Qualifying for the 11th round MCE British Superbike Championship at Assen took place in tough conditions this afternoon, as Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran battled the wet track ahead of tomorrow’s opening 18-lap race. Linfoot finished fourth fastest and will start from the second row of the grid, while O’Halloran starts from the sixth row in 15th place.

Mastering the wet conditions, Linfoot sailed through each of the three stages of qualifying aboard the all-new Fireblade. During the second-stage the 29-year-old was fastest for some time and eventually went into Q3 after placing the third fastest time. Finishing the third session fourth fastest, the Yorkshireman will start the first race at Assen on the second row in fourth.

Team-mate and Showdown contender O’Halloran struggled with rear grip in the dramatic conditions at the 2.82-mile circuit and although the Aussie made it into the second session, he didn’t progress into Q3 after being outside the top-nine in 15th place. The O’Show starts tomorrow’s first race from the sixth row of the grid.

Tomorrow’s opening race is scheduled to take place at 1215 local time with race two at 1630 (GMT+1).

Well qualifying was very wet and to be honest it wasn’t that enjoyable! I just wanted to be on the front row to have a good chance in the race tomorrow, which we’re hoping will be dry! So I got through each stage of qualifying and in Q3 we had a new rear and I didn’t feel comfortable with it from the start. For the first three/four laps I just wanted to get some heat into the tyre and pushed on the last lap but it wasn’t my best – there were a lot of mistakes and I did lose some time, so without those mistakes I think we could have claimed the pole position. But I am starting tomorrow’s race in a good position and where I was aiming for, so I am excited for the races. I normally bring my best on a Sunday, so I’m going into tomorrow quietly confident.
Dan Linfoot / #4

It has been a frustrating day today if I’m honest, yesterday it started well and I had a good feeling in the dry, but FP2 ended early for me with a crash, which was a shame. It’s been wet all day today and I’ve been struggling with rear grip. We’ve got a bit of work to do ahead of the races tomorrow and I have some work starting from 15th! But the weather is looking better for tomorrow, so race one we just do the best job we can and hopefully have a better start for the second race in the afternoon.
Jason O'Halloran / #22

The conditions today haven’t been ideal and it was such a shame for Jason to miss out on Q3. He starts tomorrow’s race from 15th, but I am sure he’ll get a good start and progress into the top group. Dan had a great qualifying, he had a few issues and things he wasn’t happy about, but qualifying fourth in those conditions was really good and gives him a good chance for the races. The forecast for tomorrow is looking dry, so we’ve just got to hope for good weather and two dry races. I’m sure they’ll both have two strong races and I am looking forward to seeing how they get on.
Havier Beltran - Honda Racing team manager