The Swan Yamaha team got the third round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park underway today (Saturday) as Tommy Hill and Noriyuki Haga ended the opening two free practice sessions in third and eleventh respectively.

Reigning champion Hill had set the pace in the first session on his return to the Cheshire circuit, edging ahead of his rivals, whilst Haga reacquainted himself with the track that he last visited in 2004. The Swan Yamaha team-mates are both feeling confident that some final changes tomorrow will give them an extra boost ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session and opening race (postponed from Brands Hatch).

Hill said:

“We had a good start to the weekend; we were faster this year than we were in the corresponding session last year so it shows that we have just been able to get stuck in. Everyone is raising the bar and we have a few changes still to make before qualifying tomorrow but it will only be fine tuning. We had a few issues at the start of the session and went out on used tyres but didn’t get the chance to put in a new tyre in the closing stages. I am pretty happy despite our issues and now we are all set for tomorrow and getting it right in qualifying and the first race.”

Haga said:

“To start with I was learning the track again as I had not been here since 2004 and I needed to remember the bumps, the corners and the different points. I think maybe to look at one section, Brittens is where I need to find more in the final free practice tomorrow. I did good lap times that I was quite happy with, despite one moment when I nearly had a big highside! In the second session we definitely found a new direction for tomorrow that we can try. I like to ride loose but I think here I need to be smooth to get the faster lap, it will come!”

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