Stuart Easton got off to a flying start at Cadwell Park at the fourth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, topping the opening free practice session on Friday; however in the afternoon a lack of rear grip forced the lone Swan Honda rider back to sixth.

He had left it late in the opening session to top the timesheets, displacing Michael Rutter who had previously stolen the advantage from a determined Easton with less than ten minutes remaining. In the afternoon session Easton struggled with a lack of grip which prevented him from making any further progress in terms of lap times, however he is ready to challenge for the pole position in the Swan Combi Roll for Pole tomorrow afternoon.

Easton said:

"I had a good start to the weekend in the opening free practice session; I came here well prepared and made a conscious effort to push at the front from the start. I got settled in fast and was pretty much running the pace I was on before the crash here in pre-season testing and then the better times came at the end of the session using the same tyre.

"This afternoon though I was losing rear grip which was strange as the track conditions hadn't changed and I wasn't feeling confident to push it harder, but I do feel that this was a one-off as this morning we didn't have a problem. Tomorrow we will try a fresh tyre and I think then we can make the progress we need with just some slight changes. If you look at the times overall it hasn't been a bad day but I know that tomorrow we can find that bit extra to challenge for the pole position."

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, free practice one:

1. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) 1m:28.661s
2. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +0.347s
3. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.371s
4. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.723s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.795s

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park, free practice two:

1. Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) 1m:28.009s
2. Tommy Hill (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.264s
3. Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) +0.683s
4. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.696s
5. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.756s
6. Stuart Easton (Swan Honda) +0.874s