honda | Padgetts Racing | 54.082 |
| 12 | Gary Mason |
Kawasaki | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | 54.133 |
| 13 | Alastair Seeley |
Suzuki | Tyco Suzuki | 54.324 |
| 14 | Graeme Gowland |
Honda | Team WFR | 54.384 |
| 15 | Peter Hickman |
Kawasaki | MSS Bathams Kawasaki | 54.385 |
| 16 | Chris Walker |
Kawasaki | Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki | 54.427 |
| 17 |  Patric Muff |
BMW | Supersonic Racing Team | 54.541 |
| 18 | Luke Quigley |
Honda | GBmoto Racing | 55.063 |
| 19 | Barry Burrell |
BMW | Buildbase BMW Motorrad | 56.062 |
| 20 | Florian Marino |
Aprilia | Splitlath Redmond Racing | 56.299 |
| Eliminated In Q1 | ||||
| 21 | Michael Laverty |
Honda | Samsung Honda | 50.606 |
| 22 | James Westmoreland |
Honda | Team WFR | 50.662 |
| 23 | Scott Smart |
Ducati | Moto Rapido Racing | 50.724 |
| 24 | Dan Linfoot |
BMW | Buildbase BMW Motorrad | 50.849 |
| 25 | James Hillier |
Kawasaki | Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki | 50.881 |
| 26 | Alex Lowes |
Honda | Team WFR | 51.173 |
| 27 | Aaron Zanotti |
Suzuki | A-Plant Suzuki | 51.241 |
| 28 | Alex Polita |
Ducati | Jentin Doodson Motorsport | 51.485 |
| 29 | Tommy Hill |
Yamaha | Swan Yamaha | 51.931 |
| 30 | John Laverty |
Aprilia | Splitlath Redmond Racing | 51.999 |
| 31 | Jenny Tinmouth |
Honda | Hardinge Sorrymate.com Honda | 52.968 |
| 32 | Tom Tunstall |
Ducati | Jentin Doodson Motorsport | 53.772 |
| 33 |  Abdulaziz Binladin |
Ducati | Moto Rapido Racing | 56.275 |
