Kent claims first ever Bennetts BSB Omologato Pole Position at Circuito de Navarra

Danny Kent and the McAMS Racing Yamaha Team claimed their first ever Bennetts British Superbike Championship Omologato Pole Position at Circuito de Navarra this afternoon, holding off the charging OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing pairing of Ryan Vickers and Kyle Ryde by just 0.039s.

Josh Brookes was the first rider to attack the one-lap shootout and the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad rider set the initial benchmark. Next to set a time was MasterMac Honda’s Charlie Nesbitt who then hit the top of the times, before Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad’s Rory Skinner claimed the top spot.

Skinner stayed at the top of the times as Max Cook, Lee Jackson, and Peter Hickman completed their laps, with the second FHO Racing BMW Motorrad rider holding second place after his lap.

Fraser Rogers qualified for Omologato Superpole for the first time but the TAG Honda rider suffered a technical problem and was forced to forfeit his lap. That left Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s Christian Iddon to go next and a moment lost him valuable time and he will start tenth on the grid tomorrow for race one.

Next to set a time was Jason O’Halloran and the Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki rider was unable to topple Skinner from the times, he starts alongside Iddon.

Glenn Irwin was next to exit the pitlane and the Hager PBM Ducati rider upped the pace to move to the top of the times, which was where he stayed initially as Leon Haslam crashed his ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad machine on his flying lap to start 14th.

Reigning champion Tommy Bridewell was next, the Honda Racing UK team working against the clock to get him out for his lap after a technical issue in the earlier second Free Practice session. However, he was forced out of contention with another issue, which prompted a short red flag on Omologato Superpole. He will start from 15th on the grid for the opening race of his title defence.

The final three riders then had their chance and Kent was the first to push for a lap on the McAMS Racing Yamaha. He moved straight to the top of the times and despite the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing pairing getting close, the 2015 Moto3 World champion claimed a first Omologato Pole Position.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Omologato Superpole result:

1. Danny Kent (McAMS Racing Yamaha) 1m36.609s
2. Ryan Vickers (OMG GRILLA Racing Yamaha) +0.039s
3. Kyle Ryde (OMG GRILLA Racing Yamaha) +0.189s
4. Glenn Irwin (Hager PBM Ducati) +0.275s
5. Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad) +0.564s
6. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) +0.630s
7. Lee Jackson (MasterMac Honda) +0.640s
8. Max Cook (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +0.811s
9. Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda) +0.839s
10. Christian Iddon (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +1.001s
11. Jason O’Halloran (Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki) +1.016s
12. Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad) + 1.104s
13. Fraser Rogers (TAG Honda)
14. Leon Haslam (ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad)
15. Tommy Bridewell (Honda Racing UK)

Danny Kent
McAMS Racing Yamaha
“I’m absolutely over the moon for myself and the McAMS Racing by Mar-Train team. They did a mega job throughout pre-season testing and the work that we did definitely contributed towards our result today.

“If I’m completely honest, I wasn’t expecting to get pole position. My used tyre pace is much better than my one-lap pace, so I’m feeling very confident heading into tomorrow. I feel like we can be competitive and can’t wait to get out on track again to see what we can do.”
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