It was close at the top as the rain held off for qualifying for the fourth round of the British Superbikes championship at Knockhill, with Tommy Bridewell easing to pole position.
The Honda Racing UK rider may have never won at Knockhill, but the reigning champion was soon at the top of the timesheets with his 47.408s best with Charlie Nesbitt ahead as a marker remaining unmatched for pole, his first for the manufacturer.
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The top three were able to return to the pits early as the weather became more overcast and forward progress was hard to come by.
| British Superbikes Round Four -Knockhill- Qualifying | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tommy Bridewell | GBR | Honda Racing UK (Honda) | 47.408s |
| 2 | Jason O'Halloran | AUS | Completely Motorbikes (Kawasaki) | +0.058s |
| 3 | Josh Brookes | AUS | FHO Racing BMW Motorrad(BMW) | +0.018s |
| 4 | Ryan Vickers | GBR | OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing (Yamaha) | +0.091s |
| 5 | Glenn Irwin | GBR | Hager PBM (Ducati) | +0.095s |
| 6 | Andrew Irwin | GBR | Honda Racing UK (Honda) | +0.119s |
| 7 | Danny Kent | GBR | McAMSRacing (Yamaha) | +0.166s |
| 8 | Rory Skinner | GBR | Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad (BMW) | +0.188s |
| 9 | Christian Iddon | GBR | Oxford Products Racing (Ducati) | +0.198s |
| 10 | Kyle Ryde | GBR | OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing (Yamaha) | +0.370s |
| 11 | Lee Jackson | GBR | MasterMac Honda (Honda) | +0.405s |
| 12 | Danny Buchan | GBR | DAO Racing (Kawasaki) | +0.407s |
| 13 | Charlie Nesbitt | GBR | MasterMac Honda (Honda) | +0.435s |
| 14 | Leon Haslam | GBR | ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad(BMW) | +0.533s |
| 15 | Fraser Rogers | GBR | TAG Racing (Honda) | +0.721s |
| Q1 | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 16 | Luke Hedger | GBR | Whitecliffe CDH Racing(Kawasaki) | 48.133s |
| 17 | Storm Stacey | GBR | LKQ Euro Car Parts (Kawasaki) | 48.170s |
| 18 | Tom Neave | GBR | STAUFF Fluid Power (Kawasaki) | 48.250s |
| 19 | Lewis Rollo | GBR | IN Competition/SENCAT(Aprilia) | 48.270s |
| 20 | Franco Bourne | GBR | Rapid Honda (Honda) | 48.325s |
| 21 | Peter Hickman | GBR | FHO Racing BMW Motorrad(BMW) | 48.397s |
| 22 | Dean Harrison | GBR | Honda Racing UK (Honda) | 48.429s |
| 23 | Billy McConnell | AUS | C&L Fairburn/ Look Forward Racing (Honda) | 48.454s |
| 24 | Alex Olsen | GBR | Cumins by Team IWR(Honda) | 48.695s |
| 25 | Brayden Elliott | AUS | DAO Racing(Kawasaki) | 49.050s |
| 26 | Jamie van Sikkelerus | NED | TAG Honda (Honda) | 49.205s |
| 27 | Louis Valleley | GBR | NP Racing (Kawasaki) | 49.292s |
| 28 | Max Cook | GBR | Completely Motorbike(Kawasaki) | No Time |
By contrast, the most recent race winner before the break - Jason O'Halloran - holds a strong record at the Scottish track and was able to apply pressure to the number one bike, finishing just 0.058s slower for Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki.
Josh Brookes was back in action after a successful stint on the roads in the break, second in the senior TT in the Isle of Man. That spurred the Australian on, back to his best with a tidy lap seeing him lead briefly lead for FHO Racing BMW Motorrad before his time was shuffled back to third.
A plated and pinned Ryan Vickers was back on track for OMG Grilla Yamaha after his fall at the last round at Donington Park. The #7 bucked the trend and moved into fourth late on to lead off row two in the feature race later today.
Championship leader Glenn Irwin had a strong Knockhill last year, taking pole and two race wins. Second for a short time, that same flurry of fast laps in the middle of the session saw him pushed back to fifth for PBM Ducati.
He will have his brother Andrew Irwin alongside him after a much improved performance on the Honda, like Brookes he held position despite having several laps cancelled.
Danny Kent secured the seventh best time for McAMS Yamaha, ahead of home hero Rory Skinner, who had arrived with the best time from Friday for Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad after a perfectly timed early lap in the dry, before the heavens opened.
Christian Iddon was the best of the three Q1 riders to take up a place in the Speedy Fast 15, claiming ninth for Oxford Products Ducati
Red flag leaves Ryde tenth
Kyle Ryde initially took charge of Saturday after a lacklustre Friday, arriving with stomach issues and food poisoning - at one point on a drip through dehydration. That saw him last and needing a trip through Q1.
Back on track, the OMG Grilla Yamaha rider set the best time of the weekend at that point in FP3, a declaration of intent which lead to a faster time set early in Q1, allowing him to move on as the session leader.
Q2 saw a fall for the #77 at turn two, which brought out the red flag. Well enough to give a thumbs up as he walked away, Ryde was removed in an ambulance and did not return for the rest of the session.
Sitting fourth at the time thanks to a solid banker lap, Ryde’s time slipped to tenth as the chequered flag waved.
Leon Haslam was walking stiffly in the paddock after a practice fall. The ROKiT Haslam BMW Motorrad rider was clearly feeling the effects in the morning session. Back out for Q2, the battered and bruised #91 could only manage a time good enough for 14th.
Official British Superbike Knockhill Records:
Lap record: Rory Skinner (Kawasaki, 2022) 47.126s
Knockhill in 2023:
Round 4
Qualifying:
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Ryan Vickers
3: Jason O’Halloran
Race 1 (Sprint):
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Kyle Ryde
3: Jason O’Halloran
Race 2:
1: Kyle Ryde
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Jason O’Halloran
Race 3:
1: Glenn Irwin
2: Tommy Bridewell
3: Ryan Vickers
Q1- Last minute change sees Bourne out and Iddon move on
The cold and overcast Q1 was dominated by Ryde, who went top and then spent much of the session sat in the pits, preparing to tackle Q2.
Initially it looked to be Franco Bourne moving on alongside Ryde and Fraser Rogers (13th for TAG Honda) , but the Rapid Honda rider had a series of laps cancelled for exceeding track limits right at the start of that lap, and the time that was set to see him progress went the same way.
That elevated Iddon to the final progression space.
Bourne did not hold the time that just missed out either, with Kawasaki’s Luke Hedger fourth in the session and the #54 moved back to eighth thanks to his time demotion.
Local knowledge insured Lewis Rollo was the best of the Pathway riders, an impressive seventh in Q1 for In Competition Sencat Aprilia.
The TT hangover may not have affected Josh Brookes, who was riding high, but was very real for both Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman.
Hickman was back in action after picking up a Superbike race win in the TT, along with several second places, although he missed out in the Senior TT after a fall. Showing no ill effects after that crash, the FHO rider was not in tune with his bike at all and placed ninth in Q1, for 21st on the grid.
Harrison, who placed third in the recent Senior TT race on the Isle of Man, was one place behind for Honda.
Max Cook crashed in FP3, leading to a rapid rebuild for qualifying. The mechanics at Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki could not fix his bike in time for the start of qualifying, leaving him last on the grid.
