John Hopkins snatched the position at the top of the final free practice times this morning as the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati team claimed the advantage in the final minute of the session to lead the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship pack. There was little between the leading contenders with the top 22 riders covered by just 0.988s.

Martin Jessopp initially led the session, holding his position firmly at the top for the first 15 minutes before the times tumbled and the positions continued to shift. MCE BSB rookie Luke Mossey was one of the first to break his run at the top and the Quattro Plant Kawasaki rider moved ahead, but it was short lived as Richard Cooper then displaced him to hold the position.

The Kawasaki spell at the top then came to an end when Bennetts Suzuki's Christian Iddon launched himself into the leading position, but Mossey's run was continuing and he then pushed back ahead in the final ten minutes. The Quattro Plant Kawasaki rider looked set to hold the place, but a last lap push from Hopkins saw him hit the top of the session for the first time since his return in the previous round as the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati team set the pace.

Mossey held second position from Iddon and Cooper with Be Wiser Kawasaki's Danny Buchan climbing the order to fifth with Josh Brookes holding sixth position on the leading Milwaukee Yamaha.

James Ellison headed off team-mate James Ellison for seventh place with Jessopp remaining in the top ten in ninth place. Defending champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne narrowly held tenth place from Filip Backlund and Jason O'Halloran.

The contenders now prepare for this afternoon's Datatag Qualifying session to decide tomorrow's race one grid positions with several of the riders focused on the decision between the SC0 and SC1 Pirelli tyres for the race duration due to the demanding nature of the Hampshire circuit.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Free Practice three:

John Hopkins (Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati) 1m:15.206s
Luke Mossey (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.117s
Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki) +0.195s
Richard Cooper (Anvil Hire TAG Kawasaki) +0.219s
Danny Buchan (Be Wiser Kawasaki) +0.225s
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.234s
James Westmoreland (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.306s
James Ellison (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.338s
Martin Jessopp (RidersMotorcycles BMW) +0.415s
Shane Byrne (PBM Kawasaki) +0.496s

Pic by Londonbikers.com