Shane Byrne’s sensational record at Brands Hatch continued with pole position on the Grand Prix circuit on Saturday. The home favourite is two wins away from fifty in British Superbikes and is well placed to reach the milestone tomorrow although Alex Lowes, Josh Brookes and Ryuichi Kiyonari will have other ideas starting from the front row.
Byrne, who won three out of three to clinch the title here last year, is confident of adding to his Brands Hatch victory tally and is dreaming of reaching a half century.
“I love this circuit and the crowd here and to take pole was a great result for me. I need two good results tomorrow and if I can make that a double and move to 50 wins then that would be fantastic but there are lot of guys out there who will be pushing hard in the races. If we work hard again in warm up tomorrow then fingers crossed we can be up there at the front at the end of the day.”
Lowes was just a tenth of a second behind in the end with Brookes right on the pace in third and is desperate to break his duck for the season which has seen Byrne, Lowes and James Ellison do the winning.
“I’m not disappointed with today. I’m just deep in thought to figure-out what the next step is going be: if it’s in gearing or spring rates in suspension; or riding position. What’s going to bring another couple of tenths for me to be able to better or equal the guys I’m trying to rival? I don’t want to settle for second or thirds. I want to win. Everyone has done a great job and we’ve made great improvements throughout the weekend so far, and the bike is running brilliant – we’ve just got to keep making that progress.”
The rejuvenated Ryuichi Kiyonari will start race one from the outside of the front row with James Ellison fifth as he looks to consolidate his place in the top six. James Westmoreland is sixth on the grid ahead of Chris Walker and PJ Jacobsen and all three will be looking to boost their showdown prospects with Jon Kirkham, currently sixth in the title chase, starting down in eighteenth.
| 2013 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship – Round 6: Brands Hatch GP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Classification | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Team | Best Time |
| 1 |  Shane Byrne |
Kawasaki | Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki | 1:25.672 |
| 2 | Alex Lowes |
Honda | Samsung Honda | 1:25.795 |
| 3 |  Josh Brookes |
Suzuki | Tyco Suzuki | 1:25.841 |
| 4 |  Ryuichi Kiyonari |
Honda | Samsung Honda | 1:25.956 |
| 5 | James Ellison |
Yamaha | Milwaukee Yamaha | 1:25.999 |
| 6 | James Westmoreland |
BMW | Buildbase BMW Motorrad | 1:26.042 |
| 7 | Chris Walker |
Kawasaki | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | 1:26.669 |
| 8 |  PJ Jacobsen |
Suzuki | Tyco Suzuki | 1:26.684 |
| 9 | Dan Linfoot |
Honda | Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda | 1:26.724 |
| 10 | Michael Rutter |
Honda | Bathams Honda | 1:27.294 |
| Eliminated in Q2 | ||||
| 11 |  Jakub Smrz |
Honda | Padgetts Honda | 1:27.186 |
| 12 | Karl Harris |
Kawasaki | PR Racing Kawasaki | 1:27.369 |
| 13 | Keith Farmer |
Kawasaki | Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki | 1:27.411 |
| 14 | Howie Mainwaring |
Kawasaki | MH Kawasaki | 1:27.661 |
| 15 | Peter Hickman |
Honda | Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Honda | 1:27.676 |
| 16 | Lee Costello |
Kawasaki | Halsall Racing Kawasaki | 1:27.681 |
| 17 | Aaron Zanotti |
Suzuki | STEL Suzuki | 1:28.036 |
| 18 | Jon Kirkham |
BMW | Buildbase BMW Motorrad | No Time |
| Eliminated in Q1 | ||||
| 19 |  Matteo Baiocco |
Ducati | Rapido Sport Racing | 1:27.885 |
| 20 | Josh Waters |
Yamaha | Milwaukee Yamaha | 1:28.253 |
| 21 | Martin Jessopp |
BMW | Riders Motorcycles | 1:28.335 |
| 22 | Danny Buchan |
Kawasaki | Quattro Plant Kawasaki | 1:29.268 |
| 23 | Jenny Tinmouth |
Honda | Two Wheel Racing | 1:29.403 |
| 24 | Michael Howarth |
Kawasaki | MH Kawasaki | 1:30.767 |
