Mossey claims pole position as Dixon debuts on the front row at Knockhill

Luke Mossey will start from pole position for the first time this season as the JG Speedfit Kawasaki set the pace in this afternoon’s Datatag Qualifying session, leading the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship pack by just 0.101s ahead of tomorrow’s races.

After a delayed start to the session the riders all took to the track for one 30 minute session, but Mossey is determined to fly the flag for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team and he instantly set the benchmark, lapping consistently faster to remain at the top of the times.

RAF Reserves Kawasaki’s Jake Dixon was having his strongest performance of the season so far as he climbed into the top three and despite dipping down the order briefly, he fired himself into second place to score his first front row start in MCE BSB. The 21-year-old later slipped off in the final minutes of the session at the Hairpin, but was unhurt.

The front row for tomorrow’s opening race is completed by James Ellison; he was another rider to crash unhurt at the Hairpin in the early stages of the session. The McAMS Yamaha rider returned to the garage and was soon back on circuit, powering in a string of laps to complete the front row.

Defending champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne set the fourth fastest time to head the second row of the grid; the Be Wiser Ducati rider will be joined by the leading Honda Racing Fireblade of Jason O'Halloran with Josh Brookes lining up sixth.

Sylvain Guintoli sealed his best qualifying performance of the season in seventh place for Bennetts Suzuki, just ahead of Jakub Smrz who split the Frenchman from his team-mate Taylor Mackenzie with Dan Linfoot completing the top ten.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, Datatag Qualifying:

1. Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) 48.297s
2. Jake Dixon (RAF Reserves Kawasaki) +0.101s
3. James Ellison (McAMS Yamaha) +0.167s
4. Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.170s
5. Jason O'Halloran (Honda Racing) +0.185s
6. Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) +0.220s
7. Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.254s
8. Jakub Smrz (Lloyd & Jones PR BMW) +0.381s
9. Taylor Mackenzie (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.402s
10. Dan Linfoot (Honda Racing) +0.428s