Danny Buchan fired the SYNETIQ BMW to the top of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship SUPERPICKS Free Practice times at Brands Hatch this afternoon, in a top 12 covered by just 0.969s as he moved to the top in the final minutes of the day.
The top 12 riders progress directly into tomorrow’s Q2 session and Buchan continued to build momentum throughout the day at his local circuit as he snatched the leading position from championship leader Christian Iddon in the closing moments.
The VisionTrack Ducati rider had moved ahead in the final ten minutes when he upped the pace to nudge Jason O'Halloran down the order; the McAMS Yamaha rider had been leading the way in the final 20 minutes of the session.
His teammate Tarran Mackenzie was fourth despite his small crash earlier this morning, but a resurgent Glenn Irwin stormed into fifth for Honda Racing in the closing stages to push Lee Jackson back into sixth.
Gino Rea had held a position inside the top ten for the majority of the session and he was seventh, narrowly ahead of the second SYNETIQ BMW of Andrew Irwin.
Peter Hickman and Bradley Ray completed the top ten with Tommy Bridewell and Kyle Ryde the final riders to make the cut for the SUPERPICKS 12.
For defending champion Josh Brookes, his woes continues as he just missed out in 13th on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis.
Ending the day fastest, Buchan said: “I am feeling good and to top a session is a good way to start the weekend. To come here and show that we can be fast here as well as on the tight and twisty tracks is a big thing for me. There’s been a lot of critics; obviously it’s not done yet, but people have been saying I can only win at Knockhill, but I know I can win at other tracks!
“It’s a credit to my SYNETIQ BMW team. We made some changes there at the start of the session it didn’t feel 100 percent good, so we made another change and it felt amazing, even on the used tyres it felt really strong, so I’m confident wet or dry we can do a good job.”
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, SUPERPICKS Free Practice 2 result:
1. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 1m:25.382s
2. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.076s
3. Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.288s
4. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +0.294s
5. Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.476s
6. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +0.558s
7. Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki) +0.563s
8. Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.630s
9. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.645s
10. Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.739s
11. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.804s
12. Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.969s