Silverstone BSB: Kennedy’s BSS title defence starts on pole

Reigning champion Jack Kennedy claimed pole position – his 50th in the class – for this afternoon’s Quattro Group British Supersport Championship race at Silverstone with the Mar-Train Racing Yamaha rider lapping at 55.427s during qualifying on Saturday morning. That put him a slender 0.055s clear of Bradley Perie with his Appleyard Macadam Racing teammate Harry Truelove joining him on the front row in third.

It was Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha) who set the early pace from Rhys Irwin (Astro JJr Triumph) and Perie but the red flag came out after just six minutes after GP2 runner Tomas de Vries crashed at Luffield. Restarted soon afterwards, Eunan McGlinchey’s session only lasted a further three minutes when he came to grief at Copse on the Gearlink Kawasaki but Kennedy was having no such problems as he went quickest from Johnston albeit by just 0.020s. At the half way point of the 30-minute session, Kennedy still occupied the top spot having quickened his pace to 55.583s and that gave him a healthy 0.351s gap over Johnston . Eugene McManus had moved up to third on the Completely Motorbikes/Affinity Kawasaki with Irwin now in fourth and Truelove pushing Perie down to sixth. Perie didn’t stay there long though and was soon up into third whilst Johnston’s team-mate, Kiwi Damon Rees, was also on the move and slotted into seventh. Perie continued to get quicker too with a lap of 55.482s seeing him knock Kennedy off the top spot with ten minutes to go. Truelove was also upping his pace and jumped up to third with Rees improving to fifth, just one place behind Johnston but Gearkink Kawasaki’s session got worse as second rider Zak Corderoy also crashed out. With just two minutes to go, Kennedy went back to the top of the