Swan Honda lead the way at Thruxton

Swan Honda's James Ellison got off to a flying start at Thruxton today (Friday), setting the pace in the second free practice ahead of the second round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship this weekend. Ellison left it until the final minute of the session to annihilate the fastest time of the weekend so far setting a time of 1m:14.907s, which is just 0.1 seconds off the current lap record set by Gregorio Lavilla since 2006. Stuart Easton ended the session fifth fastest on the second Swan Honda, just 0.818s adrift of team-mate Ellison. Easton had been fourth in the opening session, but is happy with the progress the team has made and feels there is more to come from him tomorrow in the Swan Combi Roll for Pole grid decider for Sunday's opening race. Ellison said: "I am really happy to have finished fastest on a Friday as this hasn't happened for a while, so it is a good way for me to start the weekend. We still have some work to do tomorrow to get the Swan Honda changing direction better, but it will only be a few tweaks as we did a lot of work this morning in the first session which we really benefitted from. We are already faster than we were last year in the race and to be not that far off record pace on a practice day is an awesome feeling." Easton said: "Today was a normal day at the office for us to be honest. This morning we just got into the groove and settled back in to the circuit and then the session this afternoon was the one you could read more in to. I was happy with fourth this morning and our time this afternoon was good, but I just didn't get the best from the tyre which was down to me so that is a lesson learnt for tomorrow. We have a few changes to make to the suspension in the morning and then we will be all set for qualifying." Worx Crescent Suzuki rider Tommy Hill claimed second: "The main thing has been adjusting to the bike around here," he explained. "You have to try to be consistent, not wanting to change too much with the bike as the circuit is bumpy and you struggle to find the perfect set-up. "That means some compromise, and some aggression. I am confident going into these races, and am looking for a big points haul to stay ahead in the title chase," he added. Michael Laverty, riding the Relentless Suzuki by TAS, briefly held top place on the leaderboard, but had to settle for third overall, just ahead of HM Plant Honda's Aussie Josh Brookes who is eager to put his title challenge on track with a repeat of his first BSB podium scored in the corresponding round of last season. The top four ran within 0.729secs, with Swan Honda's "Flying Scot" Stuart Easton, still experiencing some discomfort from the badly gashed leg sustained in pre-season testing, closing in on them, and running marginally faster than Alastair Seeley and Yukio Kagayama. Gary Johnson, riding the AIM Suzuki, was the fastest of the Mirror.co.uk BSB-EVO riders, putting in a 109.41mph lap to be just 0.005secs faster than David Anthony riding the MIST Suzuki, with Craig Fitzpatrick aboard the Close Print Finance and Splitlath Aprilia's Chris Burns in close contention. For the record: Top ten free practice times James Ellison (Swan Honda) 1m:14.907s Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.271s Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.468s Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.729s Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +0.818s Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +1.039s Yukio Kagayama (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +1.205s Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +1.231s Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +1.232s Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +1.486s Superbike lap record Gregorio Lavilla, Ducati, 1m 14.890secs, 113.25mph (2006) Superbikes on track Saturday 17 April 10.15-11.05 Free practice 15.15-16.11 Swan Combi Roll for Pole Sunday 18 April 10.50-11.05 Warm-up practice 13.30 Race One 20 laps 16.35 Race Two 20 laps Superbikes on television Sunday 18 April British Eurosport 2 12.30-18.00 Live raceday coverage 20.30-22.00 Highlights (full listings www.britishsuperbike.com) For more information on the Swan Honda team, check out www.swanhonda.co.uk Read article

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