American John Hopkins beat the six Title Fighters in the Showdown to the top spot in the second free practice session at Assen this afternoon (Friday) as the Tyco Suzuki rider knocked Ryuichi Kiyonari from the top spot in the final ten minutes.

Hopkins had been building momentum throughout the session, saving his best lap until his final run this afternoon, which put him narrowly ahead. Kiyonari was the fastest of the Title Fighters as he held second place from Shane 'Shakey' Byrne, who also improved in the final minutes to move third.

Chris Walker had been running outside the top ten in the early stages, but climbed the order before firing himself into fourth place as the session drew to a close on the Lloyds British GBmoto Racing Kawasaki.

Dan Linfoot had been running as high as second in the early stages, but dropped to fifth as his Title Fighter rivals improved their pace. He held off Patric Muff who had also been inside the top five earlier in the session before ending sixth at the chequered flag.

Peter Hickman was back inside the top ten on the RAF Reserves Honda whilst Josh Brookes was the sixth Title Fighter in ninth position. Stuart Easton completed the top ten on the second of the Rapid Solicitors Kawasakis.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Assen, free practice two:

John Hopkins (Tyco Suzuki) 1m:37.472s
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Buildbase BMW) +0.193s
Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.314s
Chris Walker (Lloyds British GBmoto Kawasaki) +0.446s
Dan Linfoot (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) +0.527s
Patric Muff (Bathams BMW) +0.671s
Tommy Bridewell (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.767s
Peter Hickman (RAF Reserves Honda) +0.800s
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee Yamaha) +0.839s
Stuart Easton (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.065s



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