Round 4 - MCE British Superbike Championship - Snetterton - Official Test
The MCE British Superbike Championship must have read Big Ed's Blog about 'Post-MCE BSB Blues' and thankfully replied with a two day Official test at Snetterton! The teams and avid fans arrived early at the Norfolk circuit, greeted by clear skies and perfect weather for testing. Dan Linfoot and Peter Hickman will certainly be making the most of the Official test - today will be their first opportunity to get back on the track following injury.
The reigning champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne topped the opening session, despite a crash at Riches in the final minutes. Thankfully the rider walked away from the incident with no injury, and his impressive start to the session meant that he remained on top. Josh Brookes settled for second followed by Jakub Smrz on the lone Ducati, making up the top three. In the early stages of testing the results aren't always demonstrative of overall ability, some opting to hold back slightly to respond to the bike and the track. However one thing was clear - Shakey was in the mood to attack the circuit.
Milwaukee Yamaha rider Josh Brookes had a great start to session two and seemed set to finish fastest, however Byrne managed to bag a lap time 0.241s quicker in the final few minutes, pushing the Australian back down to second where he would remain for the session. Current Championship leader James Ellison managed to finish third, with O'Halloran and Jakub Smrz making up the top five.
Josh Brookes managed to finish the day in top spot in session three - he also managed to smash his own lap record while he was at it. Finishing 0.706s under the record he leaves the day in a great position, having previously commented that he's still in search of that little bit extra to challenge for race wins with his new Yamaha. His record breaking laps are proof that his new R1 is going to be strong here at Snetterton. Shane Byrne finished 0.441s behind with Smrz finishing an impressive day in third place. James Ellison slipped to sixth place in the final session, with O'Halloran retaining his 4th place and Parkes also making the top five.
The best news of the day? Knowing that it's going to happen again tomorrow! On a day full of excitement and records being smashed, we have no doubt that tomorrow will be full of excitement and MCE BSB riders pushing themselves to the absolute limit!
26.05.2015 - Big Ed
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