Simon Andrews may not be able to qualify for the top six and compete in the British Superbike Showdown, but the Kawasaki man is doing all he can to end his BSB season with a bang.Andrews surprised a lot of people at Cadwell Park today when he bested Tommy Hill's time with just 8 minutes left in the first free practice session.. Andrews has yet to finish on the podium this year, and his best qualifying so far has been 12th place.
Ryuichi Kiyonari came the closest to passing up Andrews time, but fell .037 seconds short. Kiyonari put in his quickest lap with just thirty seconds remaining in the session, setting the tone between him and Tommy Hill for the important upcoming races at Cadwell Park.
Andrews' teammate, Gary Mason, was another surprising name toward the top of the time sheets. Mason rode into fourth place, beating out Michael Rutter and Josh Brookes. The MSS Kawaski team was ecstatic to see both of their riders up in the top five, and will work to keep the green machines toward the top of the leader board throughout the weekend.
Michael Laverty finished in 7th place, but the big battle this weekend will come from the 8-10 riders. Stuart Easton, John Laverty, and Alastair Seeley are all fighting for the last spot on the top six. Seeley has the advantage going into the weekend, but finished last between the three, .5 seconds behind Easton, and .15 seconds behind Laverty.
British Superbike - Cadwell Park II - Free Practice
- Simon Andrews (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) 1m:28.589s
- Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.037s
- Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.057s
- Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +0.185s
- Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +0.202s
- Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.211s
- Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.551s
- Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +0.717s
- John Laverty (Buildbase Kawasaki) +1.013s
- Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +1.278s
