Josh Brookes launched ahead at the start of the triple header sixth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship despite wet conditions at Oulton Park as he powered ahead of his rivals to set the fastest lap aboard the Tyco Suzuki.

The Aussie is eager to regain the lead in the overall standings, which he lost at the previous round at Knockhill. He put in a determined ride whilst perfecting the settings of his machine at the Cheshire circuit, making light of the difficult conditions.

Brookes is ready for the first of the three races on Saturday afternoon and he said: “It was not too bad out there – the temperature was warmish so the tyres were able to generate temperature and work well. The problem was water in various places – you could see clearly where it was and then guess your way through. The first practice sessions were about settling into a rhythm and feeling comfortable and this is a good enough start.”

Lincolnshire rider Alex Lowes put in a series of consistent laps on his WFR Honda, the best of which closed him to within 0.263 seconds of Brookes, and put him ahead of Alastair Seeley who had bounced back strongly from a crash in the morning session to be third fastest.

Scott Smart showed the potential of the Moto Rapido Ducati Panigale with a lap little more than half a second down on Brookes to be marginally faster than the former two times winner of the crown, Shane Byrne, riding the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki.

Defending champion Tommy Hill, the current series leader, had outpaced Brookes to top the morning leaderboard, but the Swan Yamaha rider had to settle for sixth best overall.

Free practice one:

1: Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m:49.347s
2: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.213s
3: Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) +0.587s
4: Scott Smart (Moto Rapido Ducati) +0.827s
5: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +1.098s
6: Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +1.321s

Free practice two:

1: Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) 1m:48.494s
2: Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +0.263s
3: Alastair Seeley (Tyco Suzuki) +0.530s
4: Scott Smart (Moto Rapido Ducati) +0.590s
5: Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki

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