Ryan Vickers will start from the pole position for the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship race of the weekend at Donington Park this afternoon after claiming the top spot in Omologato Superpole.
Vickers was the last rider to head out for his lap, but the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider knew what time he had to beat. He was able to push the pace on his flying lap to head off his teammate Kyle Ryde by 0.026s, whilst Leon Haslam surged to his first front row start of the season for ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad.
Danny Kent had once again shown his one lap pace for McAMS Racing Yamaha; he had initially been inside the top three, before the final improvements of the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing pairing.
Lee Jackson on the MasterMac Honda had his best qualifying performance of the season; he had gone fastest with his time before the final laps of the session as he starts on the second row.
Reigning Champion Tommy Bridewell had to go through Qualifying to join the start list for Omologato Superpole, but the Honda Racing UK rider charged on to claim a second row start to nudge Christian Iddon onto row three.
Glenn Irwin had a some moments on his lap which cost him time and the Hager PBM Ducati rider will start eighth on the grid alongside Max Cook on the leading Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki with Josh Brookes completing the top ten. The double champion will be the sole FHO Racing BMW Motorrad rider after Peter Hickman was withdrawn after straining his hand during Free Practice two yesterday.
Billy McConnell qualified for Omologato Superpole for the first time with the C&L Fairburn Properties/Look Forward Racing Honda team; he will start 11th alongside Fraser Rogers and the returning Luke Mossey on the STAUFF Fluid Power Kawasaki.
Charlie Nesbitt and Jason O'Halloran complete the top 15 riders after had their lap time cancelled for exceeding track limits at turn ten.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, Omologato Superpole:
- Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) 1m:27.608s
- Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing) +0.026s
- Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad) +0.148s
- Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) +0.250s
- Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +0.562s
- Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK) +0.641s
- Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.660s
- Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +0.926s
- Max Cook (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +1.073s
- Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +1.249s
Tickets for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park are available upon arrival at the venue, with free entry for children under-13. For more information, click here.