Ellison edges out Kiyonari as 25 riders covered by 0.9s at Brands Hatch

Courtesy of BSB British Superbike

Round 2 – Brands Hatch Free practice one: 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) 46.113s 2: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.027s 3: James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.199s 4: Danny Buchan (Be Wiser Kawasaki) +0.211s 5: Jakub Smrz (Lloyds British Ducati) +0.291s 6: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.305s Free practice two: 1: James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 45.700s 2: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.024s 3: Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.129s 4: Danny Buchan (Be Wiser Kawasaki) +0.218s 5: Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.220s 6: Stuart Easton (PBM Kawasaki) +0.281s Report James Ellison edged out triple champion Ryuichi Kiyonari in the opening MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship free practice sessions at the second round of the season at Brands Hatch. The top 25 riders were separated by just 0.9s around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit but JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Ellison, who was victorious in the opening race of the season at Donington Park, closed in on the lap record with a best time of 45.700s to set the pace. Ellison had Kiyonari to contend with and the triple champion closed to within 0.024s of him, while Josh Brookes was gathering momentum on the Milwaukee Yamaha to claim the third place position. Danny Buchan, the reigning Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Champion, is ready to cause an upset on his second appearance with the Be Wiser Kawasaki team. The 21-year-old Essex rider set the fourth fastest time, ahead of the current series leader and record four time champion Shane “Shakey” Byrne. The PBM Kawasaki rider had topped the session in the early stages, but slipped back to fifth, 0.220s adrift, just ahead of his team-mate Stuart Easton.  Jakub Smrz, on the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati, Billy McConnell aboard the Smiths BMW together with Tyco BMW’s Tommy Bridewell and Richard Cooper on the Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki complete the top ten fastest. Dan Linfoot, who arrived at round two holding second in the title stakes for Honda Racing, is sidelined from this weekend’s races after breaking his right wrist in a crash during this morning’s free practice session. James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) P1: 45.700s “It definitely feels good to end the first day fastest. We were so close to Kiyo in qualifying at Donington and now it has been reversed. It has been dead close but we got the better of him this time. I know it is only free practice but it is nice to be at the front on a Friday and just make small tweaks. “Kiyo did something like a 28 lap run and we kept coming in and out of the garage to solve a problem, but the runs we did were consistently quick and we did the time on used tyres so there is more to come. Tomorrow we will do long runs to test our pace over a longer distance but I am happy after day one.”