2023 British Superbikes Thruxton- Qualifying Results
Jason O’Halloran set himself up as the man to beat as Yamaha closed out the front row and the Ducatis had a disaster in qualifying for round seven of the British Superbike championship at Thruxton.
The McAMS rider continued his run of great form in Thruxton with a statement pole position set early, with the Australian spending much of his BSB qualifying session in the pits.
Fastest on Friday, topping both sessions, O'Halloran arrived with a great record at the circuit -mhaving won 5 out of the last six races held here. Again, he lead the way with ease, getting a hold on the new tyre introduced this weekend and a lack of grip to post a best of 1m 14. 634s a new bast for the track.
Knowing his lap was good the #22 finished with a punch to the air and then retired to his garage.
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Yamaha lock out the front row
The Yamaha seemed a good fit as Ryan Vickers used his time in Q1 to his advantage, after a crash in practice left him off the pace he made sure to get plenty of dry laps under his belt after some changeable weather and climbed to second once in Q2, 0.284s behind O’Hallorans best.
His teammate Kyle Ryde ensured Yamaha continued their good form at the track and though he couldn’t quite compete with the lead duo (half a second off of pole) he is well placed to put a run of poor form and bad luck behind him with a front row start on the second LAMI OMG Yamaha entry.
The Kawasaki also seemed well suited with Lee Jackson able to claim fourth, but not too far ahead ahead of his Cheshire Mouldings Teammate.
Rookies shine in qualifying.
Charlie Nesbitt put in a fearless performance after securing an automatic place in Q2 for MasterMac Honda and only built on that as he went on to finish fifth in the session.
It was a great start to the weekend for Max Cook too, placing sixth, a new best as he claimed knowing less about the track and what to expect helped him improve as he did his own thing on the Kawasaki.
Storm Stacey was not far behind on the timesheets in seventh for Starline Racing Kawasaki.
Irwin top Ducati - in eighth.
Josh Brookes Q1 performance hinted that the going would be tough for the riders in Q2 at the Hampshire track and it proved to be true - with Glenn Irwin the best placed Ducati in eighth for BeerMonster- the last of a group of riders with similar times.
Grip was at a premium for all but the Ducati seemed to struggle even more than the rest - which meant championship leader Tommy Bridewell could only manage a best of fifteenth.
Over a second off the pole pace, the local rider and championship leader finished the session absent from his pit box wsith the tyre warmers on his PBM bike.
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Jack Kennedy qualified ahead of the title leader in ninth for Mar-Train Yamaha, while Leon Haslam came through Q1 to place his Rokit BMW inside the top ten- the top rider for the manufacturer.
Danny Kent went on to claim twelfth after a slow start saw him start last on the timesheets before he was able to seek out improvements on his Lovell Racing Honda.
The conditions and tyre woes did nothing to re-start Peter Hickman’s charge he was the best of the FAO riders in 13th .
Christian Iddon only just missed out on a podium to finish Brands Hatch on a high but was well off the pace in qualifying, almost 2 seconds away from pole to line up 17th for Oxford Products Ducati.
Official British Superbike Thruxton Records:
Lap Record: Josh Brookes (Ducati) 1m 14.655s (2019)
2022 at Thruxton (Round Six)
Pole: Jason O’Halloran (2nd Peter Hickman, 3rd Andrew Irwin)
Race One:
1:Jason O’Halloran
2:Tarran Mackenzie
3:Bradley Ray
Race Two:
1:Jason O’Halloran
2:Tarran Mackenzie
3: Bradley Ray
Race Three:
1:Tarran Mackenzie
2:Bradley Ray
3:Jason O’Halloran
Last Round (Brands Hatch)
Pole: Tommy Bridewell (2nd Ryan Vickers, 3rd Josh Brookes)
Race One:
1:Ryan Vickers
2:Danny Kent
3:Christian Iddon
Race Two:
1: Tommy Bridewell
2:Christian iddon
3:Danny Kent
Race Three:
1:Tommy Bridewell
2:Glenn Irwin
3:Ryan Vickers
What Happened in Q1?
The session was loaded with talent, including two of the top five riders in the championship - Leon Haslam and Josh Brookes - looking to move on for an elevated grid slot. Ryan Vickers, winner of the sprint last time out in Brands Hatch just missed out too, finishing the day 13th after bike issues and a spill.
Both Vickers and Haslam moved on successfully, with the #7 sat in the pits, confident of his time as the clock ticked down. They were joined by Max Cook,who was second in Q1, with Dean Harrison and Storm Stacey also through.
Josh Brookes was visibly struggling with grip and finished down in ninth so will start 21st for FAO Racing BMW.
TAG Honda’s Hector Barbera is back but with his knee strapped up and moving awkwardly off the bike.
The Spaniard still gave a good go at moving on and finished the session just short in sevent, for 19th on the grid.
Fellow countryman Tito Rabat will be one slot further back as he continues his run with McAMS Yamaha.
Absentees and Injuries
Crendon Honda rider Josh Owens didn’t make it past FP1, where he picked up a wrist injury, ruling him out of the weekend.
Long term recovery sees Andrew Irwin miss another round for Honda Racing UK, he is again replaced by Franco Bourne (23rd).
TAG Honda had listed in a second rider, Matt Truelove, a regular with the team in National Superstock to attempt to double up at Thruxton, taking part in practice before he was pulled to concentrate on his regular ride.
There is a new name in at Rapid CDH Racing Kawasaki, with Louis Valleley (25th) making his debut in the team in the seat vacated by Liam Delves. Currently sitting fifth in his usual home, the National Superstock Championship after a win at Brands Hatch.
