Round 4 - MCE British Superbike Championship - Snetterton - Official Test - Day Two
The Official test rolled into day two and the weather did not dampen proceedings, with perfect racing conditions falling on Snetterton. With the teams disappearing last night to go and analyse the day's events as well as enjoy some well-earned rest, they were out again ready to roar around the circuit this morning.
Josh Brookes finished yesterday on top, smashing his previous lap record in the process. In today's session one he was able to keep his opponents at bay in an extremely closely fought battle. Jakub Smrz managed to finish in second place after a blisteringly fast final lap in the session, pushing James Ellison back to third and Shane Byrne fourth. The Yamaha, Ducati and Kawasaki in the top three were separated by just 0.048s, a great insight into the competitive nature of the superbikes across the grid.
In the second session the Milwaukee Yamaha continued to prove its pace in the hands of Josh Brookes, setting the fastest ever lap of the Snetterton 300 by 0.332s. The Australian rider came off the bike on the final lap; however the bike and rider both came away from the incident unharmed. Shane Byrne finished second, with current championship leader James Ellison finishing third. In contrast to the slim margin between the top three in session one, the three forerunners were separated by a rather notable 1.012s, Shakey being a staggering 0.982s off the pace set by Brookes.
With Josh Brookes seemingly finding the sweet spot of his Yamaha, he rocketed around the Norfolk circuit and managed to bag a lap time of 1:46:861s in the third and final session. Not only is this the fastest ever lap of Snetterton for the MCE BSB, but it is also the first time a lap time has dropped into the 1m46s at the circuit. It has without doubt been a fantastic day for the Milwakee Yamaha team, with the Australian #25 finishing on the top spot in all three sessions. Shane Byrne had a battle with James Ellison for the second spot in which he managed to push the JG Speedfit rider back to third with a margin of only 0.018s. Smrz and Broc Parkes made up the top 5 in an intensely exciting session.
With two days of testing over the teams will depart from the circuit to reflect on their performance and prepare for the fourth round. If the Official Test has left you wanting more, just remember that MCE BSB returns in only 22 days! Will Josh dominate Snetterton like he has in the test? Or will Ellison further his championship lead? Only time will tell...
27.05.2015 - Big Ed
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