Jon Kirkham - Photo Credit: Honda Racing
Jon Kirkham mastered the tricky conditions at Brands Hatch to secure a place on the front row for the opening race of the 2012 British Superbike Championship. The Derby rider will start second after coming through a rain-affected qualifying session and feels confident of a good result if the weather turns nasty again on Easter Monday.
“I am really happy to be starting on the front row as the conditions weren't easy out there as it just kept changing. I knew that we could challenge today but there were places on the track where we were getting quite loose. I was fastest for a while and then I saw that I dropped to P2, but there wasn't anything I could do as I had already pushed hard and I didn't want to make a stupid mistake. It is looking good for the race and we will see what we can do now tomorrow, whatever the conditions.”
Samsung Honda teammate Michael Laverty was caught out by the rain in Q1 which prevented him from improving his time late on. That left him down in 21st and the Northern Irishman knows he needs to make up ground quickly tomorrow.
“I was playing it careful to begin with and I did some steady laps as the conditions were tricky and I didn't want to have a crash. I was P9 after the lap and then I came into the pits, but we got it wrong as in the time I had been in the garage I had dropped to 19th. The drizzle then came in and I had no chance of improving the lap. It was a mistake and I am disappointed but I think we just need to now look at getting a good start in the races.”
