Christian Iddon topped the times in the opening Bennetts British Superbike Championship official test session at Snetterton as the VisionTrack Ducati rider set his fastest lap of the session on the final run before the chequered flag.

After sitting out yesterday’s open pitlane test due to the conditions, the test got underway this morning in dry but cool conditions and at the midway point of the 30-minute session, Tommy Bridewell had been the early pace setter for the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team.

Approaching the final ten minutes SYNETIQ BMW’s Andrew Irwin had moved to the top, leading a strong BMW charge from teammate Danny Buchan and FHO Racing BMW’s Peter Hickman with Bridewell breaking the BMW order in fourth as Kyle Ryde completed the top five.

Hickman then moved to the top by just 0.104s from Buchan as the order changed in the closing ten minutes of the session, holding the advantage until the final minutes when Iddon posted a time that put him ahead before his final lap was a further improvement at the top.

Hickman set the second fastest time for FHO Racing BMW, closely followed by the SYNETIQ BMW pairing of Buchan and Andrew Irwin as Bridewell completed the top five.

Xavi Forés made a welcome return to Snetterton in sixth place, edging ahead of Ryde who held off Lee Jackson in eighth place for the FS-3 Kawasaki team.

Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin and Jason O'Halloran for McAMS Yamaha completed the top ten in the opening session.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Snetterton Official Test, Session 1 result:

1.Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 1m:51.328s
2.Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) +0.133s
3.Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.237s
4.Andrew Irwin (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.317s
5.Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.374s
6.Xavi Forés (FHO Racing BMW) +0.801s
7.Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.814s
8.Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +1.022s
9.Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +1.057s
10.Jason O'Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.230s