2022 British Superbike Brands Hatch - Qualifying Results
Glenn Irwin hit the top of the timesheets at just the right time to get pole position in the pits as rain stopped play early in qualifying for round eleven of the championship, a second visit to Brands Hatch for the Showdown finale.
Doing all he can to keep his shot at the title alive pole was the best result the Honda Racing rider could ask for. Expecting more rain after a shower between Q1 and Q2, the rider from Carrickfergus made sure to get in an early fast lap, clocking in at 1m 25.168s.
His lap surpassed that of Peter Hickman who had the same idea based on the weather, pushing him back to second on the FHO Racing BMW, 0.031s slower.
The other rider who can prevent Bradley Ray taking the title in race one, Tommy Bridewell also did all he could to qualify ahead of the championship leader.
The Oxford Products Ducati rider had moved into third and was on a better lap when the rain returned. Trying to rip a soaked tear-off from his visor wasn’t enough and reaching the rain first his hand came up and the lap was abandoned by the #46.
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No bikes returned to track after the riders peeled into the pits with just over four minutes left of the session.
Kyle Ryde was the only one of the showdown riders to need to appear in Q1, missing out on moving into Q2 automatically by one place. Moving on with the top time, the Rich Energy OMG Yamaha rider was quick to get moving with track time under his belt and a good look at the weather. He ensured he had a strong early lap to take fourth.
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Danny Buchan was briefly top, his lap held on for fith as the rain arrived for Synetiq BMW Mottorad. Both he and Hickman are on 227 points in the riders cup outside of the Showdown.
Ray (Rich Energy OMG Yamaha) will be looking to seal the championship title from sixth on the grid, ahead of Andrew Irwin (Synetiq BMW Motorrad) in seventh.
Jason O’Halloran is worse for wear and battered and bruised after his recent string of crashes.
The sole remaining McAMS yamaha rider qualified eighth, but will have a three place grid penalty aplied for causing a collision at Donington, where he left Tom Sykes nowhere to go.
That means ninth placed Josh Brookes (MCE Ducati), Danny Kent (Buildbase Suzuki) in tenth and Lee Jackson (Cheshire Holdings FS-3 Kawasaki) will all move forward when the grid forms for race one.
Josh Owens kept his strong start to the race weekend, which saw him straight into Q2 with Rapid CDH Racig Kawasaki, with twelfth on the grid in the shortened session.
Jack Kennedy returns for another spin on the Mar-Train Yamaha and came through Q1 for 17th on the grid.
What else happened in Q1?
Dean Harrison (DAO Racing Kawasaki) came incredibly close to moving on to the second half of qualifying.
Brands Hatch Statistics
BSB Brands Hatch Lap Record - Josh Brookes (2017) Yamaha - 1m 24.873s
Round Five At Brands Hatch 2022
Qualifying:
Pole: Jason O’Halloran
Race One: Jason O’Halloran
Race Two: Tarran Mackenzie
Race Three: Tarran Mackenzie
2021 at Brands Hatch
Round Three:
Qualifying:
Pole: Tarran Mackenzie
Race One (sprint): Tarran Mackenzie
Race Two: Jason O’Halloran
Race Three: Christian Iddon
Round Eleven(Showdown):
Qualifying:
Pole: Luke Mossey
Race One (sprint): Tarran Mackenzie
Race Two: Tarran Mackenzie
Race Three: Tarran Mackenzie
Donington Park, Round Ten:
Qualifying:
Pole: Jason O’Halloran
Race One: Tom Sykes
Race Two: Tom Sykes
Race Three: Bradley Ray
Injuries and Additional riders at Brands Hatch
Showdown riders reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie and the Moto2 bound Rory Skinner both remain absent through injury.
Jack Kennedy is not the only rider getting a special run out this weekend.
The 2022 British Superstock champion Davey Todd gets a BSB run out with his Padgetts Team for the final round of the season on his road racing superbike. He will fill 24th on the grid.
Charlie Nesbitt is retained by Buildbase Suzuki, who move to a three rider team for the weekend, joining regular riders Danny Kent and Christian Iddon who he replaced while he was out after his concussion diagnosis. Only Kent featured in Q2 with the remaining duo failing to make it out of Q1 - Nesbitt was eighth (20th) in the session, just ahead of Iddon in ninth(21st) with just a thousandth separating them.
Eemeli Lathi also returns with Powerbase Racing Suzuki, he starts 26th.
Dedicated to Chrissy Rouse
Brands Hatch began in reflective mood, with a beautiful, poignant tribute to Chrissy Rouse, who sadly passed away after his accident at Donington Park.
The grid fell silent for 69 seconds, his racing number, before qualifying got under way in tribute to the former National Superstock Champion and maths teacher in a moment of reflection on the life of the much loved BSB rider.
On gaining pole Glenn Irwin dedicated his pole to Chrissy Rouse, wearing the pink t-shirts with his logo on that the riders have been wearing around the paddock in tribute.
