Defending Supersport class champion Jack Kennedy had set his personal best lap time at Oulton Park on Friday, contributing to his seeding straight into Saturday’s second Qualifying session. However, despite setting strong times early in the final session, he crashed and was forced to sit on the sidelines as he was pushed back to second on the starting order.

Team-mate Dean Harrison also made it through the seeding process to final Qualifying, ending the session in sixth place on the grid. Both of the Honda CBR600RR machines performed faultlessly through the race and the riders reached the chequered flag with Kennedy in second place and Harrison in seventh.

In qualifying for the first of three races in the senior Superbike category, last year’s vice-champion Tommy Bridewell qualified his Honda Fireblade in 11th place. Bridewell would take the start alone for Honda Racing, after an accident befell team-mate Andrew Irwin during Qualifying 2, which resulted in a shoulder injury that has precluded any further participation in the Oulton Park weekend.

Despite this setback, Bridewell produced a crowd-pleasing performance in the race, climbing from 11th at the start to finish in sixth overall. He and the team continue to hone the Fireblade’s handling at the bumpy parkland venue in readiness for a renewed assault in races 2 and 3.