Results from qualifying for round seven of the 2022 Bennetts Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park.
Bradley Ray’s explosive final sector of his one lap sprint saw him take the top spot on the grid as Superpole returned to qualifying for round seven of the championship at Cadwell Park.
The Rich Energy OMG Yamaha rider got off to a fast start but was down on the then timesheet topping time of Rory Skinner in the first two sectors. Making up all the time and then some, Ray nailed his ending and made up over half a second in the last sector after flying over The Mountain.
The lap of 1m 25.457s was 0.258s clear of Skinner over the line and a new lap record of the Cadwell Park track.
The only rider after him on track – Tommy Bridwell who was fastest on Saturday left last for Superpole but could only manage the eighth best lap for Oxford Products Ducati.
Having never completed a Superpole session before Rory Skinner admitted he didn’t really know how the format worked until just before he went out on track, but that did not slow the Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Kawasaki rider from lowering the lap record himself before it was bettered by Ray. With only four riders to come after him he sat in the pole chair ahead for much of the session with his lap remaining good enough for second.
Lee Jackson remained close to his team-mate Skinner’s time on his turn around the track, bringing him third on the grid to complete the front row for the sprint race.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danny Buchan has been flirting with the top three in every session since arriving at Cadwell Park, The SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad rider just missed out on a front row start in fourth.
Early laps from Tom Sykes (MCE Ducati) who left first and Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) who was second after they moved up from the Superpicks Q1 session saw their runs hold well, placing them fifth and sixth respectively.
Jason O’Halloran arrives as the only rider to score points at every round of 2022, which has contributed to the Australian already having qualified for the Showdown. His solid lap saw him collect seventh for McAMS Yamaha after a clean tidy run.
His team-mate reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie was ninth, after a slightly more cautious lap at a track where he had a memorable, huge crash last season.
Glenn Irwin had come through Q1 to join Superpole with the best time – a 1m 25.992s which would have been enough for seventh on the grid. The Honda rider couldn’t match that after moving on and set a lap of 1m 26.425s leaving him tenth.
Leon Haslam arrived at Cadwell park with a strong record to live up to, holding the most previous wins at the track with nine. That did not translate into qualifying form for the VisionTrack Kawasaki rider, who was eleventh.
Behind him on the timesheets once the session closed were Takumi Takahashi, who moved into superpole automatically as he continues his upward trajectory after winning the Suzuka 8hrs in twelfth for Honda and Christian Iddon who was 13th for Buildbase Suzuki.
Ryan Vickers (FHO Racing BMW with Attis Sports) was fifth to be released after heading straight into Superpole but lost the front so failed to finish his one lap dash, leaving him last in the session and 15th on the grid.
Andrew Irwin had the sixth best time coming into the session but also fell on his superpole lap for SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad.
What happened in Q1?
Irwin moved up with a lap under the old lap record, completing only two laps, with Hickman , the old lap record holder and a double winner at the track in 2021,also progressing after a spell sat in the pits -confident of moving to superpole. The pair were joined by Sykes.
That meant there was no room for former Kyle Ryde, who sits in the Showdown places after his early season form who just missed out finishing the session fourth, for 16th on the grid on the second OMG Rich Energy Yamaha.
Two time BSB champion Josh Brookes looked impressive over The Mountain but was one place further back so lines up 17th for MCE Ducati.
Danny Kent cut a frustraed figure, unable to find clear track with riders looking for a tow, the Buildbase Suzuki rider qualified 21st.
After three points finishes Ryo Mizuno had a strong round six, but a run through the grass saw the Honda Racing rider lose momentum and finish 11th (grid – 23rd).
Dan Jones (iForce Lloyd & Jones BMW) fell so failed to set a time.
The return of Superpole
Cadwell Park sees the return of the Superpole qualifying format for the August Bank Holiday weekend action.
The one-off change came about after agreement was reached between the series promoter MSVR and the British Superbike teams, with the hope it would ease the challenges caused by the layout and two active pit lanes at the Lincolnshire venue.
With 18 riders on track in a traditional Q2 session it is hoped that the alteration will make the track less busy while also adding to the spectacle for viewers both at the track and watching at home.
BSB Cadwell Park Lap Record – 2021 Peter Hickman (BMW) 1m 26.350s
2021 at Cadwell Park
Qualifying:1: Glenn Irwin2:Jason O’Halloran
3: Peter Hickman
Race One (sprint): Peter HickmanRace Two: Peter Hickman
Race Three: Jason O’Halloran
Round Six Results (Thruxton)
Qualifying;1:Jason O’Halloran2:Peter Hickman
3:Andrew Irwin
Race One (sprint): Jason O’HalloranRace Two: Jason O’Halloran
Race Three: Tarran Mackenzie
Rabat replaced at TAG Honda
After running around last and off the pace in the Saturday practice sessions is was announced that TAG Honda and Tito Rabat had parted ways at the end of the day.
Shaun Winfield who rides for the team in National Superstock took over the seat for FP3 but not in qualifying.